Serial production in the foundry industry of Bol'sherechye culture

Purpose. The early Iron Age cultures of Western Siberia are characterized by well-developed metal working with highly specialized foundry. There was a wide range of products made, and they had to keep up to certain standards. Among findings, castings of one form or those produced after one model are extremely rare, but the stability of production traditions and decorative techniques of this period presupposes that the production was standardized. This contradiction exists because of insufficient information on molding and casting foundry equipment in most cultures of the region. We aimed at identifying the attributes of standardization in foundry production and the level of specialization in bronze casting in the Bol'sherechye culture of the early Iron Age in Western Siberia. Results. Complex analysis of the materials belonging to the Bol'sherechye culture revealed indirect signs that massive bronze production existed during that period. One of the evidences is the discovery of a bronze casting model of a hatchet hummer in the Novosibirsk Ob' Region. According to the results of trace evidence analysis, this product was manufactured using a combined model including plastic (wax) and hard (metal and wooden) parts. In general, metal foundry models were typically used while producing large series of castings as otherwise their production would not be profitable. Another sign of replicating is the fact of our finding a virtually identical hatchet hummer at the Bol'sherechye burial ground Novyi Sharap-2. We conclude that similar techniques and an equivalent set of instruments were used in manufacturing these products. Their similarity is so significant that we assume that they were made according to the same model, in the same workshop and, possibly, by one master. It should be noted that Bol'sherechye casters used highly professional models designed for large series of castings. Another evidence of bronze casting production oriented to the mass-market is our finding of castings from the Upper Ob' region made in one form or after one model. One of them comes from the Novyi Sharap-2 burial ground, the second was found at the Novoaltaisk burial ground, located 300 km upstream of the Ob' River. Both are dated as the 5-4th centuries BC. Conclusion. All the findings of the serial production of foundry in the Bol'sherechye culture discovered are dated within the 5-4th centuries BC. Apparently, there were workshops focused on the production of large series of highly elaborated castings, which served large groups of consumers, and they were located on the territory where this culture was spread during that period. Products were transported from those workshops many hundred kilometers away, which suggests the presence of an extensive trade network. One of the possible areas where production centers could be localized was the zone of pine forests along the Ob River, which was the main traffic waterway of the region.