The moulds from Velebit and European bronze age metal anvils

Abstract

During the first excavations of the cemetery dating from the Bronze Age and Early Antiquity in the village of Velebit near Kanjiža (Northern Serbia) one of the excavated artefacts was found to belong to a used and broken stone mould for casting anvils. However, without an expert archaeologist to supervise the recovery of this find, which remained unknown for decades after its discovery, as a starting point, the authors of this article present a synthesis that takes into account several aspects of this significant class of metalcraft object. This proceeds from the history of the excavation to the general role of European Bronze Age anvils in gold and bronze metalworking, and then further on to their typological, terminological, chronological and functional analysis and to their long-range distribution as a sign of an interregional network of craftsmen, including their social context and symbolism. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. OI177020: Archeology of Serbia: Cultural Identity, Integration Factors and the Role of the Mid-Balkans in the Development of European Prehistory]

Keywords

• bronze age
• carpathian basin
• tumulus culture
• anvils
• moulds
• jewellery
• metallurgy