New Finds of Bronze Artifacts and Their Production in the Southeastern Gulf of Finland

Excavations of settlements discovered in recent years in the southeastern Gulf of Finland region have uncovered a new Bronze Age sites. Bronze objects and evidence of their production were found at these settlements — fragments of clay casting molds and crucibles, pieces of bronze. These finds are examined in detail in this article — their form, alloy composition, and location in the cultural layer. A characteristic feature of the alloy composition is the presence of tin and arsenic. Similar finds have been discovered in the south-eastern Baltic, in Northern Finland and in the area of distribution of the Textile ceramics culture. The most reliable information about bronze casting production was obtained from the study of the dwelling of the Textile ceramics culture at the settlement of Galik 11, which dates back to the end of the 2nd — beginning of the 1st millennium BC. This site is the earliest evidence of local bronze casting production in the Gulf of Finland region. This study determined the timing of the emergence of local bronze casting production in the region, identified the direction of cultural connections among the population, and obtained new information about the bronze casting of the Textile ceramics culture.

alloy composition · Bronze Age · bronze artifacts · bronze casting · crucibles · cultural connections · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts