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Fragmenting metalwork in Late Bronze Age Europe – a secondary products revolution?
Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Archaeology. LARA, Laboratoire de recherche Archéologie et Architectures / UMR 6566 CReAAH, Nantes Université.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3796-7066
2025 (English)In: Bronzization: Essays in Bronze Age Archaeology / [ed] Heide W. Nørgaard and Samantha S. Reiter, Oxford: Archaeopress, 2025, p. 283-295Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

The fragmentation of bronze objects was a widespread phenomenon in the European Bronze Age, especially in the later part of the period. Fragmented metalwork has primarily been linked to the practice of recycling; hoards dominated by fragments have long been seen as raw material caches, ‘scrap’ hoards or metalworkers’ stocks. Breaking metalwork into smaller pieces can partly be explained by the inherent qualities of the material and the technology of casting with the possibility of re-melting. However, fragments were also employed beyond their immediate use in recycling as well as in various transactions, rituals and depositions. Lately, attention has been drawn to their potential function as a means of exchange in mercantile transactions, for example through adhering to specific weight standards. This contribution discusses fragments from different contexts in Middle and Late Bronze Age northern and western Europe, demonstrating the varied uses and values of fragmented metalwork. It is suggested that the concept of the ‘secondary products revolution’ can be useful for illustrating the diverse range of practices enabled by the increased fragmentation in the Late Bronze Age. The chapter concludes by pointing to some of the many interesting questions for future research.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford: Archaeopress, 2025. p. 283-295
Keywords [en]
Bronze Age, metalwork, bronze, copper-alloys, fragmentation, ‘secondary products revolution’
National Category
Archaeology
Research subject
Archaeology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-244257DOI: 10.32028/9781803279213ISBN: 9781803279213 (print)ISBN: 9781803279220 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-244257DiVA, id: diva2:1969078
Funder
Wenner-Gren Foundations, WGF 2021-0006Available from: 2025-06-13 Created: 2025-06-13 Last updated: 2025-09-09Bibliographically approved

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Sörman, Anna

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