A short notice on the manufacture of copper-wire at Birka

Abstract

As part of a study on the construction of B-cype case-combs found at Birka, X-ray microanalyses were made to determine the material of the rivets connecting the bone plates of the combs and their case. It has mostly been assumed that the material of the rivets was bronze. Data from the analyses has shown, however, that the rivets were almost exclusively made out of non-alloyed copper. Surface-structure analysis verifies that the wire was in fact drawn. These results fit better with the probable fact that wire-drawing was a well known technique during this period, and suggest that refinement of copper was a standard procedure at Birka during the 10th century.