The purpose of this paper was to identify the elements and the alloys that five objects found in Birka consist of and to examine whether there are any significant differences between the presumably imported and domestic objects. The material was analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) which was equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) in order to identify the elements that are present and the alloys that the objects are made of. Then the SEM results were compared with the results of previous analyzes that have been performed on finds from Birka in order to investigate how the objects differ in elemental composition and to find out if there are any significant differences between them. The results showed that the objects’ content of the elements analyzed varies as the copper alloys the objects are made of. Only a few objects are made of the same type of copper alloy. A sword chape included in the material and a bridle mount that was analyzed in 2006 are both made of lead bronze. Two oriental mounts included in the material and a sword chape which was analyzed in 2006 are all made of lead bronze in which zinc has been added. There are no significant differences in composition between the presumably imported and domestic objects, but overall lead seems to be a metal that was used more in the domestic production.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-108667 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Mania, Juliette Elisabeth |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Arkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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