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LEAD-BRONZE INGOT (TYA 281: 150)
Type: Metal ingot, composition 86 % copper, 14 % lead and 0.36 % antimony.
Use: Metal material to make jewels and so forth.
Site: Raisio, Ihala, Mulli abode.
Period: Viking Age / Crusade Age / Early Middle Ages.
Dating: 980-1220 A.D.
Size: 550.5 mm x 370.5 mm x 70.0 mm.
Photographer: Taina Pietikäinen.
Direction of photography: From northwest.
In autumn 1997, a lead-bronze ingot was discovered in Mulli abode. Its weight is more than 16 kg and it is unique in Finland; only three equivalents are known in the Baltic Sea region: two in Latvia and one in Gottland. The location of this ingot indicates that it was hidden on purpose under the corner of the house. If the ingot was meant to be material for bronze jewels, more than one hundred brooches could have been manufactured of it. The lead-bronze ingot was a great treasure for the owners and they considered it best to hide it safe under the earth. Probably the secret of the ingot went into grave with the owners and so the valuable item was left for future archaeologists to discover.
Other related pictures: TYA 281: 149.
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