Metal Artefacts from Early Bronze Age Poliochni on Lemnos: archaeometric analysis in archaeological perspective

Abstract: In 1990 Ernst Pernicka and his team analysed a group of metal artefacts from Poliochni for their chemical and lead isotope composition. The results showed significant changes occurred in the development of the local metallurgy in the transition from the Blue Period (3200-2700 BC) to Green Period (2700-2500 BC), when the appearance of the early tin bronze production is documented. However, the information about the archaeological context used by Pernicka was not updated, being supported only by the evidence of Luigi Bernabò Brea's excavations. Recent investigations (1990-1998) provided new data in order to redefine the chronological sequence of Poliochni. The aim of this paper is to re-examine the collection of metal artefacts from Poliochni and to compare the results of the archaeometrical analysis with the current archaeological record. It will focus on the wide chronological range between the Blue Period, related to the early metallurgy in the island, and the Yellow Period, when important changes occurred in the metal technology.