A unique early medieval pendant (kaptorga) from Opole Groszowice (Silesia, SW Poland) in the light of interdisciplinary archaeometric studies

Abstract

Finds of early medieval pendants, known as kaptorgas, are not common in Poland. For this reason, the kaptorga found in 1957 in Opole (Silesia), in southwest Poland, is all the more interesting. The artefact is housed in a museum, and on the occasion of its re-conservation, permission to conduct archaeometric studies was given. The kaptorga was subjected to analyses using nondestructive and minimally invasive techniques. Elemental tests with energy dispersive XRF and SEM-EDS spectrometers showed that the pendant is made of brass, not bronze sheet, as was originally thought. In its filling, there is a small fragment of plant-fiber thread (subjected to microscopic observations) and beeswax, which was identified using infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography with a mass spectrometer.