Experiment on casting Late Bronze Age bronze wheels
by Markus Binggeli, Bern

1. Clay core of a wheel of the Cortaillod (CH)/Stade (D) type. Age of the original: 3,000 years.
2. The clay core is encased in wax.
3. The clay-and-wax core is covered with a clay shell and fired; the wax melts and drains out.
4. The finished mold is placed in a heated pit (A) and filled with molten bronze at 1,100°C.
5. The wheel blank after the casting has cooled (the clay shell has been removed).
6. The finished, polished wheel.