Archaeometallurgical investigation on the copper-based artifacts from Lahsavareh Iron Age II-III cemetery, Southwestern Iran

• A group of copper-based artifacts from a recently excavated Iron Age II-III cemetery in southwestern Iran, were analyzed. • Results showed that they were made of tin bronze with variable tin contents. • Variable tin content was also observed in other Iranian Iron Age copper-based artifacts. • The objects have been manufactured using cycles of thermo-mechanical operations, with superimposed microstructure. A group of metal artifacts recently excavated from the Lahsavareh Iron Age II-III cemetery in southwestern Iran (dating to the late Middle Elamite to Neo-Elamite period) was analyzed to investigate metalworking techniques and alloy composition. Nineteen artifacts were studied using micro-X-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and metallography techniques. The analyses revealed that the artifacts were primarily made from a binary tin bronze alloy with varying tin content, while arsenic and lead were present in significant quantities in only a few artifacts. Microscopic observations and microanalytical studies indicate that the artifacts were produced through different levels of thermo-mechanical processes, with copper sulfide ores used to obtain copper. The results of this interdisciplinary study offer new insights into the material culture of the Iron Age II-III on the Iranian Plateau and provide a comparative analysis of the history and evolution of copper-based metallurgy in the region during the first half of the first millennium BCE.