Abstract
During 2018 and 2019, salvage excavations were conducted in Murat Tepe and Murat Höyük, two mounds lie on the banks of the Murat River in the Solhan district of Bingöl Province in Eastern Anatolia. The metal finds unearthed in the
Middle Iron Age/Urartu Kingdom layers provided remarkable data on the Urartian metallurgy. In this study, the results of archaeometallurgical analyses will be presented. Various finds from Murat Höyük and Murat Tepe were highlighted in particular, including twisted bracelet, ring and belt fragments. The results from portable XRF (pXRF), metallography, micro-hardness analyses, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS) showed that zinc was intentionally used as an alloy additive. In addition to the chemical composition of the belt, which consisted of zinc, tin, and copper, the ratio of copper to zinc detected in the bracelet and ring indicates that the metal used can be called brass. It is assumed that until the Roman period, zinc was not commonly used and produced in the Near East and the Mediterranean. Only a few Urartian finds are known that were made from zinc-rich metals dating to the early periods, and they were regarded as a product of innovative experiments. This might be due to the technical difficulties in smelting zinc from ores and adding it to alloys due to its low melting point and high volatility. It is, however, well documented that in the ancient Urartu advanced metal technologies concerning both casting and working of copper-alloys, as well as ironworking was mastered and applied. This study, thus, aims to shed light on a further metal technology that was developed in the knowledge-environment of the ancient Urartu.