Un topor de metal de la Băile Olănești, jud. Vâlcea și câteva observații cu privire la tehnologia de turnare a topoarelor cu gaură de înmănușare transversală din epoca timpurie a bronzului de la Dunărea de Jos
A Metal Axe from Băile Olănești, Vâlcea County and Some Remarks Regarding the Foundry Technology of Axes with Cross-Fixing Hole from the Early Bronze Age at the Lower Danube

Summary/Abstract: The authors present a shaft-hole axe of Izvoarele type recently found at Băile Olăneşti (Vâlcea county), discovered by metal detection. The main typological and technological features of the axe allow more detailed observations regarding the casting technology of these kind of axes in the Lower Danube area during the early Bronze Age. One may thus establish several main classes: 1. shaft-hole axes cast in bivalve moulds open at the lower edge of the axe (Baniabic, Corbasca and Veselinovo I type axes); 2. shafthole axes cast in bivalve moulds open at the upper edge of the axe (Dumbrăvioara type axe); 3. shaft-hole axes cast in closed bivalve moulds with the sprue on the lower edge of the axe (Veselinovo II type axe); 4. shaft-hole axes cast in closed bivalve moulds with the sprue on the upper edge of the axe (Veselinovo II, Izvoarele and Kolontaevo type axes); 5. shaft-hole axes cast in closed bivalve moulds with the sprue on the lower end of the butt (Veselinovo II, Izvoarele and Pătulele type axes); 6. shaft-hole axes cast in closed bivalve moulds with the sprue on the lower end of the prolonged butt (Pătulele, Pădureni and Balşa type axes). Within each main class there are several casting variants, which indicates more metallurgical centres of production for the shaft-hole axes in the Lower Danube area, with their own traditions and skills. This also results from the fact that the same type of shaft-hole axe was cast by different technological methods (especially the Veselinovo II, Izvoarele and Pătulele type axes). Although some of the identified technological classes and variants were used in parallel, they also have a certain value in the chronological distribution of the shaft-hole axes in the Lower Danube area.

• Details
• Contents