![]() ![]() Recent archaeological investigation has allowed these datasets to be combined in order to show the importance of one of the largest Bronze Age mining fields in Europe. Alongside the usage of ores as shown by the finished products, the production aspects, the quantity and variation over time must also be considered. To evaluate the amount of prehistoric copper produced from the various mining regions, we attempted to link prehistoric metal artefacts with copper ores based on the geochemical characteristics of the ore deposits that were exploited in ancient times. However, the role that each deposit played is not clear. The rich copper ore deposits in the eastern Alps have long been considered as important sources for copper in prehistoric central Europe. ![]() Isotopic and chemical correlations of objects within the individual hoards on the other hand allow reconstructions of metallurgical practices in single workshops, which for example implies recycling of metal scrap. This helps to correlate objects of different locations with each other and to draw conclusions upon typological and cultural connections. bronze ingots), which were probably disseminated between 16 BC. The results demonstrate that artefacts from different locations are most likely not directly linked, but mixing lines across isotope systems suggest a production of the items from common sources by mixing of bronze batches (e.g. With a combined approach, we try to relate the either typologically closely linked or otherwise related artefacts with chemical and isotopic proxies by identifying mixing scenarios. In contrast to former publications, the isotopic systematics of lead, tin and copper are the focus of the present investigation. Besides swords and axes of the hoards from Apa, Téglás and Hajdúsámson, the investigation includes the famous Sky Disc and its accompanying finds from the Nebra hoard and several full‐hilted swords from Period I in Denmark. This pilot study addresses the analytical characterisation of 26 well‐known bronze objects of the Early and Middle Bronze Age of Central and Northern Europe. On the basis of this overall assessment, all further conclusions and interpretations of the cultural context and the meaning of the Nebra disk that have been made so far will have to be subjected to a critical discussion. Instead, a chronological embedment in the first millennium BC seems most likely. If the disk is considered – as required by these facts – as a single object, it cannot be integrated into the Early Bronze Age motif world. The scientific examination of the objects contradicts rather than confirm their belonging together. On the contrary, according to the excavation findings the ensemble could not have been in situ at the site named. Yet, a critical examination of the published results by the authors does not allow the conclusion that the site investigated in a re-excavation is correct, nor that the ensemble itself fulfils the criteria of a closed find (hoard). In elaborate and long-lasting investigations an attempt was made to verify both the reported site location and the affiliation of the objects independently from the information given by the finders. The “Nebra Sky Disk” was reportedly discovered in 1999 as part of a hoard during an illegal excavation.
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