LE TARDE IMPORTAZIONI CIPRIOTI IN ITALIA E IL LORO INFLUSSO SULL'OPERA LOCALE IN BRONZOQuesto studio esamina le diverse categorie di materiali archeologici rinvenuti in territorio italiano, databili con certezza o presumibilmente nei limiti dell'età del bronzo, che siano da considerare importati da Cipro o imitati da modelli ciprioti. Sono esaminati separatamente ceramiche, pugnali con codolo a uncino, lingotti ox-hide, doppie asce, strumenti da fonditore, specchi, recipienti metallici con i loro attacchi, tripodi e figurine di bronzo.Tali materiali sono ben attestati in Sicilia, abbondantissimi in Sardegna e solo sporadicamente rappresentati in Italia peninsulare. I più antichi esempi (ceramiche) possono risalire al XIV–XIII secolo a.C.; inizialmente sembrano collegati con i traffici egei verso l'Occidente, ma dal XII secolo in poi sembra di poter ipotizzare una certa indipendenza del flusso cipriota verso la Sicilia meridionale e, soprattutto, verso la Sardegna, dover fiorisce un'industria metallurgica assai prospera che, in qualche caso, imita in modo molto stretto la produzione cipriota, sia nella sfera degli oggetti d'uso che in quella dei materiali di pregio.Alla sfera utilitaria appartiene il repertorio degli strumenti da fonditore—martelli, pinze, e palette da carbone—che si presenta tipologicamente pressochè identico a Cipro e in Sardegna, mentre non è conosciuto nelle stesse forme in area egea. Alla sfera dei materiali di pregio appartengono i tripodi, una categoria molto specializzata, tipicamente cipriota, che viene sporadicamente importata in Occidente e poi imitata in Sardegna.Non si può quindi escludere che, sullo scorcio dell II millennio, forse in collegamento con la ricerca di nuove fonti di materie prime, artigiani metallurghi ciprioti fossero presenti e operanti in Sardegna.

We present data on the chemical and lead isotope composition of copper and bronze objects from Nuragic Sardinia. The sample suite comprises, inter alia, objects from the hoard ®nds at Arzachena (21 objects), Bonnanaro (10), Ittireddu (34), and Pattada (20), all in northern Sardinia. With one exception, all ingot fragments (49) consist of unalloyed copper; the exception comes from Ittireddu and contains 11 per cent tin. In contradistinction, all implements (21) are made from standard bronze with a mean tin content of 10.8 per cent. A dozen sword fragments from the Arzachena hoard, all of fairly uniform small size, are pieces of a large number of different swords. The low tin content of only about 1 per cent would have made for poor weapons, con®rming the archaeological identi®cation of the fragments as pieces of votive swords. Scrap metal from Arzachena is remarkable for its wide range of trace element contents and lead isotope abundance ratios. It is dissimilar to all other metal samples investigated, possibly representing metal from local smelting experiments using a variety of different copper ores. Lead isotope data and trace element patterns, alone or in conjunction, do not allow us to tell oxhide ingots from plano-convex (bun) ingots. Most ingot fragments have a lead isotope signature similar to those of Cypriot copper ores but there are also a number of ingots whose lead isotope ®ngerprints are fully compatible with them being local products. Of the bronzes, none has lead with an isotopic composition characteristic of copper ingots from Cyprus. All contain local lead, suggesting the bronze implements were manufactured locally. Isotopically-®tting lead is found in copper and lead ore deposits from the Iglesiente-Sulcis district in south-west Sardinia and from Funtana Raminosa in central Sardinia.

Since the 1980s, extensive archeological studies have provided us with knowledge about the multifaceted relations between Nuragic Sardinia and Bronze Age Cyprus. During the winter of 2019, Nuragic tableware of Sardinian origin was discovered at the harbor site of Hala Sultan Tekke, on the southeastern coast of Cyprus, providing the opportunity to return to the question of the reasons behind this presence. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the characteristics and role of Sardinian maritime "enterprises" in the long-distance metal trade in the Mediterranean and beyond, including continental Europe. An array of new provenance studies demonstrates the complexity of the Bronze Age metal trade and, taking a maritime perspective, provides the opportunity to reveal how strategically positioned actors such as Nuragic Sardinia managed to dominate sea-borne routes, and gained a prominent and independent international position.

No abstract

We present data on the chemical and lead isotope composition of copper and bronze objects from Nuragic Sardinia. The sample suite comprises, inter alia, objects from the hoard finds at Arzachena (21 objects), Bonnanaro (10), Ittireddu (34), and Pattada (20), all in northern Sardinia. With one exception, all ingot fragments (49) consist of unalloyed copper; the exception comes from Ittireddu and contains 11 per cent tin. In contradistinction, all implements (21) are made from standard bronze with a mean tin content of 10.8 per cent. A dozen sword fragments from the Arzachena hoard, all of fairly uniform small size, are pieces of a large number of different swords. The low tin content of only about 1 per cent would have made for poor weapons, confirming the archaeological identification of the fragments as pieces of votive swords. Scrap metal from Arzachena is remarkable for its wide range of trace element contents and lead isotope abundance ratios. It is dissimilar to all other metal samples investigated, possibly representing metal from local smelting experiments using a variety of different copper ores. Lead isotope data and trace element patterns, alone or in conjunction, do not allow us to tell oxhide ingots from plano-convex (bun) ingots. Most ingot fragments have a lead isotope signature similar to those of Cypriot copper ores but there are also a number of ingots whose lead isotope fingerprints are fully compatible with them being local products. Of the bronzes, none has lead with an isotopic composition characteristic of copper ingots from Cyprus. All contain local lead, suggesting the bronze implements were manufactured locally. Isotopically-fitting lead is found in copper and lead ore deposits from the Iglesiente-Sulcis district in south-west Sardinia and from Funtana Raminosa in central Sardinia.