Study on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View

Our research was conducted on a copper disc-butted axe, with a surface decoration made of a tin-based alloy, which was found east of the Carpathian Mountains in the Moldavian Plateau. This unique piece is thought to belong to the Middle Bronze Age in the Western Carpathians—Wietenberg, Suciu de Sus...

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Autores principales:	Ioan Gabriel Sandu, Viorica Vasilache, Ion Sandu, Felix Adrian Tencariu, Andrei Victor Sandu
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	disc-butted axe Middle Bronze Age (Hallstatt) ornamental layer OM SM SEM-EDX Technology T Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) TA1-2040 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a9c984dbfc8a4b10a5b8257f9f1a1ed1
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a9c984dbfc8a4b10a5b8257f9f1a1ed12021-11-11T14:57:50ZStudy on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View10.3390/app112198142076-3417https://doaj.org/article/a9c984dbfc8a4b10a5b8257f9f1a1ed12021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/21/9814https://doaj.org/toc/2076-3417Our research was conducted on a copper disc-butted axe, with a surface decoration made of a tin-based alloy, which was found east of the Carpathian Mountains in the Moldavian Plateau. This unique piece is thought to belong to the Middle Bronze Age in the Western Carpathians—Wietenberg, Suciu de Sus and Otomani–Füzesabony cultures. In order to evaluate the application process and the origin of the ores used, the surface and volume phase variation of the concentration of the metal components of the basic alloy (copper) and of the ornament was analysed using optical microscopy (OM), stereomicroscopy (SM) and SEM-EDX. The archaeometric features, formed both during its use and during its lying in the archaeological site, were identified and later used in archaeometallurgical evaluations and in determining the preservation condition of the two components (axe and ornament) on the surface, interface and in stratigraphic section. Experimental data revealed that, after its casting in porous silicon stone moulds, the object was coated with a thin film by immersion in an easily fusible tin alloy, which included copper as the major alloying component and arsenic and iron as minor components. After finishing the shiny white coat, a beautiful decoration was applied by incision and engraving. Used as a battle axe, it also had a rank function, as it belonged to the community leaders. The data prove the ability of ancient craftsmen to design and process copper alloys to obtain authentic extremely beautiful artefacts, which provide new possibilities to reveal the social and symbolic function of certain ancient bronze objects.Ioan Gabriel SanduViorica VasilacheIon SanduFelix Adrian TencariuAndrei Victor SanduMDPI AGarticledisc-butted axeMiddle Bronze Age (Hallstatt)ornamental layerOMSMSEM-EDXTechnologyTEngineering (General). Civil engineering (General)TA1-2040Biology (General)QH301-705.5PhysicsQC1-999ChemistryQD1-999ENApplied Sciences, Vol 11, Iss 9814, p 9814 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	disc-butted axe Middle Bronze Age (Hallstatt) ornamental layer OM SM SEM-EDX Technology T Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) TA1-2040 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999
spellingShingle	disc-butted axe Middle Bronze Age (Hallstatt) ornamental layer OM SM SEM-EDX Technology T Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) TA1-2040 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 Ioan Gabriel Sandu Viorica Vasilache Ion Sandu Felix Adrian Tencariu Andrei Victor Sandu Study on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View
description	Our research was conducted on a copper disc-butted axe, with a surface decoration made of a tin-based alloy, which was found east of the Carpathian Mountains in the Moldavian Plateau. This unique piece is thought to belong to the Middle Bronze Age in the Western Carpathians—Wietenberg, Suciu de Sus and Otomani–Füzesabony cultures. In order to evaluate the application process and the origin of the ores used, the surface and volume phase variation of the concentration of the metal components of the basic alloy (copper) and of the ornament was analysed using optical microscopy (OM), stereomicroscopy (SM) and SEM-EDX. The archaeometric features, formed both during its use and during its lying in the archaeological site, were identified and later used in archaeometallurgical evaluations and in determining the preservation condition of the two components (axe and ornament) on the surface, interface and in stratigraphic section. Experimental data revealed that, after its casting in porous silicon stone moulds, the object was coated with a thin film by immersion in an easily fusible tin alloy, which included copper as the major alloying component and arsenic and iron as minor components. After finishing the shiny white coat, a beautiful decoration was applied by incision and engraving. Used as a battle axe, it also had a rank function, as it belonged to the community leaders. The data prove the ability of ancient craftsmen to design and process copper alloys to obtain authentic extremely beautiful artefacts, which provide new possibilities to reveal the social and symbolic function of certain ancient bronze objects.
format	article
author	Ioan Gabriel Sandu Viorica Vasilache Ion Sandu Felix Adrian Tencariu Andrei Victor Sandu
author_facet	Ioan Gabriel Sandu Viorica Vasilache Ion Sandu Felix Adrian Tencariu Andrei Victor Sandu
author_sort	Ioan Gabriel Sandu
title	Study on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View
title_short	Study on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View
title_full	Study on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View
title_fullStr	Study on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View
title_full_unstemmed	Study on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View
title_sort	study on the middle bronze age disc-butted axe ornament from archaeometallurgical point of view
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a9c984dbfc8a4b10a5b8257f9f1a1ed1
work_keys_str_mv	AT ioangabrielsandu studyonthemiddlebronzeagediscbuttedaxeornamentfromarchaeometallurgicalpointofview AT vioricavasilache studyonthemiddlebronzeagediscbuttedaxeornamentfromarchaeometallurgicalpointofview AT ionsandu studyonthemiddlebronzeagediscbuttedaxeornamentfromarchaeometallurgicalpointofview AT felixadriantencariu studyonthemiddlebronzeagediscbuttedaxeornamentfromarchaeometallurgicalpointofview AT andreivictorsandu studyonthemiddlebronzeagediscbuttedaxeornamentfromarchaeometallurgicalpointofview
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Study on the Middle Bronze Age Disc-Butted Axe Ornament from Archaeometallurgical Point of View

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