Bronze-casting and organization of production at Kalnik-Igrisce (Croatia).

Vrdoljak, Snjezana ; Forenbaher, Staso

Recent excavations at the Late Bronze Age settlement site of Kalnik-Igrisce, northwestern Croatia, have brought to light evidence of small-scale bronze-casting. From that evidence, and the pattern of similar evidence from other sites in the southwestern part of the Middle Danubian Basin, conclusions can be drawn about circulation of metal and its control by an elite.

One key issue in recent discussions of production organization in hierarchical societies is the relationship between craft specialists and the social elite (Clark & Parry 1990; Costin 1991). Most studies distinguish two basic categories of products: utilitarian and prestige. Monopolizing access to prestige items should be of concern to the elite, as these objects define status and legitimize power. Workshops producing elite goods should be fairly few in number and located in major settlements, where they could be supervised by the central authority. We would expect them to be operated by a restricted number of master craftsmen, 'attached specialists' sponsored by the elite (Brumfiel & Earle 1987: 5). Production of utilitarian items - less tightly controlled or even left to the individual initiative of independent specialists - will be more widespread across the landscape (Wells 1984: 52, 65-70).

During the Middle Danubian Late Bronze Age, bronze continued in use for producing exquisite luxury items, such as bronze vessels, swords, defensive weaponry and elaborate decorative pieces. By that time it is also common enough to be widely used in agricultural and wood-working tools, in less ostentatious decorative elements and for other mundane purposes.

Presently available evidence of metallurgical activities from the southwestern part of the Middle Danubian Basin lends general support to the production model outlined above. New data related to this issue comes from the Late Bronze Age settlement of Kalnik-Igrisce.

Kalnik: the site and the evidence for bronze-casting

Kalnik is a group of steep wooded hills drained by small rivers, some 50 km northeast of Zagreb in northwestern Croatia [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. Elevation varies between 500 and 600 m above sea-level, reaching the highest point in Vranilac (641 m). The Late Bronze Age site of Igrisce is situated directly beneath the main summit, at about 500 m above sea-level, on a 2-km long and 100-200-m wide inclined bench which breaks the steep south-facing slope. The rocky summit ridge protects it from the northern winds, while its position provides a controlling view of the wide valley below. Several springs are located in the immediate vicinity (Homen 1988).

A series of surface scatters (mostly potsherds, some animal bones, occasional small bronzes) can be observed along the entire length of the bench (Majnaric-Pandzic 1990: 63). A greatly varying density of surface finds, as well as their character, suggests that the settlement consisted of fairly dispersed individual residences. There were not very many of them, probably a few dozen at most, and possibly less, for some might have shifted location during the occupation. There is no evidence of unusually rich or elaborate households, of a 'central area' within the settlement, defensive works, or any other indication of elite-organized central authority.

The excavated area (about 80 sq.m) is situated on a 10-15 [degrees] slope. The upper part of the cultural accumulation containing pottery of various periods and a large quantity of limestone rocks, has been disturbed by slope wash. The lower part (0.5 to 0.9 m thick) remains largely in situ, as the well-preserved remains of several substantially built hearths shows. It contains large quantities of pottery (over 300 sherds per cu. m on average), numerous animal bones, as well as small bronzes. Except for hearths, its general character suggests a household midden.

By its formal stylistic traits, the pottery belongs to the Baierdorf-Velatice group of the Middle Danubian Urnfield Culture (Pittioni 1954; 'Zagreb group' after Vinski-Gasparini 1983) which covers the earlier part of the Late Bronze Age, Br D-Ha A2, or 13th-11th centuries BC (Muller-Karpe 1959). Two of the four available radiocarbon determinations support this chronological assignment (Z-2161: 2980[+ or -]70 b.p., or 1307-1062 BC; Z-2163: 2890[+ or -]90 b.p., or 1251-921 BC, 1[Sigma] range). The other two might be related to some later event, either cultural or natural, which left few archaeological traces (Z-2162:2650[+ or -]60 b.p., or 832-794 BC; Z-2160:2540[+ or -]60 b.p., or 797-539 BC, 1[Sigma] range) (Srdoc et al. 1992: 158-9).

The excavation exposed remains of seven hearths made of compacted clay, scattered across the midden in no apparent order, at different elevations, later hearths sometimes overlying the earlier ones [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 2 OMITTED]. Those better preserved were oval in shape, 1-1.5 m across. Beneath their plastered clay surface was a reinforcing layer of potsherds (typologically identical to those found throughout the midden) or small angular limestones, intensively burned. There were traces of a clay lip encircling one of the hearths, but the existence of a substantial superstructure seems highly unlikely.

Several categories of evidence suggest that these hearths were employed in bronze-casting. Slag occurs in small quantities throughout the area, with the highest densities around some better-preserved hearths (Vrdoljak 1992: 79, figure 1).

Recovered from the same area were several fragments of bipartite casting moulds. This type of molud consists of two identical halves made of stone or clay, locating dowels, pouring cup and a core for shaping the hollow portion of objects such as socketed axes (Coghlan 1975: 53-5). These moulds first came into use in the Middle Danubian Basin during the Late Copper Age (Durman 1983). They dominated the Late Bronze Age production, when lead was often added to the alloy in order to facilitate casting by increasing the fluidity of bronze (Tylecote 1976: 16). (The presence of galena in Kalnik was confirmed by the geological survey.)

Six of the seven casting moulds from Kalnik were made of light gray tuff, one of phyllite. All exhibit grayish-black stains resulting from their use. They include shapes for a socketed axe with a side-loop, a flat axe, small chisels and a knife [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 3 OMITTED]. Due to fragmentation and extensive heat damage, other shapes could not be identified with certainty.

Another peculiar find from the same area is a 'channelled stone' [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 4 OMITTED]. Identical objects have been recovered from other central European Late Bronze Age settlements, often associated with artefacts related to metallurgic activities (Horst 1986; Bolliger 1987; Smrz 1979). Their specific function remains unknown.

Kalnik-Igrisce also yielded a fair number of small bronze finds (45 altogether), mostly plain or simply decorated pins, buttons and sewing needles (Majnaric-Pandzic 1990: plates 1 & 2). Most show evidence of use, many are damaged or fragmented. They are definitely not mis-casts, and could have provided only a very small quantity of scrap metal for re-casting. Casual bronze finds from several locations along the bench probably also belong to the midden, indicating that bronze was common enough for small bronze objects to be lost or even discarded.

The field evidence suggests that casting of simple bronze objects was occasionaly carried out in the activity area exposed at Igrisce. Hearths would have been adequate for melting scraps of metal in crucibles (Tylecote 1980: 196-7). A low intensity of activity is attested to by the low density of slag pellets. Occasional stratigraphic superpositioning of hearths, with midden accumulation in between, testifies to an intermittent character. And selecting the midden area for the unpleasant metallurgic activity makes sense.

Bronze-casting in northern Croatia

Even though very few of the Late Bronze Age settlements in the Croatian part of the Middle Danubian Basin have been extensively excavated, several have yielded evidence of bronze-working. Judging by the casting moulds, production was in all of them restricted to utilitarian items and simple decorative pieces [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 5 OMITTED]. Only at Sveti Petar might the evidence indicate more intensive production: its excavators reported both hearths and furnaces, as well as numerous moulds, including those for spear points. That site dates to the very end of the Late Bronze Age (Ha B3); it might not be strictly comparable with the rest (Simek 1979). Similar evidence for casting of simple bronzes, possibly on a larger scale, comes from Velemszentvid in neighbouring southwestern Hungary (Miske 1908: plates 22-27; Foltiny 1958: 31).

While information on regional settlement patterns and the internal structure of the settlements is still unsatisfactory, it is clear that small-scale metallurgical activity was not restricted to a few sites. Production of utilitarian bronzes was scattered across the landscape, most likely carried out by locally resident part-time specialists. The question of elite control over this production remains open. It could have been maintained by restricting the access to the raw material as, apparently, in the Aegean Late Bronze Age (Ventris & Chadwick 1956:352-6) (maybe partially circumvented by recycling locally available old bronzes). Or the observed evidence comes from independent bronze-smiths, satisfying local demand through decentralized exchange mechanisms. Regional stylistic similarities of utilitarian bronzes can be explained as a consequence of information sharing, rather than long-distance redistribution from centralized workshops. Intensive study of raw material sources and their circulation is a prerequisite for resolving these issues.

There is presently no local evidence of major bronze workshops for prestige bronze items within the discussed region, although such objects repeatedly appear in hoards (Vinski-Gasparini 1973). This might be due to the lack of systematic regional study of settlement sites. Alternatively, central workshops may have been absent from northern Croatia, and the local elite procured prestige items from other parts of the Middle Danubian Basin through long-distance exchange.

Acknowledgements. Systematic excavations at Igrisce were conducted from 1988 to 1990 as a joint project of the Department of Archaeology, University of Zagreb, and the Krizevci Municipal Museum. We wish to thank Nives Majnaric-Pandzic and Zoran Homen for insightful suggestions and access to the materials, Marta Crnjakovic for petrographic analysis of the casting moulds, and Antun Simunic for providing us with geological information.

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Snjezana Vrdoljak, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, Ivana Lucica 3, 41000 Zagreb, Croatia. Staso Forenbaher, Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas TX 75275-0336, USA.