Aurélie Cuénod

Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt, Lippstadt 1, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin

University of Leicester, Archaeology and Ancient History, Honorary Visiting Fellow

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I am interested in the study of ancient copper and iron metallurgy and in particular in the mechanisms involved in technological change, in the study of metal recycling and in the question of how to deal with big datasets in archaeology. I have worked on ancient metallurgy in Iran, Libya and Morocco and have also worked on cataloging R.F. Tylecote’s collection of metallurgical samples (currently hosted at Oxford University) for the Historical Metallurgy Society.

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Papers by Aurélie Cuénod

Long-term History in a Moroccan Oasis Zone: The Middle Draa Project 2015

by Julia Nikolaus, Aurélie Cuénod, Louise Rayne, and Katrien G . Janin

This article describes the research questions and presents the initial AMS dates of the Middle Dr... more This article describes the research questions and presents the initial AMS dates of the Middle Draa Project (southern Morocco), a collaborative field survey project between the University of Leicester and the Institut National des Sciences de l' Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP) of Morocco. Starting from a very low baseline of past archaeological research in this pre-desert valley, the overall objective of the project is to establish the extent, character and chronology of the rich archaeology of the Wadi Draa. The results presented here detail a hitherto unknown phase of major occupation in the Draa in the 4th-6th centuries AD evidenced by complex hilltop settlements and extensive cairn cemeteries (an initial typology is presented). A second medieval phase comprised major urban centres that are contemporary with the Almoravid and Almohad periods of Moroccan history. Alongside these urban centres, there are the remains of substantial mudbrick oasis settlements and irrigation and field-systems of a contemporary date. A key contribution of this paper concerns the construction of an outline chronology based upon initial analysis of the ceramics collected , but crucially supplemented and supported by a major program of AMS dating. The remote sensing and field survey data collected by the project enable us to develop some hypotheses concerning the long-term history of this important oasis valley. Keywords Protohistory – Islamic archaeology – landscape archaeology – radiocarbon dating – irrigation Résumé Cet article présente le cadre du projet de reconnaissance inti-tulé " Middle Draa Project " (dans le sud du Maroc) et en donne les premières datations radiocarbones. Ce projet fait l'objet d'une collaboration entre l'

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Form and Flow: The ‘Karmic Cycle’ of Copper

by Peter Hommel, Aurélie Cuénod, and Ray Liu

The analysis and interpretation of the chemical composition of copper-alloys is one of the longes... more The analysis and interpretation of the chemical composition of copper-alloys is one of the longest ongoing research projects within archaeological science. Beginning in the late 18th century these data have been consistently used to try and link objects with distinct metal sources. This paper argues the traditional provenance model for copper alloys is fatally flawed. Through pursuing a ‘pure’ source signal, chemical and isotopic datasets have been removed from their context and history. Social engagement with metal through processes such as reuse, recycling, and curation were rarely considered important by analysts. We offer an alternative model that unites the available legacy scientific datasets with process-metallurgy, archaeological and geographical context, and new conceptual approaches. Rather than provenance, we offer an empirical model of metal flow. Here objects are seen as snapshots of a wider metal stream; their final scientific characterisation including echoes of their previous forms and contexts. Through a series of case studies we highlight how the reinterpretation of existing datasets can disentangle the complex life histories of units of copper.

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Non-destructive μXRF analysis of glass and metal objects from sites in the Libyan pre-desert and Fazzan

Libyan Studies, 2015

This paper reports on the non-destructive analysis of 42 samples of copper alloy and glass from s... more This paper reports on the non-destructive analysis of 42 samples of copper alloy and glass from sites in Libya, using semi-quantitative μXRF, carried out as part of the work of the Trans-Sahara Project funded by the
European Research Council. These are among the first chemical analyses to be performed on metals and glasses of any period found in Libya, and the results – though preliminary – raise some interesting possibilities. In particular, we discuss some possible indications with regard to the practice of recycling glasses, as evidenced through heterogeneous, malformed glass beads with variable quantities of lead. A glass mirror from Ghirza was also found to be backed in lead, and was probably the result of a glass-making technique still practised in recent times in India. The metal analysis has revealed evidence of a pre-Islamic
trade in brass in the northern Sahara, as well as showing the presence of objects made from the mixing of different types of scrap metal, a process probably taking place at the Garamantian metalworking site of Saniat Jibril among other locations. The importance of further analysis of available Libyan and other North African metal artefacts and glasses for the contextualisation and extension of these findings is emphasised.

Iranian Metallurgy and Disruptions in Trade Routes at the End of the Second Millennium BC

van der Wilt, E. & Martinez Jiminez, J., eds. Tough Times: The Archaeology of Crisis and Recovery, Proceedings of the Graduate Archaeology at Oxford conferences in 2010 and 2011, 2013

Thesis by Aurélie Cuénod

Rethinking the bronze-iron transition in Iran : copper and iron metallurgy before the Achaemenid Period

Aurélie Cuénod

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Thesis by Aurélie Cuénod

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