Scientists finally discover the origin of the mysterious bronzetti figures

As part of the Metals & Giants research project, an international team of researchers provided new information on the Bronze Age Metal Trade.

During the Bronze Age, the Nuraghe culture prospered in Sardinia. It is best known for its stone structures resembling a tower, called Nuraghers, and for small bronze figurines known as bronzetti, which frequently represent warriors, deities and animals. These artifacts have long intrigued the researchers, but the precise origins of their metal remained uncertain.

To determine where the copper used in bronzettis comes from, the research team applied a scientific technique known as a multi-proxy approach (a method combining several chemical analyzes). By examining the isotopes of copper, tin, lead and osmium of less common element, they were able to build a more precise image of the sources of metals. This approach, created in Curt-Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry in Mannheim, finally provided answers to a question that has challenged researchers for years.

“”The results show that bronzettis were mainly made from copper in Sardinia, sometimes mixed with copper from the Iberian Peninsula (Modern Spain and Portugal). The study also revealed that the copper of the Levant – places like Timna in Israel and Fyynan in Jordan – was not used in Sardinia, which was only specified by looking at the isotopes of Osmium, “explains the first author Daniel Berger of the Curt -Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry, which developed the new method, carried out the analyzes and provided the interpretation of the interpretation of base.

Collaboration between natural sciences and archeology

Daniel Berger underlines how the new isotopic analysis method offers a specific way to determine the geographic sources of copper, while Helle Vandkilde underlines the importance of combining natural science with archeology.

“Archaeological methods establish a solid base that the latest scientific methods can refine and explain. Aarhus University.

The team also studied three of the largest Nuraghian sanctuaries, which all produced bronzettis, and found that the metals used on these sites were almost identical. This consistency suggests that the manufacture of bronzetti has followed a shared tradition through Sardinia.

Interestingly, researchers note that although Sardinia has its own tin and lead deposits, these were not used in figurines. The tin necessary to create bronze must have been brought from the outside of the island, probably from the Iberian Peninsula, as indicated by isotopic signatures in bronzettis and the chemical composition of the artifacts of Sardinian tin.

“Having the opportunity to analyze the famous bronze figurines of Sardinia is an important step towards understanding the way in which the island was a central element of metal trade during the Bronze Age. The form and execution of figures adapt in the material culture of the period, and yet they contain stylistic characteristics that feel incredibly familiar to US in the Scandinavia Southern. decorated with horns.

Nordic connection

Field studies in collaboration between Aarhus University and the Moesgaard museum have shown so far -down links between Sardinia and the Nordic countries at the age of 1000 and 800 BC.

Casques with emblematic horns, which we know of Viksø, Kallerup, Grevensvænge and Tanum, also appear in Sardinia, both in miniature and giant formats. In both places, these unique characters are found.

Reference: “Multiproxy analysis takes place the biographies of original and manufacturing of Sardinian figurines: on the track of interaction and mixture practices induced by the metals at the beginning of the first BCE millennium” by Daniel Berger, Valentina Matta, Nicola Ialongo, Heide W. Nørgaard, Gianfranca Salis, Michael Brauns, Mads K. 2025, Plos a.
DOI: 10.1371 / Journal.pone.0328268

The “Metals & Giants” project is supported by the Augustinus Foundation.

The first author: Daniel Berger (Curt-Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry), developed the new method to determine the origin of copper, carried out the analyzes and was responsible for the basic interpretation.

Additional contributions to archaeological research come from the University of Aarhus (Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies) and Moesgaard represented by Professor Helle Vandkilde, the Associate Professor Heide Wrobel Nørgaard and the Postdoc Nicola Ialongo.

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