An Early Medieval Lead Mould for the Production of Wax Models from the Region of Preslav, NE Bulgaria Stella DONCHEVA / Nikolay NIKOLOV We have recently been given access to an interesting artifact directly related to the production of (belt) mounts in early medieval Bulgaria (ninth to tenth centuries). Te lead mould is a negative image of a well known and quite popular type of mount, which is ofen found in medi- eval villages and strongholds, especially in the manufacturing centers around Preslav – the second medieval Bulgarian capital (fg. 1/1-3). Te mould was found in downtown Preslav, perhaps in the proximity of one of the local production centers. It is now in a private collection (fg. 2). Te mould is oval in shape and consists of a thick plate of lead covered with, and reinforced by, iron fttings. In the center of the front side is a negative image of a leaf-shaped mount with a bud at the base and an in- scribed foral ornament – a fve-leaf palmetto with a middle pointed leaf and lower leaves curved towards the base (fg. 1/1-2). Te dimensions of the object are: length – 5.0 cm, width – 3.0-3.5 cm, thickness – 0.8-1.0 cm, and a negative image on it: length – 2.5 cm, width – 1.5 cm, and thickness – 0.15 cm. Similar mould for applications has been hitherto unknown from the territory of our country and beyond, thereby high- lighting the importance of the fndings. Te latter is expressed mainly in clarifying and refning some signifcant aspects of the technology of application production, as well as that of objects of the small metal sculpture during this period, in general. Tis concerns the preparation of their models, most of which are cast from lead, in addition to several bronze ones. In some cases the fnished products themselves are used as models upon removal of their edges. Te use of a metal model implies mechanical copying. As a consist- ent pattern, it is commonly used for diferent ornaments (Janson 1985, 90-91). In many cases the casting of metal involved no application of in- termediate forms and patterns, which is confrmed by the ratio between the size of the castings and the quality of their ornament (Eниосова 2001, 83-92; Aвдусина / Ениосова 2001, 93-101). Ofen the casting appears to have rather reduced the size of the application because the metal contracted afer cooling of. Tis seems to have been a paramount concern for the preparation of models, the shape of which was some- what larger than that of the actual casts, in order to compensate for the above-mentioned problem. Models used for casting are more ofen made of lead than of bronze. Lead models present several advantages: they are easily made from metal ARCHAEOLOGIA BULGARICA XIV, 1 (2010), 81-92