CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF BUCKLES DATED FROM 3TH TO THE 7TH CENTURIES AD FOUND IN NORTH-EASTERN BULGARIA

Abstract

The archaeological belt accessories are important chronological indicators, thus, can be very useful when

studying some historical periods. As being subject to fashion, they carry potential information about social

status, gender and ethnicity of the owner as well as about commercial connections and production centers.

Archaeometric investigations of the development of belt accessories from the Great Migration Period in Bul

garia lags significantly considering the large amount of finds of this kind. In this study a set of 60 buckles

from North-Eastern Bulgaria dated from the 3rd to the 7th centuries AD were investigated using inductively

coupled-plasma atomic-emission-spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively-coupled-plasma mass

spectrometry (ICP-MS) to check similarities or differences between them. The results show that these belt

accessories were made of various kinds of copper alloys such as bronze, brass, or nearly pure copper.