Metal Deposition

A metalwork hoard dated to the Wilburton phase of the later Bronze Age, found at Barway close to the Isle of Ely in the Cambridgeshire Fens, is reported. Consideration of the hoard, in the context of later prehistoric hoarding in the local landscape, reveals that particular sorts of artefacts were associated with particular places in the landscape. In particular a strong association between later Bronze Age hoards and causeways connecting the Isle of Ely to the outside world is identified, and an interpretation suggested. This study demonstrates the potential of a detailed contextual approach for providing a more nuanced understanding of later Bronze Age metalwork deposition that moves away from a simplistic wet-dry dichotomy.

A classic problem in the interpretation of metalwork hoards is whether hoards were deposited for pragmatic, profane reasons, or for ritual ones. So called trade hoards are always seen as an example of the former. This paper argues that the dichotomy between profane and ritual can be overcome. It discusses the case of a famour Middle Bronze Age metalwork hoard that always has been interpreted as a classic example of a trade hoard, buried in the ground as a temporary store. It shows that this classic trade hoard actually represent material that was permanently deposited. Using anthropological theories on the links between gift and commodity exchange, this paper argues that trade hoards actually were related to both pragmatic trade and rituals at the same time.

MÉLIN M. (2013) - Etat des connaissances concernant les découvertes métalliques en milieu humide en Pays de la Loire du Chalcolithique au début du 1er âge du Fer, in: BOULUD-GAZO S. (dir.), Le Chalcolithique et l’âge du Bronze dans les Pays de la Loire, projet collectif de recherche : bilan d'activité 2012, SRA Pays de la Loire, p. 22-34

The aim of the paper is to present the results of the new researches on the surroundings, environment, landscape of the well known Cófalva/Ţufalău golden hoard, belonging to the Middle Bronze Age. The recent investigations brought to light new traces of unknown settlements and a cremation cemetery. As a result we managed to place the hoard in the contemporaneus a Middle Bronze Age settlement network.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present original methods related to the modeling of material deposit and associated heat sources for finite element simulation of gas metal arc welding (GMAW). Design/methodology/approach – The filler deposition results from high-frequency impingements of melted droplets. The present modeling approach consists of a time-averaged source term in the mass equation for selected finite elements in the fusion zone. The associated expansion of the mesh is controlled by means of adaptive remeshing. The heat input includes a volume source corresponding to the droplets energy, for which a model from the literature is expressed in coherency with mass supply. Finally, an inverse technique has been developed to identify different model parameters. The objective function includes the differences between calculations and experiments in terms of temperature, but also shape of the fusion zone.
Findings – The proposed approach for the modeling of metal deposition results in a direct calculation of the formation of the weld bead, without any a priori definition of its shape. Application is shown on GMAW of steel 316LN, for which parameters of the model have been identified by the inverse method. They are in agreement with literature and simulation results are found quite close to experimental measurements. Originality/value – The proposed algorithm for material deposit offers an alternative to the element activation techniques that are commonly used to simulate the deposition of filler metal. The proposed inverse method for parameter identification is original in that it encompasses an efficient and convenient technique to take into account the shape of the fusion zone.

Prehistoric traffic geography in the Eastern Ore Mountains

Some new finds on the eastern edge of the Ore Mountains (Germany, Saxony) turn out to be archaeological tracers for using this landscape as a traffic route in Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age. This tradition is documented at the earliest in the Middle Ages with the so called »Kulmer Steig«, an early connection between Bohemia and Saxony. Particular sections of him seems to be used already in premedieval time, shown by distribution patterns of the not numerous archaeological finds in these low mountain range landscape. The mentioned finds are predominantly stone axes. One new find of them is presented here. Another new find is a bronze flanged axe, dated in the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age, in the initial phase of the Burial Mound Culture. This finds as well as the cultural connections between Bohemia and Saxony and the settlement distribution patterns on both sides of the Ore Mountains suggest, that the use of this traffic route began in the early Neolithic und never ends since that time.
The paper is written in German.

"One of the most puzzling phenomena of the European Bronze Age, is that many communities buried or otherwise hid large numbers of valuable bronze objects, but never returned to retrieve them. This book focuses on the metal finds of one small European region, the southern Netherlands and the adjacent part of North Belgium. Fontijn considers the question of why so many elaborate bronze objects have been found in watery locations in this landscape, such as rivers, streams, and marshes, while so few have been found in the controlled excavations of local settlements and cemeteries. He looks at the evidence for the selective deposition of metal objects, and discusses the "cultural biographies" of weapons, ornaments or dress fittings, and axes respectively. He considers how different depositional contexts might be related to the construction of various forms of social identity, such as male or female, or of belonging to local or non-local communities. He also looks at the way the land itself may have been defined and structured by the act of object deposition. "

The work conducted for this paper was to investigate the use of plasma arc welding (PAW) and steel shot as a means of additive manufacturing. A robotic PAW system and automatic shot feeder were used to manufacture linear walls approximately 100 mm long by 7 mm wide and 20 mm tall. The walls were built, layer-by-layer, on plain carbon steel substrate by adding individual 2.5 mm diameter plain carbon steel shot. Each layer was built, shot-by-shot, using a pulse of arc current to form a molten pool on the deposit into which each shot was deposited and melted. The deposition rate, a measure of productivity, was approximately 50 g/hour. Three walls were built using the same conditions except for the deposit preheat temperature prior to adding each new layer. The deposit preheat temperature was controlled by allowing the deposit to cool after each layer for an amount of time called the inter-layer wait time. The walls were sectioned the grain size and hardness distribution were measured as a function of wall height. The results indicated that, for all specimens, deposit grain size increased and hardness decreased as wall height increased. Furthermore, average grain size decreased and hardness increased as interlayer wait time increased