Abstract
A hoard of twenty-five copper-alloy bar ingots was discovered on the edge of the harbor of the Viking-period settlement of Hedeby during excavations in the 1980s. The typology and the location of the hoard indicate a date in the early 9th century AD. Each bar ingot was sampled and analyzed by mass spectrometry and the elemental compositions and lead isotope ratios were used to assess the degree of standardization and to explore the question of source. The results show that the bars are made of a freshly produced, standardized, high-quality brass alloy. The lead isotope analysis indicates that the brass is not consistent with the ore deposits of the Rhine area, commonly assumed to be the source of brass in northern Europe in the Viking Age. The brass bar ingots are possibly products originating from the Balkans or Andalusia, and thus, provide further evidence of the importance of long-distance trade of raw materials in the early Middle Ages.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 293-302 |
| Journal | Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |
| Volume | 20 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
I would like to thank Volker Hilberg of the Archäologisches Landesmuseum Schloss Gottorf in initiating and organizing the sampling. I would like to thank Andreas Hauptman (DBM) and Ralf Bleile for their role in supporting the investigation. The analyses were funded by the VolkswagenStiftung in the project A107353/85870 entitled “Zwischen Wikingern und Hanse: Kontinuität und Wandel des zentralen Umschlagplatzes Haithabu/Schleswig im 11. Jahrhundert”. I would like to acknowledge the analytical work of Michael Bode and Sabine Klein of the DBM and would like to thank Sabine Klein for commenting on an earlier draft of this paper.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Volkswagen Foundation | A107353/85870 |