Archaeometallurgic Investigations in Slovenia

The first investigations of the chemical composition of archaeological artifacts in Europe were carried out in the 18th century. A decisive change occured in the first half of the 20th century when the development of new analytical methods enabled measurement of very small quantities of material and a large number of analyses could thus be performed. This marked the start of systematically planned spectral analyses, particularly of prehistoric artifacts made of copper and copper aloys, at numerous European laboratories. Systematic chemical research of Late Bronze Age metal objects in Slovenia began in 1988. This research was initiated by the Department of Archaeology (University of Ljubljana) and organised by the National Museum of Slovenia and the National Institute of Chemitstry in Ljubljana. The research, including also metallographic analyses, is directed towards a better understanding of the technology involved in the acquisiton and production of copper and copper alloys. The results of our investigation contribute to the archaeological understanding of the role played by the territory of Slovenia during the transition period of the 11th/10th century BC.