UCL INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
G108: ARCHAEOMETALLURGY I
MINING AND EXTRACTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Course Handbook for 2015/16
Co-ordinator: Marcos Martinón-Torres
m.martinon-torres@ucl.ac.uk, Room 112, Tel 020 7679 7496
Term I, 15 credits
Lectures: Thursday 11-1, Room B13
Seminars: Thursday 4-6, Room B13
Turnitin Class ID: 2969937 – Password: IoA1516
Archaeometallurgy I – page 3
Contents
AIMS ............................................................................................................................................... 4
OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................................................... 4
COURSE INFORMATION ................................................................................................................. 4
TEACHING METHODS ..................................................................................................................... 4
PREREQUISITES............................................................................................................................... 4
WORKLOAD .................................................................................................................................... 5
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................... 5
LIBRARIES AND ONLINE RESOURCES - MOODLE ............................................................................ 5
INSTITUTE OF ARCHAELOGY COURSEWORK PROCEDURES ........................................................... 5
TEACHING SCHEDULE ......................................................................................................................... 6
INTRODUCTORY READING .................................................................................................................. 7
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION. ORES, MINERALS AND METALS ........................................................ 12
LECTURE 2: PRINCIPLES OF METAL SMELTING ................................................................................. 13
LECTURE 3: THE INCEPTION AND TRANSMISSION OF COPPER METALLURGY ................................. 14
LECTURE 4: CRUCIBLES AND FURNACES, COPPER AND ALLOYS ..................................................... 17
LECTURE 5: LEAD AND SILVER .......................................................................................................... 22
LECTURE 6: IRON AND STEEL. BLOOMERY SMELTING AND SMITHING. .......................................... 25
LECTURE 7: CAST IRON AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. IRON IN AFRICA. .............................. 29
LECTURE 8: GOLD. METALLURGY IN AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER 1492 ....................................... 32
LECTURE 9: ZINC AND BRASS. RENAISSANCE METALLURGY AND ALCHEMY ................................... 34
LECTURE 10: SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND FEEDBACK ................................................................... 37
ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................................................... 38
TEACHING SCHEDULE ....................................................................................................................... 44
Archaeometallurgy I – page 4
AIMS
The aim of the course is to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the development
and spread of mining and metallurgy within their geological and archaeological contexts from the
Neolithic up to the Renaissance, as well as with the basic skills to identify and study
archaeometallurgical remains. The course starts with a brief introduction to the concept of metals
as a specific class of material, with a considerable diversity in properties among different metals.
Based on this, it strives to convey some of the basic chemical and metallurgical processes relevant
to the primary production of metals, including the principles of ore reduction, slag formation,
alloying and refining – and the relevant archaeological remains. While copper/bronze and iron/steel
take centre stage, individual sessions will address metals and alloys such lead, silver, zinc, brass and
gold. Examples are drawn from Europe, Western Asia, America and Africa, and include current
research projects carried out at the Institute.
OBJECTIVES
On successful completion of this course students should be acquainted with the general trends of
technical and social development in relation to metals. Furthermore, they should have acquired an
in-depth understanding of the fundamental physical principles of metallurgy at a level sufficient to
undertake guided research in ancient metallurgy, e.g. for their MSc thesis. With a view to being
possibly confronted, during later professional practice, with material related to metallurgical
activities, students should understand the general outlines of regional and chronological
developments in metallurgy. They should recognise relevant evidence such as slags and technical
ceramics. In particular, they should be able to pose educated questions leading to a scientific
investigation of such remains, and be able to critically evaluate and interpret different types of
results and reports following archaeometric studies.
COURSE INFORMATION
This handbook contains the basic information about the content and administration of the course.
Additional subject-specific reading lists and individual session handouts will be provided at
appropriate points in the course. If you have queries about the objectives, structure, content,
assessment or organisation of the course, please consult the Course Co-ordinator.
TEACHING METHODS
The course is taught through lectures and seminars. The morning session will typically include a
lecture covering the main issues relevant to the topic in hand, and a few case studies. Afternoon
sessions will be more practical and variable in nature, most often involving the handling and analysis
of archaeometallurgical materials, but also including a video forum and a museum visit.. Sessions
have weekly recommended readings, which students will be encouraged to have done in advance
of the lecture, to be able to follow and actively contribute to the discussion.
PREREQUISITES
This course does not have a prerequisite; however, a basic understanding of inorganic chemistry is
helpful.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 5
WORKLOAD
There will be 20 hours of lectures for this course, and approximately 10 hours of seminars or special
talks. Students will be expected to undertake around 50 hours of independent reading for the
course, plus 70 hours preparing for and producing the assessed work. This adds up to a total
workload of some 150 hours for the course.
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
This course is assessed by means of a material identification exam (counting 40% towards your final
mark) and an academic esay of 2,375-2,625 words (counting 60%). The topics and deadlines for the
assessment, as well as further notes, are specified at the end of this coursebook. If students are
unclear about the nature of an assignment, they should contact the Course Co-ordinator. The
Course Co-ordinator is willing to discuss an outline of their approach to the assessment, provided
this is planned suitably in advance of the deadline. Students are welcome to suggest their own
topics, but these should always be agreed with the Course Co-Ordinator in advance.
LIBRARIES AND ONLINE RESOURCES - MOODLE
In addition to the Library of the Institute of Archaeology, UCL's Science Library has holdings of
particular relevance to this degree. Further information on resources is available below, under
“Introductory reading”
IMPORTANT: You can find the relevant reading lists online, where all of the articles noted as
“essential reading” and most of the “further reading” items are available for download in PDF
format. If the PDF is not available due to copyright restrictions, you will find a link to the relevant
library shelfmark where you can find a hard copy of the publication.
The Online Reading Lists are available via Moodle (UCL ID and password required). Note that,
annoyingly you may find out-of-date Archaeometallurgy reading lists on the UCL website, so it is
important that you access the correct one via the link at the top of the Moodle page.
In addition, Moodle will give you access to downloadable handouts and powerpoint presentations
that will be added on a weekly basis, as well as other activities and resources. You may need to
register for Moodle (using the password ‘arch-metals’) and are expected to log on the Moodle page
at least once a week.
INSTITUTE OF ARCHAELOGY COURSEWORK PROCEDURES
General policies and procedures concerning courses and coursework, including submission
procedures, assessment criteria, and general resources, are available in your Degree Handbook and
on the following website: http://wiki.ucl.ac.uk/display/archadmin. It is essential that you read and
comply with these. Note that some of the policies and procedures will be different depending on
your status (e.g. undergraduate, postgraduate taught, affiliate, graduate diploma, intercollegiate,
interdepartmental). If in doubt, please consult your course co-ordinator.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 6
TEACHING SCHEDULE
Room B13, Term I, Thursday from 11 to 1 and 4 to 6
Week
Date
11-1 Lecture
4-6 Seminar
1
8 Oct
Introduction. Metals and minerals
(MMT)
(no session)
2
15 Oct
Principles of smelting and slag
formation (MMT)
Hands on: minerals and metals
3
22 Oct
The inception and transmission of
metallurgy (MMT)
(no session)
4
29 Oct
Crucibles, furnaces, copper and
copper alloys (MMT)
Hands on: early metallurgy and
ingots
5
5 Nov
Lead and silver (MMT+MMB)
Hands on: crucibles
9-13 Nov
READING WEEK
6
19 Nov
Bloomery iron (MC)
Hands on: slag
7
26 Nov
Cast iron. Africa (MMT)
Video: Inagina, the last house of iron
8
3 Dec
Gold. America (MMT)
British Museum visit
9
10 Dec
Zinc and brass. Alchemy (MMT)
Material identification exam
10
17 Dec
Conclusion and open topics (MMT)
Important dates:
10 December : Material identification exam
25 January: Essay deadline
Teachers:
Marcos Martinón-Torres (m.martinon-torres@ucl.ac.uk), Mike Charlton (m.charlton@ucl.ac.uk),
Mercedes Murillo-Barroso (m.murillo-barroso@ucl.ac.uk)
Turnitin Class ID: 2969937 – Password: IoA1516
Moodle Password: arch-metals
Archaeometallurgy I – page 7
INTRODUCTORY READING
The following is an outline for the course as a whole, and identifies essential and supplementary
readings relevant to each session. Information is provided as to where in the UCL library system
individual readings are available. Readings marked with an * are considered essential to keep up
with the topics covered in the course.
There are three books which are particularly useful, as they cover a good deal of the topics of this
course. Both books are suitable for independent reading, sufficiently self-contained, and provide
an introduction to the subject as well as offering in-depth follow-up. Unfortunately, the older ones
are out of print, but several copies are available in the library. The more recent one is available
online, and is an excellent compilation of introductory papers.
Tylecote, R. 1987. The early history of metallurgy in Europe. London and New York: Longman.
ANCIENT HISTORY A 68 TYL, ISSUE DESK IOA TYL 2
Craddock, P. T. 1995. Early metal mining and production. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
INST ARCH KE CRA, ISSUE DESK IOA CRA 6
Roberts, W. B. and Thornton, C. P. 2014 (eds). Archaeometallurgy in Global Perspective:
Methods and Syntheses. New York: Springer. Online
A detailed introduction to Archaeometallurgy (with a strong British flavour) can be found in the
following volume.
Bayley, J., Crossley, D. and Ponting, M. 2008. Metals and metalworking. A research framework
for archaeometallurgy. London: Historical Metallurgy Society INST ARCH KEA Qto BAY, ISSUE DESK
IOA BAY 2, or online at: http://hist-met.org/arch_comm.html
Basic (but very useful) introductions to archaeometallurgy:
Rehren, Th. 2008. Metals: chemical analysis, and Metals: primary production, in Pearsall, D. M.
(ed.), Encyclopedia of Archaeology, 1614-1620. New York: Academic Press INST ARCH AG PEA
Craddock, P. T. 1991. Mining and smelting in Antiquity, in Bowman, S. (ed), Sience and the Past, 5773. London: British Museum Press INST ARCH AJ BOW
Killick, D. and Fenn, T. 2012. Archaeometallurgy: the study of preindustrial mining and metallurgy.
Annual Review of Anthropology 41, 559–575. Online
Lambert, J. B. 1997. Metals, in Traces of the Past. Unraveling the Secrets of Archaeology Through
Chemistry, 168-213. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Publishing. INST ARCH JD LAM
Bayley, J., Dungworth, D. and Paynter, S. 2001. Archaeometallurgy. Centre for Archaeology
Guidelines. Swindon: English Heritage INST ARCH KEB Qto BAY or online at: http://www.englishheritage.org.uk/publications/archaeometallurgy/
Archaeometallurgy I – page 8
Collections of articles (and note that there are many more!):
Archaeometallurgy in Europe. Proceedings of the International Conference, 24-26 September 2003,
Milan, Italy, 2 vols. Milano: Associazione Italiana de Metallurgia INST ARCH KEA 1 ASS
Archaeometallurgy in Europe. Proceedings of the Second International Conference, June 2007,
Aquileia, Italy. Milano: Associazione Italiana de Metallurgia INST ARCH KEA 1 ASS
Cech, B. and Rehren, Th. (eds.) 2014. Early Iron in Europe. Momographies Instrumentum, 50.
Montagnac: Editions Monique Mergoil.
Craddock, P.T. and Lang, J. (eds.) 2003. Mining and Metal Production through the Ages, London,
British Museum Press. INST ARCH KE CRA, ISSUE DESK IOA CRA 7
Hauptmann, A. and Modarressi-Tehrani, D. (eds.) 2015. Archaeometallurgy in Europe. Proceedings
of the 3rd International Conference, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, June 29 – July 1, 2011.
Der Anschnitt Beiheft 26. Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum.
Hosek, J., Cleere, H., Mihok, L., Pleiner, R. (eds.) 2011. The archaeometallurgy of iron: recent
developments in archaeological and scientific research. Prague: Institute of Archaeology of the
ASCR. INST ARCH KEB 2 HOS
Humphris, J. and Rehren, Th. (eds) 2013. The World of Iron. London: Archetype. INST ARCH KEA 2
Qto HUM
La Niece, S., Hook, D.R., and Craddock, P.T. (eds) 2007. Metals and Mines - Studies in
Archaeometallurgy, London: Archetype, British Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto LAN, ISSUE DESK IOA
LAN 1
Mei, J. and Rehren, Th. (eds) 2009. Metallurgy and civilisation. Asia and beyond. 6th International
Conference on the Beginings of the Use of Metals and Alloys (BUMA, Beijing 2006). London:
Archetype. INST ARCH KEA Qto MEI
Meller, H., Risch, R. and Pernicka, E. (eds.) 2014. Metals of Power – Early gold and silver [Metalle
der Macht: Frühes Gold und Silber]. Halle: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie SachsenAnhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle.
Montero, I. (ed.) 2010. Archaeometallurgy: Technological, Economic and Social Perspectives in Late
Prehistoric Europe (TESME). Trabajos de Prehistoria 67/2. INST ARCH Pers, online
HMS Datasheets
The Historical Metallurgy Society produces excellent introductions to archaeometallurgical topics.
These are superb starting points for many of the topics covered in this course. The list below gives
the ones available at the moment, but it keeps being expanded:
http://hist-met.org/resources/datasheets.html
(you should consider joining HMS – a bargain for students!)
Archaeometallurgy I – page 9
HMS Datasheet 101
HMS Datasheet 102
HMS Datasheet 103
HMS Datasheet 104
HMS Datasheet 105
HMS Datasheet 106
HMS Datasheet 107
HMS Datasheet 108
HMS Datasheet 201
HMS Datasheet 202
HMS Datasheet 203
HMS Datasheet 204
HMS Datasheet 301
HMS Datasheet 302
HMS Datasheet 303
HMS Datasheet 304
HMS Datasheet 305
HMS Datasheet 1
HMS Datasheet 2
HMS Datasheet 3
HMS Datasheet 4
HMS Datasheet 5
HMS Datasheet 6
HMS Datasheet 8
HMS Datasheet 9
HMS Datasheet 10
HMS Datasheet 11
HMS Datasheet 12
HMS Datasheet 14
HMS Datasheet 15
HMS Datasheet 16
The archaeology of metalworking sites: introduction to the field evidence
Metalworking evidence and archaeological project management
Geophysical techniques for metalworking sites
Introduction to post-excavation and lab techniques for metalworking sites
Textures, microstructures and metallography
Chemical analysis of metalwork and metalworking debris
X-radiography
Care, curation and conservation of metallurgical samples
Metals and their properties
Copper: smelting and production of alloys
Tin: smelting and production of alloys
Other metals: smelting and production of alloys
Iron: bloomery smelting and associated processes
Steelmaking
Iron: hand blacksmithing
Foundries
Supply, sourcing and production of fuels for metallurgical processes
Crucibles and moulds
Precious metal refining
Iron working processes
Geophysical techniques applied to early metalworking sites
Bloomery iron smelting, slags and other residues
Bloom refining and smithing, slags and other residues
Currency Bars and other forms of trade iron
Excavation and sampling
Hammerscale
Metallographic examination
Chemical analysis of metalwork and metalworking debris
X-radiography and archaeometallurgy
The care and curation of metallurgical samples and other residues
Metalworking evidence and the management of archaeological sites
Technical ceramics
Crucibles and technical ceramics generally are key elements of archaeometallurgical research.
These are some introductory references covering technical ceramics from many periods.
Bayley, J., & Rehren, Th. (2007). Towards a functional and typological classification of crucibles. In:
S. LaNiece, D. Hook,&P. Craddock (Eds.), Metals and Mines–Studies in Archaeometallurgy (pp. 46–
55). London: Archetype.
Craddock, P. T. 2013. Refractories: ceramics with a purpose. The Old Potter’s Almanack 18/2, 918.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 10
Craddock, P. T. 2014. Refractories with a purpose II: ceramics for casting. The Old Potter’s
Almanack 19/1, 2-17.
Freestone, I. C. and Tite, M. S., 1986. Refractories in the ancient and preindustrial world, in W. D.
Kingery (ed), High-Technology Ceramics: Past, Present and Future. The Nature of Innovation and
Change in Ceramic Technology, 35-63. (Ceramics and Civilization 3). Westerville (OH): The
American Ceramic Society.
Kearns, T., Martinón-Torres, M., Rehren, T. 2010. Metal to mould: alloy identification in
experimental casting moulds using XRF. Historical Metallurgy, 44 (1), 48-58.
Liu, S., Wang, K., Cai, Q. and Chen, J. 2013. Microscopic study of Chinese bronze casting moulds
from the Eastern Zhou period. Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (5): 2402–2414.
Martinón-Torres, M., Rehren, T. 2014. Technical ceramics. In Archaeometallurgy in Global
Perspective: Methods and Syntheses, 107-131. Springer New York. Available online.
Rehren, Th., 2003. Crucibles as reaction vessels in ancient metallurgy, in P. T. Craddock and J. Lang
(eds), Mining and Metal Production through the Ages, 207-215. London: The British Museum
Press.
Ingots
This is a good reference to follow up our handling session on ingots, as it discusses several types.
You will find references to more focused studies on earlier ingots under the readings for each
session.
Craddock, P. and Hook, D. 2012. An economic history of the post-medieval world in 50 ingots: the
British Museum collection of ingots from dated wrecks. The British Museum Technical Research
Bulletin 6, 55-68.
Some more online resources:
Arch-metals online discussion list. This is an excellent forum to stay informed of
archaeometallurgical events, as well as keeping up with ongoing research and debates. You can
subscribe here: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=arch-metals
Bibliography
for
archaeometallurgy
by
Chris
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~salter/arch-metals/met-bib-ak.htm
Salter
(not
up
to
date!):
Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA): http://aata.getty.edu/NPS/
In addition to these general resources, the last pages of each issue of the journal Historical
Metallurgy include abstracts of recent archaeometallurgical publications. In this journal, as well as
in Archaeometry, the Journal of Archaeological Science and Archaeological and Anthropological
Sciences you will find many relevant archaeometallurgical studies.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 11
In the reading lists for the different lectures you will find monographs and collections of articles
that will be of use as initial sources for your essays. The Course Co-ordinator is willing to give you
further directions for relevant literature on specific topics, but you are expected (and encouraged)
to do your own bibliographic search in preparation for your essays. Don’t forget that we expect you
to develop (and demonstrate) your research skills!
Archaeometallurgy I – page 12
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION. ORES, MINERALS AND METALS
Marcos Martinón-Torres
Summary
This introductory session will serve to present the outline of this course. In particular, the level of
existing knowledge relevant to physical metallurgy and inorganic chemistry will be explored. Also,
a range of specialised terminology will be introduced. Then, we will look at the differences between
different materials, and the specific properties of metals. We may, depending on time and progress,
begin to introduce the geological and chemical background to metallurgy.
There is no preparatory reading for this session.
MINING ARCHAEOLOGY
The archaeology of mining will be touched upon, but not addressed comprehensively within this
programme, as it will be covered in special seminars at the Institute (particularly the IAMS Summer
School in Ancient Metallurgy – watch out for publicity in the spring!). However, some bibliographic
references are included here for those who would like to start reading.
Crew, P. and Crew, S.(eds) 1990. Early mining in the British Isles: proceedings of the Early Mining
Workshop at Plas Tan y Bwlch, Snowdonia National Park Study Centre, 17-19 November, 1989).
(Plas Tan y Bwlch Occasional Paper, 1) Tan y Bwlch, Gwynedd : Plas Tan y Bwlch, Snowdonia
National Park Study Centre. INST ARCH DAA 100 Qto CRE
Knapp, A. B., Pigott, V. C. and Herbert, E. W. (eds) 1998. Social approaches to an industrial past: The
archaeology and anthropology of mining. London: Routledge INST ARCH KE KNA
*O’Brien, W. F. 1996., Bronze Age Copper Mining in Britain and Ireland. (Shire Archaeology, 71).
Princes Risborough: Shire. INST ARCH DAA 150 OBR
Piggott, V. C. and Weisgerber, G. 1998. Mining archaeology in geological context. The prehistoric
copper mining complex at Phu Lon, Nong Khai Province, northeast Thailand, in Th. Rehren, A.
Hauptmann, and J. Muhly (eds), Metallurgica Antiqua, 69-76. (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 8). Bochum:
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto REH
*Timberlake, S. 2003. Early Mining Research in Britain: The Developments of the Last Ten Years. In
P. Craddock and J. Lang (eds), Mining and Metal Production Through the Ages, 22-42. London: The
British Museum Press. INST ARCH KE CRA
Timberlake, S. 2003. Excavations on Copa Hill, Cwmystwyth (1986-1999): an early Bronze Age
copper mine within the uplands of Central Wales. (BAR British Series, 348). Oxford: Archaeopress.
INST ARCH DAA Qto Series BRI 348
Archaeometallurgy I – page 13
LECTURE 2: PRINCIPLES OF METAL SMELTING
Marcos Martinón-Torres
Summary
Ores, the raw material for any metal production, occur in a wide range of different deposits and
mineral forms. This session will give a highly condensed and simplified overview of those ore
deposits and minerals which are of particular relevance in antiquity. Then, we will discuss the
necessary mechanical treatment of these ores and minerals (‘beneficiation’) in order to prepare
them for the smelting process. From this we will proceed to the technical background to understand
processes such as the smelting and melting of metals, and the formation of slag – with due
consideration to the relevant archaeometallurgical remains.
Reading
*Craddock, P. 1995. Early Metal Mining and Production. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (The
development of early mining geology: pp. 23-31). INST ARCH KE CRA, ISSUE DESK IOA CRA 6
*Hoover, H. and Hoover, H. 1950 [1556]. Georgius Agricola De Re Metallica. New York: Dover. (Book
II: pp. 25-42). INST ARCH KE AGR
*Shackleton, W. G. 1986. Economic and Applied Geology. London: Croom Helm. (Introduction and
Chapter 1, mineral Deposits: pp. 1-18). GEOLOGY F 5 SHA
Edwards, R and Atkinson, K. 1986. Ore Deposit Geology. London: Chapman and Hall. Read chapter
4 (Hydrothermal Vein Deposits pp. 143-146), chapter 5 (Placer and Palaeo-Placers pp. 175-200),
and dip into chapters 6.1, 6.2, 7.6 and 8.1 and 8.2. GEOLOGY F 30 EDW
Rehder, J. 1999. High temperature technology in antiquity, in A. Hauptmann, E. Pernicka, Th.
Rehren and U. Yalcin (eds), The Beginnings of Metallurgy, 305-315. (Der Anschnitt, Beiheft 9).
Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto HAU, ISSUE DESK IoA KE Qto HAU
Rehren, Th., Vanhove, D. and Mussche, H., 2002. Ores from the ore washeries in the Lavriotiki.
Metalla (Bochum), 9, 27-46. INST ARCH Pers
Rostoker, W., Pigott, V. and Dvorak, J. R. 1989. Direct reduction to copper metal by oxide-sulfide
mineral interaction. Archeomaterials 3, 69-87. INST ARCH Pers
Archaeometallurgy I – page 14
LECTURE 3: THE INCEPTION AND TRANSMISSION OF COPPER
METALLURGY
Marcos Martinón-Torres
Summary
The previous lectures have introduced the technical background to identify and understand
archaeological remains from extractive metallurgy. It is now time to start focusing on questions of
obvious archaeological interest.
Why was metallurgy invented? How and where did it take place? How many times did this happen?
Just as we are interested in finding out how metals were made, so do we want to explain why they
were produced in the first instance. Several explanations have been put forward to interpret the
inception and spread of metallurgy in different areas of the world. In this session, some of the main
theories will be addressed, including discussion about the environmental, social and technical
stimuli for metallurgy, and theories about technological diffusion versus autonomous
developments. Some of these anthropological approaches should be of use in the interpretation of
other dimensions of metallurgy and technology in general.
We will then look at the earliest evidence for copper smelting in Europe, presented with the
remains of copper slag, malachite beads, ores and artefacts, found in a settlement site in Eastern
Serbia dated to ca. 5000 BC, as well as other case studies.
Reading
See issues 22/3 and 22/4 of the Journal of World Prehistory for an overview of issues in early
metallurgy across the world, and read about your favourite region. If that region is Europe, you can
also see the special issue 47/1 of Historical Metallurgy on The origins of metallurgy in Europe.
*Craddock, P. T. 2001. From hearth to furnace: evidences for the earliest metal smelting
technologies in the eastern Mediterranean. Paleorient 26, 151-165. INST ARCH Pers
Chernykh, E. N. 1991. Ancient metallurgy in the USSR: The Early Metal Age. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. INST ARCH DAK 150 CHE
Craddock, P. T. 1999. Paradigms of metallurgical innovation in prehistoric Europe, in A. Hauptmann,
E. Pernicka, Th. Rehren and U. Yalcin (eds), The Beginnings of Metallurgy, 175-192. (Der Anschnitt,
Beiheft 9). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto HAU, ISSUE DESK IoA KE Qto
HAU
Golden, J., Levy, T. and Hauptmann, A. 2001, Recent discoveries concerning Chalcolithic metallurgy
at Shiqmim, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science 28, 951-963. INST ARCH Pers
Hauptmann, A. 2007. The archaeometallurgy of copper: evidence from Faynan, Jordan. Berlin:
Springer. INST ARCH DBE 10 HAU
Archaeometallurgy I – page 15
Höppner, B., Bartelheim, M., Huijsmans, M., Krauss, R., Martinek, K.-P., Pernicka, E. and Schwab, R.
2005. Prehistoric copper production in the Inn Valley (Austria) and the Earliest Copper in Central
Europe. Archaeometry 47(2), 293-315. INST ARCH Pers
*Killick, D. 2001. Science, Speculation and the Origins of Extractive Metallurgy, in D. R. Brothwell
and A. M. Pollard (eds), Handbook of Archaeological Sciences, 483-492. Chichester, New York,
Weinheim, Brisbane, Singapore, Toronto: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. INST ARCH AJ BRO
Maddin, R., Muhly, J. D. and Stech, T. 1999. Early metalworking at Cayönü, in A. Hauptmann, E.
Pernicka, Th. Rehren and U. Yalcin (eds), The Beginnings of Metallurgy, 37-44. (Der Anschnitt,
Beiheft 9). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto HAU, ISSUE DESK IoA KE Qto
HAU
Mei, J. 2009. Early metallurgy in China: some challenging issues in current studies, in J. Mei and Th.
Rehren (eds), Metallurgy and civilisation: Eurasia and beyond, 9-16. London: Archetype. INST ARCH
KEA Qto MEI
Murillo-Barroso, M. And Montero-Ruiz, I. 2012. Copper ornaments in the Iberian Chalcolithic:
technology versus social demand. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 25, 53-73. Online
Pernicka, E., Begemann, F. and Schmitt-Strecker, S. 1993. Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age copper
artefacts from the Balkans and their relation to Serbian copper ores. Prähistorische Zeitschrift 68,
1-54. INST ARCH Pers
Pigott, V. C. and Ciarla, R. 2007 On the origins of metallurgy in prehistoric Southeast Asia: the view
from Thailand 76-88, in La Niece, S., Hook, D.R., and Craddock, P.T. (eds) Metals and Mines - Studies
in Archaeometallurgy, London, Archetype, British Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto LAN, ISSUE DESK IOA
LAN 1
Pryce, T. O., Pollard, M., Martinón-Torres, M, Pigott, V. C. and Pernicka, E. 2011. Southeast Asia's
first isotopically defined prehistoric copper production system: when did extractive metallurgy
begin in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand? Archaeometry 53, 146-163. INST ARCH
Pers
*Radivojevic, R., Rehren, Th. Pernicka, E., Sljivar, D., Brauns, M. and Boric, D. 2010. On the origins
of extractive metallurgy: new evidence from Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science 37(11),
2775-2787. INST ARCH Pers
*Radivojevic, M., Rehren, Th., Kuzmanović-Cvetković, J., Jovanovic, M. and Northover, P. 2013.
Tainted ores and the rise of tin bronzes in Eurasia, c. 6500 years ago. Antiquity 87:1030-1045.
Roberts, B. W. 2009. Production networks and consumer choice in the earliest metal of Western
Europe. Journal of World Prehistory 22(4), 461-481. INST ARCH Pers
Roberts, B. W. 2011. Ancient technologies and archaeological cultures: understanding the earliest
metals in Eurasia, in B. W. Roberts and M. Vander Linden (eds), Investigating archaeological
cultures: material culture, variability and transmission, 137-150. New York: Springer. INST ARCH
Archaeometallurgy I – page 16
*Roberts, B. W., Thornton, C. P. and Pigott, V. C. 2009. Development of metallurgy in Eurasia.
Antiquity 83(322), 1012-1022. INST ARCH Pers
Rothenberg, B. 1990. The Ancient Metallurgy of Copper. London: Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical
Studies. (pp. 8-73: smelting furnaces and installations from the New Kingdom to the Early Islamic
Period). INST ARCH DBE 10 Qto ROT.
Ruiz-Taboada, A. and Montero-Ruiz, I. 1999. The oldest metallurgy in western Europe. Antiquity 73,
897-903. INST ARCH Pers
Stech, T. 1990. Neolithic copper metallurgy in South West Asia. Archeomaterials 4, 55-61. INST
ARCH Pers
Stech, T. 1999. Aspects of early metallurgy in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, in V. C. Pigott (ed), The
Archaeometallurgy of the Asian Old World, 59-71. Philadelphia: University Museum of
Pennsylvania. INST ARCH KEA PIG
Wayman, M. L. and Duke, M. J. M. 1999. The effects of melting on native copper. In A. Hauptmann,
E. Pernicka, Th. Rehren and U. Yalcin (eds), The Beginnings of Metallurgy, 55-60. (Der Anschnitt,
Beiheft 9). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto HAU, ISSUE DESK IoA KE Qto
HAU
Archaeometallurgy I – page 17
LECTURE 4: CRUCIBLES AND FURNACES, COPPER AND ALLOYS
Marcos Martinón-Torres
Summary
Since the earliest times, metallurgical remains show a great diversity that is informative of a variety
of technological traditions, production scales and sociocultural constraints. Although the process
took place in some cases several millennia after the inception of metallurgy, the development of
cost-effective production systems and alloys in several regions during the Bronze Age would lead
to more significant processes of craft specialisation and long-distance trade.
In this session, we will use range of case studies to illustrate this variability in metallurgical systems
and alloys, as well as the trade of metals and analytical approaches employed to reconstruct all of
these.
The reading list for this session is quite substantial, as it tries to give a flavour of the great diversity
of archaeometallurgical remains of copper and bronze production we can find, in addition to the
trade of metals and approaches to provenancing. The lecture will try to synthesise some of these
issues by providing a broad overview.
Reading
Bass, G. 1997. Prolegomena to a study of maritime traffic in raw materials to the Aegean during the
14th and 13th centuries BC, in R. Laffineur & Ph. Betancourt (eds), Techne, Craftsmen, Craftswomen
and Craftsmanship in the Aegean Bronze Age, 153-170 (Aegaeum 16). Liege: Universite de Liege.
ISSUE DESK IOA LAF 6
Begemann, F., Kallas, K., Schmitt-Strecker, S. and Pernicka, E. 1999. Tracing ancient tin via isotope
analyses, in A. Hauptmann, E. Pernicka, Th. Rehren and U. Yalcin (eds), The Beginnings of
Metallurgy, 277-284. (Der Anschnitt, Beiheft 9). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH
KE Qto HAU
Branigan, K. 1974. Aegean Metalwork of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. Oxford: Clarendon
Press. INST ARCH DAG 10 BRA, YATES QUARTOS A 22 BRA
Craddock, P. T. and Meeks, N. D. 1987. Iron in ancient copper. Archaeometry 29, 187-204. INST
ARCH Pers
Crew, P. 1991. The iron and copper slags at Baratti, Populonia, Italy. Historical Metallurgy 25, 109115. INST ARCH Pers
Diaz-Andreu, M. and Montero, I. 2000. Metallurgy and social dynamics in the later prehistory of
Mediterranean Spain, in C. F. E. Pare (ed), Metals Make the World Go Round. The Supply and
Circulation of Metals in Bronze Age Europe, 116-132. Oxford: Oxbow Books. INST ARCH DA Qto PAR
Fang, J.L. and McDonnell, G. 2011. The colour of copper alloys. Historical Metallurgy 45/1, 52-61.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 18
Gale, N. H. (ed) 1991. Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean (Studies in Meditarranean
Archaeology 90). Jonsered: Astrom. ISSUE DESK IOA STU 90
*Gale, N. H. 2001. Archaeology, science-based archaeology, and the Mediterranean Bronze Age
metals trade: a contribution to the debate. European Journal of Archaeology 4(1): 113-130. INST
ARCH Pers.
Gale, N. H., Stos-Gale, Z., Raduncheva, A., Panayotov, I., Ivanov, I., Lilov, P. and Todorov. T. 2003.
Early metallurgy in Bulgaria, in P. Craddock and J. Lang (eds), Mining and Metal Production Through
the Ages, 122-173. London: The British Museum Press. INST ARCH KE CRA
Georgakopoulou, M., Bassiakos, Y. and Philaniotou, O. 2011. Seriphos surfaces: a study of copper
slag heaps and copper sources in the context of Early Bronze Age Aegean metal production.
Archaeometry 53, 123-145. INST ARCH Pers
Giuimlia-Mair, A. and Lo Schiavo, F. (eds) 2003. The Problem of Early Tin (BAR International Series
1199). Oxford: Archaeopress. INST ARCH KEB 1 Qto GUI
Hanks, B. and Doonan, R. 2009. From Scale to Practice: A New Agenda for the Study of Early
Metallurgy on the Eurasian Steppe. Journal of World Prehistory 22(4), 329-356. INST ARCH Pers
Hauptmann, A., Rehren, Th., and Schmitt-Strecker, S. 2003. Early Bronze Age copper metallurgy at
Shahr-i Sokhta (Iran), reconsidered, in T. Stoellner, G. Koerlin, G. Steffens, and J. Cierny (eds), Man
and Mining - Mensch und Bergbau. Studies in Honour of Gerd Weisgerber, 197-213. (Der Anschnitt
Beiheft 16). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto STO
*Hauptmann. A. 2003. Developments in copper metallurgy during the fourth and third millennia BC
at Feinan, Jordan, in P. Craddock and J. Lang (eds), Mining and Metal Production Through the Ages,
90-100. London: The British Museum Press. INST ARCH KE CRA
Haustein, M., Gillis, C. and Pernicka, E. 2010. Tin isotopy – a new method for solving old questions.
Archaeometry 52, 816-832. INST ARCH Pers
Hunt Ortiz, M. 2003. Prehistoric Mining and Metallurgy in South West Iberian Peninsula. (Bar
International Series 1188). Oxford: Archaeopress. INST ARCH DAPA Qto HUN
Keswani, P. S. 2005. Death, Prestige, and Copper in Bronze Age Cyprus. American Journal of
Archaeology 109: 341-401. INST ARCH Pers
Laughlin, G. J. and Todd, J. A. 2000. Evidence for Early Bronze Age tin ore processing. Materials
Characterization 45, 269-273. Available online
Levy, T. E., Adams, R. B., Hauptmann, A., Prange, M., Schmitt-Strecker, S., and Najjar, M. 2002. Early
Bronze Age metallurgy: a newly discovered copper manufactory in southern Jordan. Antiquity 76:
425-437. INST ARCH Pers
Matthews, R. and Fazeli, H. 2004. Copper and complexity: Iran and Mesopotamia in the fourth
millennium B.C. Iran. Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies 42, 61-75. INST ARCH Pers
Archaeometallurgy I – page 19
*Martinon-Torres, M., Rehren, T. 2014. Technical ceramics. In Archaeometallurgy in Global
Perspective: Methods and Syntheses, 107-131. Springer New York. Available online.
Moorey, R. 1994. Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
(chapter 3.iii: Copper and its alloys, pp. 242-278). INST ARCH DBB 100 MOO, ISSUE DESK IOA MOO
7
Muhly, J. 1999. Copper and bronze in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, in V. Pigott (ed),
Archaeometallurgy of the Asian Old World, 15-25. (University Museum Monograph).
Philadelphia: Museum University of Pennsylvania INST ARCH KEA PIG
Müller, R., Rehren, Th. and Rovira, S. 2004. Almizaraque and the early copper metallurgy of
southeast Spain: new data. Madrider Mitteilungen 45, 33-56. INST ARCH Pers
Nezafati, N., Pernicka, E. and Momenzadeh, M. 2006. Ancient tin: old question and new answer.
Antiquity 80 (308), Project Gallery INST ARCH Pers
*Nocete, F. et al. 2008. The smelting quarter of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain): the
specialised copper industry in a political centre of the Guadalquivir Valley during the third
millennium BC (2750-2500 BC). Journal of Archaeological Science, 35 (3). INST ARCH Press
O'Brien, W. 1999. Resource availability and metal supply in the insular Bronze Age, in A.
Hauptmann, E. Pernicka, Th. Rehren and U. Yalcin (eds), The Beginnings of Metallurgy, 227-235.
(Der Anschnitt, Beiheft 9). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto HAU
*Ottaway, B. 2001. Innovation, production and specialization in early Prehistoric copper metallurgy.
European Journal of Archaeology 4(1), 87-112. INST ARCH Pers
Ottaway, B. S. and Seibel, S. 1999. Dust in the wind: experimental casting of bronze in sand moulds,
in M.-Ch. Frere-Sautot (ed), Paléométallurgie des cuivres, 59-63. (Monographies Instrumentum 5).
Montagnac: Editions Monique Mergoil. INST ARCH KEA 1 Qto FRE
Pare, C. F. E. (ed) 2000. Metals Make the World Go Round. The Supply and Circulation of Metals in
Bronze Age Europe. Oxford: Oxbow Books. INST ARCH DA Qto PAR
Pearce, M. 1998. Reconstructing prehistoric metallurgical knowledge: the Northern Italian Copper
and Bronze Ages. European Journal of Archaeology 1(1), 51-70, INST ARCH Pers
Penhallurick, R. 1986. Tin in Antiquity, its Mining and Trade throughout the Ancient World with
particular Reference to Conrnwall. London: Institute of Metals. INST ARCH KEA 1 PEN
Phelps, W., Lolos, Y. and Vechos, G. 1999. The Point Iria wreck: interconnections in the
Mediterranean, ca. 1200 BC. Athens: Hellenic Institute of Marine Archaeology. INST ARCH DAE 10
PHE
Pigott, V. C. 1999. Reconstructing the copper production process as practised among prehistoric
mining/ metallurgical communities in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of central Thailand, in S. M.
M. Young, A. M. Pollard, P. Budd, and R. A. Ixer (eds), Metals in Antiquity, 10-21. (BAR International
Series, 792). Oxford: Archaeopress. INST ARCH KEA Qto YOU
Archaeometallurgy I – page 20
Pryce, T. O., Pigott, V. C., Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren. Th. 2010. Prehistoric copper production
and technological reproduction in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 2, 237-264.
Pulak, C. 2000. The copper and tin ingots from the Late Bronze Age shipwreck at Uluburun, in Ü.
Yalcin (ed), Anatolian Metal I, 137-157. (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 13). Bochum: Deutsches BergbauMuseum. INST ARCH DBC 100 Qto YAL
Rehren, Th., Hess, K. and Philip, G. 1997. Fourth millennium BC copper metallurgy in Northern
Jordan: The evidence from Tell esh-Shuna, in H. Gebel, Z. Kafafi, and G. O. Rollefson (eds), The
Prehistory of Jordan II, Perspectives from 1997, 625-640. Berlin: Ex Oriente. INST ARCH DBE 100 Qto
GEB
Renfrew, C. 1967. Cycladic metallurgy and the Aegean Early Bronze Age. American Journal of
Archaeology 71, 1-20. INST ARCH Pers
Rehren, Th., Boscher, L. and Pernicka, E. 2012. Large scale smelting of speiss and arsenical copper
at Early Bronze Age Arisman, Iran. Journal of Archaeological Science 39, 1717-1727.
Rohl, B. and Needham, S. 1998. The circulation of Metal in the British Bronze Age: The Application
of Lead Isotope Analysis. (British Museum Occasional Paper 102). London: British Museum. (chapter
2: Lead isotope and chemical composition variation in ores and metals, pp. 3-8). INST ARCH KEB
Qto ROH
Segal, I., Rothenberg, B. and Bar-Matthews, M. 1998. Smelting slag from prehistoric Sites F2 and N3
in Timna, SW Arabah, Israel, in Th. Rehren, A. Hauptmann, and J. Muhly (eds), Metallurgica Antiqua,
223-234. (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 8). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto REH
*Shennan, S. 1999. Cost, benefit and value in the organization of early European copper production.
Antiquity 73, 352-363. INST ARCH Pers
Stos-Gale, S. and Macdonald, C. 1991. Sources of metals and trade in the Bronze Age Aegean, in N.
Gale (ed), Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean, 249-288 (Studies in Meditarranean Archaeology
90). Jonsered: Astrom. ISSUE DESK IOA STU 90
Thornton, Ch., Rehren, Th. and Pigott, V.C. 2009. The production of speiss (iron arsenide) during
the Early Bronze Age in Iran. Journal of Archaeological Science 36, 308-316. INST ARCH Pers
Weeks, L. R. 2003. Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf. Technology, Trade, and the Bronze Age
World. Boston and Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers. INST ARCH DBF WEE
Weisgerber, G. and Yule, P. 2003. Al-Aqir near Bahla' - an Early Bronze Age dam site with
planoconvex 'copper' ingots, Arabian archaeology and epigraphy 14, 24-53. INST ARCH Pers
Yalcin, U., Pulak, C. and Slotta, R (eds) 2005. Das Schiff von Uluburun: Welthandel vor 3000 Jahren.
Katalog der Ausstellung des Deutschen Bergbau-Museums Bochum vom 15. Juli 2005 bis 16. Juli
2006. Bochum : Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH DBC 10 Qto YAL
Archaeometallurgy I – page 21
Yener, K. A. 2000. The Domestication of Metals: The Rise of Complex Metal Industries in Anatolia (c.
4500-2000 B.C.) Amsterdam: E.J. Brill.
Yener, K. A., Adriaens, A., Earl, B. and Özbal, H. 2003. Analyses of metalliferous residues, crucible
fragments, experimental smelts, and ores from Kestel tin mine and the tin processing site of
Göltepe, Turkey, in P. Craddock and J. Lang (eds), Mining and Metal Production Through the Ages,
181-197. London: The British Museum Press. INST ARCH KE CRA
Archaeometallurgy I – page 22
LECTURE 5: LEAD AND SILVER
Marcos Martinón-Torres and Mercedes Murillo-Barroso
Summary
Lead and silver are geologically and metallurgically closely related, and are hence treated in one
joint session. The vast majority of silver is extracted from lead ores, and lead often appears as a byproduct of silver smelting. We will discuss the production and the use of both metals, how they are
related to each other in their metallurgy, and find out why they are typically treated at such
different levels in archaeology. During the second hour, Mercedes will present some case studies
from her research on the production of silver in prehistoric Spain.
Reading
Anguilano, L., Rehren, Th., Müller, W. and Rothenberg, B. 2009. Roman Jarosite exploitation at
Riotinto (Spain), in A. Giumla-Mair et al. (eds), Archaeometallurgy in Europe II, 21-29. Milan:
Associazione Italiana de Metallurgia. INST ARCH KEA 1 ASS
Bartelheim, M., Contreras Cortés, F., Moreno Onorato, A., Murillo-Barroso, M., and Pernicka, E.
2012. The silver of the South Iberian El Argar Culture: A first look at production and distribution.
Trabajos de Prehistoria 69: 293-309. INST ARCH Pers, and available online
Cohen, C.R., Rehren, Th. and Van Buren, M. 2009. An archaeo-metallurgical study of the use of
European furnaces in colonial Bolivia, in A. Giumla-Mair et al. (eds), Archaeometallurgy in Europe
II, 529-540. Milan: Associazione Italiana de Metallurgia. INST ARCH KEA 1 ASS
*Bayley, J. 2008. Medieval precious metal refining: archaeology and contemporary texts compared,
in Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, Th. (eds), Archaeology, History and Science: Integrating
Approaches to Ancient Materials, 131-150. (UCL Institute of Archaeology Publications). Walnut
Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. INST ARCH AJ MAR, ISSUE DESK IOA MAR 9
Boni, M., Di Maio, G., Frei, R., and Villa, I.M. 2000. Lead isotopic evidence for a mixed provenance
for Roman water pipes from Pompeii, Archaeometry 42, 201 208. INST ARCH Pers
Cochet, A. 2000. Le plomb en Gaule romaine: techniques de fabrication et produits.
Montagnac: Monique Mergoil. INST ARCH KEA 4 Qto COC
Cohen, C. R., Rehren, Th. and van Buren, M. 2009. When the wind blows: environmental
adaptability in current day silver production within the Bolivian Andes, in J-F. Moreau, R. Auger, J.
Chabot and A. Herzog (eds), Proceedings of the 36th International Symposium on Archaeometry,
April 2006, Quebec, 465-475. (Les cahiers d'archeologie du CELAT, 25; Series Archeometrie, 7),
Quebec: Universite Laval. INST ARCH AJ MOR
Craddock, P., Cartwrigtht, C., Eckstein, K., Freestone, I., Gurjar, L., Hook, D., Middleton, A. and
Willies, L. 2013. Simple sophistication: Mauryan silver production in north west India. British
Museum Technical Research Bulletin 7, 79-93.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 23
Durali-Mueller, S., Brey, G. P., Wigg-Wolf, D. and Lahaye, Y. 2007. Roman lead mining in Germany:
its origin and development through time deduced from lead isotope provenance studies. Journal of
Archaeological Science 34(10), 1555-1567. INST ARCH Pers
Hunter, F. and Davis, M. 1994. Early Bronze Age lead – a unique necklace from southeast Scotland.
Antiquity 68(261), 824-830. INST ARCH Pers
Liu, S., Rehren, T., Chen, J., Xu, C., Vennunan, P., Larreina-Garcia, D., Martinon-Torres, M. (2015).
Bullion production in imperial China and its significance for sulphide ore smelting world-wide.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 55 151-165. INST ARCH Pers
Martinón-Torres, M., Thomas, N. Rehren, Th. and Mongiatti, A. 2008. Some problems and
potentials of the study of cupellation remains: the case of post-medieval Montbéliard.
ArcheoSciences: Revue d’Archeometrie 32, 59-70. INST ARCH Pers
Martinón-Torres, M., Rehren, Th., Thomas, N. and Mongiatti, A. 2009. Identifying materials, recipes
and choices: some suggestions for the study of archaeological cupels, in Archaeometallurgy in
Europe. Milan: Associazione Italiana de Metallurgia. INST ARCH KEA 1 ASS
Murphy, S. and Baldwin, H. 2001. Early lead smelting sites in the Swaledale area of Yorkshire.
Historical Metallurgy 35(1), 1-22. INST ARCH Pers
Kassianidou, V. 1998. Was silver actually recovered from speiss in antiquity? , in Th. Rehren, A.
Hauptmann, and J. Muhly (eds), Metallurgica Antiqua, 69-76. (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 8). Bochum:
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto REH
Mekel, J. F. 2007. Imperial Roman production of lead and silver in the northern part of Upper
Moesia (Mt. Kosmaj area). Journal of the Serbian Archaeological Society, 23, 39-78.
*Pernicka, E., Rehren, Th., and Schmitt-Strecker, S. 1998. Late Uruk silver production by cupellation
at Habuba Kabira, Syria, in Th. Rehren, A. Hauptmann, and J. Muhly (eds), Metallurgica Antiqua,
123-134. (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 8). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum INST ARCH KE Qto REH
Ploquin, A., Bailly-Maitre, M-C., Allée, P. (eds) 2010. Mines et métallurgies anciennes du plomb dans
leurs environnements. Apports des méthodes contribuant à leur étude. Special issue of
ArcheoSciences: Revue d’Archeometrie. INST ARCH Pers
Rehren, Th. and Prange, M. 1998. Lead metal and patina: a comparison, in Th. Rehren, A.
Hauptmann, and J. Muhly (eds), Metallurgica Antiqua, 183-196. (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 8). Bochum:
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum INST ARCH KE Qto REH
*Rehren, Th., Schneider, J. and Bartels, Chr. 1999. Medieval lead-silver smelting in the Siegerland,
West Germany. Historical Metallurgy 33, 73-84. INST ARCH Pers
Rehren, T. 2011. The production of silver in South America. Archaeology. International 13/14, 7686. Available online.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 24
Schultze, C. A., Stanish, C. Scott, D. A., Rehren, Th., Kuehner, S. and Feathers, J. K. 2009. Direct
evidence of 1,900 years of indigenous silver production in the Lake Titicaca Basin of Southern Peru.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106(41), 17280-17283.
*Van Buren, M. and Mills, B. H. 2005. Huayrachinas and Tocochimbos: Traditional smelting
technology of the Southern Andes. Latin American Antiquity 16(1), 3-25. INST ARCH Pers
Wyttenbach, A. and Schubiger, P. 1973. Trace element content of Roman lead by neutron activation
analysis. Archaeometry 15, 199 -207. INST ARCH Pers
Archaeometallurgy I – page 25
LECTURE 6: IRON AND STEEL. BLOOMERY SMELTING AND SMITHING.
Mike Charlton
Summary
The advent of iron, “the democratic metal”, led to the emergence of an entirely new approach to
smelting metal, where the metal itself is never liquid, but remains in a solid state throughout the
working cycle. Refining, or smithing, this material required the development of new skills to
overcome a number of technical obstacles as well exploiting the opportunities it provided.
‘‘Bloomery’ or ‘direct process’ iron smelting’ was not only a significant technological achievement,
but held a number of criticalsocial and economic implications because of irons material properties
and the wide-spread ore availability compared to copper and tin.
Following a summary of bloomery smelting systems distinctive artefacts, we will introduce
methods of modelling past ironmaking systems through analysis of their residues. Finally, we will
explore ways to bridge bloomery artefacts and their analysis to broader issues in archaeological
research.
Reading
Alipour,R. and Rehren, Th. 2014. Persian Pulād production:Chāhak tradition. Journal of Islamic
Archaeology. 1/2, 231-261.
Benoit, P. and Fluzin, Ph. (ed) 1995. Paléométallurgie du fer et Cultures. Paris: AEDEH. INST ARCH
KEA Qto BEN
Biggs, L., Bellina, B., Martinón-Torres, M. and Pryce, O. P. 2013. Prehistoric iron production
technologies in the Upper Thai-Malay Peninsula: metallography and slag inclusion analyses of iron
artefacts from Khao Sam Kaeo and Phu Khao Thong. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
5(4): 311-329. INST ARCH Pers, and available online
Blakelock, E., Martinón-Torres, M., Veldhuijzen, H.A. and Young, T. 2009. Slag inclusions in iron
objects and the quest for provenance: an experiment and a case study. Journal of Archaeological
Science 36, 1745-1757. INST ARCH Pers, and available online
Buchwald, V. F. 2005. Iron and steel in ancient times. Copenhagen: Det Kongelige Danske
Videnskabernes Selskab. INST ARCH KEA 2 BUC
*Cech, B. and Rehren, Th. 2014. Early Iron in Europe. Momographies Instrumentum, 50.
Montagnac: Editions Monique Mergoil.
Cleere, H. 1984. Ironmaking in the economy of the ancient world: The potential of
archaeometallurgy, in The Crafts of the Blacksmith, edited by Brian G Scott and Henry Cleere, 1-6.
Belfast: UISPP Comité pour la Sidérurgie Ancienne. INST ARCH SSUE DESK IOA TYL 1
*Charlton, M. F., Crew, P., Rehren, Th. and Shennan, S. J. 2010. Explaining the evolution of
ironmaking recipes – An example from northwest Wales. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
29, 352-367. INST ARCH Pers
Archaeometallurgy I – page 26
Charlton, M. F., Blakelock, E., Martinón-Torres, M. and Young, T. 2012. Investigating the production
provenance of iron artifacts with multivariate methods. Journal of Archaeological Science 39, 22802293.
*Craddock, P. 1995. Early Metal Mining and Production. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
(chapter 7: Iron and Steel, pp. 234-283) INST ARCH KE CRA
Crew, P. 1991. The experimental production of prehistoric bar iron. Historical Metallurgy 25, 21-36.
INST ARCH Pers
Crew, P. 1995. Aspects of the iron supply, in B. Cunliffe (ed), Danebury – an Iron Age hillfort in
Hampshire, vol. 6, 276-286. (CBA Research Report 102). London: Council for British Archaeology.
INST ARCH DAA Qto Series COU 102
Crew, P. 2000. The influence of clay and charcoal ash in bloomery slags, in C. Cucini Tizzoni and M.
Tizzoni (eds), Il Ferro nelle Alpi, 38-47. Breno. Not in the library – you can ask me for a copy
Crew, P. and Charlton, M.F. 2007. The anatomy of a furnace and some of its ramifications. In: La
Niece, S., Hook, D., Craddock, P. (eds.), Metals and Mines: Studies in Archaeometallurgy, 219–225.
London: Archetype. INST ARCH KE Qto LAN, ISSUE DESK IOA LAN 1
Crew, P., and Crew, S. (eds) 1995. Iron for Archaeologists, a review of recent work on the
archaeology of early ironworking sites in Europe. (Plas Tan y Bwlch Occasional Paper, 2) Tan y Bwlch,
Gwynedd: Plas Tan y Bwlch, Snowdonia National Park Study Centre.
Dieudonne-Glad, N. and Conte, P. 2011. Smithing at the priory of Lavinadiere, Correze, France, 13th
and 16th centuries. Historical Metallurgy 45/1, 1-7.
Dungworth, D. and Mepham, L. 2012. Prehistoric iron smelting in London: evicence from Shooters
Hill. Historical Metallurgy 46/1, 1-8.
Gassmann, G. 2002. Recent discoveries and excavations of 6th-2nd century BC furnaces in SW
Germany. Historical Metallurgy 36(2), 71-77. INST ARCH Pers
Hendrickson, M. 2011. A transport geographic perspective on travel and communication in
Angkorian Southeast Asia (ninth to fifteenth centuries AD). World Archaeology 43(3): 444–457. INST
ARCH Pers, and available online
Hosek, J., Cleere, H., Mihok, L., Pleiner, R. (eds.) 2011. The archaeometallurgy of iron: recent
developments in archaeological and scientific research. Prague: Institute of Archaeology of the
ASCR. INST ARCH KEB 2 HOS
*Humphris, J. and Rehren, Th. (eds) 2013. The World of Iron. London: Archetype. INST ARCH KEA 2
Qto HUM
*Joosten, I. 2004. Technology of Early Historical Iron Production in the Netherlands.
(Geoarchaeological and Bioarchaeological Studies 2). Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit. (esp.
introduction, pp. 7-18: Technology of iron production). INST ARCH DAHB Qto JOO
Archaeometallurgy I – page 27
Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren. Th. 2008. Analytical study of iron slag from the Novgorod
hinterland, in M. Brisbane, N. Makarov and E. Nosov (eds), The Archaeology of Medieval Novgorod
in Context: Studies in Centre/Periphery Relations, 185-194. Oxford: Oxbow Books. INST ARCH
Nørbach, L. C. (ed) 2003. Prehistoric and Medieval Direct Iron Smelting in Scandinavia and Europe.
Aspects of Technology and Science. Aarchus: Aarchus University Press. INST ARCH KEA 2 NOB
Park, Jang-Sik, Rehren, Th. 2011. Large-scale 2nd to 3rd century AD bloomery iron smelting in Korea.
Journal of Archaeological Science 38, 1180-1190.
Paynter, S. 2006. Regional variations in bloomery smelting slag of the Iron Age and Romano-British
periods. Archaeometry 48(2), 271-292.
Paynter, S. 2007. Romano-British workshops for iron smelting and smithing iat Westhawk Farm,
Kent. Historical Metallurgy 41(1), 15-31.
Paynter, S. 2007. Innovations in bloomery smelting in iron Age and Romano-British England, in S.
La Niece, D. Hook and P. Craddock (eds.), Metals and Mines. Studies in Archaeometallurgy, 202210. London: Archetype.
*Pleiner, R. 2000. Iron in Archaeology – The European Bloomery Smelters. Prague: Archeologicky
Ustav AVCR. INST ARCH KEA 2 Qto PLE, ISSUE DESK IOA PLE
*Pleiner, R. 2006. Iron in Archaeology - Early European Blacksmiths. Prague: Archeologicky Ustav
AVCR. INST ARCH KEA 2 Qto PLE
Pryce, T. O. and Natapintu, S. 2009. Smelting Iron from Laterite: Technical Possibility or
Ethnographic Aberration? Asian Perspectives 48(2): 249-264. Available online
Rehren, Th. and Papakhristu, O. 2000. Cutting edge technology – The Ferghana Process of medieval
crucible steel smelting. Metalla (Bochum) 7, 55-69. INST ARCH Pers
Rostoker, W. and Bronson, B. 1990, Pre-Industrial Iron – Its Technology and Ethnology.
(Archeomaterials monograph 1). Philadelphia: Archeomaterials. (chapter 10, pp. 101-119; chap.
13, pp. 139-152; and chap. 14, pp. 153-165. ISSUE DESK IOA ROS 3, INST ARCH KEA 2 ROS
Rovira, S., Lopez-Medina, M. J., Roman-Diaz, M. P. and Martinez-Padillar, C. 2004. Los Callejones: a
Roman Republican iron mining and smelting centre in the south east of the Iberian Peninsula.
Historical Metallurgy 38(1), 1-9. INST ARCH Pers
Sim, D. 1998. Beyond the Bloom - Bloom bloom refining and iron artifact production in the Roman
world. (BAR International Series 725). Oxford: Archaeopress. INST ARCH KE Qto SIM
*Tylecote, R. 1987. The early history of metallurgy in Europe. London and New York: Longman
(chapter 7: Forging and hammering techniques, pp. 243-279). ISSUE DESK IOA TYL 2
Rehren, Th. and Papachristou, O. 2003. Similar like white and black: a comparison of steel-making
crucibles from Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, in Th. Stoellner, G. Körlin, G. Steffens and
J. Cierny (eds), Man and Mining, (=Der Anschnitt, Beiheft 16, Bochum), 393-404. INST ARCH
Archaeometallurgy I – page 28
Rehren, T., Belgya, T., Jambon, A., Kali, G., Kastovszky, Z., Kis, Z., Kovács, I., Maróti, B., MartinónTorres, M., Miniaci, G., Pigott, P., Radivojević, M., Szentmiklósi, L., Szökefalvi-Nagy, Z. 2013. 5,000
years old Egyptian iron beads made from hammered meteoritic iron. Journal of Archaeological
Science 40(12), 4785–4792. INST ARCH Pers, and available online
Veldhuijzen, H.A. and Rehren, Th. 2007. Slags and the city: early iron production at Tell Hammeh,
Jordan and Tell Beth-Shemesh, Israel, 189-201, in: La Niece, S., Hook, D.R., and Craddock, P.T. (eds)
(2007) Metals and Mines - Studies in Archaeometallurgy, London, Archetype, British Museum. INST
ARCH KE Qto LAN, ISSUE DESK IOA LAN 1
*Waldbaum, J. 1999. The coming of iron in the eastern Mediterranean, in V. Pigott (ed),
Archaeometallurgy of the Asian Old World, 27-57. INST ARCH KEA PIG
Wertime, T. A. and Muhly, J. D. (eds) 1980. The coming of the Age of Iron. New Haven and London:
Yale University Press. INST ARCH KEA 2 WER; Issue Desk INST ARCH KEA 2 WER
Young, T. 2011. Some preliminary observations on hammerscale and its implications for
understanding welding. Historical Metallurgy 45/1, 26-41.
Young, T. P. and Poyner, D. 2012. Two medieval bloomery smelting sites in Shropshire: the adoption
of water power for iron smelting. Historical Metallurgy 46/2, 78-97.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 29
LECTURE 7: CAST IRON AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.
IRON IN AFRICA.
Marcos Martinón-Torres
Summary
The technical basis of iron smelting remained unchanged in most of the world for at least two
millenia. Only from about 1000 AD onwards do we wittness the appearance of a new, and much
more productive, smelting process, resulting first in cast iron which had to be treated further by
fining before it could be used for tools and such like. This indirect process, eventually leading up to
the Industrial Revolution, is discussed in both technical, social and environmental contexts. We will
also consider the Chinese evidence, where cast iron seems as old as bloomery iron, as well as the
production of crucible steel [N.B. bibliography on crucible steel is included under the previous
topic].
In the second hour, we will look at the wide variation existing in the technologies employed for
producing iron by the bloomery process in pre-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa. While based on the
same technical principles, different ways of making iron are indicative of the various technological
traditions and cultural backgrounds indigenous to Africa. In addition, the rich ethnographic and
archaeological record allows an insight into the social, economic and symbolic roles played by iron
making and iron metal in different African contexts.
Reading on cast iron and the indirect method
Belford, D. 2012. Hot blast iron smelting in the early 19th century: a re-appraisal. Historical
Metallurgy 46/1, 9-18.
Crossley, D. 1996. The blast furnace at Rockley, South Yorkshire. Archaeological Journal 152, 291380. INST ARCH Pers
Dillmann, P., Perez, A., Vega, E., Arribet-Deroin, D., Aranda, R., L’Heritier, M., Neff, D. and BellotGurlet, L. 2012. Understanding the Walloon method of iron refining: archaeological and
archaeometric experiments, phase 1. Historical Metallurgy 46/1, 19-31.
Gelegdorj, E., Ghunag, A., Gordon, R. B. and Park, J-S. 2007. Transitions in cast iron technology of
the nomads in Mongolia. Journal of Archaeological Science 34(8), 1187-1196. INST ARCH Pers
Hayman, R. 2005. Ironmaking. The history and archaeology of the iron industry. London: Tempus.
INST ARHC KEA 2 HAY.
Starley, D. 1999. Determining the technological origins of iron and steel. Journal of Archaeological
Science 26, 1127-1134. INST ARCH Pers, and available online
Wagner, D. B. 2003. Chinese blast furnaces from the 10th to the 14th century. Historical Metallurgy
37(1), 25-37. INST ARCH Pers.
Wagner, D. B. 2008. Science and Civilisation in China. Vol. 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology.
Part 11: Ferrous Metallurgy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 30
Reading on iron metallurgy in Africa
Bisson, M. S. et al. (eds) 2000. Ancient African Metallurgy: The Sociocultural Context. Oxford:
Altamira Press. INST ARCH DC 100 BIS
Clist, 2012. Ver un réduction des préjugés et la fonte des antagonismes: un bilan de l’expansion de
la mélallurgie du fer en Afrique sub-Saharienne. Journal of African Archaeology 10. INST ARCH Pers.
Craddock, P. T. 2010. New paradigms for old iron: thoughts on E. Zangato & A. F. C. Holl’s “On the
iron front”. Journal of African Archaeology 8, 29-36. INST ARCH Pers
Chirikure, S. 2009. Indigenous mining and metallurgy in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Chirikure, S. 2014. Geochemistry of Ancient Metallurgy: Examples from Africa and Elsewhere.
Elsevier Treatise on Geochemistry, 2nd Edition, 169-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08095975-7.01214-6 Available online
Chirikure, S. and Rehren, Th. 2004. Ores, furnaces, slags, and prehistoric societies: aspects of iron
working in the Nyanga Agricultural Complex, AD 1300-1900. African Archaeological Review 21, 135152. INST ARCH Pers
Chirikure, S., Burrett, R. and Heimann, R. B. 2009. Beyond furnaces and slags: a review study of
bellows and their role in indigenous African metallurgical processes. Azania: Archaeological
Research in Africa 44/2: 195-215.
Humphris, J., Martinón-Torres, M., Rehren, Th. and Reid, A. 2009. Variability in single smelting
episodes - a pilot study using slag from Uganda. Journal of Archaeological Science 36, 359-369. INST
ARCH Pers
Iles, L. and Martinón-Torres, M. 2009. Pastoralist iron production in the Laikipia Plateau, Kenya:
wider implications for archaeometallurgical studies. Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 23142326. INST ARCH Pers
*Killick, D. 2004. What do we know about African iron working? Journal of African Archaeology 2(1):
97-112. INST ARCH Pers
Killick, D. 2009. Cairo to Cape: the spread of metallurgy down the eastern half of Africa. Journal of
World Prehistory 22(4), 399-414. INST ARCH Pers
Killick, D. 2015. Invention and innovation in African iron-smelting technologies. Cambridge
Archaeological Journal 25/1, 307-319.
*Schmidt, P. R. 1997. Iron technology in East Africa: symbolism, science, and archaeology.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; Oxford: James Currey. INST ARCH DCD SCH
MacDonald, K.C., Vernet, R., Martinón-Torres, M. and Fuller, D. Q. 2009. Dhar Nema: from early
agriculture to metallurgy in southeastern Mauritania. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa
44(1), 3-48. INST ARCH Pers
Archaeometallurgy I – page 31
Miller, D. 1994. Early metal working in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of recent research. Journal of
African History 35, 1-36. ANTHROPOLOGY Pers
*Rehren, Th., Charlton, M., Chirikure, S., Humphris, J., Ige, A. and Veldhuijzen H.A. 2007. Decisions
set in slag: the human factor in African iron smelting 211 in: La Niece, S., Hook, D.R., and Craddock,
P.T. (Eds) (2007) Metals and Mines - Studies in Archaeometallurgy, 211-218, London, Archetype,
British Museum. INST ARCH KE Qto LAN, ISSUE DESK IOA LAN 1
Woodhouse, J. 1998. Iron in Africa: the metal from nowhere, in G. Connah (ed) Transformations in
Africa: essays on Africa’s later past, 160-185. London: Leicester University Press.
Zangato, E. and Holl, A.F.C. 2010. On the iron front: new evidence from North-Central Africa. Journal
of African Archaeology 8, 7-23.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 32
LECTURE 8: GOLD. METALLURGY IN AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER
1492
Marcos Martinón-Torres
Summary
The metallurgy of America developed independently from European and Asian influences. Thus, a
number of characteristic differences is discussed, trying to explain them from their social and
environmental context. Given the importance of gold and gold alloys in South American metallurgy,
this session will also address some general issues related to this metal. Against this background, we
will then look at the crucial role played by metals in the relationship beween Europeans and
indigenous peoples during the contact period in the Caribbean, and how metals and metallurgy
illustrate completely different perceptions of matter and value systems.
Reading
Bayley, J. 2008. Medieval precious metal refining: archaeology and contemporary texts compared,
in Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, Th. (eds), Archaeology, History and Science: Integrating
Approaches to Ancient Materials, 131-150. (UCL Institute of Archaeology Publications). Walnut
Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. INST ARCH AJ MAR, ISSUE DESK IOA MAR 9
Cech, B. 2012. A roman gold mining district in eastern Austria. Historical Metallurgy 46/2, 66-77.
Hosler, D. 1994. The sounds and colors of power: the sacred metallurgical technology of ancient
West Mexico. Cambridge, Mass .: MIT Press. INST ARCH DFA 100 HOS
*La Niece, S. and Meeks, N. 2000. Diversity of Goldsmithing Traditions in the Americas and the Old
World, in C McEwan (ed), Precolumbian Gold. Technology, Style and Iconography, 220-239. London:
British Museum Press. INST ARCH DF 300 MCE
Lechtman, H., 1973, The Gilding of metals in pre-Columbian Peru. In: W. Young (ed.) Application of
Science in Examination of Works of Art, 38-52. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. INST ARCH K BOS
Lechtman, H N, 1984. Pre-Columbian Surface Metallurgy. Scientific American, 250(6), 56-63.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE Pers, GEOSCIENCE Pers
Leusch, V. Armbruster, B., Pernicka, E. and Slavcev, V. 2015. On the invention of gold metallurgy:
the gold objects from the Varna I Cemetery (Bulgaria) – Technological consequence and inventive
creativity. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 25/1, 353-376.
Maldonado, B. and Rehren, Th. 2009. Early copper smelting at Itziparátzico, Mexico. Journal of
Archaeological Science 36, 1998–2006. INST ARCH Pers
Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, Th. 2007. Trials and errors in search of mineral wealth:
metallurgical experiments in early colonial Jamestown. Rittenhouse: the Journal of the American
Scientific Instrument Enterprise 21: 82-97. Available from me
Archaeometallurgy I – page 33
*Martinón-Torres, M., Valcárcel Rojas, R., Cooper, J. and Rehren, Th. 2007. Metals, microanalysis
and meaning: a study of metal objects excavated from the indigenous cemetery of El Chorro de
Maíta, Cuba. Journal of Archaeological Science, 34, 194-204. INST ARCH Pers
Martinón-Torres, M., Cooper, J., Valcárcel Rojas, R. and Rehren, Th. 2008. Diversifying the picture:
Indigenous responses to European arrival in Cuba. Archaeology International 10, 37-40. INST ARCH
Pers
Martinón-Torres, M., Valcarcel Rojas, R., Guerra, M. F. and Saenz Samper, J. 2012 Metallic
encounters in Cuba: the technology, exchange and meaning of metals before and after Columbus.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. INST ARCH Pers
McEwan, C. (ed) 2000. Precolumbian Gold: Technology, Style and Iconography. London: British
Museum Press. INST ARCH DF 300 MCE
Meller, H., Risch, R. and Pernicka, E. (eds.) 2014. Metals of Power – Early gold and silver [Metalle
der Macht: Frühes Gold und Silber]. Halle: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie SachsenAnhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle.
Plaza, M.T., Martinón-Torres, M. (2015). Metallurgical traditions under Inka rule: A technological
study of metals and technical ceramics from the Aconcagua Valley, Central Chile. Journal of
Archaeological Science, 54 86-98.
*Ramage, A. & Craddock, P. (eds) 2000. King Croesus’ Gold – Excavation at Sardis and the History
of Gold Refining. London: British Museum Press. INST ARCH DBC 10 RAM
Schrimptff, M. C. (ed) 2005. Calima and Malagana. Art and Archaeology in Southwestern Colombia.
Bogotá: Pro Calima Foundation. INST ARCH DGA CAR
Thibodeau, A. M., Killick, D. J., Ruiz, J., Chesley, J. T., Deagan, K., Cruxent, J. M., and Lyman, W.,
2007. The strange case of the earliest silver extraction by European colonists in the New World.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104, 3663-3666. Available online
Uribe Villegas, M. A. and Martinón-Torres, M. 2012. Composition, colour and context in Muisca
votive metalwork (Colombia, AD 600-1800). Antiquity 86. INST ARCH Pers
Archaeometallurgy I – page 34
LECTURE 9: ZINC AND BRASS. RENAISSANCE METALLURGY AND
ALCHEMY
Marcos Martinón-Torres
Summary
Zinc leads us from the truly ancient metallurgy to more recent periods. As a metal, zinc appears not
before the 10th century AD in Asia, and not before the 16th century AD in Europe, in any regular
quantity. However, as an alloying constituent of brass it appears regularly since in the first
millennium BC at least, probably as an ‘artificial’ alloy, and on a regular scale during the early
Imperial Roman period for a good century, before its production ceases, only to re-emerge again in
the early Middle Ages. Since then, is takes over as the dominant copper alloy for every-day
artefacts. We will discuss the technical reasons for this almost erratic pattern, and move on to
other, less common, modern metals emerging during the Renaissance. The discovery of new metals
and their properties will be discussed in the context of fire assay and alchemical experimentation.
Reading on zinc and brass
Boiurgarit, D. and Thomas, N. 2011. From laboratory to field experiments: shared experience in
brass cementation. Historical Metallurgy 45/1, 8-16. INST ARCH Pers
Craddock, P. and Zhou, W. 2003. Traditional Zinc Production in Modern China: Survival and
Evolution, in P. Craddock and J. Lang (eds), Mining and Metal Production Through the Ages, 267292. London: The British Museum Press. INST ARCH KE CRA
Craddock, P. and Eckstein, K. 2003. Production of brass in Antiquity by direct reduction, in P.
Craddock and J. Lang (eds), Mining and Metal Production Through the Ages, 216-230. London: The
British Museum Press. INST ARCH KE CRA
*Craddock, P. (ed). 1998. 2000 years of zinc and brass. (British Museum Occasional Paper 50, 2nd
edition). London: British Museum. [any chapter of your choice] INST ARCH KEA 5 CRA, INST ARCH
KEA 5 Qto CRA
Dungworth, D. 1997. Roman copper alloys: analysis of artefacts from Northern Britain. Journal of
Archaeological Science 24 (10), 901-910. INST ARCH Pers
Dungworth, D. 1997. Iron Age and Roman Copper Alloys from Northern Britain. Internet
Archaeology 2. http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue2/ Available online
*Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, Th. 2002. Agricola and Zwickau: theory and practice of
Renaissance brass production in SE Germany. Historical Metallurgy 36, 95-111. INST ARCH Pers
Ponting, M. J. 2002. Keeping up with the Romans? Romanisation and Copper Alloys in First Revolt
Palestine. IAMS 22, 3-6. INST ARCH Pers
Ponting, M. J. 2002. Roman military copper-alloy artefacts from Israel: Questions of organization
and ethnicity. Archaeometry 44 (4), 555-571.INST ARCH Pers
Archaeometallurgy I – page 35
Rehren, Th. 1999. Small size, large scale: Roman brass production in Germania Inferior. Journal of
Archaeological Science 26 (8), 1083-1087. INST ARCH Pers
*Rehren, Th. 1999. The same… but different: A juxtaposition of Roman and Medieval brass making
in Central Europe, in S. M. M. Young, A. M. Pollard, P. Budd and R. A. Ixer (eds), Metals in Antiquity,
252-257. (BAR International Series, 792). Oxford: Archaeopress. INST ARCH KEA Qto YOU
Rehren, Th. and Martinón-Torres, M. 2008. Naturam ars imitata: European brassmaking between
craft and science, in Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, Th. (eds), Archaeology, History and Science:
Integrating Approaches to Ancient Materials, 167-188. (UCL Institute of Archaeology Publications).
Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. INST ARCH AJ MAR, ISSUE DESK IOA MAR 9
Thornton, C. P. and Ehlers, C. B. 2003. Early brass in the ancient Near East. IAMS 23, 3-8. INST ARCH
Pers
Welter, J.-M., 2003. The zinc content of brass: a chronological indicator? Techne: La science aus
service de l'historie de l'art et des civilisations, 18, 27-36
Zacharias, S. 1989. Brass making in medieval western Europe, in M. L. Wayman (ed), All That
Glitters: Readings in Historical Metallurgy, 35-40. Montreal: The Metallurgical Society of the
Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy INST ARCH KEA WAY
Zhou, W., Martinón-Torres, M., Chen, J., Liu, H. and Li, Y. 2012. Distilling zinc for the Ming Dynasty:
the technology of large scale zinc production in Fengdu, southwest China. Journal of Archaeological
Science 39 (4), 908-921. INST ARCH Pers
See also several chapters on zinc and brass in: La Niece, S., Hook, D.R., and Craddock, P.T. (eds)
Metals and Mines - Studies in Archaeometallurgy, 136-139. London, Archetype, British Museum.
INST ARCH KE Qto LAN, ISSUE DESK IOA LAN 1
Reading on Renaissance metallurgy, assaying and alchemy
Bayley, J. 1996. Innovation in later medieval urban metalworking. Historical Metallurgy 30, 67-71.
INST ARCH Pers.
Bayley, J. and White, H. 2013. Evidence for workshop practices at the Tudor mint in the Tower of
London, in D. Saunders, M. Spring and A. Meek (eds.), The Renaissance Workshop, 138-143. London:
Archetype.
Hogarth, D. 1999. Martin Frobisher's largest 'gold mine' in Baffin Island. Historical Metallurgy 33,
85-92. INST ARCH Pers
Martinón-Torres, M. 2007. The tools of the chymist: archaeological and scientific analyses of early
modern laboratories, in L. M. Principe (ed), Chymists and Chymistry: Studies in the History of
Alchemy and Early Chemistry, 149-163. Sagamore Beach: Science History Publications and Chemical
Heritage Foundation. HISTORY OF SCIENCE CN 6 PRI
Martinón-Torres, M. 2011. Some recent developments in the historiography of alchemy. Ambix
58/3, 215-237. HISTORY OF SCIENCE Pers
Archaeometallurgy I – page 36
Martinón-Torres, M. 2012. Inside Solomon’s House: An Archaeological Study of the Old Ashmolean
Chymical Laboratory in Oxford. Ambix 59/1, 22-48. HISTORY OF SCIENCE Pers
Martinón-Torres, M., Rehren, Th. and von Osten, S. 2003. A 16th century lab in a 21st century lab:
archaeometric study of the laboratory equipment from Oberstockstall (Kirchberg am Wagram,
Austria). Antiquity 77(298). Available online
*Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, Th. 2005. Alchemy, chemistry and metallurgy in Renaissance
Europe. A wider context for fire assay remains. Historical Metallurgy 39(1), 14-31. INST ARCH Pers
Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, Th. 2008. Post-medieval crucible production and distribution: a
study of materials and materialities. Archaeometry, 51(1), 49-74. INST ARCH Pers
Mongiatti, A., Martinón-Torres, M., and Rehren, Th. 2009. Testing ores for gold and silver in
Renaissance Austria: new techniques, new discoveries, in J-F. Moreau, R. Auger, J. Chabot and A.
Herzog (eds), Proceedings of the 36th International Symposium on Archaeometry, April 2006,
Quebec, 444/37-444/46. (Les cahiers d'archeologie du CELAT, 25; Series Archeometrie, 7), Quebec:
Universite Laval. INST ARCH AJ MOR and available online
*Rehren, Th. 1996. Alchemy and fire assay – an analytical approach. Historical Metallurgy 30, 136142. INST ARCH KEA Qto YOU
Archaeometallurgy I – page 37
LECTURE 10: SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND FEEDBACK
Marcos Martinón-Torres
Summary
This session will be used to discuss the feedback form which you will have received during one of
the previous sessions. Also, there will be time to ask specific questions, either related to the content
of earlier lectures, or expanding into other fields which we were unable to cover during this course.
Students will be invited to suggest topics for discussion.
We will highlight upcoming lectures by external specialists in the field that may be of interest to the
students, in addition to the IAMS Summer School in Archaeometallurgy.
Reading will depend on the topics discussed, therefore relevant references will be given later in the
year.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 38
ASSESSMENT
Materials identification exam
This assessment will test the breadth of your knowledge and your ability to interrogate and identify
relevant archaeometallurgical materials. You will be shown a range of objects and asked to describe
their main features and, on the basis of your observations and with reference to your knowledge,
suggest possible attributions to specific metallurgical processes. You will also be given the
opportunity to suggest further studies that you would perform in order to refine or confirm your
identification.
The materials you will be asked to identify will be comparable to those shown during lectures and
handled during practical sessions.
This exam will take place on Thursday 10 December, 4-6pm, and counts 40% towards your final
mark for this course.
Standard essay
The second assignment will be an essay of 2,375-2,625 words, counting 60% towards the final mark.
The deadline for this is 25 January. Essay topics are negotiable, and students are encouraged to
suggest their own. What follows is a list of possible general topics, with some introductory reading,
but you will be expected to carry out further bibliographic research. Essays may concentrate on
specific aspects of these topics, or on completely different ones, by prior discussion with me. In all
cases, it is expected that students will combine their own ideas with reference to published case
studies.
Please make sure that your essay is well-structured (including subheadings), and try to show some
originality or insight: having done your literature review… where do we go from here? what are the
main questions remaining? who do you agree or disagree with, and why?
Like the rest of the bibliographic references in this coursebook, many of the references below are
available as PDFs via Moodle wherever possible. Needless to say, the fact that a publication is not
available online is not an excuse for not consulting it!
Discuss the differences (in properties, manufacture, and/or other relevant parameters) between
pure copper and arsenical bronze (or pure copper and tin bronze, or tin bronze and brass).
Budd, P. D. and Ottaway, B. S. 1991. The properties of arsenical copper alloys: implications for the
development of Eneolithic metallurgy, in P. Budd, B. Chapman, R. Janaway and B. Ottaway
(eds), Archaeological Sciences 1989, 132-142. Oxford: Oxbow.
Charles, J. A. 1967. Early arsenical bronzes - a metallurgical view. American Journal of Archaeology
71, 21-26.
Northover, P. 1989: Properties and use of arsenic-copper alloys, in A. Hauptmann, E. Pernicka, and
G. A. Wagner (eds), Old World Archaeometallurgy. Proceedings of the International
Symposium, Heidelberg 1987, 111-118. (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 7). Bochum: Deutsches
Bergbau-Museum.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 39
O'Brien, W. 1999. Arsenical copper in early Irish metallurgy, in S. M. M. Young, A. M. Pollard, P.
Budd and R. A. Ixer (eds), Metals in Antiquity, 33-42. (BAR International Series, 792). Oxford:
Archaeopress.
Discuss the evolution of, and/or differences between, Roman and medieval copper-alloy
production.
Bayley, J. 1996. Innovation in later medieval urban metalworking. Historical Metallurgy 30, 67-71.
Bourgarit, D. and Thomas, N. 2012. Late medieval copper alloying practices: a view from a Parisian
workshop of the 14th century AD. Journal of Archaeological Science 39, 3052-3070.
Brownsword, R. 2004. Medieval metalwork: an analytical study of copper-alloy objects. Historical
Metallurgy 38(2), 84-105
Dungworth, D. and Nicholas, M. 2004. Caldarium? An antimony bronze used fror medieval and postmedieval cast domestic vessels. Historical Metallurgy 38(1), 24-34.
Rehren, Th. 1999. The same… but different: A juxtaposition of Roman and Medieval brass making
in Central Europe, in S. M. M. Young, A. M. Pollard, P. Budd and R. A. Ixer (eds), Metals in
Antiquity, 252-257. (BAR International Series, 792). Oxford: Archaeopress.
What do we know, and what is yet to be known, about the earliest metallurgy in the British Isles?
Does this constitute a focus of independent invention?
Budd, P., Gale, N., Pollard, A. M., Thomas, R. G. and Williams, P. A. 1992. The early development of
metallurgy in the British Isles. Antiquity 66(252): 677-686.
Chernych, E. N. 2002. Some of the most important aspects and problems of early Metal Age
studying, in M. Bartelheim, E. Pernicka and R. Krause (eds), The Beginnings of Metallurgy in
the Old World, 25-31. Leidorf: Rahden.
Craddock, P. T. 1990. Copper smelting in Bronze Age Britain: Problems and Possibilities, in P. Crew
and S. Crew (eds), Early Mining in the British Isles, 69-71. (Plas Tan y Bwlch Occasional
Paper 1). Snowdonia.
O’Brien, W. 2004. Ross Island. Mining, Metal and Society in Early Ireland. (Bronze Age Studies 6),
Galway: National University of Ireland.
What do we know, and what is yet to be known, about the earliest metallurgy in Thailand? Does
this constitute a focus of independent invention?
Murillo-Barroso, M., Pryce, T. O., Bellina, B. and Martinón-Torres, M. 2010. Khao Sam Kaeo – an
archaeometallurgical crossroads for trans-asiatic technological traditions. Journal of
Archaeological Science 37(7), 1761-1772.
Pigott, V. C. and Ciarla, R. 2007 On the origins of metallurgy in prehistoric Southeast Asia: the view
from Thailand 76-88, in La Niece, S., Hook, D.R., and Craddock, P.T. (eds) Metals and Mines
- Studies in Archaeometallurgy, London, Archetype, British Museum.
Pryce, T. O., Pigott, V. C., Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren. Th. 2010. Prehistoric copper production
and technological reproduction in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 2, 237-264.
White, J. C. and Hamilton, E. G. 2009.The Transmission of Early Bronze Technology to Thailand: New
Perspectives. Journal of World Prehistory 22, 357-397.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 40
What are the potentials and limitations of experimental archaeometallurgy? Identify a research
area that could benefit from experiments, and outline a relevant research project.
Bareham, T. 1994. Bronze casting experiments. Historical Metallurgy 28 (2), 112-116.
Crew, P. 1991. The experimental production of prehistoric bar iron. Historical Metallurgy 25, 21-36.
Ottaway, B. S. and Wang, Q. 2004. Casting Experiments and Microstructure of Archaeologically
Relevant Bronzes. (BAR International Series 1331). Oxford: Archaeopress.
Pryce. T. O., Bassiakos, Y., Catapotis, M. and Doonan, R. C. 2007. ‘De Caerimoniae’. Technological
choices in copper-smelting furnace design at Early Bronze Age Chrysokamino, Crete.
Archaeometry 49 (3), 543-557.
How did metallurgy start (and/or develop) in the Americas? Can we track the European influence
in the archaeological remains?
Aldenderfer, M., Craig, N. M., Speakman, R. J. and Popelka-Filcoff. R. 2008. Four-thousand-year-old
year old gold artifacts from the Lake Titicaca basin, southern Peru. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences 105(13): 5002-5005.
Benson, E. P. (ed) 1980. Pre-Columbian Metallurgy of South America. Washington DC: Dumbarton
Oaks Research Library and Collections, Trustees for Harvard University.
Maldonado, B., Rehren, Th. and Howell, P. 2005. Archaeological copper smelting at Itziparatzico,
Michoacan, Mexico, in Vandiver, P., Mass, J., Murray, A. (eds) Materials Issues in Art and
Archaeology VII. Materials Research Society Sumposium Proceedings 852 series.
Warrendale, PA: Materials Research Society, 231-240.
Martinón-Torres, M., Valcárcel Rojas, R., Cooper, J. and Rehren, Th. 2007. Metals, microanalysis
and meaning: a study of metal objects excavated from the indigenous cemetery of El Chorro
de Maíta, Cuba. Journal of Archaeological Science 34(2), 194-204.
Schultze, C. A., Stanish, C. Scott, D. A., Rehren, Th., Kuehner, S. and Feathers, J. K. 2009. Direct
evidence of 1,900 years of indigenous silver production in the Lake Titicaca Basin of
Southern Peru. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106(41), 1728017283.
Shimada, I., Gordus, A., Griffin, J. A. and Merkel, J. F. 1999. Sicán alloying, working and use of
precious metals: an interdisciplinary perspective, in S. M. M. Young, A. M. Pollard, P. Budd
and R. A. Ixier (eds), Metals in Antiquity (BAR-IS 792). Oxford: Archaeopress.
Is it possible to differenciate alluvial from smelted gold? What is the best way of provenancing
gold artefacts? Discuss with reference to published case studies from at least two different
continents.
Garcia-Guinea, J., Correcher, V., Rojas, R. M., Fierro, J. L. G., Fernandez-Martin, C., López-Arce, P.,
and Rovira-Llorens, S. 2005. Chemical tracers in archaeological and natural gold: Aliseda
Tartessos Treasure and new discovered nuggets (SW Spain). Gold Bulletin 38(1), 23-28.
Guerra, M. F., and Calligaro, Th. 2003. Gold and cultural heritage objects: a review of studies of
provenance and manufacturing technologies. Measurement Science and Technology 14,
1527-1537.
Guerra, M. F., Calligaro, Th., and Perea, A. 2007. The treasure of Guarrazar: tracing the gold supplies
in the Visigothic Iberian Peninsula. Archaeometry 49(1), 53-74.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 41
Rehren, Th., and Temme, M. 1994. Pre-Columbian gold processing at Putushio, South Ecuador: the
archaeometallurgical evidence, in D. Scott and P. Meyers (eds) Archaeometry of PreColumbian sites and artifacts, 267-284. Marina del Rey (CA): The Getty Conservation
Institute.
Is there a Copper or Bronze Age in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Garenne-Marot et al. 1994. Early Copper and Brass in Senegal. In: T. Childs (ed.), Society, Culture,
and Technology in Africa, 45-62 (MASCA Research Papers Supplement 11).
Holl, A. F. C. 2009. Early West African metallurgies: new data and old orthodoxy. Journal of World
Prehistory 22(4), 415-438.
Miller, D. and van der Merwe, N. 1994. Early metal working in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of recent
research. Journal of African History 35, 1-36
Why do we know so little about the origin of the Bronze Age tin? What is the current evidence
and argument?
Begemann, F. et al. 1999. Tracing tin via isotope analyses. In: A. Hauptmann et al. (eds), The
Beginnings of Metallurgy, 277-284. (Der Anschnitt, Beiheft 9).
Giuimlia-Mair, A. and Lo Schiavo, F. (eds) 2003. The Problem of Early Tin (BAR International Series
1199). Oxford: Archaeopress
Haustein, M., Gillis, C., and Pernicka, E. 2010. Tin isotopy – a new method for solving old questions.
Archaeometry 52/5, 816-832.
Yener, K. A. 2000. The Domestication of Metals: The Rise of Complex Metal Industries in Anatolia (c.
4500-2000 B.C.). Amsterdam: E.J. Brill.
The metallurgy of Bronze Age in China has special characteristics, both in its metallurgical and
social dimensions. Discuss, by comparing to the Bronze Age in Europe or the Near East.
Bulbeck, F. D. (ed) 1996. Ancient Chinese and Southeast Asian bronze age cultures. Taipei: SMC.
Liu, S., Wang, K., Cai, Q. and Chen, J. 2013. Microscopic study of Chinese bronze casting moulds
from the Eastern Zhou period. Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 2402–2414.
Mei, J. 2000. Copper and bronze metallurgy in late prehistoric Xinjiang: its cultural context and
relationships with neighbouring regions (BAR International Series 865). Oxford:
Archaepress.
Wen, F. (ed) 1980. The Great Bronze Age of China: an exhibition from the People’s Republic of China.
New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Zhou, W., Dong, Y. Wan, Q. and Wang. C. 2009. New research on lost-wax casting in ancient China,
in J. Mei, and Th. Rehren (eds), Metallurgy and Civilisation. Eurasia and Beyond, 73-78.
London: Archetype.
Discuss the technical parameters of the manufacture of crucible steel, and their influence in the
quality of the resulting metal
Allan, J. and Gilmour, B. 2000. Persian steel: the Tanavoli collection. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Alipour,R. and Rehren, Th. 2014. Persian Pulād production:Chāhak tradition. Journal of Islamic
Archaeology. 1/2, 231-261.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 42
Feuerbach, A., Merkel, J. and Griffiths, D. 1998. An examination of crucible steel in the manufacture
of Damascus steel, including evidence from Merv, Turkmenistan, in Th. Rehren, A.
Hauptmann, and J. Muhly (eds), Metallurgica Antiqua, 37-44. (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 8).
Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum.
Papakhristu, O. A. and Rehren, Th. 2002. Techniques and technology of ceramic vessel
manufacture: crucibles for wootz smelting in Central Asia, in V. Kilikoglou, A. Hein, and Y.
Maniatis (eds), Modern Trends in Scientific Studies of Ancient Ceramics, 69-74. (BAR
International Series 1011). Oxford: Archaeopress.
Rehren, Th. and Papakhristu, O. 2000. Cutting Edge Technology – The Ferghana process of medieval
crucible steel making. Metalla 7, 55-79.
Rehren, Th. and Papachristou, O. 2003. Similar like white and black: a comparison of steel-making
crucibles from Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, in Th. Stoellner, G. Koerlin, G.
Steffens and J. Cierny (eds), Man and Mining - Mensch und Bergbau. Studies in Honour of
Gerd Weisgerber, 393-404 (Der Anschnitt Beiheft 16). Bochum: Deutsches BergbauMuseum.
Is it possible to provenance iron objects to their source of origin?
Blakelock, E., Martinón-Torres, M., Veldhuijzen, H.A. and Young, T. 2009. Slag inclusions in iron
objects and the quest for provenance: an experiment and a case study. Journal of
Archaeological Science 36, 1745-1757.
Coustures, M.P., Béziat, D., Tollon, F., Domergue, C., Long, L., Rebiscoul, A., 2003. The use of trace
element analysis of entrapped slag inclusions to establish ore - Bar Iron links: Examples
from two Gallo-Roman ironworking sites in France (Les Martys, Montagne Noire and Les
Ferrys, Loiret). Archaeometry 45, 599-613.
Desaulty, A-M., Dillmann, P., L’Heritier, M., Mariet, C., Gratuze, B., Joron, J-L. and Fluzin, P. 2009.
Does it come from the Pays de Bray? Examination of an origin hypothesis for the ferrous
reinforcements used in French medieval churches using major and trace element analyses.
Journal of Archaeological Science 36, 2445-2462.
Høst-Madsen, L. and Buchwald, V.F., 1999. The characterization and provenancing of ore, slag and
iron from the Iron Age settlements at Snorup. Historical Metallurgy 33, 57-67.
Schwab, R., Heger, D., Hoppner, B. and Pernicka, E. 2006. The provenance of iron artefacts from
Manching: a multi-technique approach. Archaeometry 48, 433-452.
Is there a point in using lead isotope analyses of copper and copper alloys?
Bray, P., Cuenod, A., Gosden, C., Hommel, P., Liu, R., and Pollard, A.M. 2015. Form and flow: the
‘karmic cycle’ of copper. Journal of Archaeological Science 56, 202-209.
Stos-Gale, Z.A. and Gale, N.H. 2009. Metal provenancing using isotopes and the Oxford
archaeological lead isotope database (OXALID). Archaeological and Anthropological
Sciences 1, 195-213.
Pernicka, E. 1999. Trace element fingerprinting of ancient copper: a guide to technology or
provenance. In: Young, S.M.M., Pollard, A.M., Budd, P. and Ixer, R.A. (eds.), Metals in
Antiquity, 163-71. Bar International Series 792. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Pollard, A.M., Bray, P.J., Gosden, C. 2014. Is there something missing in scientific provenance
studies of prehistoric artefacts? Antiquity 88 (340), 625-631.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 43
Cementation? Co-smelting? Co-melting? How were tin bronzes produced in Prehistory?
Rovira, S. 2005. La producción de bronces en la Prehistoria, in J. Molera, J. Farjas, P. Roura and T.
Pradell (eds), Avances en Arqueometria 2005. Actas del VI Congreso Iberico de
Arqueometria, 21-35. http://copernic.udg.es/arqueometria/actas.html
Dungworth, D. 2000. Serendipity in the foundry? Tin oxide inclusions in copper and copper alloys
as an indicator of production process. Bulletin of the Metals Museum 32: 1-5.
Rostoker, W., McNallan, M. and Gebhard, E. R. 1983. Melting/smelting of bronze at Isthmia.
Historical Metallurgy 17: 23-26.
Zhou, W., Chen, J., Lei, X., Xu, T., Chong, J. and Wang, Z. 2009. Three Western Zhou bronze foundry
sites in the Zhouyuan area, Shaanxi province, China, in J. Mei, and Th. Rehren (eds),
Metallurgy and Civilisation. Eurasia and Beyond,62-72. London: Archetype.
Iron in Africa: an independent invention?
Alpern, S. B. 1994. Did They or Didn't They Invent It? Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa. History in Africa
32, 41-94.
Bisson, M., Childs, S. T., de Barros, P. and Holl, A. F. C. 2000. Ancient African Metallurgy: The Sociocultural Context. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press
Holl, A. F. C. 2009. Early West African metallurgies: new data and old orthodoxy. Journal of World
Prehistory 22(4), 415-438.
Killick, D. 2004. What do we know about African iron working? Journal of African Archaeology 2(1):
97-112.
Archaeometallurgy I – page 44
TEACHING SCHEDULE
Room B13, Term I, Thursday from 11 to 1 and 4 to 6
Week
Date
11-1 Lecture
4-6 Seminar
1
8 Oct
Introduction. Metals and minerals
(MMT)
(no session)
2
15 Oct
Principles of smelting and slag
formation (MMT)
Hands on: minerals and metals
3
22 Oct
The inception and transmission of
metallurgy (MMT)
(no session)
4
29 Oct
Crucibles, furnaces, copper and
copper alloys (MMT)
Hands on: early metallurgy and
ingots
5
5 Nov
Lead and silver (MMT+MMB)
Hands on: crucibles
9-13 Nov
READING WEEK
6
19 Nov
Bloomery iron (MC)
Hands on: slag
7
26 Nov
Cast iron. Africa (MMT)
Video: Inagina, the last house of iron
8
3 Dec
Gold. America (MMT)
British Museum visit
9
10 Dec
Zinc and brass. Alchemy (MMT)
Material identification exam
10
17 Dec
Conclusion and open topics (MMT)
Important dates:
10 December: Material identification exam
25 January: Essay deadline
Teachers:
Marcos Martinón-Torres (m.martinon-torres@ucl.ac.uk), Mike Charlton (m.charlton@ucl.ac.uk),
Mercedes Murillo-Barroso (m.murillo-barroso@ucl.ac.uk)
Turnitin Class ID: 2969937 – Password: IoA1516
Moodle Password: arch-metals