Lost wax castings dating from the mid-fourth millennium B. C. are discussed. These artifacts were cast in arsenical-copper bronze and include crowns, standards, scepters, mace heads, tools, etc. The artifacts demonstrate a good knowledge of lost wax casting including the hollow-core technique. From trace metal analysis it appears that the metal came from a source in Armenia. The artifacts are from the Chalcolithic Period but it is not known who made them or why they were hidden in the Cave of Treasures.

Author: Dave Schneller