Arsenical copper was widely used in the Early Bronze Age and disappeared with the introduction of copper-tin alloys in the period around the Middle Bronze Age. However the present research showed that, in the Iron Age, a few ornamental objects of particular kind were made of a copper alloy with a silvery surface, containing over 1% of arsenic, antimony and often some cobalt and nickel. This alloy is very fragile and can only be cast, it is very difficult to cut and file and is characterised by a silvery colour. The shiny and silvery-grey surface of these objects is due to a segregation phenomenon which presents a layer of γ compound with characteristic feeders coming from inside the metal which look like filaments running from the metal body to the surface layer. The microstructure of the eutectic shows a solid solution phase α and a compound γ,containing 29,65% As (Cu{sub}3As). The eutectic can develop already only 1-2% of As in the alloy. Ornamental objects made of this distinctive and beautiful material were worn by women who had special powers and exceptional functions in the Iron Age of the eastern Alps, and were connected with the cult of the moon and fertility goddess.
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