Silver recycling in the Viking Age: Theoretical and analytical approaches.

The recycling (remelting) of precious metals is commonly seen as a major impediment in provenancing studies. Yet in cases where known silver sources are both limited and geochemically well-characterized, there are opportunities to evaluate silver flows at different temporal and geographical scales. Here, we provide a theoretical and analytical framework for assessing the impact of precious metal recycling in a historical context in which silver remelting was the norm: Viking Age Scandinavia (.