Casting molds for making jewelry from lead-tin alloys from the Late Dyakovo sites in the Moscow region

In the third quarter of the first millennium AD casting molds for making leadtin jewelry were widespread across a vast area that included, among other places, the Moskva-river basin. Unlike other regions, clay molds are more common at the Moscow region Late Dyakovo fortified settlements (27 finds from six fortified settlements in total), whereas the number of stone molds found at three sites is only 15. Both stone and clay molds are linked to the Late Dyakovo period and can be dated to a rather wide period, covering the entire third quarter of the first millennium AD, this time span agrees with the dates of the finds outside the region. A number of indirect attributes suggest that the clay molds for making tiny lead-tin jewelry were, probably, used in the forest belt of eastern Europe before appearance of stone molds. The traces of the jewelry pattern in reverse on the interior side of the clay molds are stylistically linked, mainly, to the local jewelry tradition or are thought to be of common types. The issue of their accurate dating is still pending. The appearance of stone molds in the Moskva-river basin is dated to a later period and is linked to the arrival of newcomers, apparently, from the Upper Dnieper region. The Khlepen fortified settlement may be considered to be a way station on this route. During this stage the stone and clay molds were used in parallel, in some cases, in the same workshop.