Fibulae from an Iron Age Site in Portugal

Castro de Pragança is located in Estremadura province, on the Portuguese Western coast. Although most of the metal artifacts found in the site can be dated to Copper and Bronze Ages, an unusual set of nine fibulae was recovered. They can be dated to the period from the Iron Age until the Roman conquest. Nondestructive micro-EDXRF elemental analyses showed that five of the fibulae are made of bronze (Cu-Sn alloy), while four fibulae have a polymetallic character and are made both of bronze and iron. This fact indicates exceptionally important archaeological and technological issue