Dani János - Hajdú Zsigmond - Nagy Emese Gyöngyvér szerk.: MÓMOSZ I. (Debrecen, 2001)

Szabó Géza: Újabb eredmények és módszerek a Kárpát-medence késő bronzkori tárgyainak archaeometallurgiai vizsgálataiban

hardness values measured are at the same time indication of the particularly high quality of Transdanubian articles as compared to any European finds, and sometimes they reached or even exceeded the serviceability of iron articles. - In forming the properties of bronze article, alloying process played a secondary role. In spite of this, as it can be particularly seen on objects made by additive overcastting, its importance can not be neglected. At the same time measured data proved also that the late Bronze Age metal workers were able to define with a high accuracy, and form, the composition and melting point of alloys. Moreover, as it is particularly important for the researches, tin being a short supply, it was substituted with antimony increasing twice the hardness if added in the same quantity. - In the recent thorough metallurgical studies we succeeded in observing and reconstruct the processes used to change the material structure of articles in the late Bronze Age. Due to new studies and methods different from those used earlier, one could demonstrate the segregation of alloying material on the surface of annealed objects, what gives an explanation to the consequently appearing high tin content measured since 1950 with the mass use of X-ray emission method. These measurements showed, particularly for Hungarian late Bronze Age articles such a high tin content, that from the aspect of alloying material, spuriously the idea was getting recognised about a find group of Carpathian Basin separate of European ones. This outlined group was not in accordance with metallurgical regularities, it did not form a logical system from the point of view of manufacturing or use, and it made impossible a real comparison of the typo logically coherent domestic finds with articles of surrounding archaeological cultures. - Data, archaeological observations gathered during the decades of researches of metal working of the Urnfield Culture and using the recent research results, unifying the most important results in a unique system, continuing the studies in a more and more expedient way, developed onto the level of individual objects and object categories, will make possible further refining the picture just depicted. Increasing the trustworthy data seria and duly choosing the research methodology will make possible comparison with the finds of surrounding cultures. Exact determination of alloying metals and impurities, the hardness value showing the level of a particular workshop and characteristic to the serviceability and evaluation of technological characteristics in cases where the traditional methods fail already, all this could facilitate outlining particular workshops and workshop regions and could contribute to the solution of historical and chronological problems, too. Acknowledgements The researches reported here could be performed under a Hungarian State Eötvös scholarship with the help of Archaeological Department of Bradford University for which I would like to express my gratitude also here to Prof M. Pollard, Head of the Department, and to Dr. McDonnell, head of the Archaeometallurgical Research Group. SZABÓ GÉZA WOSINSZKY MÓR MÚZEUM 7100 SZEKSZÁRD MÁRTÍROK TERE 26.