Sickles of Late Bronze Age from the Crimea and Taman: Material and Features of Manufacturing Technology

Abstract

The alloy composition of the sickles (the most important and widespread tools of the Late Bronze Age) originating from the territory of the plain Crimea and the Taman Peninsula and features of their manufacturing technology have been investigated. An X-ray fluorescence analysis of the alloy composition for 13 sickles found in that region showed that most of the studied products were cast from low-alloyed copper-arsenic bronze with a small arsenic content: a traditional Caucasian type of alloys (Kuban metallurgical group). An exception was the sickle from the Chorelek 1 settlement in the southeast of the Kerch Peninsula, which was made of copper with a small addition of tin, which is typical of the European (Carpathian) metallurgical province. The features of the sickle technological processing were visualized for the first time using X-ray and neutron tomography. Based on the characteristic pore distribution pattern formed as a result of directional forging, casting defects, and other traces of processing, it was suggested that the sickle was cast into a stone or clay mold through the handle, after which the product blade was carefully forged. This approach made it possible to achieve maximum blade hardness and, correspondingly, the highest productivity of this agricultural tool. The other parts of the sickle, including the handle, were either subjected to much less intense forging or not forged at all. The high skill of sickle’s manufacturer indicates that high-quality reaping tools were in demand among the population of Taurica in Late Bronze Age, which may indicate indirectly the orientation of its economic activity towards the cultivation of cereal cultures.