Preliminary Metallurgical Investigation of Copper-Based Artifacts at

Tepe Sagzabad, a site situated on the Qazvin Plain of north-central Iran, was excavated from 1970 to 1998 by the Institute of Archaeology of Tehran University. Recent excavations by H. Tala’i (1997-1999) yielded some metal artifacts dating to the Early Iron Age. Ten of these copper-based samples were investigated using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEMEDX) and optical microscopy (OM). The results of these analyses showed that the metal objects at Tepe Sagzabad are made of different copper alloys, including: pure copper, copper-arsenic and copper-tin. In addition, multiple procedures, including hot-working, cold-working, and annealing were used as manufacturing techniques. The copper-based objects from Tepe Sagzabad provide evidence for the continued use of pure copper and arsenical copper alongside tin bronzes on the Iranian Plateau during the Early Iron Age.