Lead anchors and metal ingots from the Arburese coast of Sardinia (Italy)

During a series of nautical surveys, lead stocks of wooden-lead Roman anchors and metal ingots have been found along the Arburese coast (south-western Sardinia, Italy) very close to Montevecchio mine basin. because the Montevecchio basin is characterised by the presence of a large metal ore deposits with lead, tin, copper, silver, zinc, cadmium, nickel and iron ores and classical authors indicate that the metal ore outcrops of these area have been surely exploited since the Phoenician-Punic period, the lead anchors and metal ingots have been analysed for determining their chemical composition, microchemical structure and provenance via lead isotope analysis. On the base of the results it is possible to identify the chemical nature and some microchemical features of the ingots and of lead anchors. Concerning the provenance of these materials, on the base of lead isotope analysis results, it is possible to propose only for some lead ingots and anchors two production centres that are the lead mines of the Cartagena (Spain) and the Montevecchio mine basin, respectively.