A red, lustrous, malleable, and ductile element employed as an alloy with tin (and sometimes lead and arsenic) to form bronze. Pure copper has a higher melting point (1084° C) than either tin (232°C) or the alloy (bronze) it forms with tin (950° C), a fact that is important for its employment as a useful technology. Copper was available in Etruria from the Colline Metallifere and the Tolfa area.
Historical Dictionary of the Etruscans. Simon K. F. Stoddart.