The work analyzes the results of studying the metal composition of metal and the method of manufacturing sewn-on plaques found in one of the female burials of the second half of the 7th century in the Goto-Alan burial ground near the village of Luchistoe in Southwestern Crimea. It is found that the base of the plaques was stamped from a copper plate and then covered on the front side with a thin foil made of an alloy of silver and gold with a small copper content. Gold and silver are present in almost equal proportions (Ag 50–59

The work presents the results of studying metal thimbles found in 14th century slab graves on the Eski-Kermen plateau. It is established that they are made of pure brass. The thimbles are divided into two groups according to their technological features. The first group includes thimbles from graves 10 and 11/2021, similar both in shape and in the nature of their decoration. To create the decoration on the thimble from grave 11/2021, one simple impact tool with a blunt-needle point (a kanfarnik) was used. To decorate the thimble from grave 10/2021, a kanfarnik was used only to create punched rows on the body. The decoration on the top of the thimble is made more carefully, using a complex tool with an oval working end. A thimble from grave 16/2022 is allocated to a separate group, it belongs to a completely different production tradition. It is made by folding and soldering a pre-decorated flat pattern of the product, which is followed by pressure in a mold matrix. Soldering of the seam of the product was carried out with tin solder.

The elemental composition and manufacturing technology of the so-called Sarmatian-type mirrors have been studied. The investigated mirrors are random finds, originating from the territory of the Kerch peninsula. All three objects are pendant mirrors with a radial-beam ornament that appeared at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD; they were in use until the beginning of the 3rd century AD. According to the results of X-ray fluorescence analysis, the mirrors were made of a material with identical qualitative characteristics: an alloy of copper, tin, and lead. X-ray tomography clarified the details of the relief ornament, which is weakly pronounced on the products due to corrosion processes.

The article studies the composition of the alloy and the technology of making silver jewelry found in children’s burials from Babchik Vostochny — a 14th century slab burial ground in the Crimean Azov region. Silver spherical ornamented buttons in the studied necropolis and in all other sites with similar accessories were found in children’s burials. Surely, they were not just fashionable at the time but belonged specifically to children’s and adolescent costumes. Widespread in Crimea in the 14th century, richly decorated spherical buttons, made using similar technology, but extremely varied in decoration, indicate the existence, probably, of specialized workshops in the Bosporus (in Korchev). A curious symbiosis is the presence in one burial of signs of Christian piety (a pendant in the form of a cross, crosses carved into the headboards of graves) and coins with the Muslim symbol of faith.

The article classifies the finds of decorative elements of horse equipment from the Foothill Crimea. During Roman times, the ammunition of a riding horse was decorated with various metal items, in particular frontal and cheek plates, appliques, and pendant plates. It is concluded that the equipment of the riding horse of the Foothill Crimea finds analogies over a vast area of the Eurasian steppes, from the Danube to the Aral Sea. This indicates that some novel items making part of the horse equipment required in everyday life and military operations were quickly borrowed and spread in the Sarmatian world.

The work is devoted to studying the technological features of a eight-shaped buckle with a theatrical mask from a stone crypt at the site of the Panticapaeum necropolis (near the modern Maly Lane in the city of Kerch). The study of the elemental composition of the buckle is carried out by scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM/EDX). The study of the internal structure of the object is carried out by the methods of X-ray and neutron tomography. The conducted studies make it possible to determine that the product has a homogeneous internal structure and almost similar elemental composition of all parts. The revealed manufacturing technology of the buckle, as well as the specific features of its external appearance, suggest that this object could be a replica made on the model of another buckle.

The results of studying a bronze casting mold found on the territory of the Chersonesos ancient settlement are presented. It is established that the mold was cast from lead-tin bronze, in which the tin content varies within the range of 6.23–9.43%, and lead, within the range of 6.42–24.42%. The percentage of lead is significantly increased inside the small cross, where inclusions of silver-gray color are also recorded. Apparently, at the final stage of using this part of the mold, either lead products or products from bronze, heavily alloyed with lead, were cast in it. A high content of silver is recorded inside the large cross, which may indicate the use of a silver casting mold.

The results of studying the alloy composition of polykandelon (church-chandelier) fragments found in 2020—2021 on the Eski-Kermen plateau in the layer of destruction of the late 13th century on the square in front of the main city basilica are presented. The assumption that these fragments belong to the same lighting instrument is confirmed. A comparative analysis of the metal composition of similar products originating from other regions of the Byzantine Empire is carried out. It is established that the alloys of the studied fragments of ornamental parts from Eski Kermen and Byzantine polykandelons similar in shape are close in formulation.

The Late Bronze Age settlement Bagai 1 is located on the left bank of the Bagai ravine, which flows into one of the largest lakes in the Crimea, Sasyk-Sivash, near the city of Yevpatoria. In the northern part of the settlement, excavations were carried out by the expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in connection with the construction of the Yevpatoria branch of the Tavrida highway. The article examines the results of X-ray fluorescence analysis of the alloy composition of metal finds from the excavations. It turned out that all studied items of the Late Bronze Age were made of tin bronze, in which the corresponding ligature is from 2 to 20 %. The only exception is a miniature chisel, in which there is no tin, and in addition to copper, more than 8 % of iron was found. Other prescription components (arsenic, antimony, lead) are also found in several items, but in very small concentrations (up to 2 %). The use of tin bronze in items of the Late Bronze Age is a distinctive feature of the Central European tradition and allows us to attribute the alloys of the items studied to the Carpatho-Transylvanian metallurgical province.

The alloy composition of the sickles (the most important and widespread tools of the Late Bronze Age) originating from the territory of the plain Crimea and the Taman Peninsula and features of their manufacturing technology have been investigated. An X-ray fluorescence analysis of the alloy composition for 13 sickles found in that region showed that most of the studied products were cast from low-alloyed copper-arsenic bronze with a small arsenic content: a traditional Caucasian type of alloys (Kuban metallurgical group). An exception was the sickle from the Chorelek 1 settlement in the southeast of the Kerch Peninsula, which was made of copper with a small addition of tin, which is typical of the European (Carpathian) metallurgical province. The features of the sickle technological processing were visualized for the first time using X-ray and neutron tomography. Based on the characteristic pore distribution pattern formed as a result of directional forging, casting defects, and other traces of processing, it was suggested that the sickle was cast into a stone or clay mold through the handle, after which the product blade was carefully forged. This approach made it possible to achieve maximum blade hardness and, correspondingly, the highest productivity of this agricultural tool. The other parts of the sickle, including the handle, were either subjected to much less intense forging or not forged at all. The high skill of sickle’s manufacturer indicates that high-quality reaping tools were in demand among the population of Taurica in Late Bronze Age, which may indicate indirectly the orientation of its economic activity towards the cultivation of cereal cultures.

The results of a comprehensive study present the details of the funeral wreath and clothing from the crypt of the Roman period in the area of the modern Malyy Lane in the city of Kerch. A comparative analysis of the metal composition of similar items from synchronous sites of the Northern Black Sea region has been carried out. It has been established that the details of funeral wreaths and appliqués to them are made of a gold-silver alloy that can be easily worked, which was widely used in Roman times throughout the territory of the Bosporos. Items created in a local workshop for funeral vestments have traces of careless or not very skillful application of the image, and damage to the surface, as evidenced by X-ray tomography data.

— The fact of the beginning of the mass use of brass in the production of jewelry and clothing accessories among the local population of Crimea in the first centuries A.D. is revealed. Brass objects found in the cemeteries of barbarians of Southwestern, Central, Eastern and Southern Taurica of the 2nd century B.C.–4th century A.D., make up from 20 to 60% of the total number of studied metal objects. This conclusion is made on the basis of studying a statistically significant sample of about 1000 objects. Brass entered Taurica mainly through Tauric Chersonesos and Bosporos, and practically only as Roman coins or coinage alloy, as well as items of Roman military ammunition. The obtained data on the composition of the jewelry alloy are compared with the results of the analysis of alloys of Roman, Chersomesean and Bosporan coins of the first centuries A.D. This suggested that the most likely material for the manufacture of brass jewelry of barbarians could be Roman and Bosporan coins, which did not circulate among the tribes of Taurica and were melted down as scrap along with other brass and bronze objects.

В результате изучения состава сплава металлических предметов из раскопок Н. М. Печёнкина могильника Бельбек I в 1903-1905 гг. была выделена небольшая группа находок (ременная гарнитура и пластинчатые перстни), сделанных из низкопробного серебра. Эти вещи можно отнести к категории предметов престижа, и поэтому, вероятно, для их изготовления применялся драгоценный металл, хотя и сильно «разбавленный» медью, иногда свинцом и оловом. В результате сравнения состава сплава этих находок и римских антонинианов III в. н. э. можно высказать осторожное предположение, что для изготовления украшений и аксессуаров могли использоваться римские серебряные монеты, которые не имели хождения в виде денежных знаков среди местного населения в Таврике. Антонинианы поступали на территорию Таврики вместе с римскими военными подразделениями. В варварской среде римские имперские монеты шли в переплавку и служили материалом для украшений, наряду с другими низкопробно-серебряными и бронзовыми изделиями в виде металлического лома. The study of the composition of metal items from the excavations led by N. M. Pechenkin at the Belbek I cemetery in 1903-1905 identified a small group of finds (a belt set and plate finger-rings) made of low-grade silver. These artifacts can be attributed to the category of items of prestige, therefore, probably, precious metal was used for their manufacture, though strongly «diluted» with copper, in some cases, lead and tin. As a result of a comparison of the alloy composition of these finds and the Roman silver coins (antoninians) of the 3rd century AD a cautious assumption can be made that since Roman silver coins did not circulate as monetary units among the local population in Tau-rica, they could be used to make jewelry and accessories. Antoninians reached Taurica together with the Roman military contingent. In a barbarian environment, Roman imperial coins were not used as money but were melted down and served as a material for jewelry, along with other low-grade silver and bronze items in the form of scrap

The article discusses prescription additives and traces of impurities in the alloy of an assemblage of horse harness and chariot equipment of the Cimmerian period from a barrow near the village of L’govskoe in the North-East Crimea. X-ray fluorescence analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were applied in the study. It was determined that certain alloys were used for casting objects of different functional purposes. So, all cheekpieces were cast from tin-lead bronze without arsenic, and gnawed cheekpieces — on the contrary, from arsenic or tin-arsenic bronze. Arrows in most cases are cast from Cu-Sn-Pb-As-Sb multicomponent alloy. In terms of types, the morphology of objects and metallurgical groups of alloys used, the Cimmerian assemblage fully fits into the general picture presented by researchers for the North Caucasus, the Dnieper, and the lower Don region.

Статья посвящена уникальному факту использования редкого сплава -латуни для изготовления деталей конского снаряжения позднесарматского времени. Комплексный анализ археологического материала включал исследование морфологии вещей и вариаций химического состава металла изделий. Полученные данные были сопоставлены с результатами анализа сплавов боспорских монет конца II в. н. э. Это позволило предположить три возможных варианта поступления уздечных наборов из редкого иноземного материала латуни к варварам Северного Причерноморья: 1) путем изготовления наборов в местной варварской среде мастерами-литейщиками с использованием переплавленных боспорских латунных монет; 2) производство снаряжения в мастерских Боспора для даров представителям варварской знати; 3) амуницией с латунными принадлежностями снабжались варварские всадники, находившиеся на службе у боспорских царей. The paper explores a unique fact of using a rare alloy, i.e. brass, to make horse trappings details in the Late Sarmatian period. The comprehensive analysis of the archaeological material included a study of the artifact morphology and variability of the chemical composition of the metal the artifacts were made from. The data obtained were compared with the data on the analyzed alloys used to make Bosporan coins at the end of the 2nd century. This comparison suggested three possible variants explaining how the barbarians living in the North Pontic region got hold of the bridle sets made from rare material, i.e. brass, produced in other lands: 1) the sets were produced in the local barbarian environment by craftsmen-casters with the use of remelted Bosporan coins; 2) the horse trappings were produced in Bosporan workshops to be given to barbarian elite as gifts; 3) ammunition with brass items was given to barbarian horse riders who served to the Bosporan kings.