Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

ANALYSES - METALS - László GERE - László KÖLTŐ: Application of X-ray emission analysis in late medieval and early modern age archaeology

cases can by no means be accidental. In finds dated from the second third of the century, the copper content is 72.41 %, that of the zinc is 26.73%. By the middle and second half of the century, the copper/zinc ratio undergoes further changes. Zinc content reaches 5051 %. A Haban fork-handle should be cited here, which contained 37.73 % zinc and 4.75 % lead beside copper. The aforementioned finds, based on their composition, may be attributed to brassfounders and braziers. The red-copper smiths and red-copper founders' wares are represented with only four finds in the Ozora castle. Their mutual characteristic is that zinc content remained below 10 %, while the ratio of lead and antimony is relatively high. Tin is totally missing or present in no more than 2-3 %. The finds can be dated to the last third of the 15

th с and the first third of the 16th с All the finds were buried at the beginning of he Turkish occupation. Another five objects can probably also be attributed to red-copper founders. Contrary to the former pieces, however, their tin content reaches 3.5-8 %, their copper content 8590 %. Lead, antimony and zinc content are each 1-2 %. They may also be dated to the second half of the 15

th c, to the first third of the 16

th с Bell and mortar handles with 31-44 % tin and 7-4 % antimony content were presumably made by bell founders, who belonged among tin founders. Their compositions, anyhow, are markedly different form those of the other finds. They can be dated to the second half of the 15

th с Turkish copper vessels The characteristics of the vessels hammered from copper sheet during the 16th с is that their copper content is around 90 % and that deviations from this value stay below 1% in the individual vessels. Their arsenic content varies between 0.012 and 0.08 %, although the majority of the vessels do not contain arsenic. A spouted jar and a dish imply that the earliest vessels contained the highest ratio of tin and antimony and their ratio gradually decreases towards the end of the century. The copper content of vessels hammered from copper sheet in the 17th с is 98 %, with yet another deviation below 1%. The zinc content is approximately 0.4-1 %, antimony content 0-65 %. Arsenic content varies between 0 and 0.5%. The intact cauldron is the only Turkish copper vessel which, although in a very low amount, contains iron. Cast objects with high lead contents. The four finds that belong here contain 81-90 % copper and 0.97-1.24 % zinc. Their lead content, at the same time, is 6.04-11.75 %. The cup buried that was buried not earlier than at the beginning of the 17th с contained the most lead: 11.75%. The foot-ring dated to the last third of the Turkish occupation showed the lowest lead and tin content. If these two data permit any conclusions at all, it is that objects with higher tin and lead contents were produced at the beginning of the Turkish occupation, which means that the candlestick with tulip ornament can be dated to the beginning of the 17

th с Cast objects with a high tin content. 10.8-11.7 % tin content can be considered markedly high only in the case of Turkish casts. This tin content is relevant to the function of the object in the case of the pest while it can be considered too low for the gun where the 2,32 % antimony content could not improve much. The blasting of the gun must have been caused by the „soft" material. 145