Once Again about the Bronze Dicast Tablets from the Collections of the State Hermitage Museum and the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum Reserve: X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of Their Alloy Composition

Abstract

The work presents the results of an investigation into the alloy composition of two notable ancient objects, metal tablets (pinakia) of dicasts with inscriptions, from the collections of the State Hermitage Museum and the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum Reserve. The two investigated tablets of dicasts are made from completely different materials. The Hermitage tablet was forged from “pure” copper, while the dicast tablet from the vicinity of Kerch was made from a sort of special bronze alloy, highly alloyed with tin and lead. This type of alloy was used to make the finest arrowheads for their time. The material was not important in the manufacture of these dicast “identification markers.” There was also no standardization in the production of such tablets. It is likely that the material was selected according to the preferences of the jurors themselves. The accumulation of data on the alloy composition of such scientifically valuable dicast pinakia in the future may help in determining those Greek cities from which they originate.