Probable Sources of Metal of the Sosnovo-Mazinsky Hoard of the Late Bronze Age by the Lead Isotopic Composition

The results from the analyzing lead isotopes of copper alloys of items from the Sosnovo-Mazinsky treasure and bronze objects of a comparative sample from archaeological sites of the Urals and Kazakhstan are presented. Comparative analysis of these data with the data of isotopic analysis of lead of copper ore from historical deposits in the Urals allowed for an assumption to be made about the likely use of several deposits, that is, copper–pyrite ores of the South Urals and Late Permian oxidized ores of the Urals from the Sakmaro-Samara mining and metallurgical region; ore of the third type, characterized by a highly radiogenic 208Pb/204Pb ratio, probably originates from deposits in northern Kazakhstan. The variability of the lead isotopic composition of the treasure items confirms the use of several ore deposits and the remelting of bronze scrap.