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Bronze metallurgy-related objects at a Lusatian culture settlement The Late Bronze Age settlement at Brzezie, site 17 – or, more precisely, a couple of features belonging to the earlier phase (Hallstatt A) – yielded a small but diverse assemblage of objects related to bronze metallurgy. These include fragments of two damaged sandstone casting moulds (Fig. 1), intended for casting various items, most probably semi-finished products in the form of bars (object ingots and rod ingots). Additional evidence of casting consists of two fragments of technical pottery, most likely casting crucibles. The association of several small bronze lumps with this phase of the settlement is less certain, as they were found either in layers outside features or (possibly in secondary deposition) within a feature belonging to the younger phase (Hallstatt B/C). Given the scale of excavation, the complete absence of fragments of single-use clay casting moulds is noteworthy. This may be explained by the fact that the widespread adoption of lost-wax casting techniques in clay-based moulds occurred only in the latest phases of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age (cf. Mierzwiński 2003, fig. 57; Jantzen 2008, 105–111, fig. 48; Garbacz-Klempka 2018, 53). Analyses of the moulds using a Spectro Midex X-ray fluorescence spectrometer equipped with a Mo-anode X-ray tube and a semiconductor Si SDD detector demonstrated that the mould from pit 4447 had most likely been filled with molten alloy. This is indicated by the presence of faint traces of copper, tin, and lead in some of the examined micro-areas, especially in the shank region (Fig. 2). This may suggest only brief use of the mould – possibly even a single casting event that ended with its cracking. The second sandstone mould, from pit 1105, also showed the presence of trace amounts of metals (copper, tin, and silver, the latter most likely derived from ores of the previously mentioned metals) (Fig. 3). Measurements conducted in three areas of visible corrosion on a technical ceramic fragment from layer 1001 revealed very high concentrations of tin and copper, as well as arsenic and lead (Fig. 4). This provides unequivocal evidence that the object had been used as a casting crucible. The presence of bronze metallurgy traces in the settlement’s earlier phase corresponds well with broader patterns observed throughout western Lesser Poland, where evidence of bronze working has been identified at virtually all settlements of the early Lusatian culture of the “Silesian” variant that have been investigated on a somewhat larger scale. As in Brzezie, these sites are also typically characterised by the presence of elements derived from Transcarpathian cultural traditions. The identification of a casting moulds for the production of object and rod ingots may indicate that the inhabitants of the Brzezie settlement were involved in preparing semi-finished products intended for further distribution, using recycled metal or imported basic raw materials (copper and tin). The interpretation seems more plausible, as simple redistribution of bronze from already finished ingots would only likely have required their fragmentation.
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