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Equipment available in
the Bilkent Department of Chemistry and the research facilities in
Sarayköy can determine the chemical composition of metals and minerals
through the use of X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence. These
techniques are being applied to reveal, for example, the alloys used for
making ancient metal items like jewelry, tools and weapons.
The first results have
already produced fascinating insights into the different types of metals
used, and have shed new light on hotly debated
questions like sources for the Early Bronze Age Anatolian raw materials,
and trade connections from the Caucasus to the Taurus region in the late
third millennium B.C.
This project is related
to ongoing analysis of the Early Bronze Age settlement of Kalinkaya in
the Çorum district by Dr. Zimmermann, who is receiving support for this
work through a Bilkent Research Development Grant.
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