The first part of this research published previously proved without doubt that the metals dated to the Nordic Bronze Age found in Sweden were not smelted from the local copper ores. In this second ...part we present a detailed interpretation of these analytical data with the aim to identify the ore sources from which these metals originated. The interpretation of lead isotope and chemical data of 71 Swedish Bronze Age metals is based on the direct comparisons between the lead isotope data and geochemistry of ore deposits that are known to have produced copper in the Bronze Age. The presented interpretations of chemical and lead isotope analyses of Swedish metals dated to the Nordic Bronze Age are surprising and bring some information not known from previous work. Apart from a steady supply of copper from the Alpine ores in the North Tyrol, the main sources of copper seem to be ores from the Iberian Peninsula and Sardinia. Thus from the results presented here a new complex picture emerges of possible connectivities and flows in the Bronze Age between Scandinavia and Europe.
•New lead isotope & chemical data of 71 Swedish metals dated to the Nordic Bronze Age.•The results are surprising and bring some information not known from previous work.•The main sources of copper are ores from the Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia and Austria.•A new picture of flows between Sweden and BA Europe emerges are presented here.
Models for long‐term glass alteration are required to satisfy performance predictions of vitrified nuclear waste in various disposal scenarios. Durability parameters are usually extracted from ...short‐term laboratory tests, and sometimes checked with long‐term natural experiments on glasses, termed analogues. In this paper, a unique potential ancient glass analogue from Sweden is discussed. The hillfort glass found at Broborg represents a unique case study as a vitrified waste glass analogue to compare to Low Activity Waste glass to be emplaced in near surface conditions at Hanford (USA). Glasses at Broborg have similar and dissimilar compositions to LAW glasses, allowing the testing of long‐term alteration of different glass chemistries. In addition, the environmental history of the site is reasonably well documented. Initial investigations on previously collected samples established methodologies for handling and characterizing these artifacts by laboratory methods while preserving their alteration layers and cultural context. Evidence of possible biologically influenced glass alteration, and differential alteration in the 2 types of glass found at the Broborg site is presented.
The aim of this study is to further the discussion as to whether copper was extracted locally or imported to Sweden during the Bronze Age or if both of these practices could have coexisted. For this ...purpose, we have carried out lead isotope and chemical analyses of 33 bronze items, dated between 1600BC and 700BC. Among these are the famous Fröslunda shields and the large scrap hoard from Bräckan and other items from three regions in southern Sweden which are also renowned for their richness in copper ores. It is obvious from a comparison that the element and lead isotope compositions of the studied bronze items diverge greatly from those of spatially associated copper ores. Nor is there any good resemblance with other ores from Scandinavia, and it is concluded that the copper in these items must have been imported from elsewhere. The results furthermore indicate that there are variations in metal supply that are related to chronology, in agreement with other artefacts from Scandinavia as well as from other parts of Europe. Altogether these circumstances open up for a discussion regarding Scandinavia’s role in the maritime networks during the Bronze Age.
► A contribution to the ongoing debate on local Cu-mining in Bronze Age Scandinavia. ► The copper import paradigm still stands for the indigenous Swedish bronze casting. ► Trace element and lead isotope analyses have, so far, concluded an import of copper. ► Observed variations in metal supply are related to Bronze Age chronology. ► Scandinavia as a part of the maritime exchange systems during the Bronze Age.
European Bronze Age swords had high functional and symbolic value, and therefore they are an interesting case for approaching questions of provenance and trade in Bronze Age Europe. It is often ...assumed that there is a strong affinity between metal supplies and artefact type. However, this study demonstrates that metal supply and sword types are mostly unrelated. In this paper we present a comparative provenance study of 118 Bronze Age swords, which includes lead isotope and trace elemental data for swords from Scandinavia, Germany and Italy dated between 1600 and 1100 BCE. About 70% of the swords have been analysed and published before while about 30% have been sampled and analysed for this study. The chronology and geography of the deposited swords indicate that the different regions relied on different metal trade routes which changed during the course of the Bronze Age. The analytical data indicates that the largest variation of the origin of copper is in the period of 1600–1500 BCE, when copper ores from Wales, Austria and Slovakia constituted the major copper sources for the swords. There is a visible change around 1500 BCE, when copper mines in the Italian Alps become the main suppliers for Scandinavian and Italian swords, while swords from Germany were foremost based on copper from Slovakia and Austria. Further, in the period 1300–1100 BCE the sources in the Italian Alps became the dominant supplier of copper for the swords in all regions discussed here.
•The outcome of this study points to that Scandinavia and Hungary partly shared copper sources between 1700 and 1500 BC.•The most pronounced shared sources are Slovak Ore Mountains and ores from ...Mitterberg in Austria..•While for the Scandinavian bronzes, the results point to additional sources such as Great Orme in Wales and Italian Alps.•The study supports models linking metal supply and typology as well as those implying diverse origins for style and content.
The remarkable typological parallels between Carpathian and Scandinavian metalwork, especially from around 1700 to 1500 BC, have long been stressed as evidence that the Carpathian tell communities supplied the Scandinavians with copper. Thus, this study's main objective was to investigate if Bronze Age societies in Scandinavia and the Carpathian basin utilized the same copper sources. To test this hypothesis, analyses, comprising lead isotopes and trace elements, were executed on bronzes from Scandinavia and Hungary. In the current study, the Hungarian data set of 31 artefacts from the famous Százhalombatta hoard and its nearby settlement, is in detail compared to 62 Scandinavian artefacts of various types. The outcome points to that Scandinavia and Hungary partly shared copper sources between 1700 and 1500 BC. The most potential sources are the ones from the Slovak Ore Mountains and Mitterberg in Austria. However, the Scandinavian artefacts from this period also show consistency with additional copper sources, such as Great Orme in Wales and in the Italian Alps. The findings of this study support both the traditional theory, which stated that metal supplies and metalworking traditions were closely related, and the more recent insight, which suggests that style and content may have entirely separate origins. As a result, the intricacy of the production, exchange, and consumption patterns of metal throughout Bronze Age Europe cannot be explained by a simple model that equates stylistic influence and metal suppliers.
Because microbes cannot be eliminated from radioactive waste disposal facilities, the consequences of bio-colonization must be understood. At a pre-Viking era vitrified hillfort, Broborg, Sweden, ...anthropogenic glass has been subjected to bio-colonization for over 1,500 years. Broborg is used as a habitat analogue for disposed radioactive waste glass to inform how microbial processes might influence long-term glass durability. Electron microscopy and DNA sequencing of surficial material from the Broborg vitrified wall, adjacent soil, and general topsoil show that the ancient glass supports a niche microbial community of bacteria, fungi, and protists potentially involved in glass alteration. Communities associated with the vitrified wall are distinct and less diverse than soil communities. The vitrified niche of the wall and adjacent soil are dominated by lichens, lichen-associated microbes, and other epilithic, endolithic, and epigeic organisms. These organisms exhibit potential bio-corrosive properties, including silicate dissolution, extraction of essential elements, and secretion of geochemically reactive organic acids, that could be detrimental to glass durability. However, long-term biofilms can also possess a homeostatic function that could limit glass alteration. This study documents potential impacts that microbial colonization and niche partitioning can have on glass alteration, and subsequent release of radionuclides from a disposal facility for vitrified radioactive waste.
•Assessment of the reason for the vitrification at a prehistoric hillfort.•By accident, for destruction, or for construction of a fort.•Analysis of incentives, competence and the wall itself.•Example ...of the hillfort Broborg in Sweden.•The vitrification here came about for the purpose of constructing the fort.
It was discovered around 250 years ago that some of the rock material in the walls of some hillforts had been subjected to such high temperature that it had vitrified. This prompted a debate as to the reason for it that is still going on today: did the vitrification come about as a result of hostile action, by accident, or for the purpose of constructing the fort? The present paper is based on the recognition that hillforts are different, and therefore should be evaluated individually. All identifiable factors of interest should be included, and especially those that might disprove any alternative. Thus, incentives, competence and petrographic aspects were evaluated for the hillfort named Broborg (dated to the Migration Period, in Sweden A.D. 400–550), and it is concluded that the vitrification here came about for the purpose of constructing the fort.
This article presents the results of a comprehensive provenance study based on a combined geochemical-isotopic and archaeological approach, comprising 98 analyses of 97 copper-alloy objects from the ...Danish Bronze Age. When it comes to the question of the origin of the metal, our interpretations diverge somewhat from earlier established theories about the origin of copper imported to Denmark, which mainly pointed to Central and Eastern Europe. Clear geochronological patterns in the Danish dataset are interpreted as being due to shifts in ore sources; reflecting varying areas of origin as well as the utilization of varying ore types. This again relates to shifting trade networks/suppliers and shifting technological trends. Plausible sources for Danish copper-alloys identified in the current study are ore regions in the British Isles, Alpine ore districts in Italy and Austria, as well as ore regions in the western part of the Mediterranean and to some degree the Slovak Carpathians. The comparison includes hundreds of recently published lead isotope data for ores in Slovakia, the Iberian Peninsula and the Italian and Austrian Alps.
•A variety of ore districts contributed to the metal circulating in Bronze Age Denmark.•Mining regions in Wales and the Italian Alps two potentially major supply areas.•Changes in ore sources coincided with other processes of profound cultural change.•No patterned correspondence between ore source and typology; imported metal recast.
Technology of Iron: Choices and Innovation Hjärthner-Holdar, Eva; Risberg, Christina
Materials and manufacturing processes,
7/24/2009, Letnik:
24, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This article deals with the concept of technological change and choices and how new techniques are rejected or accepted in different socioeconomic and power systems. If we are to understand and deal ...with technological changes, we need to investigate their causes and relations to geographical area and power systems both now and in the past. We have chosen to study the two almost completely different types of societies, Sweden and Greece, in order to understand some of the mechanisms behind the changes in technology and techniques. Our aim is to participate in widening the scope of archaeometallurgy, since traditionally we have focused on empirical analysis of material culture rather than theory building.
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