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"He wanted to use X-rays to see if the sword really had been forged from the right combinations of copper and tin..."

Tin: The original strategic mineral.

[SunkenCiv]

It would be interesting to learn where the component metals were sourced, this is made possible by the ratios with trace metals and whatnot.

No way to know this, but it’s at least possible that the ones which endured the best that can be reliably dated and in the same ballpark of age were all made by the same armorer or at least the same shop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_sources_and_trade_in_ancient_times#Europe

map

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Map_of_bronze-age_tin_finds._Objects_in_the_eastern_Mediterranean_and_the_Near_East%2C_and_major_and_minor_tin_deposits.png