Elemental composition of bronzes from kurgans 3, 4 and 5 of the Serebryakovo I burial ground: Completion of the study of metal from burials of the Saragashen stage of the Tagar culture (based on materials from the 1969 excavations by A.I. Martynov in the Achinsk-Mariinsk forest-steppe)

The continuation of research into the metallurgy of the Tagar culture, based on materials from the Serebryakovo I burial ground excavated by A.I. Martynov in the Achinsk-Mariinsk forest-steppe, aimed to analyze new data on the elemental composition of bronzes from kurgans 3, 4, and 5 and to synthesize all information on the non-ferrous metal from the Saragashen-stage burials at the site. The studied collection of bronze inventory from a burial in kurgan 3, two burials in kurgan 4, and two burials in kurgan 5 includes: five hemispherical plaques; a bead (No. 194); a diadem (No. 65); 17 disc-shaped mirrors; 23 knives; four chisels; six ingots; and an object of unknown purpose (No. 176). Data on the elemental composition of the metal from 58 items were obtained using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The obtained data on the quantitative content of 12 elements are interpreted in the context of their belonging to either alloying or geochemical components of the copper-based alloys. The following chemical-metallurgical groups of alloys were identified for the grave goods from kurgans 3, 4, and 5: "pure" copper (knife No. 159 from burial 2, kurgan 5); arsenical bronze (item No. 187 from burial 1, kurgan 5; item No. 173 from burial 2, kurgan 4); arsenical-tin bronze (knife No. 102 from burial 1, kurgan 3; mirror No. 154 from burial 2, kurgan 4); tin bronze (47 items); tin-lead bronze (6 items). The ratio of bronze recipes in individual burial complexes is characterized. The predominance of tin bronzes in the materials of the Saragashen stage of the T agar culture has been previously demonstrated for both forest-steppe and steppe sites. The presence of a small proportion of items made from copper, arsenical bronzes, and alloys doped simultaneously with arsenic and tin or with tin and lead also corresponds with previously obtained results. Taking into account the presented and previously published data, the elemental composition of metal from 157 items from 14 burials in kurgans No. 3 to No. 9 at the Serebryakovo I burial ground has now been established. Based on the ratio of alloy types, the Saragashen burials are divided into two groups: Group 1 combines burials containing only tin and tin-lead bronzes; Group 2 includes burials where items made from arsenical alloys and copper are also present. The interpretation of these two groups as chronologically sequential is hindered by previously published expert data on the relative chronology of the Serebryakovo burials. Considering the items in whose bronze recipe the arsenic alloy predominates over the tin alloy (kurgan 3; burial 2, kurgan 8; burial 1, kurgan 9), as well as items made of tin-lead and leaded bronze (burial 1, kurgan 4; burial 1, kurgan 5; burial 1, kurgan 8), allows for the identification of burial complexes that show, based on these features, an interconnection between the metallurgical traditions of two regions of the Tagar culture: the northwestern forest-steppe and the Minusinsk steppe. This interconnection appears most pronounced in the materials from burials containing simultaneously arsenical-tin, leaded, and tin-lead bronzes (burial 2, kurgan 4; burial 1, kurgan 6). The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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