France and The Western Alps

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
William O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Western Alps ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Copper Ore ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Copper Mines ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Difficult Terrain

The use of copper was first established in the western Alps during the late fifth/ early fourth millennia BC. There were several metal-using groups in what is now modern Switzerland during the fourth millennium, including the Cortaillod and Pfyn cultures, followed in the third millennium BC by groups of the Saône-Rhône culture (Strahm 1994). The first direct evidence of copper production, however, only dates from the Late Bronze Age. This is based on the dating of smelting slag heaps in the valley of Oberhalbstein in the canton of Graubünden (Fasnacht 2004). These slags derive from the smelting of chalcopyrite ore derived from pillow lavas of the ophiolite geology in that area (Geiger 1984). The ability to smelt iron-rich copper ore involved a furnace technology that seems to have been first developed in the eastern Alps (see Chapter 7). No prehistoric mines are known; however, their existence may be inferred from the smelting of local ore at Late Bronze Age sites such as Savognin-Padnal and Marmorera-Stausees in the Oberhalbstein valley. Potential mining sites have been identified (see Schaer 2003), however, these have yet to be investigated in any detail. There are numerous deposits of copper mineralization in many parts of France. These occur in Brittany, the Pyrenees, the Corbières, on the margins of the Massif Central, the Maures, and the Alps. Research over the past 30 years has identified prehistoric copper mines in several of these areas. Further discoveries are possible in the difficult terrain of the Alps and Pyrenees, and also in areas where early copper mines have not been discovered, such as Brittany where deposits of steam tin and gold are also known. The oldest metal objects in France are recorded in the Paris Basin, where a small number of sheet copper beads date to the second half of the fourth millennium BC. These include the burial at Vignely (Seine-et-Marne) where a necklace of nine such beads was found with the burial of a five-year old child dated to 3499–3123 BC (Allard et al. 1998).

scholarly journals Prehistoric copper from the Eastern Alps

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Lutz ◽  
Ernst Pernicka
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Analytical Data ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Ore Deposits ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Metal Artifacts ◽  
Metal Artefacts

The rich copper ore deposits in the Eastern Alps have long been considered as important sources for copper in prehistoric Central Europe. It is, however, not so clear which role each deposit played. To evaluate the amount of prehistoric copper production of the various mining regions it was attempted to link prehistoric metal artefacts with copper ores based on the geochemical characteristics of the ore deposits that have been exploited in ancient times. More than 120 ore samples from the well known mining districts Mitterberg, Viehhofen, Kitzbühel and Schwaz/Brixlegg have been analysed so far (lead isotope ratios, trace elements). Furthermore, about 730 archaeological copper/bronze artifacts were investigated and analysed. These results were combined with analytical data generated by previous archaeometallurgical projects in order to compile a substantial database for comparative studies. In the Early Bronze Age, most metal artifacts were made of copper or bronze with fahlore impurity patterns and most finds from this period match excellently the fahlore deposits in Schwaz and Brixlegg. At the end of the Early Bronze Age, a new variety of copper with lower concentrations of impurities appeared. The impurity patterns of these finds match the ores from the Mitterberg district. In the Middle Bronze Age, this variety of copper Dominated while in the Late Bronze Age fahlores from Schwaz and Brixlegg experienced a comeback. The reason for this may be a decline of the chalcopyrite mines or a rising demand for copper which could not be covered by the chalcopyrite mines alone. The finds of the Early Iron Age are of similar composition and continue the traditions of the Late Bronze Age.

scholarly journals Dig out, Dig in! Plant-based diet at the Late Bronze Age copper production site of Prigglitz-Gasteil (Lower Austria) and the relevance of processed foodstuffs for the supply of Alpine Bronze Age miners

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248287
Author(s):  
Andreas G. Heiss ◽  
Thorsten Jakobitsch ◽  
Silvia Wiesinger ◽  
Peter Trebsche
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Foxtail Millet ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Copper Ore ◽  
Plant Macroremains ◽  
Cereal Products ◽  
Mining Communities ◽  
Daily Diet ◽  
Opencast Mines

This paper starts from theoretical and methodical considerations about the role of archaeobotanical finds in culinary archaeology, emphasizing the importance of processed cereal preparations as the “missing link” between crop and consumption. These considerations are exemplified by the discussion of abundant new archaeobotanical data from the Late Bronze Age copper mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, situated at the easternmost fringe of the Alps. At this site, copper ore mining in opencast mines took place from the 11th until the 9th century BCE (late Urnfield Culture), as well as copper processing (beneficiation, smelting, refining, casting) on artificial terrain terraces. During archaeological excavations from 2010 to 2014, two areas of the site were investigated and sampled for archaeobotanical finds and micro-debris in a high-resolution approach. This paper aims at 1) analysing the food plant spectrum at the mining settlement of Prigglitz-Gasteil basing on charred plant macroremains, 2) investigating producer/consumer aspects of Prigglitz-Gasteil in comparison to the Bronze Age metallurgical sites of Kiechlberg, Klinglberg, and Mauken, and 3) reconstructing the miners’ and metallurgists’ diets. Our analyses demonstrate that the plant-based diet of the investigated mining communities reflects the general regional and chronological trends rather than particular preferences of the miners or metallurgists. The lack of chaff, combined with a high occurrence of processed food, suggests that the miners at Prigglitz-Gasteil were supplied from outside with ready-to-cook and processed grain, either from adjacent communities or from a larger distance. This consumer character is in accordance with observation from previously analysed metallurgical sites. Interestingly, the components observed in charred cereal products (barley, Hordeum vulgare, and foxtail millet, Setaria italica) contrast with the dominant crop taxa (broomcorn millet, Panicum miliaceum, foxtail millet, and lentil, Lens culinaris). Foraging of fruits and nuts also significantly contributed to the daily diet.

scholarly journals Melting, smelting, and recycling: A regional study around the Late Bronze Age mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, Lower Austria

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254096
Author(s):  
Marianne Mödlinger ◽  
Peter Trebsche ◽  
Benjamin Sabatini
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Analytical Data ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Regional Study ◽  
Metal Production ◽  
Mining Site ◽  
Source Materials

This paper presents a study on copper production and distribution in Lower Austria’s southeastern region during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1350–800 BC), with the focal point being the chemistry and isotopic character of artifacts from a small copper mining site at Prigglitz-Gasteil on the Eastern Alps’ easternmost fringe. Ores, casting cakes, and select objects from the Late Bronze Age mining site at Prigglitz-Gasteil, Lower-Austria, and within 15 km of its surroundings, were chemically and isotopically analysed using XRF, NAA, and MC-ICPMS. The importance of Prigglitz-Gasteil as a local mining and metal processing center is evaluated based on the produced data, and the distribution and sourcing of copper-producing materials found at the site are discussed. Special attention is paid to the mixing of scrap and source materials early in the metal production process. The most salient discussions focus on the variability of the chemistry and Pb isotopic ratios of the studied objects, which seem to constitute a multitude of source materials, unlike the pure chalcopyrite-source copper produced from the Prigglitz-Gasteil mine itself. The analytical data suggests that copper alloys were mainly imported from materials originating in the Slovakian Ore Mountains, which were subsequently mixed/recycled with relatively pure locally produced copper. The purity of the copper from Prigglitz-Gasteil was fortuitous in identifying imported copper that contained measurable amounts of Pb and other chemically distinct characteristics. The chaîne opératoire of metal production at the site is mentioned; however, it is clear that additional information on the region’s geochemistry is required before any finite conclusions on the ore-to-metal production can be made.

Slag Investigations from Bronze Age Copper Smelting Sites

2017 ◽  
Vol 891 ◽  
pp. 608-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Haubner ◽  
Susanne Strobl
Keyword(s):  
Phase Diagram ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Phase Diagrams ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Equilibrium Phase ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Copper Smelting ◽  
Smelting Process ◽  
Melting Properties

During the Bronze Age intensive mining and smelting activities for copper production took place in the Eastern Alps. To get information about the copper smelting process, the elemental compositions of slags are marked in equilibrium phase diagrams (e.g. FeO-CaO-SiO2) and so the melting properties can be estimated. Doing so you have to keep in mind that slags have complex compositions and phase diagrams are available for three compounds only. For the analytical measurements it has to be ensured that only molten parts of the slag are measured and not contamination of other ambient material. Spot and area measurements by SEM-EDX are useful to get realistic data. In this case a complete correlation between the image of the analyzed area, the microstructure and the chemical composition of the sample is necessary. For marking spots in the phase diagram the calculation method has to be described exactly. For our results we calculated the ratio FeO-SiO2-CaO(+MgO+Al2O3). From the morphology of the observed phases, their chemical composition and the data from the phase diagram a solidification sequence can be suggested. We recommend this method because measurements by e.g. XRF provide rather general composition values. If the slag samples are inhomogeneous, unrealistic melting points are read from the phase diagram. Inhomogeneities can be caused by soil contaminations, which are not part of the molten slag, or by corrosion, when some phases were attacked and changed during storage in soil.

Ethnicity, Entrepreneurship, and Exchange: Mediterranean Inter-island Relations in the Late Bronze Age

1990 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 115-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bernard Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Production Distribution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Metals Production

New data on Late Bronze Age Cypriot and Aegean material found in the eastern, southern, and central Mediterranean significantly alter timeworn concepts about the scope and extent of Mediterranean trade systems. Recent geochemical and statistical analyses highlight the pivotal role played by the production, distribution, and consumption of copper oxhide ingots in the Bronze Age economies of the wider Mediterranean world. As a consequence, it is possible to propose some basic hypotheses on metallurgical origins, and on the possible orientation of Mediterranean Bronze Age trade and traders.Two basic issues are involved: 1) did increased trade with the eastern Mediterranean stimulate production and intensify exchange mechanisms in the central Mediterranean? 2) or did eastern Mediterranean traders simply plug into an existing politico-economic system that somehow monitored metals' production and exchange further west?This paper also evaluates the impact of new archaeological and metallurgical data on traditional interpretations of Cypriot copper production and exchange in its Late Bronze Age Mediterranean context. Whilst Cypriot copper production remained important to the economy of the Bronze Age Mediterranean, it also made key tactical and commercial adjustments to the coming Age of Iron. Mechanisms of Mediterranean trade are still difficult to pin down, and it is unrealistic to do more than propose basic models of entrepreneurship, ethnicity, and exchange.

Eastern and Central Mediterranean

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
William O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Lead Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Ore Deposits ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Copper Ore ◽  
Lead Isotope Analysis ◽  
Aegean Islands ◽  
Copper Mines

Copper objects first circulated on the Greek mainland during the fifth millennium BC and shortly after in the islands of the southern Aegean (Zachos 2007). The earliest metalwork of Late Neolithic date comprised small objects such as awls, beads, and bracelets. Metal use gradually expanded during the Chalcolithic stage that followed, with production of larger items such as axeheads. There are parallels with the development of early metallurgy in the Balkans, however there was much less copper in circulation. This may be explained by the absence of early copper mines comparable to Rudna Glava or Ai Bunar in either Greece or the Aegean islands. The use of metal in the Aegean expanded significantly during the third millennium BC, with the emergence of a flourishing culture that had extensive seafaring contacts (Renfrew 1972). The importance of maritime trade in this region dates from the Neolithic when the island of Melos was a major source of obsidian across the east Mediterranean. Lead isotope analysis confirms that the copper, lead, and silver used by the Cycladic culture of the Early Bronze Age came from ore sources on many of those islands (Stos-Gale 1989). These metals were traded widely across the Aegean, with supply also into mainland Greece. While no copper mines have been identified, lead/silver workings of this period are recorded at Lavrion and at Ayios Sostis on Siphnos (Wagner et al. 1980). There are numerous deposits of copper ore and other metals in mainland Greece. No prehistoric copper mines have been identified; however, the potential has been examined by lead isotope analysis. An examination of various ore deposits in northern Greece, including examples in Thrace and eastern Macedonia, Thasos, the Pangeon Mountains, and Chalkidki did not reveal any likely sources of copper in prehistory. Samples were also taken in east-central Greece, from mineralization in the Othrys Mountains where there are several indications of ancient mining. Radiocarbon dates indicate copper mining at various locations there during the first millennium BC (Gale and Stos-Gale 2002: table 3).

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