“The personal signature, that is imprinted on all techniques and knowledge incorporated while creating the body of knowledge, forms the crucial part of the individual habitus of the craftsman.”
Nørgaard 2018, 257.
“…the habitus is reflected in the execution of a repair.”
Hardin 1977
Repaired artefacts in the Nordic Bronze Age
Two types of repair on artefacts could be documented during the study of the large ornaments in Southern Scandinavia and Northern Germany: (1) the repair of broken spikes on belt plates, and (2) the repair of broken end plates on collars. Interestingly, only a few variations show up in the execution of this repair. Simple rings, weapons and tools additionally show repair or reworking, however, they should be considered at another time.
Repair of broken spikes on belt plates
The spikes of the belt plates are either connected again with the plate by using the cast-on technique, or have been attached with the help of staples.
The Repair of neck collars
Concerning the end plates of the wide-spread neck collars, three different repair techniques were detected:
1: Reworking and smoothing the breaking point
2: The insertion of holes as a replacement for the end-rolls.
The insertion of holes to close the neck collar around the neck at the collar from Bustrup, Jutland. THis repair happens often with shorter collars that are not able to hold themselves. Picture: H. Nørgaard, citation: Nørgaard 2018. 
Endplate with secondary inserted holes of the collar from Sulsted, North Jutland. Picture: H. Nørgaard, citation: Nørgaard 2018.
3: placing the broken parts onto each other (slightly overlapping) and connecting both parts with staples.
All pictures are taken by Heide Nørgaard and can be used in presentations and articles provided the original author and source are credited, in this case Nørgaard 2018, Bronze Age Metalwork, Nørgaard 2015 Genau Hingesehen and Nørgaard + Reiter 2020, La Spécialisation à l’âge du Bronze nordique.
Dr Heide Wrobel Nørgaard 