Results of the Archaeometallographic Study of the Collection of Forged Pieces from the Shcherbet Settlement on the Lower Kama

The purpose of the paper is to present the features of the development of ironworking of the Volga-Kama periphery of the Eastern European part of the Barbarikum on the basis of data obtained during the metallographic study of forged pieces related to the materials of the Imenkovo culture (V–VII centuries), that were found in different years (mainly by P.N. Starostin in the 1960s–80s) on the part of the Shcherbet I settlement destroyed by the reservoir. Schemes and methods of making 31 items made of ferrous metal were determined: a ploughshare, a chisel, 2 axes, 4 sickles, 13 knives, 4 awls, 2 rings for fastening, two fishhooks and two rod-shaped items. It was found that forging welding and local carburizing were often used in their manufacture. Half of the objects had traces of heat treating in the tempering mode or in a soft temper milieu. As a characteristic technological feature of this collection, a combination of iron and steel forgings (usually low-carbon) components is noted in the design, mainly in the form of upset welding or welding of a strip bent in half. A significant mass of items have distinct signs of multi-layer packing. The degree of using of blacksmithing skills and the quality of the studied items on the example of the examined samples give reason to believe that the ironworking of the Imenkovo culture had a deep-seated tradition.