Non-Ferrous and Precious Metal Items from the Burials of the Beslan Catacomb Burial Ground: Results of an Analytical Study

The collection of non-ferrous and precious metal objects from the second and third quarters of the 4th and the second half of the 6th/early 7th centuries AD, originating from the excavations of the Beslan kurgan catacomb burial ground, was studied using the methods of XRF, SEM and MCICP-MS ana...

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Main Authors: Irina Saprykina, Andrey Chugaev, Dmitry Korobov, Irina Rassokhina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Volgograd State University 2025-07-01
Series:Нижневолжский археологический вестник
Online Access:https://nav.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/599
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author Irina Saprykina
Andrey Chugaev
Dmitry Korobov
Irina Rassokhina
author_facet Irina Saprykina
Andrey Chugaev
Dmitry Korobov
Irina Rassokhina
author_sort Irina Saprykina
collection DOAJ
description The collection of non-ferrous and precious metal objects from the second and third quarters of the 4th and the second half of the 6th/early 7th centuries AD, originating from the excavations of the Beslan kurgan catacomb burial ground, was studied using the methods of XRF, SEM and MCICP-MS analysis of the Pb isotopic composition in parts of a silver belt set. In the burials of the second and third quarters of the 4th century there are objects made from high-leaded tin bronze, a multicomponent lead alloy, copper and a silver alloy of conventional 810 fineness. The burials of the second half of the 6th – 7th centuries contain objects made of silver alloy of standard 840 fineness, copper coated with gold-silver foil (lined with a low-melting alloy), high-zinc two-component brass, tin and tin-lead bronze with a high tin content. The use of white paste (SnPb) on the back of the embossed plate items of the belt set dates back to the same period. The nomenclature of metals and alloys from the Beslan burial ground, in general, does not stand out among the synchronous samples. The isotopic composition of Pb in silver parts of the belt sets showed that for the early period (4th century), the source of silver mining may be associated with the ore deposits located within the borders of the Sassanid Empire; for the late period (6th – 7th centuries), the use of scrap precious metal from several sources is typical, including the use of late Roman silver, the ore sources of which were deposits of the Carpathian region.
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id doaj-art-d2a1a5cc5bd44ca2a281f240673a1954
institution Kabale University
issn 2587-8123
2658-5995
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Volgograd State University
record_format Article
series Нижневолжский археологический вестник
spelling doaj-art-d2a1a5cc5bd44ca2a281f240673a19542025-08-25T06:08:20ZengVolgograd State UniversityНижневолжский археологический вестник2587-81232658-59952025-07-01242567610.15688/nav.jvolsu.2025.2.4Non-Ferrous and Precious Metal Items from the Burials of the Beslan Catacomb Burial Ground: Results of an Analytical StudyIrina Saprykina0http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0059-0170Andrey Chugaev1http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0528-3965Dmitry Korobov2http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9571-0405Irina Rassokhina3http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7846-4003Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of SciencesInstitute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Russian Academy of SciencesInstitute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of SciencesInstitute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences The collection of non-ferrous and precious metal objects from the second and third quarters of the 4th and the second half of the 6th/early 7th centuries AD, originating from the excavations of the Beslan kurgan catacomb burial ground, was studied using the methods of XRF, SEM and MCICP-MS analysis of the Pb isotopic composition in parts of a silver belt set. In the burials of the second and third quarters of the 4th century there are objects made from high-leaded tin bronze, a multicomponent lead alloy, copper and a silver alloy of conventional 810 fineness. The burials of the second half of the 6th – 7th centuries contain objects made of silver alloy of standard 840 fineness, copper coated with gold-silver foil (lined with a low-melting alloy), high-zinc two-component brass, tin and tin-lead bronze with a high tin content. The use of white paste (SnPb) on the back of the embossed plate items of the belt set dates back to the same period. The nomenclature of metals and alloys from the Beslan burial ground, in general, does not stand out among the synchronous samples. The isotopic composition of Pb in silver parts of the belt sets showed that for the early period (4th century), the source of silver mining may be associated with the ore deposits located within the borders of the Sassanid Empire; for the late period (6th – 7th centuries), the use of scrap precious metal from several sources is typical, including the use of late Roman silver, the ore sources of which were deposits of the Carpathian region.https://nav.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/599
spellingShingle Irina Saprykina
Andrey Chugaev
Dmitry Korobov
Irina Rassokhina
Non-Ferrous and Precious Metal Items from the Burials of the Beslan Catacomb Burial Ground: Results of an Analytical Study
Нижневолжский археологический вестник
title Non-Ferrous and Precious Metal Items from the Burials of the Beslan Catacomb Burial Ground: Results of an Analytical Study
title_full Non-Ferrous and Precious Metal Items from the Burials of the Beslan Catacomb Burial Ground: Results of an Analytical Study
title_fullStr Non-Ferrous and Precious Metal Items from the Burials of the Beslan Catacomb Burial Ground: Results of an Analytical Study
title_full_unstemmed Non-Ferrous and Precious Metal Items from the Burials of the Beslan Catacomb Burial Ground: Results of an Analytical Study
title_short Non-Ferrous and Precious Metal Items from the Burials of the Beslan Catacomb Burial Ground: Results of an Analytical Study
title_sort non ferrous and precious metal items from the burials of the beslan catacomb burial ground results of an analytical study
url https://nav.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/599
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AT dmitrykorobov nonferrousandpreciousmetalitemsfromtheburialsofthebeslancatacombburialgroundresultsofananalyticalstudy
AT irinarassokhina nonferrousandpreciousmetalitemsfromtheburialsofthebeslancatacombburialgroundresultsofananalyticalstudy