Provenance Study of the Lead Detected in the Antique Ceramic Sculpture from the Kerch Bay

Abstract

When studying the ceramic sculpture (bearded male head) found in the Kerch Bay during underwater excavations of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the elemental and isotopic composition of a lead excresence on the inner side of the object has been analyzed. The results of the analysis suggest that the lead most likely originates from the Laurion ore deposit in Attica (Greece). The delivery of lead from this region to antique Bosporus (Crimea) in V BC has been confirmed for the first time by analytical methods.