The casting core composition and provenance of the Goljamata Kosmatka (Bulgaria) bronze head

Lombardi, Gianni

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.10.002

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Data in the literature reveals the same composition and microstructure regarding the Hellenistic bronzes [16,17]. A special casted bronze Hellenistic artifact is the "Bulgarian Head" discovered at Goljamata Kosmatka, which presents a similar elemental composition to our Istrian coins regarding Cu, Sn, Pb amount and some Ag traces [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 58%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Microstructural Investigation of Some Bronze Artifacts Discovered in a Dacian Site Using Non-Destructive Methods

Petan

Petean

Paltinean

et al. 2023

Metals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dacian civilization flourished on the actual territory of Romania during the Late Iron Age and had its peak from the first century BC to the first century AD. They had intensive relations with Hellenistic and Roman civilizations. Therefore, it is difficult to evaluate the origin of some widely spread artifacts discovered in the Dacian archeological sites. The present research is focused on two bronze artifacts (a bronze coin and a mirror fragment) found in the Alun-Piatra Rosie site and a silver coin found in the Ardeu site. Artifacts were investigated with nondestructive methods such as SEM-EDX for microstructural and elemental characterization, and the crystalline phases were investigated using XRD. Bronze coin proves to be an Istrian issue having an elemental composition of 75.0% Cu, 20.8% Sn, and 4.1% Pb, which corresponds to a structure of Cu grains mixed with Cu5.6Sn grains. The bronze mirror fragment has an elemental composition of 52.3% Cu and 47.7% Sn, which corresponds to a structure containing grains of Cu6Sn5 mixed with grains of Cu41Sn11. It has a smooth surface that was investigated with AFM microscopy, which evidences a Ra roughness of 51 nm for the patina surface and 33.7 nm for the clean metal surface, proving the high quality of the original mirror luster of the artifact. The silver coin was identified as a Radulesti–Hunedoara type meaning that it was produced in local Dacian metallurgic workshops. It has an elemental composition of 63.1% Ag, 25.3% Sn, 7.8% Cu, and small traces of P and Fe, which corresponds to a structure of Ag grains and Ag3Sn grains. Silver coins show that Dacians uses Sn as alloying element in their metallurgic workshops. Istrian bronze coin proves to be typical for Hellenistic or Roman bronze type with Sn content no more than 25% Sn. The bronze mirror fragment has an unusual composition that might be a result of al local metal charge elaboration with several Hellenistic and Roman bronze pieces as raw material and an extra Sn addition during the melting process. This material facilitates the polishing properties of the active surface that has a very low roughness even after 2000 years of ground resting and adherent oxides patina.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…Historical data show many bronze mirror findings in Dacian sites, but most of them are related to the Hellenistic and Roman imports and therefore correspond to the typical elemental composition [17][18][19]. The unusual composition of our bronze mirror fragment may suggest that it is the product of a local metallurgical workshop.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Microstructural Investigation of Some Bronze Artifacts Discovered in a Dacian Site Using Non-Destructive Methods

Petan

Petean

Paltinean

et al. 2023

Metals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The analytical approach was constrained by the scarce amount of preserved casting ceramics, that were available for sampling (Figure b). For example, this precluded the application of ceramic petrography, which has been applied in former studies on casting ceramics (Reedy ; Lombardi & Vidale, ; Schneider ; Goren ; Lombardi ). Therefore, this investigation of provenance follows an alternative approach based mainly on the examination of the trace element composition of the casting ceramics (Holmes & Harbottle, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production Sites of Early Iron Age Greek Bronze Tripod Cauldrons: First Evidence from Neutron Activation Analysis of Casting Ceramics

Kiderlen

Hein²,

Mommsen

et al. 2016

Geoarchaeology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bronze tripod cauldrons were one of the most prestigious types of objects in Greece during the Early Iron Age (EIA). Because of its character as an exchange object with a value easy to assess, the tripod became an attribute used in the communication of personal status. Consequently, the distribution of archaeologically recovered tripods can be used to identify hotspots of elitist interaction. Fortunately, quite a lot of the extant tripod fragments have a clay core and/or show preserved residues of the casting molds on their surface. In our pilot study with 61 samples from Olympia and five samples from Kalapodi, it is shown that neutron activation analysis (NAA) allows a coherent internal chemical grouping of the clay pastes used in the ancient casting workshops. Furthermore, comparative material from workshop debris and also geological samples allow a geographical localization of many of the chemical groups. In general terms, NAA therefore seems to be an effective method to define production sites of artifacts cast in the lost wax technique. In the case of EIA tripods, sites and travel routes of workshops can be traced as well as travel routes of clients. This provides new hard data for modeling both the political and the economic structures of EIA Greece.

show abstract

“…Estas técnicas incluem a análise de difração de raios-X (XDR), fluorescência de raios-X (XRF), espectrometria de massa (ICP), análise por ativação com nêutrons (NAA), termoluminescência (TL) e ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (EPR). O uso dessas tem como objetivo avaliar a composição química, a idade e a temperatura de queima utilizada na produção das cerâmicas (Speakman e Glascock, 2007;Lombardi, 2009;Stoltman, 2011;Knappett et. al., 2011;Rasmussen et.…”

Section: Muitos Outros Químicos Do Século XIX Incluindo Kekulé Berzunclassified

Caracterização físico-química da cerâmica do sítio arqueológico São Paulo II

Ribeiro¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A arqueometria é uma área consolidada, com ampla utilização de métodos analíticos nucleares destrutivos e não destrutivos para caracterização, proteção e restauração de peças arqueológicas. O presente projeto teve como objetivo estudar a composição química elementar de amostras de fragmentos cerâmicos encontradas no sítio arqueológico São Paulo II localizado na calha do rio Solimões, próximo ao município de Coari na Amazônia Brasileira. Realizou-se a caracterização das amostras pela

show abstract

The casting core composition and provenance of the Goljamata Kosmatka (Bulgaria) bronze head

Cited by 7 publications

References 14 publications

Microstructural Investigation of Some Bronze Artifacts Discovered in a Dacian Site Using Non-Destructive Methods

Microstructural Investigation of Some Bronze Artifacts Discovered in a Dacian Site Using Non-Destructive Methods

Production Sites of Early Iron Age Greek Bronze Tripod Cauldrons: First Evidence from Neutron Activation Analysis of Casting Ceramics

Caracterização físico-química da cerâmica do sítio arqueológico São Paulo II

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About