Broken and damaged Bronze Age metalwork has long been studied, but there is no methodology for identifying signs of intentional versus unintentional action. Past approaches have tended to rely on assumptions about how such finds were damaged. Drawing on the material properties of copper alloys, as well as on recent research into wear-analysis and experimental fragmentation of bronze implements, this article presents a working methodology for identifying deliberate damage. Seven ‘Destruction Indicators’ are presented, with associated criteria, for making informed interpretations about archaeological artefacts. These contribute to a ‘Damage Ranking System’, an index for ranking damage on Bronze Age copper alloy objects based on the likelihood that damage was intentional. Two case studies illustrate how this system can be applied.

中文翻译：

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碎片中有方法：青铜时代金属制品的损坏排名系统

长期以来，人们一直在研究破碎和损坏的青铜时代金属制品，但没有用于识别故意迹象的方法相对无意的动作。过去的方法往往依赖于关于这些发现如何被破坏的假设。本文借鉴铜合金的材料特性，以及最近对青铜器具的磨损分析和实验碎裂的研究，提出了一种识别故意损坏的工作方法。提出了七个“破坏指标”以及相关标准，用于对考古文物做出明智的解释。这些有助于“损坏排名系统”，这是一个根据损坏是故意的可能性对青铜时代铜合金物体的损坏进行排名的指数。两个案例研究说明了如何应用该系统。