A diachronic study of Cypriot copper alloy artefacts Andreas Charalambous ⁎ Archaeological Research Unit, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Cyprus, P.O.Box 20537, CY1678, Nicosia, Cyprus abstract article info Article history: Received 27 October 2014 Received in revised form 20 April 2015 Accepted 12 December 2015 Available online xxxx More than 750 copper alloy artefacts coming from the Late Bronze Age site of Pyla Kokkinokremos and the Iron Age sites of Palaepaphos Skales and Salamis were analyzed using a handheld pXRF for the determination of the alloy type that was used for their production. The results indicate the abundance of tin in the artefacts of Palaepaphos Skales and a more cautious use in the artefacts from Salamis. On the other hand, the results reveal the shortage of tin and the use of scrap metal in the case of Pyla Kokkinokremos. In Palaepaphos Skales and Salamis, tin was used in some artefacts in a high percentage in order to produce objects whose colour imitates that of gold artefacts. Furthermore, the analysis has shown that lead was added deliberately into the alloys to improve their cast ability, as the specific component is not present in Cypriot copper ores. The low concentration of arsenic in a number of artefacts is interpreted as evidence for the use of recycled metal deriving from artefacts dating to previous periods. Iron and zinc are believed to be non-intentional additions to the alloys, resulting from the smelting process. The present diachronic study of Cypriot copper alloys provides significant information regarding primarily the use of tin and secondly, the presence and justification of the use of the other metallic additives, in the production of bronzes. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Handheld pXRF Chemical analysis Copper alloys Late Bronze Age Iron Age Pyla Kokkinokremos Palaepaphos Skales Salamis Cyprus 1. Introduction The area of the Eastern Mediterranean was facing a transitional state at the end of the Late Bronze Age, marked by a series of destruction and abandonment episodes (Muhly, 1992; Bachhuber and Roberts, 2009; Cline, 2014). In the area of the Aegean, the Mycenaean palatial centres collapsed (Rutter, 1992), while in the area of Central Anatolia, Hattusa, the religious and administrative capital of the Hittite Empire was grad- ually abandoned (Beckman, 2007). Also, in the area of the Levant, a number of significant sites was either destroyed or abandoned, among them the very important coastal trade centre of Ugarit (Yon, 1992; Singer, 1999). As a result of these “Crisis Years” and the breakdown of trading networks (Muhly, 1984; Snodgrass, 2000), the island of Cyprus, one of the most important sources of copper in the Eastern Mediterranean, would also have been affected. Late Bronze Age Cypriot urban sites, such as Enkomi and Hala Sultan Tekke, were either destroyed or abandoned (Iacovou, 2008) causing a disruption in the ex- port and trade of Cypriot copper and conversely in the import of tin since no tin deposits exist in the island (Muhly, 1985; Kassianidou, 2003). The sources of tin used during this period in Cyprus for the pro- duction of bronze artefacts, remain open to debate (Muhly, 1984; Constantinou, 2012). The LBA settlement of Pyla Kokkinokremos emerged during the tran- sition from the 13th to the 12th century BC and was inhabited only for a short period of time. It was abandoned before the middle of the 12th cen- tury BC, probably as a result of the 12th century BC “crisis” (Karageorghis and Demas, 1984; Iacovou, 2008; Karageorghis and Kanta, 2014). During the excavations, a large number of objects made of copper alloys, silver and gold was discovered at the site (Karageorghis and Demas, 1984). In the case of Palaepaphos, the situation is very different. The urban centre of south-western Cyprus had transcended the Mediterranean- wide crisis at the end of Late Bronze Age and was not destroyed or aban- doned (Maier, 1999; Iacovou, 2005). The excavation of the tombs in Skales, one of the Early Iron Age cemeteries of Palaepaphos, brought to light a large number of bronze and iron artefacts, as well as a significant number of artefacts made of gold (Karageorghis, 1983). Salamis, the Iron Age urban centre of eastern Cyprus and of the city- kingdoms of this period, was founded in the 11th century BC, most probably by the inhabitants of Enkomi, after the abandonment of their city (Iacovou, 2005). The necropolis of Salamis is situated to the west of the city and covers an area of about 7 km 2 (Karageorghis, 1967). The excavations of the very important built tombs, some of them asso- ciated with the local royal dynasty, brought to light a vast number of ar- tefacts made of copper alloys and iron, as well as a smaller number of silver, gold and lead objects (Karageorghis, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1978). This important assemblage of well dated Late Bronze and Iron Age Cypriot copper alloy artefacts coming from systematic excavations has never been previously studied as a whole and thus very little was known up to now about the alloys used to produce these artefacts. For Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports xxx (2015) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author at: Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, CY 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus. E-mail address: anchar@ucy.ac.cy. JASREP-00284; No of Pages 8 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.12.010 2352-409X/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep Please cite this article as: Charalambous, A., A diachronic study of Cypriot copper alloy artefacts, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.12.010