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

3. It is also the prerequisite for studying the international relations of the metallurgy of late Bronze Age beyond the traditional typological methods. Plotting the graphs of the compositions measured on the surfaces and cut polished surfaces of articles from Regöly-Veravár find one can clearly see, that the date measured at various places differ considerably.

16 High enrichment on the surface of some alloying materials is particularly striking. Leaving the normal practice of metallurgical investigations and observing through optical microscope not only the cut surfaces but also the surface itself, we could also visually unambiguously distinguish the alloying material, the tin, segregated on the surface. /Fig.l.

1., 5.1-1,4., 6.3./ These data, together, offer an explanation to the extremely high tin values detected on the surface with X-ray spectrometry down to depth of 0,1 mm. As it has been demonstrated by studying the polished surface of wire spiral (No. 130 of RegölyVeravár finds) and SEM analyses on various places, thickness of tin aggregates is considerable, and using the methodology described above, or a similar one, the real composition of archaeological object could be distorted.

1

7 /Fig. 4.4/ Evaluating the results of his studies L. Költő also remarked, that the results did not allow any classification as for a territorial distribution nor based on article types. One could distinguish a group of higher tin content and another one with lower tin content.

18 From one point of view this observation is in accordance with metallurgical pictures of the surfaces of archaeological objects and also with measured results: data demonstrate the tin segregation to be in relation with the heat treatment of articles.

19 On the articles that are cast only, tin segregation could not be observed. Relying on the above described facts, conclusions drawn from the cluster analyses using mere data of X-ray emission methodology could not be taken as substantiated and acceptable.

20 Due to the delimitations of the methodology, X-ray emission methods can be used also in the archaeological researches only for fast, orientating analyses, like all composition measurements which, for avoiding destruction, study only the surface or use several gram samples from a near- surface layer. Therefore, in what follows, for evaluation of archaeological finds the old data from conventional measurements and the new, variously controlled data shall be used. Our objective is that, after the necessary filtration of data and repeated evaluation, we would try to outline the raw material circulation of the late Bronze Age along with dividing into groups the main products according to place of their manufacturing and the way of using as well. RAW MATERIAL SUPPLY, COMMERCE Ingots studied in the Hungarian archaeological researches in almost all cases showed a rather low tin content amounting to several tenths of per cent. Only 2 ingots found at Velem showed a considerably higher tin content, 9.9 and 3.41 per cent, respectively.

21 These

. ingots, however are marked among the finds of Carpathian Basin not with their tin content, but with extraordinary high Sb content, in several cases more than 18 per cent.

22 Data plotted on graph clearly show, that the higher antimony content characterise exclusively the Velem ingots In the two ingots with higher tin content mentioned above, disparately to the other St.Vid ingots, the quantity of antimony is inversely proportional and is unusually low.

23 Among the ingots, however, one can find items with low content of both alloying metal.

24 These phenomena demonstrate, that the metallurgists of Velem playing a central role from both power and economic aspects, practised as their speciality the manufacturing of the alloys and semifinished products with antimony content, and this production was realised with the help of radydelivered low-tin ingots or of copper stones enriched with antimony. In the areas far from big industrial ones, the metallurgists working in smaller workshops got the ingots in raw form, as it can be demonstrated beside the low alloying content by the particularly high, more than 4 per cent, iron content of ingots from Nagykálló

25 and Regöly.

26 With these mould ingots, not only their composition but also the blistered structure reveals at first sight that they become suitable for further processing after due refining only. The blistered structure also indicates, that the ingots were not mould in closed forms, but they got their form from the small hole wherein the liquid was directed during the casting. This is the reason for one can find wood-fibre traces on the moulds, as it is the case with Regöly finds, indicating, that when casting smaller ingots or circle sectors, part of hole was covered by wood or charcoal pieces. Blisters always condense towards the flattest part determining by this the upper side of the ingot, since the gases left it in this direction. In the archaeological literature, in spite of clear-cut