M. Piękoś

Analysis of Eneolithic Copper Jewellery Artifacts from Książnice Cemetery in South Poland

This paper presents a metallographic analysis of copper artifacts from an extraordinary Polish cemetery of Lublin–Volhynian culture dated 4000–3800 BC (Wilk in Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia, 2014, pp. 209–243). The Książnice necropolis, Busko-Zdrój county located in South Poland, is characterized by an unprecedented collection of prestigious objects made of copper, rare in the Eneolithic period in Poland. The archaeological studies supplemented with materials analyses give knowledge of prehistoric metallurgy and the processing of copper. For the described group of artifacts, non-destructive microscopic studies were performed including chemical analysis by means of X-ray fluorescence and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy using a scanning electron microscope. The mentioned studies allowed for raw material characteristics of this important discovery.

Metallographic Studies of Selected Eneolithic and Bronze Age Artifacts from Poland

This work presents the results of metallographic studies performed on four Eneolithic and Bronze Age artifacts from Poland. All of them are of none archaeological context therefore its academic value is strongly reduced. The aim of this work is to deal with such a reduced data in a way of improving and verifing current state of knowledge about the artifacts. In order to achieve this goal elemental composition (XRF), microstructure analysis (SEM-EDS), macrostructure analysis (optical microscopy) and 3D scanning were performed.

Influence of Al and Fe Additions on Structure and Properties of Cu-Sn Alloys

The studies regard analysis of variable Al and Fe additions on the chosen group of CuSn alloys. The group of tin bronzes known and applied for thousands of years has still found its application in many branches of industry, however it was observed that small amounts of aluminum and iron may affect the original properties strongly. The changes of mechanical properties and microstructure is discussed in detail. Aside of many advantageous properties of these bronzes, it is noted that the mentioned alloying additions have beneficial effect on the gas-induced shrinkage porosity. Simultaneously, the effect of the aluminum addition on the characteristic phase transformation points was determined basing on the analysis of calorimetric curves. The results are correlated with microstructure observations.