The groundbreaking finding, published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, reveals that metalworkers from the El Argar culture were employing lost-wax casting, a complex technique requiring considerable skill, as early as 2200 BC. This makes it the earliest confirmed evidence of this sophisticated process anywhere in Western Europe during the Bronze Age.
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The bracelet itself was excavated on May 23, 1884, by pioneering archaeologists Henri and Louis Siret from Grave 292 at the El Argar archaeological site in Almería, Spain. For more than a century, it sat largely overlooked in the Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire in Brussels, catalogued simply as an unusual closed silver ring with three decorative grooves. Nobody realized they were looking at evidence of a technological revolution.
El Argar archaeological site in Antas, Almería. Source: Universidad de Granada
The Woman Who Wore Innovation on Her Wrist
Grave 292 belonged to a woman between 20 and 30 years old, buried in a large ceramic vessel called a pithos. Though the burial had been partially destroyed over millennia, what remained told the story of someone who held considerable status in El Argar society. The grave goods included eight silver objects in total: the unique bracelet, a copper spiral arm ring, several beads made from bone, stone, copper and silver, two silver spiral rings, one copper spiral ring, and two pottery vessels.
According to Phys.org, the Siret brothers noted in their 1890 publication that the bracelet was found on the woman's arm along with the copper spiral. They described it as being "of a different and unique shape" with "parallel longitudinal grooves" running around its outer surface, "as if they had wanted to represent separate spirals."
The quantity and quality of silver objects in the burial marks the deceased as a member of what archaeologists call the "apical class" - the ruling elite of El Argar society. The El Argar culture, which flourished between 2200 and 1550 BC in southeastern Spain, stands out among Bronze Age European cultures for one remarkable reason: they possessed and used silver in abundance when the metal remained extremely rare everywhere else on the continent.
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Lost-wax caste bangle from Grave 292. (L. Boutoille 2025)
The Tell-Tale Fingerprint That Changed Everything
Dr. Linda Boutoille from Queens University Belfast conducted a meticulous examination of the bracelet using a high-resolution digital microscope, magnifying its surface up to 220 times. What she discovered was extraordinary: preserved in the silver itself were the ghostly traces of its creation over four millennia ago.
The bracelet measures 58.9 mm in external diameter with a sub-oval cross-section and three distinctive grooves running around its outer surface. It weighs just 13.8 grams - a delicate ornament that required considerable skill to produce. But it was the surface irregularities that told the real story. Dr. Boutoille identified smoothing marks on the interior surface and, most crucially, evidence that the grooves had been carved into a malleable material rather than engraved into hardened metal.
Details of the surface of the bangle from El Argar Grave 292: a. irregular internal surface; b. traces of smoothing on internal surface; c, d. details of the grooves; e. casting flaws partially covering the groove; f. fingerprint. (L. Boutoille 2025)
Even more remarkable, between two of the grooves, she found a fingerprint. Not a modern contamination, but an ancient one - pressed into the wax model before casting and preserved forever in silver. "All these marks are residual traces of the modelling employed during the shaping of the wax model prior to the casting of the silver bracelet," the study explains.
The lost-wax technique involves creating a detailed model of the desired object in beeswax. This model is then covered with several layers of clay to create a mold. When the clay-covered model is heated, the wax melts and drains away—hence "lost-wax"—leaving a hollow cavity that perfectly captures every detail of the original model, including imperfections and, apparently, fingerprints. Molten silver is then poured into this cavity. Once cooled, the clay mold is broken to reveal the finished object.
Two specific irregularities located on opposite sides of the bracelet have been interpreted as the points where the sprue (the channel through which metal was poured) and vent (allowing air to escape) were removed after casting. These technical markers, combined with the fingerprint and surface irregularities, provide what Dr. Boutoille calls "compelling evidence" that the bracelet was created using the lost-wax process.
A Local Innovation or Imported Knowledge?
The imperfect quality of the wax model suggests either rapid production without sufficient finishing, or the work of someone still learning the craft. The wax may even have been impure - mixed with other substances like animal fat or pine resin. Interestingly, stone tools associated with processing beeswax have been found at El Argar culture sites including Fuente Álamo, El Argar itself, and Gatas. Some of these tools show traces of animal fat or pine resin mixed with the wax, possibly attempts to improve its workability for metalworking purposes.
Given that other advanced cultures were using lost-wax casting during this period - it appears in fifth-millennium BC Bulgaria and contemporary Pakistan, and was used in Central Europe during the Early Bronze Age - one obvious question arises: was this bracelet imported, or was it made locally?
The evidence strongly suggests local production. The abundance of silver objects is one of the defining characteristics of El Argar culture at a time when silver remained extraordinarily rare elsewhere in Early Bronze Age Europe. More than 700 silver objects have been documented from El Argar sites, with nearly 300 coming from the El Argar site alone. This unusual abundance strongly indicates local silver working traditions.
Elite Control or Experimental Workshop?
The discovery raises fascinating questions about the organization of Bronze Age metallurgy in El Argar society. Was this sophisticated technique controlled by the ruling elite, or was it more widely accessible?
All the objects that may have been produced using lost-wax casting in the El Argar culture come from the richest graves, those attributed to the apical class. At Fuente Álamo, stone tools for processing beeswax were concentrated in the acropolis area, where the wealthiest tombs are located. This pattern suggests that access to this technology may have been restricted to the upper echelons of society.
Yet the variable quality of lost-wax cast objects - including this bracelet's rather crude finishing despite its advanced technique - hints at a more complex picture. Perhaps knowledge of the technique wasn't restricted to a small group of master craftsmen. The imperfect bracelet could represent a learning piece, the work of someone still mastering the craft, or even experimental production within elite households rather than specialized workshops.
The evidence suggests at least two distinct levels of metalworking in El Argar society: widespread domestic production responsible for most everyday objects, and skilled specialized production creating prestige items like long swords, diadems, and complex ornaments for the elite. The bracelet from Grave 292, with its advanced technique but imperfect execution, occupies an intriguing middle ground between these categories.
Top image: Silver bangle from El Argar Grave 292 showing grooves created through lost-wax casting technique. Source: B. Meunier (MRAH) / Libby Mulqueeny (QUB) via La Brújula Verde
By Gary Manners
References
Boutoille, L. 2025. First evidence of lost‐wax casting in the earlier Bronze Age of south‐eastern Spain: The silver bangle from El Argar, Grave 292. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ojoa.70005
Carvajal, G., 2025. A Bracelet Found in the Tomb of a Woman in El Argar Is the First Evidence of an Advanced Goldsmithing Technique in Bronze Age Europe. La Brújula Verde. Available at: https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/11/a-bracelet-found-in-the-tomb-of-a-woman-in-el-argar-is-the-first-evidence-of-an-advanced-goldsmithing-technique-in-bronze-age-europe/
Oster, S., 2025. First evidence of lost-wax casting for silver in Bronze Age Western Europe uncovered. Phys.org. Available at: https://phys.org/news/2025-12-evidence-lost-wax-silver-bronze.html
