Antimony jewelry and antimony as an alloying admixture of the bronze items from the Adaydon and Elkhotovo cemeteries of the Koban culture in the Caucasus

This paper analyzes the results of the instrumental examination of the metal composition of 18 artifacts from the Adaydon and Elkhotovo cemeteries of the Koban Culture in the Caucasus. These items of the funerary offerings date to the time span from the proto-Koban period to the «classical» Koban period (Koban I A-B period - Koban III period after V I. Kozenkova). The analysis found that the jewelry made of metallic antimony was spread in the region of the Koban culture of the Caucasus not only during the early stages of its evolvement and development («proto-Koban» period; Koban IA-B period), but also much later in the pre-Scythian - early Scythian period. Besides, the study showed that metallic antimony was used by the ancient population which left behind the aforesaid sites not only as metal to produce various items (up to 97-98 %) but also, in a number of cases, as an alloying element added to copper to improve its strength and durability as well as make it improve its appearance. The instrumental method also found that antimony was used by ancient artisans to make insignia and votive items (e. g. a macehead from the Adaydon cemetery with 97 % antimony content).