The Gundestrup Cauldron: Metallurgy and Manufacturing Techniques

New investigations of the Gundestrup cauldron have given new information on the origin and production of the largest known example of Iron Age silver work. Dating of beeswax used in the process of decoration and lead isotope analysis of the silver indicated that the cauldron was produced between 0 and 300 A.D., somewhere in the western part of Europe. At least three batches of silver with different copper content were used for the production of the decorated plates. They correspond to the presumed production by different groups of artisans who used different toolsets. Two of the blanks seem to have been exchanged by accident or on purpose. Partial gilding was done mechanically, the gold foil was fixed by closely spaced punchmarks. The adherence of the gold was rather poor, and repairs were made, using a thicker and somewhat more copper-rich gold foil. The cauldron was assembled by soldering it with almost pure tin, a rather unusual technology for an item of this size.