This study uses metal analyses to examine one of the most import-rich metalwork finds in the Scandinavian final Bronze Age—the Hassle hoard (probably deposited c. 500 BCE)—containing two ciste a cordoni/Rippenzisten, two Hallstatt Mindelheim swords (one with bronze pommel), two small hooks and twelve bronze-iron ornamental discs in a large bronze cauldron, all submerged in the now-drained river Äverstaån. Twelve samples from a selection of eight objects in the Hassle hoard have been analysed, primarily for chemical composition and lead isotopic signature. The aim is to study their alloy recipes, and origins and potential production areas, also allowing for comparison of similarities and differences between objects in the assemblage. Apart from the sword pommel, with a typical fahlore signature, the alloys in the Hassle objects differ considerably from most of the alloys in previously analysed, contemporary Nordic Bronze Age objects. The cauldron is very atypic for the area, so far without any clear match in relevant isotopic datasets. The analytical results support a foreign origin, both for the metal and for the objects. The results show that the objects, even those from typologically comparable groups, are made of several alloys, from raw materials of different origins. As relevant reference material for objects of similar types is so far limited, these analyses contribute to build dataset for future comparisons. The results underline the complexity in both raw material and alloys circulating in Late Bronze Age Scandinavia and Early Iron Age Europe.
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