Gefügeveränderungen an Bronzeteilen während experimenteller archäologischer Kremierungen

In the Late Bronze Age (approx. 1300–800 BC), cremation was the dominant form of burial over large parts of Europe. Archaeological experiments were carried out based on bronze artefacts from cremation graves at the site Inzersdorf ob der Traisen. Cremation experiments with pigs should show how bronze objects change during cremation in relation to their position at the funeral pyre and the different conditions. Domed bronze plates (so-called “Buckelchen”) made of Cu10%Sn were sewn onto a shroud and various garments, cremated together with a pig, salvaged from the burnt pyre, and finally examined by metallography.

Metallographic analyses should estimate the temperatures to which the individual bronze objects were exposed during cremation. The structural changes vary between marginally, recrystallized respectively melted.

Comparisons with Bronze Age “Buckelchen” are intended to provide insights into the cremation conditions and the temperatures which were reached at that time.