BRONZE ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS FROM THE VILLANOVAN NECROPOLIS OF ORTO GRANARA (BO): STUDY OF MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES AND EVALUATION OF THE CONSERVATION STATE

Abstract

The following study focuses on a number of Villanovan bronze artefacts of different typologies, coming from a necropolis discovered in 1998 on the site of Orto Granara (Castel S.Pietro Terme – Bologna – Italy). The period of use of the necropolis spanned from the end of the 8th to the first half of the 7th century B. C. Among the metallic finds retrieved during the excavation, a set of samples has been chosen in order to conduct a set of archaeometallurgical analyses aimed at defining their nature (both in the sense of their chemical composition and their microstructure) and evaluating their state of conservation. Samples have been analysed through optical microscopy (OM), stereomicroscopy (SM) and Extended Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope (EP-SEM) in VP-mode with EDS microprobe for the localised evaluation of the composition. The corrosion products were studied by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the alloy composition by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS). The results thoroughly confirmed the knowledge of Villanovan and Etruscan metal technology that has been defined by analyses conducted in recent years.