The Provenance of Raw Materials of the Second Complex (2018) of Stone Casting Moulds from the Archaeological Monument of Tokivske-1 (Ukraine)

Abstract

Petrographic research was undertaken on the second casting moulds complex discovered in 2018 at the archaeological monument Tokivske-1 in Ukraine. Metalworking of the Late Bronze Age in the Northern Black Sea region is known for its utilisation of stone moulds made from meta-ultrabasites (“talc schists”) by representatives of the Sabatynivka culture. Field investigations in the vicinity of Tokivske indicated the probable place of stone mining, from where a considerable part of the casting moulds under study were made. The discovery of the place of stone mining near Tokivske-1 and finds of similar moulds in other regions give grounds for considering the monument to be not only a centre of metalworking but also stone-processing. The obtained data are also the first geologically proved evidence that the Kryvyi Rih area, which was previously considered the main supplier of “talc schists”, was not the only place of mining of raw materials for the manufacturing of casting moulds in the Middle Dnipro area. Both complexes, the second and the previous one, found in 2017, contain matrices made of identical raw materials, namely, the samples made are untypical for the Middle Dnipro area species. This fact indicates the synchronicity of both complexes and a significant volume of casting production in Tokivske-1.