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Composition and decoration of the so called 'Zinnfigurenstreifen’ found in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

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Archaeological and archaeometallurgical investigations in the last years have shown that Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, was an important centre for pewter casting during the High and Late Middle Ages. This is mainly based on hundreds of stone moulds, but apart from that, some evidence of medieval pewter artefacts has survived. It is the aim of the following paper to examine one of this pewter objects by means of scientific and metallurgical analyses in order to give an understanding of its metallurgical composition, manufacture and decoration. Until now such considerations are rare, especially concerning German medieval pewterware.
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INHALTSVERZEICHNIS
Johannes Auenmüller, Karsten Ehrig,
Dietmar Meinel, Gerwulf Schneider,
Frank Willer
Werkstattfunde eines ägyptischen Bronzegießers
der Spätzeit – Ein einzigartiges Konvolut
im Kontext aktueller Forschung ...............
1
Sigrun Martins, Birgit Schwahn
D
as Bisellium, das eine Kline war –
Rekonstruktion, Restaurierung
und technologische Untersuchung
römischer Klinenfragmente .................. 27
Christopher Röber
Eine merowingerzeitliche Spatha
aus Mannheim ............................
53
Daniel Berger
C
omposition and decoration
of the so-called
Zinnfigurenstreifen
found in Magdeburg,
Saxony-Anhalt, Germany .................... 65
Sandra Kaiser
Studie über die Folgen der Langzeitlagerung
von archäologischem Nassholz
in deionisiertem Wasser ..................... 81
A
lexander Gatzsche
Eine meroitische Doppelstatue
des Götterpaares Amun und Mut –
Restaurierung in 3D im Computer
und am Objekt
............................ 93
Autorinnen und Autoren ................... 113
ISSN 1866-7007
Nachdruck, auch auszugsweise, nur mit Genehmigung
des Verlages
© 2015 Verlag des
Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums
Redaktion, Layout und Satz: Manfred Albert,
Christian Eckmann, Reinhard Köster,
Laura Weszkalnys, RGZM
Umschlaggestaltung: Reinhard Köster, RGZM
Herstellung: Strauss GmbH, Mörlenbach
Printed in Germany
65Restaurierung und Archäologie 7 · 2014
DANIEL BERGER
COMPOSITION AND DECORATION
OF THE SO-CALLED
ZINNFIGURENSTREIFEN
FOUND IN MAGDEBURG, SAXONY-ANHALT, GERMANY
such as dress accessories (brooches, buckles,
mounts), jewellery (ngerings, beads) or miniature
gurines and tableware (Ditmar-Trauth in print). Al-
though made from tin-lead alloys (Berger 2006;
Berger in print a), many of these objects certainly
imitated counterparts cast in precious metals. The
discovery of an autonomous pewter workshop is the
earliest known to date, and it is believed that the
foundry supplied local as well as (inter)national mar-
kets. Thousands of items could have been produced
under manufactory-like conditions.
Albeit survivals of the workshop suggest a ourish-
ing pewter craft in medieval Magdeburg, only a
couple of pewter items are preserved locally. One
such artefact has been described by Ernst Nickel, a
German archaeologist, in 1956 that he termed Zinn-
gurenstreifen, literally »tin gurine stripe« (Nickel
1956). The at object was found in the backll of a
medieval sewage pit in the old town of Magdeburg
(gs 1, 2; 2)
1
where an archaeological excavation
was carried out at Schwibbogen 9 (today a no longer
existing street) in the early 1950s in the course of
rebuilding after World War II. The pewter artefact
consists of three equal parts with repeating se-
quences of different gurative motives connected by
some kind of soft solder: On a narrow base there is
a tree on the left side followed by an eagle strug-
gling with a knight; nearby, an embracing couple
and something that looks like a ower are arranged,
supplemented by two mounted knights ghting
against each other; each sequence is terminated by
the silhouette of a castle on the right side of the
stripe. This arrangement follows the illustration tra-
dition of the 11
th
and 12
th
century AD in Central
Europe (Krabath 2009d). The scene depicted in this
Magdeburg, the capital city of Saxony-Anhalt in
Germany, was one of the largest and wealthiest
cities in Central Europe during the High and Late
Middle Ages. This wealth is predicated on political,
religious and social frameworks, but also on bene-
cial developments in trade and artisanry. For in-
stance, the famous Magdeburger Gießhütte (Mag-
deburg bronze foundry) is believed to have cast
monumental bronzes, such as the tomb slabs of the
archbishops Friedrich von Wettin and Wichmann
von Seeburg in the Magdeburg cathedral or the gate
of the cathedral of Novgorod (RUS). Furthermore,
many small bronzes from all over Central Europe
have been ascribed to this foundry in the last dec-
ades (Meyer 1959; Mende 1989).
Although many of their castings survived, it is not
handed down in historical sources, nor is there ar-
chaeological evidence of where exactly the Magde-
burger Gießhütte was located (Adam / Stoll / Wilde
1990). By contrast, it is well-known from the city
chronicles that the local gold smithies concentrated
north of the Magdeburg cathedral at the so-called
Regierungsstraße and Goldschmiedebrücke respec-
tively, two of the most important streets of the me-
dieval town (Ditmar-Trauth 2012, 226-228). Besides
these, Breiter Weg was the main street running
south to north in order to connect the northern
trade area and the southern palatinate and cathe-
dral district (g. 1).
In the vicinity of the goldsmithies, the remains of a
pewter workshop was documented in 2005 at for-
mer Goldschmiedebrücke 7-8 (today Regie rungs-
straße 6; g. 1, 3), which goes back to the rst half
of the 13
th
century. Nearly 500 limestone moulds
once served for casting small secular pewter objects
66 D. Berger · Composition and decoration of the so-called Zinnfigurenstreifen found in Magdeburg
manner is presumably linked to the courtly love tra-
dition, and some scholars even tried to connect the
stripe with the legend of Percival or a tournament
held in Magdeburg in 1279 (Nickel 1960; Sachs
1983; Nickel 1997; Puhle 2005, 106 f.). Moreover,
the three pieces of the stripe have repeatedly been
seen as the major part of a tournament crown or a
coronet, but neither the presumed function nor their
Fig. 1 Location of the find spots of the Zinnfigurenstreifen from Breiter Weg 23-26 (no. 1) and Schwibbogen 9 (no. 2) on an old map of
Magdeburg from 1829. No. 3 is the finding place of the medieval pewter foundry at Goldschmiedebrücke 7-8 (Regierungsstraße 6) in
whose vicinity several goldsmiths and the guild of the goldsmiths are documented along the Goldschmiedebrücke and Regierungsstraße
(gray oval). – (Map D.Berger after Robolsky 1829).
Fig. 2 One of three matching parts of the Zinnfigurenstreifen from Schwibbogen 9. – (Photos Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg,
inv. no. 82:31).
Fig. 3 The Zinnfigurenstreifen from Breiter Weg with its damaged second part on the right-hand side. (Photo D. Berger; collection
Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle, Germany, inv. no. HK 2006:7174).
67Restaurierung und Archäologie 7 · 2014
historical background could yet be claried with cer-
tainty. However, because the elements of the stripe
do not seem to have been bent, Krabath (2009d)
explicitly rejects the function as a crown. He and
others date the »tin gurine stripe« into the early
13
th
century, whereas Hucker (2006) suggests the
end of the 12
th
century as a possible date due to
stylistic and heraldic criteria.
As a surprise, another piece of such a tin stripe was
unearthed in Magdeburg in 2005 at a distance of
barely 75 m from the other nds. This object was
found in a ditch at Breiter Weg and generally
shows the same grouping of gurines, even though
the largest part cannot be recorded entirely since
the stripe is badly damaged and densely folded
(gs 1, 1; 3). Moreover, the nd seems to be broken
and incomplete at its left end because some motives
are missing (cf. g. 2). Nevertheless, at least two
matching pieces are reconstructable, as the soldered
joint between the castle and the tree clearly demon-
strates (g. 4a). The three parts of the stripe from
Schwibbogen 9, which perhaps originally comprised
a fourth tting piece, show soldering at the same
posi tion (cf. g. 4b). Therefore and because they are
worked at, it seems plausible that both stripes once
belonged to larger items on which they were
mounted.
Below is a detailed presentation of the second tin
stripe and a report on the hitherto unpublished
metal lurgical analysis which were carried out on the
piece. In addition, the proposed decoration using
some kind of surface treatment are also addressed in
the study. The functional, stylistic and historical in-
terpretation of the object, however, will be dis-
regarded.
The
Zinnfigurenstreifen
from Breiter Weg
The Zinngurenstreifen from Breiter Weg in Magde-
burg was recovered from a medieval ditch in fall
2005 during archaeological excavation at street
numbers 23-26 and is now part of the collection of
the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle (Saale),
Germany (inv. no. HK 2006:7174). The ditch could
only be recorded in parts just beneath a road pave-
ment from the 13
th
century AD, but plenty of frag-
ments of pottery and glass vessels, as well as leather
objects were found within the feature (no. 224).
Moreover, the ditch contained an exceptional late
Romanesque candlestick made from bronze. Ac-
cording to the dendrochronological analysis of a
piece of wood and the pottery, the deposition of the
nds, including the tin stripe, are dated into the rst
two quarters of the 13
th
century AD, which is in
agreement with the stripe from Schwibbogen 9. This
Fig. 4 Detail photographs of the soldered joints at the stripes from (a) Breiter Weg and (b) Schwibbogen. In a bracings on thinner object
parts (tree branches) are visible on the reverse face. – (a Photo D. Berger; b Photo Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg).
68 D. Berger · Composition and decoration of the so-called Zinnfigurenstreifen found in Magdeburg
is roughly contemporary with the moulds from the
pewter workshop at Goldschmiedebrücke (Gildhoff
2006; 2009)
2
.
The object under study measures approximately
125 mm in length and 22 mm in height, though its
original length was probably about 200 mm. It has a
dark brown coloured, rather smooth patina all over
its surface that is interspersed by golden spots on
some parts of the front and back faces. These golden
regions gave reason to believe the object was gilded,
and based on this, it was reconstructed as having a
great cultural historic value (g. 3; Gildhoff 2006).
Irrespective of this controversial embellishment, the
base and the detailed decorated gurines are just
0.5 to 1 mm thick, showing that the stripe is a very
at item just like the other tin stripe. Considering the
soft tin metal, the object therefore could never have
been an independently used commodity like the
proposed tournament crown, since there was always
danger of damage and distortion. It seems more rea-
sonable that it was tted onto a stable backing such
as a wooden chest or sculpture.
Following the common production method of small
medieval pewter objects (Berger 2012), the stripe
must have been cast in a bivalve stone mould, which
certainly consisted of almost identical pieces. Voids
at some locations of the artefact show that the
metal did not reach all parts, possibly due to an in-
sufciently preheated mould material (g. 5). One
piece of this mould carried the casting system and
the cavity of the base and the gurines (from the
tree to the castle) where all details were engraved
with subtle tools. These details appear raised on the
front face of the nal stripe and also on most of
other small medieval pewter nds, which is a gen-
eral characteristic of these kind of objects. Deep-
ened decoration made by chasing or chiselling rarely
occur on small pewter pieces and are much more
typical for objects made from precious metals or
copper-base alloys.
The second piece of the mould presumably showed
nothing but faint engravings at those positions
where later bracings of sensitive object parts should
appear (g. 4a). Apart from this and the obligatory
sprue, the back face of the stripe was left plain. Such
a practice is also a characteristic for the main part of
decorative medieval pewterware (Berger 2012). The
mould which was used for casting the stripe surely
resembled some stone moulds that were excavated
from the above-mentioned high medieval pewter
foundry in Magdeburg (g. 6). They served for cast-
ing at stripe-like items which are interpreted as
segments for crowns (Brumme 2013).
It is unclear whether the two soldered parts of the
stripe derived from a single mould or whether they
came from different ones, as is the case for the stripe
from Schwibbogen 9. All three parts of the latter
show deviations in detail, so they were obviously
Fig. 5 Casting flaws (voids) at some positions on the stripe from Breiter Weg. – (Photos D. Berger).
69Restaurierung und Archäologie 7 · 2014
cast in different moulds. This can further be trans-
ferred to the Breiter Weg stripe, which shows no
direct relationship with the parts of the other stripe.
This observation, together with the rather simple ex-
ecution of the gurines and the utilised base metal
are indications that the stripes were mass products
for a larger clientele in Magdeburg and probably
beyond. In this context, it is worth mentioning that a
tin stripe with comparable gurines and scenes, as
well as the same manufacturing features was exca-
vated in Lund (Skåne län / S). A relationship between
this object and Magdeburg was suggested repeat-
edly, but due to its earlier dating around 1100, this
could not be made plausible until now (Holmberg
1976, 344-355; Krabath 2009a).
Metallurgical and chemical analysis
Tiny samples of the stripe and the solder from
Breiter Weg could be extracted with a scalpel for
ele mental analysis of the metal. Sampling was nec-
es sary in this case because the surface is corroded,
Fig. 6 Two limestone moulds from the complex from Goldschmiedebrücke 7-8 (Regierungsstraße 6) in Magdeburg showing concavities
for casting flat figurative and floral stripes. Dimensions upper mould: 161 mm × 66 mm × 23 mm; dimensions lower mould: 183 mm
× 72 mm × 20 mm. – (Photo D. Berger; collection Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle, find nos 202 and 204).
70 D. Berger · Composition and decoration of the so-called Zinnfigurenstreifen found in Magdeburg
which would result in deviations from the original
metal composition due to element enrichment or
depletion (Figueiredo / Araujo 2005). The metal
shavings were examined optically and also chem-
ically with a scanning electron microscope equipped
with an energy dispersive X-ray analyser (SEM-EDX)
at the Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäo metrie in
Mannheim
3
. In addition, the whole stripe was put
into the huge chamber of the SEM in order to check
for surface and manufacturing details, especially
the assumed gilding of the object (Puhle 2005,
106 f.; Gild hoff 2006). Such a surface decoration
was also pro posed for the stripe from Schwibbogen
9 (fig. 7b; Nickel 1966, 240; Hucker 2006), but this
was never clarified by scientific analysis. For a better
un der standing of the true nature of the observed
gold-coloured spots on the front and back face of
the stripe from Breiter Weg, X-ray micro diffraction
analysis (µXRD) was included in the study, which
enables the detection of metals and alloys, as well
as crystalline (corrosion) com pounds. The µXRD
analysis was carried out in situ with an X-ray micro
diffractometer at the Lan des kriminalamt Sachsen-
Anhalt in Magdeburg
4
.
Results and discussion
Table 1 presents the results of the elemental analy-
ses from the three metal shavings shown in gures 
8a, 9a and 10a. Because of the standardless quanti-
Fig. 7 Supposed gilding (arrows) on the dark coloured surfaces of the stripe from (a) Breiter Weg and (b) from Schwibbogen 9. On the
Breiter Weg stripe the golden spots are sometimes covered with blue-black products. (a Photo D. Berger; b Photo Kulturhistorisches
Museum Magdeburg).
sample no. object part position Al Si Fe Cu Sn Pb
MA-092388 stripe,
left part
bulk n. d. 0.25 ± 0.08 0.73 ± 0.23 0.94 ± 0.24 63.3 ± 1.4 34.8 ± 1.1
α solid solution n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 8.8 ± 3.3 91.2 ± 3.3
β solid solution n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 95.6 ± 2.6 4.4 ± 2.6
MA-094110 stripe,
right part
(folded)
bulk 0.42 ± 0.26 0.03 ± 0.08 0.32 ± 0.51 0.63 ± 0.50 62.6 ± 2.8 36.0 ± 1.9
α solid solution n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 2.6 ± 1.0 97.6 ± 1.0
β solid solution n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 97.5 ± 8.0 2.5 ± 8.0
MA-092389 solder bulk 0.22 ± 0.09 0.33 ± 0.32 0.46 ± 0.30 0.76 ± 0.21 61.1 ± 2.3 37.1 ± 1.6
α solid solution n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 5.8 ± 4.2 94.2 ± 4.2
β solid solution n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 97.0 ± 3.2 3.0 ± 3.2
Tab. 1 Semi-quantitative results of the chemical analyses of the three metal samples taken from the stripe from the Breiter Weg obtained
by SEM-EDX. Al = aluminium, Si = silicon, Fe = iron, Cu = copper, Sn = tin, Pb = lead, n. d. = element not detected. Values given in
wt.%. – (Table D. Berger).
71Restaurierung und Archäologie 7 · 2014
Fig. 9 SEM-BSE images of solder sample MA-092389 (a, b) and elemental distribution maps in false colours of (c) tin and (d)
lead. – (Images D. Berger).
Fig. 8 SEM back scattered image (BSE) of metal sample MA-092388 from the first part of Breiter Weg stripe (a) and detailed view
thereof (b) showing the eutectic structure of the tin-lead alloy. White areas are lead-rich α solid solutions, grey are β crystals. (Images
D. Berger).
Fig. 10 SEM-BSE images of metal sample MA-094110 from the second part of the stripe and its microstructure. – (Images D. Berger).
72 D. Berger · Composition and decoration of the so-called Zinnfigurenstreifen found in Magdeburg
cation with SEM-EDX and the related analytical
problems, the data are semi-quantitative but accept-
able (Scheller / Salge / Terborg 2010; Bruker 2011).
They are means of six area analyses in each case.
Considering the standard deviations given after the
± of each value, the metals of the stripe and the
solder are almost identical. They contain 61-63 wt.%
tin (Sn) and 35-37 wt.% lead (Pb) as major compo-
nents besides little copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) impuri-
ties. This composition is close to the so-called eutec-
tic composition of binary tin-lead alloys (61.9 wt.%
Sn, 38.1 wt.% Pb) which is character ised by the
lowest possible melting temperature of 183 °C for
this system (g. 11; Hedges 1960, 335; Scott 1991,
g. 209a; Chattopadhyay / Srikanth 1994). More-
over, such alloys show a ne microscopic structure of
α and β solid solution (i.e. eutectic) which is valid for
the present case. Figures 8b, 9b-d and 10b provide
back scattered electron images of the samples’ mi-
crostructures, together with elemental distribution
maps demonstrating that lead and tin are localised
in the distinct areas. Point analyses, however, prove
that β crystals still contain 2-4 wt.% lead whereas
lead-rich α crystals contain up to 12 wt.% tin
(tab. 1). According to the idealised tin-lead phase
diagram (i.e. equilibrium conditions; g. 11), the
solubility of each element within the other should be
small or nearly zero at room temperature, so this ob-
servation probably indicates fast cooling after cast-
ing due to the use of the supposed insuf ciently pre-
heated stone mould. It is possible, however, that
some lead and tin might have smeared over the sur-
face during sampling, which could have distorted
the results (cf. g. 8). Some lead-free β crystals sup-
port this possibility, as do the large condence inter-
vals (tab. 1).
Based on EDX analyses, it was not possible to exactly
localise the detected copper (0.7-0.9 wt.%), but due
to its poor solubility in lead and better mixing behav-
iour with tin, it is expected that copper alloyed with
the latter, presumably as the η phase (Cu
5
Sn
6
) of the
copper-tin system (Scott 1991, g. 212; Chatto-
padhyay / Srikanth 1994). This intermetallic phase
often precipitates as tiny needles from the melt
(cf. Berger in print a). Unfortunately, one cannot
conclude from the composition whether copper is
an intentional alloying component of the stripe and
the solder or merely a natural impurity, e. g. from the
lead ores. In contrast, iron can be regarded as an
accidental trace element, since iron compounds are
often associated with tin ores, and metallic iron is
difcult to remove completely from tin, even up to
the present day (Tafel / Wagenmann 1953, 268-272).
Iron is in addition a common soil element that is
easily introduced into the surface of metals, as is also
the case for silicon (Si) and aluminium (Al). The de-
Fig. 11 Binary tin-lead phase diagram
under equilibrium conditions. –
(After Scott 1991, fig. 209a).
73Restaurierung und Archäologie 7 · 2014
tected concentration may therefore – at least partly
– derive from contamination or corrosion.
The results of the chemical analyses of the golden
shiny spots at the stripe’s surface (cf. g. 4a) are
summarised in table 2 and gure 12. Judging from
the chemical analysis, the spots are rich in copper
and iron and contain considerable amounts of sul-
phur (S). Gold or other precious metals could not be
detected and, therefore, the stripe was not gilded as
stated elsewhere (Gildhoff 2006). Rather, the golden
coloured spots and also large parts of the corrosion
layer turned out by µXRD to consist mainly of chal-
copyrite (CuFeS
2
) (g. 13). This sulphidic iron-cop-
per corrosion product is commonly found on archae-
ological copper-base objects from underwater sites
or waterlogged soils where anaerobic conditions
prevail (Scott 2002, 227-231). Since there is often
confusion with deliberate gilding, it is also referred
to as pseudo-gilding (Eggert / Kutzke 2002). Its oc-
currence on pewter artefacts is also not unusual and
sometimes reported (Mitchiner / Skinner 1983; 1984;
Duncan / Ganiaris 1987; Spencer 1998, 10; North /
Spi ra 1999, 16 f.), even though copper and espe-
cially iron are normally only trace elements in tin-
lead alloys. The formation of copper-iron sulphides is
therefore thought to be connected with iron and
copper ions from the soil and sulphur hydrogen
which arises from sulphate reducing bacteria (Scott
2002, 227). The sulphides precipitate on the surface
of the pewter where other corrosion products can
be found (North / MacLeod 1987; Duncan / Ganiaris
1987). On the present artefact, the presence of blue-
black cupric sulphide (covellite, CuS) on top of chal-
copyrite is suggested by chemical analysis (g. 12, 
point 5), whereas galena (PbS), the most frequently
occurring lead sulphide corrosion product, could be
determined diffractometrically and chemically at
other positions (g. 13;  tab. 2). Additionally, cas-
siterite (SnO
2
) as the main oxidic corrosion product
on tin and pewter has clearly been recognised and
probably some (hexagonal) berndtite (SnS
2
), a rarely
occurring tin sulphide. The latter is, however, dif-
cult to verify from the diffraction patterns shown in
gure 13 since some of its diffraction peaks overlap
posi-
tion
C O Na Mg Al Si P S K Ca Fe Cu Sn Pb suggested main 
phases
1 0.04 1.57 n. d. n. d. 0.05 0.18 n. d. 33.1 0.24 0.27 27.3 37.2 n. d. n. d. chalcopyrite
2 1.58 1.58 n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 26.4 n. d. n. d. 24.9 34.0 1.25 10.2 chalcopyrite
3 5.0 8.2 n. d. 0.10 0.06 0.11 n. d. 24.3 n. d. n. d. 20.4 34.0 7.8 n. d. chalcopyrite
4 0.13 4.7 n. d. n. d. 0.07 0.28 0.10 28.3 0.58 0.82 26.5 38.6 n. d. n. d. chalcopyrite
5 0.69 0.60 n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 29.8 0.14 2.09 n. d. 66.2 0.48 n. d. covellite
6 6.6 10.3 n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 11.7 n. d. n. d. 2.39 0.79 6.5 61.7 galena
7 5.5 28.1 0.33 0.17 0.16 0.24 n. d. 17.5 n. d. 2.36 3.2 1.11 33.3 8.0 cassiterite
+ tin sulphide?
8 1.46 4.4 n. d. n. d. 0.51 0.32 n. d. 30.5 0.30 n. d. 25.9 33.1 3.6 n. d. chalcopyrite
9 4.8 17.3 n. d. n. d. 0.04 0.15 0.33 6.6 n. d. n. d. 1.09 1.71 21.9 46.0 galena + cassiterite?
10 2.37 5.1 0.04 n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 25.5 n. d. n. d. 18.4 37.5 11.1 n. d. chalcopyrite + ?
11 1.38 1.70 n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 30.7 n. d. 0.02 23.0 41.1 2.04 n. d. chalcopyrite
12 0.65 15.4 n. d. n. d. 0.01 0.15 n. d. 22.8 0.27 0.25 17.1 43.4 n. d. n. d. chalcopyrite
13 1.83 2.95 n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 28.1 n. d. n. d. 23.9 32.4 11.8 n. d. chalcopyrite
+ tin sulphide?
14 5.3 24.1 n. d. n. d. 0.02 n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 1.09 2.17 18.0 49.4 substrate + oxides?
15 n. d. 4.4 0.26 n. d. 0.19 0.12 0.28 28.9 n. d. n. d. 20.2 36.0 9.8 n. d. chalcopyrite
+ tin sulphide?
16 0.05 5.4 n. d. n. d. n. d. 0.56 n. d. 27.9 0.91 0.31 15.7 36.4 12.9 n. d. chalcopyrite
+ tin sulphide?
17 2.82 23.0 n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. n. d. 1.35 2.77 32.7 37.3 substrate + oxides?
Tab. 2 Semi-quantitative results of the chemical analyses on the golden spots and the corrosion layer. C = carbon, O = oxygen,
Na = sodium, Mg = magnesium, Al = aluminium, Si = silicon, P = phosphorous, S = sulphur, K = potassium, Ca = calcium, Fe = iron,
Cu = copper, Sn = tin, Pb = lead, n. d. = element not detected. Values given in wt. %. – (Table D. Berger).
74 D. Berger · Composition and decoration of the so-called Zinnfigurenstreifen found in Magdeburg
Fig. 12 SEM-BSE image of the corrosion layer and one golden spot covered with blue-black corrosion phases (bottom left) on the Breiter
Weg stripe. Also given are X-ray spectra from four spot analyses marked in the BSE image as well as elemental distribution maps in false
colours. C = carbon, O = oxygen, Al = aluminium, Si = silicon, P = phosphorous, S = sulphur, K = potassium, Ca = calcium, Fe = iron,
Cu = copper, Sn = tin, Pb = lead. – (Illustration D. Berger).
75Restaurierung und Archäologie 7 · 2014
with metallic lead and others are missing. Thus, me-
tallic lead and also tin from the pewter substrate
might be identied from the diffractograms. Sum-
ming up, the stripe looks back on a complex corro-
sion history, but compared with pure tin or lead-free
pewter, it exhibits a fairly good preservation state
with only a thin corrosion layer. This may be ex-
plained by reducing (anaerobic) conditions in the
ditch on the one hand and with the lead’s benecial
effect on tin corrosion resistance on the other, even
at higher concentrations (North / Mac Leod 1987).
Conclusions
The primary objective of this paper was to disclose
the metallurgy and manufacture of the high medie-
val Zinngurenstreifen from Breiter Weg in Magde-
burg, which was found in 2005. According to the
chemical analyses, all three parts of the object were
made from the same eutectic tin-lead alloy, nowa-
days commonly known as soft solder or as pewter.
Whether the metal was derived from the same batch
is difcult to say, as only semi-quantitative micro-
analysis of small samples was undertaken. Neverthe-
less, regarding its composition, the prevalent term
Zinn gurenstreifen (tin gurine stripe) now seems
no longer appropriate, since the artefact was not
made from pure tin. The same conclusion could
probably apply to the contemporary stripe from
Schwibbogen 9, although this piece was made from
another metal batch containing distinctly more tin
with only 7.8 wt.% lead
5
.
For the stripe from Breiter Weg the craftsman used
an alloy with a very low melting point, which he cer-
tainly deliberately chose in order to minimise the
casting effort and to maximise the prot. The price
of lead between AD 1200 and 1400 was only a
quarter to a sixth of that of tin (Spencer 1998, 11;
Blanchard 2005, 1451-1494 g. 9, 1; 1525-1539
g. 11, 1), so many pewterers tried to adulterate tin
with as much lead as possible for maximum prot.
This is reected by metal analyses of several pewter
items of the 13
th
and 14
th
centuries from Germany,
Poland or the Netherlands which are high in lead
almost throughout, often exhibiting an eutectic
composition (g. 14a). Not until the pewter guilds
fully controlled and restricted the pewter production
by ordinances from the 14
th
century onwards, the
lead content in pewterware decreased, at least in
Great Britain (Homer 2001)
6
. By the late Middle
Ages and the Early Post-Medieval period the lead
content in English pewter had declined considerably,
Fig. 13 X-ray diffractograms
from two analyses at the surface
of the Breiter Weg stripe
showing peaks allocable to
different corrosion phases, as
well as tin and lead from the
substrate. – (Illustration
D.Berger).
76 D. Berger · Composition and decoration of the so-called Zinnfigurenstreifen found in Magdeburg
obviously due to the strict regulations of the pewter
guilds (Dungworth / Egan 2005). It is, however, also
demonstrated from analyses that especially pilgrim
badges retained a high percentage in lead. The ma-
jority of these religious souvenirs are still made from
eutectic pewter in the 14
th
to the 16
th
centuries,
which is in opposition to the low or missing lead
content, for example in tableware (Brownsword / Pitt
1984; 1990; Mitchiner 1986, 12; Spencer 1998, 10-
13; Dungworth / Egan 2005, 323 f.).
It is not clear from previously conducted metallurgi-
cal analyses if the development in Germany or Cen-
tral Europe took the same path. But according to
historical sources three types of pewter are known
from 14
th
century onwards: lautere Zinn (engl. ne
pewter) with only some copper besides tin, Probe
zinn (engl. lay pewter) with up to 17 wt.% lead,
geringe Zinn (engl. inferior pewter) with equal parts
of tin and lead in the worst case (Haedeke 1973,
10). The rst two types should have ofcially pre-
vailed whereas the latter conjecturally played only a
minor role. It is very likely that the guild’s ordinances
were not always obeyed correctly and some fraud-
ulent pewterers tried to circumvent them to their
Fig. 14 a tin and lead contents of the
two pewter stripes from Magdeburg in
comparison with the composition of
Central European pewter (lead) objects
ranging from the 13
th
to the 15
th
cen-
tury. – b shows their copper contents; in
this diagram 0.001 wt.% is only a fictitious
value for plotting the data on logarithmic
scale, copper amounts to detection limit in
all these cases (data taken from van
Beuningen / Koldeweij 1993, 23; Schanz
2011; Berger 2013; Miazga 2014 and
from further analyses of the author). –
(Illustrations D. Berger).
77Restaurierung und Archäologie 7 · 2014
own advantage. To obtain more information about
this issue, more metal analyses of German and
other con tinental European pewter are urgently
needed.
Turning back to the pewter stripe from the Breiter
Weg in Magdeburg, the lead content seems to be
characteristically high and absolutely legal for the
period of the 12
th
/13
th
century AD. No guild control
existed at that time (rst German guild was Nurem-
berg 1285). From Theophilus Presbyter, a German
monk who had written a treatise of the goldsmith’s
art around AD 1100, we come to know that two
parts of tin (i. e. 66 wt.%) were commonly alloyed
with one part of lead (i. e. 33 wt.%) (Brepohl 1987,
chapter 89). The resulting (eutectic) solder should be
used for joining different metal parts. The same
recipe is written down in the early to high medieval
manuscript Mappae Clavicula which earmarks the
solder for a similar function (Smith / Hawthorne
1974, chapter 122-A). Considering that in this time
up to mid 13
th
century diversication in Central
European handcraft was not developed to the same
degree as in the Late Middle Ages and pewter pro-
duction was often performed by gold smiths without
guild control, it appears possible that the named
recipes represent a typical and widely accepted com-
position not only for solders, but also for all kinds of
pewter objects, such as the investigated stripe. Yet,
this hypothesis needs verication by metallurgical
analyses, not least because Theophilus also men-
tions the use of tin alloy with little mercury for pro-
duction of vessels (Brepohl 1987, 29 and chap-
ter 88). Such an alloy has not been recognised
hith erto.
From the metallurgical viewpoint it is not clear at all
why the craftsman used the same alloy for the joint
and the two separate parts of the stripe. Normally,
the melting point of joined metal pieces should be
higher than that of the solder; otherwise there was
danger of fusion and destabilisation of the object.
Of course, the detected low copper content (around
0.7 wt.%) would slightly raise the melting tempera-
ture of the stripe’s tin-lead alloy (Oettel / Schumann
2011, tabs 6. 17), but since copper is also present in
the solder, this effect is put into perspective. Further-
more, it is not even clear if copper was an intentional
addition to the pewter by the craftsman: At the cur-
rent state of research hardly anything is known
about deliberate alloying of tin with little copper
from the early centuries of the 2
nd
millennium (until
1300), especially from Central Europe. Both Theo-
philus and the Mappae Clavicula do not report on
such practices and also the hitherto available
analyses do not substantially corroborate this point
(g. 14b). Yet, looking at later periods, copper was
sometimes intentionally alloyed to tin-lead and more
often to pure tin primarily with the aim to enhance
the hardness of the soft metal (Mitchiner / Skinner
1984, 86; Brownsword / Pitt 1990; Spencer 1998,
11; Dungworth / Egan 2005). It would be interesting
to know when copper was rst introduced into
pewter metallurgy, but this once more requires com-
prehensive metal analyses all over Central Europe
and, if necessary, beyond.
Another important result is the observation that the
stripe from Breiter Weg was not gilded as formerly
postulated. The remains with golden appearance on
its surface mainly consist of chalco pyrite that – aside
other sulphidic compounds is merely the result of
natural corrosion processes under reducing condi-
tions. Accordingly, the stripe’s surface once appeared
silvery and not golden, which may also be true for
the stripe from Schwibbogen 9, as well as the main
part of archaeological pewter objects that possess
comparable surface colours (cf. Berger 2012, 52 f.).
Considering this point, the pewter stripes from
Magdeburg will not have had the social relevance as
it was yet believed, although the depicted scenes still
hold important historical information. Moreover,
both stripes manifest the long tradition of pewter
craft and history of mass-produced pewter objects in
Magdeburg. They add to a large number of pewter
craft remains from all over the old town to which,
however, they cannot be linked without problems
(Köther 2009; Krabath 2009b; 2009c; Ditmar-Trauth
2012; Ditmar-Trauth in print, g. 13; Berger in print
b). In particular, their relationship to the moulds and
the associated high medieval pewter workshop from
nearby Gold schmiede brücke is still not clear, even
though lead-rich and apparently eutectic tin-lead
78 D. Berger · Composition and decoration of the so-called Zinnfigurenstreifen found in Magdeburg
alloys were also utilised there (Berger in print a). De-
sirably, more analytical research on material from
Magdeburg, Germany and entire Europe should be
carried out in future in order to establish a better
understanding of the medieval pewter craft, its de-
velopment and organisation. Of special interest are
for instance the resources of tin that appear as sig-
nicant requirement for developing specialised tin
founders: By the 12
th
and 13
th
centuries, new tin re-
sources of the Erzgebirge were opened up, provid-
ing cheaper tin than Cornwall and Devon (the major
sources until then; Wilsdorf et al. 1988). It could be
promising to follow this important change by analys-
ing tin isotope ratios and trace elements that would
perhaps allow connection of metals and ores and
reconstruction of tin supply.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte in
Halle (Saale), especially to H. Meller, R. Mischker and I. Widany, for
providing the pewter stripe for scientic investigation and analysis.
M. Schulz from the Landeskriminalamt Sachsen-Anhalt, Magde-
burg, is kindly acknowledged for his help in performing the micro
X-ray diffraction analysis.
Notes
1) An image of the whole stripe from Schwibbogen 9 can be found
in Puhle 2005, 106-107 or Krabath 2009d.
2) See also the documentation of the excavation carried out by
C. Gildhoff, Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte, Halle (Saale),
Germany; excavation no. 780, D640.
3) For the analyses a scanning electron microscope from Carl Zeiss
AG, device type EVO MA25, with energy dispersive X-ray micro
spectrometry from Bruker AXS, device type Quantax 400, was
used. Parameters and specications: (SEM) tungsten lament,
20-25 kV, high vacuum (10
–5
Pa), no carbon coating, SE and BSE
detectors, variable operating distance, software: SmartSEM
V05.03.05; (EDX) silicon drift detector, 100-250 s measuring
time (mapping: 3600 s), standardless quantication, software:
Esprit 1.8.2.2167.
4) For the XRD analyses an X-ray micro diffractometer from Bruker
AXS, type D8 Discover GADDS, was used. Parameters and speci-
cations: X-ray tube with cobalt anode, 30 kV, 40 mA, graphite
monochromator, monocapillary with 300 µm pinhole collimator,
2D-Hi Star-detector, in situ analysis, 300 s measuring time, soft-
ware: X’Pert HighScore Plus, PANalytical BV, PDF 2 database.
5) A metallurgical analysis from the 1950s yielded 91.62 wt.% tin,
7.84 wt.% lead, 0.42 wt.% iron, 0.13 wt.% aluminium and tra-
ces of bismuth, cf. Nickel 1956.
6) There are much more analyses on medieval and post-medieval
British than on continental European pewter (e. g. Mitchiner /
Skin ner 1983; 1984; Mitchiner 1986; Brownsword / Pitt 1990;
Spencer 1998; Heyworth 2002; Dungworth / Egan 2005; Wang
2005).
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Zusammenfassung / Summary
Zusammensetzung und Verzierung der sogenannten 
Zinngurenstreifen aus Magdeburg
Archäologische und archäometallurgische Untersuchun-
gen der letzten Jahre konnten zeigen, dass Magdeburg im
hohen und späten Mittelalter eines der bedeutendsten
Zentren für den Zinnguss in Europa war. Anlass zu dieser
Aussage geben die Funde hunderter Steingießformen,
doch auch einige Weißmetallfunde tragen dazu bei. In
die sem Beitrag werden die Ergebnisse der naturwissen-
schaftlichen und metallurgischen Untersuchung eines die-
ser Weißmetallobjekte erläutert, um damit seine Metall-
zusammensetzung und Herstellungsgeschichte zu rekon-
struieren. Derartige Betrachtungen wurden besonders im
deutschen Raum bislang oft vernachlässigt, sodass nur
wenige Erkenntnisse zur Metallurgie mittelalterlicher
Weiß metallobjekte existieren.
Composition and decoration of the so-called 
Zinngurenstreifen
 found in Magdeburg
Archaeological and archaeometallurgical investigations in
the last years have shown that Magdeburg in Saxony-An-
halt, Germany, was an important centre for pewter cast-
ing during the High and Late Middle Ages. This is mainly
based on hundreds of stone moulds, but apart from that,
some evidence of medieval pewter artefacts has survived.
It is the aim of the following paper to examine one of this
pewter objects by means of scientic and metallurgical
analyses in order to give an understanding of its metallur-
gical composition, manufacture and decoration. Until
now such considerations are rare, especially concerning
German medieval pewterware.
Keywords
pewter / tin-lead alloy / metallurgical analysis /
High Middle Ages / medieval Magdeburg /
scanning electron microscopy / archaeometallurgy
113Restaurierung und Archäologie 7 · 2014
AUTORINNEN UND AUTOREN
Auenmüller, Johannes
Ägyptologe
Institut für Ägyptoligie und Koptologie
der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Schlaunstr. 2
48143 Münster
johannes.auenmueller@uni-muenster.de
Berger, Daniel
Archäometer
Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie
D6, 3, 68159 Mannheim
daniel.berger@cez-archaeometrie.de
Ehrig, Karsten
wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung
Unter den Eichen 87
12205 Berlin
karsten.ehrig@bam.de
Gatzsche, Alexander
R
estaurator
Náprstkovo muzeum asijských,
afrických a amerických kultur
Betlémské námesti 1
110 00 Praha 1
alexander.gatzsche@outlook.de
Kaiser, Sandra
Restauratorin
R
ömisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum
Leibniz-Forschungsmuseum für Archäologie
Ernst-Ludwig-Platz 2
55116 Mainz
kaiser@rgzm.de
Martins, Sigrun
R
estauratorin
Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt
Karmelitergasse 1
60311 Frankfurt am Main
sigrun.martins@stadt-frankfurt.de
Meinel, Dietmar
I
ngenieur
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung
Unter den Eichen 87
12205 Berlin
dietmar.meinel@bam.de
Röber, Christopher
R
estaurator
Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen
D6, 3, 68159 Mannheim
christopher.roeber@mannheim.de
S
chneider, Gerwulf
wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter
Freie Universität Berlin
Hittorfstr. 18
14195 Berlin
schnarch@zedat.fu-berlin.de
S
chwahn, Birgit
Restauratorin
A
rchäologisches Museum Frankfurt
Karmelitergasse 1
60311 Frankfurt am Main
birgit.schwahn@stadt-frankfurt.de
Willer, Frank
Restaurator
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Bachstr. 5-9
53115 Bonn
f.willer@lvr.de
... Wrocławskie znaleziska nie stanowią w tej kwestii wyjątku. W literaturze polskiej i europejskiej im poświęconej znajduje się wiele informacji o takich wyrobach, a także ich twórcach (Berger 2014;Naum 2015). O licznych naczyniach, łyżkach, kielichach, patenach oraz drobnych elementach biżuteryjnych (zawieszki dzwoneczkowate), a także ampułkach i plakietkach pielgrzymich wykonywanych ze stopu cyny i ołowiu donoszą Patrick Ottaway i Nicola Rogers (2002), a także Iwona Wojciechowska, która publikuje studium plakietek pielgrzymich i świeckich ze Stargardu (Wojciechowska 2019). ...
... Stosowanie tych surowców było tańszym rozwiązaniem niż użycie srebra. Niezwykle powszechnie znajdowanymi wyrobami, zawierającymi ołów, cynę i ich aliaże, są znaki pielgrzymie i odznaki świeckie, często opisywane w literaturze (Blick 2001;Baudo, Mazzocchin, Cairns 2007;Paner 2013;Szajt, Wachowski 2013;Berger 2014;Sawicki 2014). Poza zastosowaniem cyny i ołowiu do odlewania całych przedmiotów, materiałów tych używano także do dekorowania wyrobów z innych surowców, w tym żelaznych, mosiężnych i brązowych, a nawet skórzanych (Kaźmierczyk 1970;Miazga 2017). ...
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MetalEspaña 2020/2021 recoge trabajos sobre todos los tipos de Patrimonio Metálico y aproximaciones de investigación analítica, deontológicos y técnicos. Es una obra conjunta sobre un espacio de encuentro de profesionales, conservadores-restauradores, conservadores, arqueólogos, historiadores del arte, investigadores, alumnos, etc. Las contribuciones, en las que se combinan investigación e intervención en casos concretos, ponen de manifiesto que la multidisciplinariedad en este campo es una realidad, sin perder de vista que el objetivo final siempre es la mejora de la conservación de los objetos y obras del Patrimonio Metálico. La ciencia aplicada es imprescindible.
... Parece ser que afecta a objetos de aleaciones de plomo-estaño (Berger, 2014), o aquellos con un recubrimiento de plomo, o plomo estaño (Ingo et al., 2006;Mezzi et al., 2013). ...
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... A digital elevation model with a spatial resolution of 20 × 20 cm reveals extensive excavations in the Schellerhau granite with heaps, ditches, and hollows (Figures 2 and 3a). The first historical records of tin trade from the wider Erzgebirge area are very unspecific and comprise, for example, the drop of prices for tin from Cornwall in the market of Cologne due to first imports from Germany in AD 1241, and the first pewter objects having appeared in central Germany around AD 1250 (Berger, 2014). The first historical record of tin mining which relates directly to an area in the Erzgebirge dates to AD 1305, referring to tin mining activities at Crupa (=Graupen/Krupka), approximately 15 km SE of Schellerhau (Emler, 1882;No. ...
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... A digital elevation model with a spatial resolution of 20x20 cm reveals extensive excavations in the Schellerhau granite with heaps, ditches and hollows ( Fig. 2 and 3A). The first historical records of tin trade from the wider Erzgebirge area are very unspecific and comprise, for example, the drop of prices for tin from Cornwall on the market of Cologne due to first imports from Germany in AD 1241, and the first pewter objects having appeared in central Germany around AD 1250 (Berger, 2014). The first historical record of tin mining which relates directly to an area in the Erzgebirge dates to AD 1305, referring to tin mining activities at Crupa (= Graupen / Krupka), approx. ...
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