Isotopic analysis of Great Moravian lead artefacts from Slovakia
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | This talk presents the results of lead isotope analyses conducted on artefacts from early medieval hillforts in western Slovakia. Eleven objects from the sites of Bojná I and Dolné Vestenice II were examined using handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) for elemental composition, followed by lead isotope ratio analysis (LIA) to obtain isotopic markers. The analysed assemblage, consisting primarily of lead ingots along with a few ornaments, can be dated—based on the archaeological context of their discovery—to the late 9th and the first half of the 10th century, and associated with the so-called “Great Moravia” cultural horizon. The results demonstrate that the lead used in these artefacts was obtained directly from ores rather than from recycled materials, and that in most cases the metal derived from a single source. The isotopic signatures point to Upper Silesia (Poland) as the provenance of the lead, thereby supporting recently advanced hypotheses regarding the exploitation of these deposits during the early medieval period |
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