Chemical Composition “Cimmerian metal” of Crimea as Indicator of Intercultural Interactions at Beginning of Iron Age
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2025.4.73.87Keywords:
archaeology, Cimmerians, Early Iron Age, Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, bronze bridle parts, pXRF analysis, metallurgy, alloys, ore raw materialAbstract
The paper deals with the chemical composition of metal artifacts associated with the "Cimmerian" culture of the Early Iron Age in Crimea and adjacent regions. The non-destructive X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) method was applied for determination of the chemical composition of bronze horse bridle elements from the Lgovskoe and Kubolach/Sennoe sites, as well as random finds from the collection of the "Neapolis Scythian" museum-reserve, was investigated. The analysis of the obtained data allows us to identify technological features of alloy production, determine the probable sources of ore raw materials, and trace intercultural relationship. The results indicate the use of various types of ores, including polymetallic ores from the North Caucasus and raw materials from the Carpathian-Danubian basin, as well as the manufacture of products from recycled metal and scrap-iron. The conducted research demonstrates the complexity and, at the same time, the serial metallurgical production with the functioning of various centres in different regions, which developed in the Early Iron Age in the Northern Black Sea region and supplied the Cimmerian nomads with parts for horse harnesses. This indicates the formation of new types of complex economic and cultural communication in the Early Iron Age within nomadic and local tribes.
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