scholarly journals Ancient metallurgical traditions and connections around the caput Adriae

2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Giumlia-Mair
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Northern Adriatic ◽  
Metal Artefacts ◽  
Ancient Metallurgy

In the last decade several archaeological projects concerning metallurgical tradition and techniques, were carried out on metal finds from various sites around the Northern Adriatic and in the Eastern Alps. The pieces, made of different metals, are dated to various periods, between the Late Bronze Age and Late Antiquity. The results of different kinds of analytical techniques, applied to several hundreds of archaeological metal artefacts from this area, are presented and evaluated in the paper. The different metallurgical techniques and traditions, identified during the researches are illustrated, compared and interpreted. An overview of the available data and of the general trends of ancient metallurgy in this broader area is attempted.

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.

Evidence for the Sea Peoples from Biblical and Later Jewish Writing from Late Antiquity

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-272
Author(s):  
Adam Peiper
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
Sea Peoples ◽  
Modern Term

The French Egyptologist Emmanuel de Rougé termed the sea-borne foreign invaders who invaded Egypt during the late Bronze Age on the basis of the Great Karnak inscription, “peuples de la mer” or Sea Peoples. Recently however, specialists, in the absence of more direct evidence of the use of this term in antiquity, have called into question its historical provenance and have even declared it a “modern term”. Ancient Jewish writings, by contrast, refer to several Peoples of the Sea which notably include the Philistines. Moreover, close examination of the orthography of biblical ethnonyms in the context of migratory sea passages in both the Masoretic text and the Septuagint demonstrates the existence of a previously undescribed productive genitive sea-borne indicator within the very fabric of the biblical text.

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 A Rural Medieval Settlement and Early Iron Age Funerary Remains at Hallhill, Dunbar, East Lothian

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Mitchell ◽  
Sue Anderson ◽  
Derek Hall ◽  
Adrian Cox ◽  
Adam Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
The North ◽  
Metal Artefacts ◽  
Irregular Structures ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Medieval Pottery

An archaeological excavation at Hallhill, Dunbar, has revealed the remains of a rural medieval settlement. Few such sites have been identified in Scotland. Two irregular structures, an enclosure and other possible structures, as well as numerous pits and several gullies and ditches were identified. Large quantities of medieval pottery were recovered from the fills of many of the features, as well as animal bone, coarse stone and metal artefacts. Further to the north, a sub-square ditched enclosure was also found, although this could not be stratigraphically related to the medieval remains and is undated. Adjacent to it was a pit containing incomplete remains of a human skeleton which have been dated to the Late Bronze Age. The work was sponsored by George Wimpey East Scotland Ltd.

scholarly journals Neue und wiederentdeckte Griffzungendolche mit Ringabschluss. Die Verbreitung einer spätbronzezeitlichen Innovation in Mitteleuropa / New and rediscovered tanged daggers with ring-shaped handle tip. The spread of a Late Bronze Age innovation in Central Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-71
Author(s):  
Eszter Fejér ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Unknown Function ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Bone Fragments

The paper presents a Late Bronze Age bronze tanged dagger with a ring-shaped handle tip, which was discovered during an excavation in Süttő-Sáncföldek (Hungary) in 2018. The intact object was found inside a large feature of unknown function together with some other bronze items and hundreds of ceramic, stone and bone fragments. The material can be dated to the period of the Late Tumulus and Early Urnfield cultures. Similar daggers from Europe have been collected and their typology has been revisited in the article. They are known mainly from Moravia and the Carpathian Basin. In particular, the innovation of adding a ring at the end of the daggers has been investigated, together with the distribution of other artifacts sharing the same feature. It has been pointed out that although the tanged daggers with ring were produced in separate workshops, they reflect on an intensive cultural interaction between the Eastern Alps, Moravia and the inner territories of the Carpathian Basin during the Br D and Ha A1 periods.

From a river- to a man-dominated environment. Insights from the geo-archaeological record of Bologna (northern Italy)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Bruno
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Metal Artefacts ◽  
Anthropogenic Deposits

<p>Mid-Late Holocene stratigraphy beneath the town of Bologna, in northern Italy, records an upward increase in the amount, thickness, width and connectivity of anthropogenic deposits and a parallel decrease in alluvial sediments. Anthropogenic deposits, spanning from the Neolithic to the Present, occur at three stratigraphic intervals separated by alluvial strata.</p><p>The lower interval, dated to the Neolithic-Early Eneolithic, includes sparse lithic, ceramic and copper artefacts, post holes, charcoals, shallow wells and ditches. These evidences of human presence are scattered along a pedogenized horizon developed during a phase of river stability lasting more than 3 millennia. Early Eneolithic rests are aligned along paleo river courses.</p><p>The second horizon consists of an uninterrupted archaeological sequence spanning from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Antiquity. Late Bronze and Iron Age remains include ceramic and metal artefacts, charcoals, huts, dwellings, wells, ditches, and cemetery sites. Iron age remains are pervasive and their distribution is irrespective of riverbed location. The elevated number of dwellings and cremation jars testifies to a significant local population growth. A dense grid of ditches and embankments denotes a widespread control of the drainage network. Roman deposits include large dwellings, public buildings, productive sites, wells, aqueducts, ditches, landfills, roads, bridges, cemetery sites. Romans introduced in the geological record huge amounts of anthropogenic materials with high preservation potential such as bricks and mortars. Large quantities of different rock types were imported from European and Mediterranean areas. These materials constitute a laterally continuous horizon buried at depth of 3-4 metres, which testifies to the development the colony of <em>Bononia</em>, founded in 189 BC. The amount and connectivity of roman rests, decreases away from the historical centre, where large farms, reclaimed lands and <em>centuriae</em> highlight an anthropogenically modified rural landscape. Fluvial gravels deposited since the Roman period are commonly enriched in brick clasts.</p><p>The uppermost anthropogenic interval is dated to the last millennia. Its base is a time-transgressive erosional surface which testifies to the progressive expansion of the Bologna urban area, with a minor pulse dated to Middle Ages (1200-1300 AD) and a major to the last 70 years. Particularly, in the 20th century the urban area of Bologna became 20 times larger and merged with adjacent villages. Post-1950 deposits are up-to-30 m thick and deeply cut into older stratigraphic units. Concrete, metal, and plastic are the most abundant materials. The last 70 years also record the spread of pollutants within shallow acquifers and dramatically increased subsidence rates due to water withdrawal.</p><p>Anthropogenic deposits beneath Bologna record an overall upward transition from a river-dominated to a man-dominated environment. Iron Age and Roman deposits represent the first evidence of a landscape heavily modelled by human activities. However, the thickness, lateral extent and pervasiveness of post-1950 anthropogenic units support the recently proposed idea to place the base of the Anthropocene in the mid-20<sup>th</sup> century.</p>

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.

The Concept of Palestine: The Conception Of Palestine from the Late Bronze Age to the Modern Period

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Masalha
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Political Geography ◽  
Classical Antiquity ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Collective Consciousness ◽  
Ancient History ◽  
Master Narratives ◽  
The Bible ◽  
School History

The Concept of Palestine is deeply rooted in the collective consciousness of the indigenous people of Palestine and the multicultural ancient past. The name Palestine is the most commonly used from the Late Bronze Age (from 1300 BCE) onwards. The name Palestine is evident in countless histories, inscriptions, maps and coins from antiquity, medieval and modern Palestine. From the Late Bronze Age onwards the names used for the region, such as Djahi, Retenu and Cana'an, all gave way to the name Palestine. Throughout Classical Antiquity the name Palestine remained the most common and during the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods the concept and political geography of Palestine acquired official administrative status. This article sets out to explain the historical origins of the concept of Palestine and the evolving political geography of the country. It will seek to demonstrate how the name ‘Palestine’ (rather than the term ‘Cana'an’) was most commonly and formally used in ancient history. It argues that the legend of the ‘Israelites’ conquest of Cana'an’ and other master narratives of the Bible evolved across many centuries; they are myth-narratives, not evidence-based accurate history. It further argues that academic and school history curricula should be based on historical facts/empirical evidence/archaeological discoveries – not on master narratives or Old Testament sacred-history and religio-ideological constructs.

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