A Sample Analysis of British Middle and Late Bronze Age Material, using Optical Spectrometry

Brown, M. Anne; Blin-Stoyle, A. E.

doi:10.1017/s0079497x00016534

Cited by 19 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is broadly analogous to the results obtained from both the Late Bronze Age (Brown & Blin-Stoyle 1959;Northover 1982a) and Iron Age (see below). This is broadly analogous to the results obtained from both the Late Bronze Age (Brown & Blin-Stoyle 1959;Northover 1982a) and Iron Age (see below).…”

Section: The Origins Of Iron Age Copper Metallurgysupporting

confidence: 88%

“…While the results show some similarities with both Late Bronze Age (Brown & Blin-Stoyle 1959;Northover 1982a) Northover (1984;1991a;1991b) who has analysed excavated material from a number of sites in southern Britain (eg. While the results show some similarities with both Late Bronze Age (Brown & Blin-Stoyle 1959;Northover 1982a) Northover (1984;1991a;1991b) who has analysed excavated material from a number of sites in southern Britain (eg.…”

Section: The Origins Of Iron Age Copper Metallurgymentioning

confidence: 52%

“…This alloy is broadly similar to that used in the Late Bronze Age (Brown & Blin-Stoyle 1959;Hughes 1979;Northover 1982a) while objects from the Iron Age proper (see below) only rarely contain appreciable amounts of lead. This alloy is broadly similar to that used in the Late Bronze Age (Brown & Blin-Stoyle 1959;Hughes 1979;Northover 1982a) while objects from the Iron Age proper (see below) only rarely contain appreciable amounts of lead.…”

Section: The Origins Of Iron Age Copper Metallurgymentioning

confidence: 75%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Production of Copper Alloys in Iron Age Britain

Dungworth

1996

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents a selection of compositional analyses of IronAge copper alloy artefacts from northern Britain. The results were obtained as part of a larger project which examined Iron Age and Roman copper alloys in northern Britain (the region from the Trent-Mersey to the Forth-Clyde). The quantitative analyses were carried out using EDXRF on drilled or polished samples. Comparisons are made with results from the late Bronze Age and early Roman period in northern Britain. The results are also compared with those already published from a range of Iron Age sites in southern England. The large total number of copper alloy analyses from the British Iron Age has made possible a synthesis of the data which has largely been assembled piecemeal. It is now clear that a tin bronze was the principal copper alloy for much of the Iron Age. The composition of this alloy is distinct from the alloys used in the Late Bronze Age and during the Roman period although there is considerable 'blurring' at the transitions. A brief outline of the analytical method employed and the analytical results are included. o n 5 m 70 70 O z > o o

show abstract

Section: The Origins Of Iron Age Copper Metallurgysupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: The Origins Of Iron Age Copper Metallurgymentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: The Origins Of Iron Age Copper Metallurgymentioning

confidence: 75%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Production of Copper Alloys in Iron Age Britain

Dungworth

1996

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Eleven elements were measured and the results obtained are given in table 1 together with the corresponding analyses previously obtained by optical emission spectrometry (OES) and tabulated in Blin-Stoyle (1959). Cobalt was not determined by emission spectometry; zinc which is not listed in table 1 was found by Brown and Blin-Stoyle (1959) to be below their limit of O.Olo(, in all seven bronzes, and this agrees with the atomic absorption results which similarly showed that the zinc content was less than the limit of 0.02",, in each case. From the British Museum Research Laboratory (BMRL) and Brown and Blin-Stoyle (BBS) results the ratios BMRLiBBS for each pair was calculated and the mean ratio (Z), standard deviation (a) and relative standard deviation (100a/2) for each element are listed at the foot of table 1.…”

Section: Atotnic Absorption Analysessupporting

confidence: 81%

“…

…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

British Middle and Late Bronze Age Metalwork: Some Reanalyses

Hughes

1979

Archaeometry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionA study of major importance for our understanding of the composition of bronze artefacts of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages in Britain is the group of 438 analyses carried out by optical emission spectrometry by Brown and Blin-Stoyle (1959). Their description of the project and its conclusions were presented in that paper, and in a subsequent paper by Blin-Stoyle (1 959) the full analytical results for nine elements were published together with a comprehensive description of the emission spectrometry procedure which followed. The aim of the study was to look for perceptible variations in metal composition which might correlate with changes of bronze types or with the successive industries of the archaeological sequence. One of their findings which was of major importance was that there was a clear technological distinction between MiddIe and Late Bronze material, namely the presence of substantial lead concentrations in the Late as opposed to the Middle Bronze Age when lead was present in the bronzes in only minor, i.e. accidental, concentrations. The Late Bronze material was clearly intended to contain a substantial deliberate addition of lead to the bronze, resulting in easier casting properties including a lower melting point for the alloy.The technique of emission spectrometry has played an important part in the development of archaeological science, being capable of analysing for a wide range of both elements and concentrations of elements in ancient artefacts. Tite (1972) has discussed its applications to both metals and non-metals in archaeology, Britton and Richards (1969) have reviewed its particular application to the study of metallurgy in the European Bronze Age while both give accounts of the principles and practice of emission spectrometry for these particular applications. The initial setting-up of the spectrochemical procedure, including standardisation of the arcing conditions and calibration with standards is an elaborate process, resulting in typical reproducibilities of better that f. 25% (Freeth 1969).During the course of further research into Middle and Late Bronze Age artefacts, Mrs M. A. Brown, one of the co-authors of the original major study on this subject, requested analyses on a number of artefacts in the collections of the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities at the British Museum, London and this resulted in atomic absorption analyses being made by the Research Laboratory at the Museum on drilled samples taken from these objects. The drillings were taken by the Research Laboratory using the same type of drill and yielding approximately the same weight of sample (10-20 mg) as used for the original work (Blin-Stoyle 1959); drillings from the first 1-2 mm were discarded to avoid the corroded metal surface of the bronzes. The intention in having these analyses made was to look for further examples of some of the distinctive subgroups (IIa and IIb: Brown and Blin-Stoyle 1959) found by emission spectrometry to have higher than average

show abstract

Metals and Alloys

Hauptmann

2020

Natural Science in Archaeology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A Sample Analysis of British Middle and Late Bronze Age Material, using Optical Spectrometry

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

The Production of Copper Alloys in Iron Age Britain

The Production of Copper Alloys in Iron Age Britain

British Middle and Late Bronze Age Metalwork: Some Reanalyses

Metals and Alloys

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About