a b s t r a c tMany aspects of bronze production during Late Bronze Age in Western Europe are so far unknown. In the present study selected artefact fragments and metallurgical debris, which include a slag fragment, from the emblematic Late Bronze Age habitat site of Castro da Senhora da Guia de Baiões (Viseu, Portugal) have been studied by optical microscopy, micro-EDXRF, SEM-EDS and XRD. Evidences were found for bronze production involving smelting and recycling. Compositional analysis showed that the artefacts are made of a bronze with 13 AE 3 wt.% Sn (average and one standard deviation) and a low impurity pattern, namely <0.1 wt.% Pb, being comparable with the composition of other bronzes from the same region (the Central Portuguese Beiras). This alloy is generally different from elsewhere Atlantic and Mediterranean bronzes, which show frequently slightly lower Sn contents and higher impurity patterns, namely Pb which is often present as an alloying element. The present study gives further support to early proposals suggesting the exploration of the Western Iberian tin resources during Late Bronze Age, and besides that, it indicates that metalworking and smelting could have been a commonplace activity requiring no specific facilities, being bronze produced at a domestic scale in this Western extreme of Europe.

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A combination of analytical techniques capable of elemental and microstructural characterisation was used for the identification of ancient gilding technology and bronze metallurgy. EDXRF, micro-EDXRF, SEM-EDS analysis and metallographic examinations were applied in the study of artefacts dating to the end of the second millennium BC from Crasto de São Romão in Central Portugal. Results report to the finding of an exceptional gilded copper nail among bronze artefacts with 9 wt.% to15 wt.% tin and minute other metallic impurities. Additionally, analysis of a crucible fragment points out for bronze production at the archaeological site. EDXRF and micro-EDXRF analysis made on the copper nail showed that it was gilded only on the front side of the head, and that the gold layer has been lost in the most exposed areas. SEM-EDS analysis showed that the gold layer has 5-8 µm in thickness and is covered with a thick corrosion layer. The gilding technique is discussed based on the gold layer composition and gold/copper substrate interface. So far, this object seems to be the first diffusion gilded artefact identified in the Portuguese territory dated to Late Bronze Age.

a b s t r a c tIn the present study six exceptional large size metallic nails, a dagger and a sickle from the Late Bronze Age archaeological site of Figueiredo das Donas (Central Portugal) have been analysed by EDXRF, micro-EDXRF and X-ray digital radiography for the study of material composition and technology of fabrication. The combination of these analytical and examination techniques showed that all artefacts are made of bronze with As, Sb and Pb impurities, and that the nails were most likely manufactured using the casting-on technique. These results reinforce the use of binary bronze by Late Bronze Age in the region, and the incorporation of new fabrication technologies that resulted from ancient spheres of interaction.

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