Bells from the tomb 19/2020 on the Eski-Kermen plateau: composition of the material and reconstruction of the manufacturing process

The given article studies two small bells found in the tomb 19/2020 in the narthex of the single-nave church in block II at Eski-Kermen plateau. These bells have slightly flattened body with a slit and a small ball inside; they are decorated with corrugated transverse stripes. One of the bells is completely preserved, the other is fragmented. The aim of the work was to determine the composition of the metal and the manufacturing technology of the bells. The X-ray fluorescence analysis of the elemental composition of the metal of the bells showed that the items themselves and the ball inside one bell were made of tin-lead bronze. All currently known reconstructions of the manufacturing technology of such products are described, with the most possible one as the making of wax model of bells comprising of two halves and, later, lost wax casting; clay form was also lost.