Copper metallurgy

Thirty-nine Neolithic and Early Bronze Age copper objects (primarily axe blades and daggers) from Central, southern and eastern Switzerland or eastern France were analysed typochronologically, chemically and with regard to their lead isotope ratios. This combination of methods allows for more differentiated and reliable conclusions about the provenances of the copper ores and metallurgies than the individual methods could provide in isolation. The primacy of the typochronological classification is paramount for assessing the scientific results appropriately. For the period between c. 4300 and c. 1800 BCE, there is evidence of at least seven different metallurgical traditions found in the Prealps, some of them stemming from faraway innovation hotspots. These metallurgies do not form part of a continuous tradition; instead, they emerge unexpectedly and disappear again just as abruptly. This could hint at the fragility and volatility of these strands of tradition and the groups who keep them. Between 4300 and 3500 BCE, there was a multitude of types, groups of copper compositions and isotope ratios. Arsenic plays an essential role in the composition of copper during this time. Such arsenic-enriched copper is generally referred to as ‘arsenic copper’. It is likely that a considerable share of the raw material used in arsenic copper from this first heyday of copper metallurgy originates from the Slovak or Saxon-Bohemian Ore Mountains. Nevertheless, it seems likely that arsenic copper was at least partially cast locally in the pile dwelling of the Prealps and forged into the shapes known from these areas. According to our analyses, the raw material of some of the objects found in the Swiss Prealps, whether they are arsenic copper or not, could also stem from the eastern Alpine region. Concentrations of crucible and axe blade finds are not necessarily evidence for ore deposits in close proximity, as was assumed in the case of Mondsee and Attersee; these finds could also be indicative of local salt sources, with the salt being exchanged for copper from other areas. The copper of the flanged axe blades from the last quarter of the 4th millennium BCE found mainly south of the Alps—in isolation also north of the Alps—is very similar to the early arsenic copper mentioned above. The axe blades’ distribution patterns and the ‘fingerprint’ of their lead isotope ratios suggest that this later arsenic copper has its origin in the metallurgical centres in South Tuscany. These innovations from the West Mediterranean inspired the metallurgical traditions in the South of France (e.g. Cabrières, Montagne Noire) and the south-western Alps (Massifs des Grandes Rousses, Saint Véran).

This paper is part of a Special Issue (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-archaeological-science-reports/special-issues) on Contributions of Experimental Archaeology to Excavation and Material Studies, guest edited by Frederik W. Rademakers, Georges Verly, Florian Téreygeol and Johannes Auenmüller.

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1cnv5,rVDBVSrZ

In this paper, a solution is proposed to answer the problematic issue of the type of fuel used in the early Middle Kingdom smelting furnaces at Ayn Soukhna based on a strict experimental protocol. The protocol was repeated 17 times, for a total of approx. 1500 h of experimental work. In correspondence with the archaeological data obtained at Ayn Soukhna, the combined use of fresh acacia and donkey dung as fuel for smelting is proposed; the use of charcoal for smelting can be excluded.

A holistic evaluation of experimental and archaeological evidence has shown that a combination of fresh wood and donkey dung was most likely the standard fuel choice at Middle Kingdom Ayn Soukhna. This is evidenced by the compatibility of results from experimental smelting using wood and donkey dung in terms of furnace lining impact and colorimetry, slag typology and deposition, ash and charcoal distribution, and raw copper shape and size. The use of charcoal systematically results in incompatible smelting results, as does smelting without donkey dung. In addition to green wood, donkey dung is required to regulate the temperature distribution inside the furnaces and to increase the production of copper prills. Green wood creates a favourable atmosphere for the smelting of copper carbonate ore. It heats the lining of the column less, allowing the furnaces to be reused over several campaigns. The dual fuel use of green wood and donkey dung, however, has resulted in the best agreement between experimental smelting results and corresponding archaeological evidence.

This archaeometallurgical research in the Nile Valley is carried out by a team composed of Georges Verly, in charge of archaeology and experimental archaeology, and Frederik Rademakers, in charge of archaeometry, as well as numerous master students and a Maître d’art, Hugues Paridans. Dialogue and interdisciplinarity are the assets of this project, dictating equality between its members, representing the sum of ideas and debates, building all research protocols and publications.

A treballs anteriors hem documentat processos metal·lúrgics prehistòrics, alguns de cronologia incerta i d'altres associats a la primera fase cultural registrada a Mallorca. Aquesta fase cultural es caracteritza per la presència de ceràmica amb decoració incisa de tradició campaniforme, i la situam a finals del III mil·lenni cal aC (al darrer terç) i, possiblement, al començament del següent (e.g., . No està clarament establert si aquesta fase pertany a l'edat del Bronze inicial o a l'edat del Coure tardana. L'existència d'una fase cultural anterior roman sense provar, d'acord amb l'evidència actual. Donada l'absència de documentació de fases culturals prèvies, associam la fase cultural amb ceràmiques incises amb l'arribada dels humans a Mallorca, la qual s'ha situat entre el 2350 i el 2150 cal BC (ALCOVER, enviat a publicar; BOVER & ALCOVER, en premsa). En definitiva, hem documentat que, com a mínim, des de moments propers a la primera arribada dels humans fins moments indeterminats del II mil·lenni aC (probablement fins moments de la segona meitat del II mil·lenni) a les muntanyes d'Escorca i de Pollença es va extreure mineral de coure, el qual es fonia sobretot al que hem anomenat "balmes metal·lúrgiques".

The research focuses on assessing the metal content, mainly copper, lead, iron and also silver in metallurgical slag samples from the area where historical metallurgical industry functioned. In the smelter located in Mogiła, near Krakow (southern Poland), whose operation is confirmed in sources from 1469, copper was probably refined as well as silver was separated from copper. Based on the change of chemical and soil phase content and also taking cartographic and historical data into account, considering the restrictions resulting from the modern land use the area was determined whose geochemical mapping can point to the location of the 15 th century Jan Thurzo's smelter in Mogiła near Krakow. Moreover, using the same approach with the samples of this kind here as with hazardous waste, an attempt has been made to assess their impact on the environment. Thereby, taking the geoenvironmental conditions into account, potential impact of the industrial activity has been assessed, which probably left large scale changes in the substratum, manifested in the structure, chemical content and soil phase changes. Discovering areas which are contaminated above the standard value can help to identify historical human activities, and finding the context in artefacts allows to treat geochemical anomalies as a geochronological marker. For this purpose the best are bed sediments, at present buried in the ground, of historical ditches draining the area of the supposed smelter. Correlating their qualities with analogical research of archeologically identified slags and other waste material allows for reconstructing the anthropopressure stages and the evaluation of their effects. The operation of Jan Thurzo's smelter is significant for the history of mining and metallurgy of Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.

In this work, the origin and development of the copper metallurgy within the Chalcolithic of Portuguese Estremadura is discussed. In the portuguese territory, the southern origin of copper metallurgy is supported by absolute chronology. This situation is compared with the one related to the trade of external material sources, like anfiboloschists, that compose the majority of polished stone artefacts of estremaduran region. There is thusan evidence of a trans-regional commerce of these materials in exchange for silex, which is abundant in Estremadura. Infact, silex is the prime material of many artefects in Alentejo and Beira Interior, where this rock does not exist. All these facts suggest the existence of a trade net for long distances, stable and time lasting, related to the chalcolithic economic intensification.