Archaeologia Bulgarica ХХVI, 2 (2022), 39-91 Archaeometric Study of Belt Fittings to Late Antiquity in Bulgaria Lyuba TRAYKOVA / Boika ZLATEVA / Deyan LESIGYARSKI / Veronika MIHAYLOVA / Lyudmil VAGALINSKI / Ivelin KULEFF Abstract: The current investigation is a continuation of the project about the chemical composition of belt fittings dated from the end of the 3 rd c. to the first half of the 7 th c. AD in Bulgaria and covers archaeological finds from different geographical regions. In this study, we analyzed 169 samples (buckles, plate of buckles, strap – end and tongues of buckles) by portable XRF and ICP-AES was used for a selection. The main advan- tage of p-XRF spectrometry is the possibility to analyze objects on the spot, almost without causing any damage, which is very important for finds with very high histori- cal and museum exposition value. The results show that only 11 buckles were made from silver, and the rest belt fittings were made from various kinds of copper alloys, such as bronze, brass, semi-red brass, gunmetal, etc. Key words: belt fittings, Late antiquity, chronological groups, p-XRF, ICP-AES. Introduction Since their invention, belt fittings have played a very important role as an integral part of people’s clothing. In this sense, they can serve as chronological indicators. As is the subject of fashion, buckles may provide information about the social status of the owner, as well as gender, ethnical origin, or trade connection and production centers. It is known that in late antiquity many interactions were found be- tween people of different origins. Each ethnic group had its specific habits, culture, manufacturing technology, etc. Thus, a complex sur- vey of belt fittings regarding their morphological structure, elemental composition and archaeological evidence can bring important infor- mation about similarities in the material composition and therefore cultural and economic connections, and whether there were chrono- logical changes in the alloy composition or not. Despite our two previous investigations (Zlateva et al. 2019; Kuleff et al. 2002) and several other analyses (Craddock et al. 2010; Aparaschive et al. 2012), archaeometrical studies of belt fittings from the Great Migration period in South-Eastern Europe are still insuf- ficient in number. Considering this, the main aim of this study was to collect entirely new data on the elemental composition of archaeologi- cal buckles from almost all of the geographical regions in Bulgaria. At the same time, this allowed us to enlarge the data set obtained by anal- yses of copper-made archaeological finds from the modern Bulgarian territory and other parts of the Balkan Peninsula (Giumlia-Mair 2009; Bonev et al. 2015). By statistical treatment of analytical data obtained we also made suggestions about possible differences in the chemical content in dependence on geographical region or dating of the items investigated.