Composition, raw material provenance, and manufacture of a unique late Roman silver folding stand (quadripus) from Kőszárhegy, Hungary

Abstract

The late Roman silver quadripus from Kőszárhegy (Fejér County, Hungary) is the only known silver folding stand from the Late Roman Imperial Age, dated to the fourth century AD. Archaeological evidence indicates that the quadripus is closely related to the Seuso Treasure. Elemental composition and lead isotope analyses of samples taken from the various parts of the folding stand were performed by using LA-QICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS methods in order to determine the provenance of raw material used and the production technology. The silver quadripus consists of rather pure silver (92.5–96.5%) intentionally alloyed with copper. The different trace element composition (Bi, Au, Pb) of the various parts (base, lower part, griffin, upper part, finial, cross bands) indicates the use of different silver batches implying that the various parts were made separately, and then soldered together with hard solders. The same parts of the two original feet are very similar regarding their elemental composition and lead isotope ratios suggesting series production. The nearly constant gold and lead contents of the object indicate that not re-used or re-melted, but primary, cupelled silver was used for manufacturing. The lead isotope ratios of the quadripus cover a quite narrow range (206Pb/204Pb = 18.514–18.717; 207Pb/204Pb = 15.645–15.667; 208Pb/204Pb = 38.592–38.817). Comparing our results to the lead isotope data of the European lead-silver ores, and taking into consideration the archaeological evidences, the silver used for manufacturing the quadripus could come from the Balkan region.