METALLOGRAPHIC STUDIES OF IRAN'S IRON AGE: CASE STUDY BRONZE PIECES FROM JEYRĀN TEPE, OZBAKI

Abstract

This study is a report of the results of metallographic study of 5 bronze pieces found in Jeyrān Tepe dating back to the Iron Age II. Jeyrān Tepe is located 250 m southwest of Ozbaki as one of its hills. The obtained metal pieces included bracelets, necklaces and hairpins, which were used for decoration. The objective of this article was to identify the process of bronze production and study the structure and composition of the components of metal pieces, Iron Age in Jeyrān Tepe, based on laboratory studies that have addressed questions in the field of elemental compositions and the method of bronze production in the study area. For this purpose, five bronze pieces were studied using vegetative electron microscope with scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis, metallographic studies at 200 × magnification and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) to identify the chemical composition, metal production technique and type of alloy. The results of XSEM-EDS on the metal background of the samples showed that the constituent elements of these metals are oxygen, copper, tin, silicon, chlorine, sulfur, aluminum, magnesium and carbon. The main reported elements are copper and tin, so metals are made of pure copper and copper-tin alloys. The different amount of tin in bronze pieces of Jeyrān Tepe could be due to uncontrolled extraction and alloying methods.