Published: 22023-12-27 — Updated on 2023-12-27

A palstave of the Nordic type “from Szczecin”. A voice in the discussion on the presence of replicas in museum collections

Kamil Nowak , Jarosław Rola , Aleksandra Towarek , Barbara Wagner
Archeologia Polski
Section: Discussions and polemics
DOI https://doi.org/10.23858/APol68.2023.012

Abstract

A palstave of the Nordic type was handed over to the District Museum in Piła in 2003. No axes of this type have ever been found in Poland. The state of preservation of the artifact, revealing extensive damages, could be related to the scrap yard where it appeared. The sloppy execution of the ornament could be an indication that the artifact is in fact a modern replica. Traseological examination and elemental composition analysis (XRF) revealed production imperfections and an atypical chemical composition of the casting alloy not encountered in the Bronze Age. The results lead to the conclusion that the artifact is indeed a replica of an axe typically found in the territories of Denmark and Sweden. The findings add to the discussion on the presence of replicas of archaeological finds in museum collections.

Keywords:

Bronze Age, museum collection, modern replica, traseology, casting alloy, XRF analysis

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Nowak, K., Rola, J., Towarek, A., & Wagner, B. (2023). A palstave of the Nordic type “from Szczecin”. A voice in the discussion on the presence of replicas in museum collections. Archeologia Polski, 68, 357–369. https://doi.org/10.23858/APol68.2023.012

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