Metal flow in the late Bronze Age across the Friuli-Venezia Giulia plain (Italy): new insights on Cervignano and Muscoli
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Metal flow in the late Bronze Age across the Friuli-Venezia Giulia plain (Italy): new insights on Cervignano and Muscoli hoards by chemical and isotopic investigations Caterina Canovaro 1,2
&
Ivana Angelini 2,3 & Gilberto Artioli 1,2 & Paolo Nimis 1 & Elisabetta Borgna 4
Received: 14 December 2018 / Accepted: 15 March 2019 / Published online: 22 April 2019 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract Numerous metal hoards found in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia plain, Northeastern Italy, are archaeologically dated to the Recent and Final Bronze Age. Here, the results of an archaeometric study of the copper-alloy artifacts and ingots from two such hoards (Cervignano del Friuli and Muscoli, Udine) are presented. The mineralogical, metallographic, and chemical analyses of the copper objects indicate that the metallurgical process employed copper derived almost exclusively from chalcopyrite (±sphalerite, galena) as ore charge. Distinct typologies of ingots (plano-convex and parallel-surfaces) are characterized by different degrees of metal refining. Tools and weapons are made of carefully refined and compositionally controlled bronze alloys, containing specific proportions of tin. These observations point out a high level of technological knowledge in metallic copper extraction and use. The chemical and lead isotope compositions of most analyzed ingots and artifacts suggest exploitation of copper deposits from the Southeastern Alps, including deposits from the Valsugana area and other mining districts of the Trentino-Alto Adige region. One peculiar sample characterized by a significant Sb content suggests possible mixing with Blocal^ fahlerz copper from Carnia and one other ingot, showing a highly radiogenic lead isotope composition may be interpreted as copper from southern Tuscany or as a mixed metal incorporating a small quantity of copper from northerly Alpine sources such as Mitterberg. Keywords Provenancing . Late Bronze Age copper alloys . Lead isotopes analysis . Archaeometallurgy . Northeastern Italy
Introduction The Italian Bronze Age is commonly subdivided into four periods: the Early Bronze Age (EBA 2300–1700 BC), the Middle Bronze Age (MBA 1700–1350/1300 BC), the Recent Bronze Age (RBA 1350/1300–1150 BC), and the Final Bronze Age (FBA 1150–950 BC) (Bietti Sestieri 2010; Borgna et al. 2018a, 2018b). Different to the English
* Caterina Canovaro [email protected] 1
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, Italy
2
INSTM, Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali, Firenze, Italy
3
Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padova, Piazza Capitaniato 7, 35139 Padova, Italy
4
Department of Humanities and Cultural Heritage, University of Udine, Vicolo Florio 2/B, 33100 Udine, Italy
literature, which generally refers to the RBA as the Late-BA, the Italian literature commonly use the term Late-BA in order to encompass the RBA and FBA (Pearce 2004). Here, the Italian convention wi
