Lead Isotopic Characteristics and Metal Sources for the Jewelry in the Medieval Rural Settlements from the Suzdal Region (Kievan Rus’)

Abstract

The article considers the results of the study of lead isotope composition of 38 non-ferrous artifacts discovered at medieval rural sites of the Suzdal Region (Kievan Rus’). The copper-alloy, silver and pewter artifacts were compared with reference data from geographically and temporally diverse medieval artifacts and ore deposits and revealed differing source regions and supply networks within and between metal types. The identification in some cases was difficult due to the conformity of the lead isotopic composition of deposits of some regions. The copper-alloys, represented mostly by crosses made of high-tin bronze, show close isotopic parallels to contemporary copper alloys from Southern Scandinavia, Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Since the copper alloys contain significant quantities of lead, this lead may have entered the metal by alloying with lead-tin alloys, by smelting mixed copper-lead ore, or through haphazard alloying with lead. The lead isotope ratios for nearly all copper alloys are consistent with deposits in Cornwall and Devon and remobilized ore from the Rhenish Massif. For silver and lead-tin alloy objects, lead isotope analyses point to wide ranging sources. Most silver objects are consistent with mid-to-late 10th century silver stocks circulating in the Baltic area and 10th century Volga-Bulgar silver dirham imitations probably representing mixtures of 9th-10th century Islamic silver. The silver shows a heavy reliance on 10th century mixed stocks and there are little indications of Central and Western European silver, which was common in the 11th century Baltic region. The pewter and lead, however, indicate other sources. Lead isotope ratios are consistent with sources connected to Mediterranean and Baltic networks, some being consistent with sources in England, but it is possible that the lead found in some pewter objects could come from the Olkusz lead district in southern Poland.

Early mediaeval lead glass bangles from Czermno, Poland: Results of elemental and lead isotopes analyses

“…In order to determine the origin of the raw material used to flux the glass (Stos‐Gale & Gale, 2009), readily available lead isotopic data for ore deposits from various early mediaeval mines and lead‐rich wares were used. There were no nonferrous ore deposits in the Rus territories, and so lead had to be imported from elsewhere (Bezborodov, 1969; Chugaev et al, 2020).…”

“…Furthermore, recent analysis of 13th‐century lead ingot s found in Wrocław and Cracow similarly have indicated that their lead isotope ratios are consistent with Cracow–Upper Silesian Pb‐Zn deposits in the Bytom–Olkusz region (Miazga et al, 2022). It is also probable that three 10th–13th‐century lead‐tin‐alloy pectoral crosses from Suzdal Opole (Russia) were alloyed with lead from the Bytom–Olkusz region (Chugaev et al, 2020).…”

“…They do occur less frequently (Dek owna, 1980;Dek owna & Purowski, 2019). Nevertheless, the lack of natural deposits for this raw material in Kievan Rus territory raises questions as to its origins and from where it was imported (Chugaev et al, 2020;Rappoport, 1995). Although situated in modern-day Poland, in the Middle Ages Czermno was within the territory of the Kievan Rus.…”

Mapping the elemental distribution in archaeological findings through advanced Neutron Resonance Transmission Imaging

“…These excavation finds are the first evidence of at least one brass workshop activity in the ancient Roman city of Mediolanum [23,24]. In fact, brass production was widespread throughout the Roman Empire [25] and well documented in England, Germany and France [26][27][28], but it was completely unknown in Italy.…”

A PCA-AHC Approach to Provenance Studies of Non-Ferrous Metals with Combined Pb Isotope and Chemistry Data

“…However, conventional 2D (sometimes 3D) graphs with Pb isotopic ratios and trace element ratios are still the main tool to demonstrate relationships between ore deposits and artefacts and to suggest their provenance areas (e.g. Pernicka et al, 2016a;Ling et al, 2019;Chugayev et al, 2020;Mödlinger & Trebsche, 2020;Orfanou et al, 2020;Berger et al, 2022a;Mödlinger et al, 2021;Oudbashi et al, 2021;Aragón et al, 2022;Berger et al, 2022b;Gavranović et al, 2022;Pryce et al, 2022;see also remarks in De Ceuster & Degryse, 2020: 110). Advanced statistical methods can be a valuable addition or alternative to such traditional biplots (Radivojević et al, 2019: 136;Artioli et al, 2020: 3;cf.…”