The Origins of Lead Archaeological Artifacts Using Mass Spectrometry Analysis

The Origins of Lead Archaeological Artifacts Using Mass Spectrometry Analysis

A.-M. Vlad, G. Niculescu, I. Villa, H.U. Kasper, C. Chiriac, and I. Sârghie.

This paper presents a study carried out on the origins of two groups of lead sling projectiles accidentally recovered in the Dobrudja territory, attributed to the Macedonian and Roman armies, respectively. The analytical methods used were Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for trace element analyses and Multi Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) for isotope ratio determination. Comparing the results with data drawn from literature on the main known mines in the Balkan–Greek area, the identifi cation of the ore source has been possible.

Keywords: Lead, sling projectiles, Roman epoch, Dobrudja, mass spectrometry.