To by mě zajímalo, jak by se taková replika dnes udělala, natož před 90 lety. Že by se odlitý meč vystavil při několika sta stupních celsia kyslíkové atmosféře? Stačilo by to na vytvoření několikatisícileté patiny?
Reverse process: 3000-year-old original recognised in replica sword after 100 years
Categories: Archaeological reports
For nearly a century, the Field Museum in Chicago has housed a sword that was thought to be a modern replica of a Late Bronze Age weapon. It has now been identified as an authentic sword from between 1080 and 900 BC. and its special story draws visitors to an exhibition about the first wealthy communities of Europe.
The sword was found in the riverbed of the Danube in Budapest in the 1930s. Shortly after its discovery, it was acquired by the Field Museum when it was sent to Chicago in a single package along with other artifacts and copies of archaeological finds. When it arrived at the museum, it was misclassified by someone and presented to the public as a copy for nearly a century.
When the museum curators were preparing for the upcoming First Kings of Europe exhibition, they were also going to display the sword. The exhibition depicts the transformation of the communities of the Balkan Peninsula as they moved from small agrarian villages to immensely wealthy kingdoms between the Neolithic and Iron Age (6000-500 BC). More than 200 artefacts from 11 countries have been collected for the exhibition. Many have never been presented before. Hungarian archaeologists working with Fields Museum curators on the exhibition examined the "replica" sword from Hungary and immediately recognized it as an authentic artifact.
The group of scientists, archaeologists and chemists used an X-ray fluorescence spectroscope (XRF) to confirm. When they compared the sword's chemical composition with other known swords from the European Bronze Age, the bronze, copper and tin content waswas almost identical and bore the typical "signature" of inadvertently added trace elements, consistent with the manufacturing processes and conditions of the time: "Usually a story like this goes the other way," said Field Museum curator of anthropology Bill Parkinson. "What we think is original often turns out to be a fake," he added.
The sword's authenticity was confirmed too late to be included among the other items in the current exhibit, and moreHowever, it will be installed in the main hall of the Field Museum, where it will greet visitors with its special story.
Video
Roman Němec
Sources: fildmuseum,org, cnet.com, ancient-orgins.net
The sword will welcome visitors to the First Kings of Europe exhibition
The replica sword turned out to be the original
Scientists using an XRF gun to test the sword's chemical composition
The sword on display
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