Ancient Metallurgy

English:
A late-Hellenistic production site was found at the eastern stoa of the agora of Kos. The presence of destroyed fire-structures indicates pyrotechnological processes, related to pigment manufacture and metallurgy. Pigment production included the treatment of natural earths and the manufacture of the artificial material Egyptian blue. Among the excavation’s finds were hollow tubular litharge rods, amorphous lead lumps and drops, and a small quantity of silver, which point to lead production and silver separation through cupellation. The co-existence of the two separate manufacturing activities at the same site may have been beneficial in supplying the workshop with raw materials and fuel. The strategic location of the production site in the commercial centre of the ancient town, with its connection to the port, would have facilitated trade. The production debris from the Koan site underlines the relationship between pigment manufacture and metallurgy.
Italian:
Un sito produttivo risalente all’età tardo ellenistica fu messo in luce nel settore orientale dell’agorà di Kos. Resti di fornaci, pur se scarsamente conservate, testimoniano processi piro-tecnologici relativi alla metallurgia e alla manifattura di pigmenti. La produzione dei pigmenti includeva il trattamento di terre colorate e la manifattura del blu egizio, un pigmento artificiale. Alcuni tra i materiali rinvenuti nel sito (barre tubolari di litargirio, masse amorfe e gocce di piombo, e residui d’argento) indicano la produzione di piombo e la separazione dell’argento tramite coppellazione. La compresenza delle due diverse attività manifatturiere nello stesso impianto artigianale potrebbe essere stata vantaggiosa in termini di approvvigionamento di materie prime e combustibile. La posizione strategica della manifattura, situata nel centro commerciale della città antica e interconnessa con il porto, avrebbe facilitato la commercializzazione dei prodotti. Gli scarti produttivi suggeriscono una relazione tra la produzione di pigmenti e la metallurgia.

This book presents a new study of Greek large-scale bronze statuary of the late Archaic and Classical periods. It examines the discovery, origin, style, date, artistic attribution, identification, and interpretation of the surviving bronzes, and focuses in particular on their technical features and casting techniques. It contains over 170 plates of photographs and drawings to illustrate its discussion.

It also places the development of the casting techniques in connection with the stylistic evolution in Greek free-standing sculpture. During the Classical period, artists preferred bronze to marble when creating their contrapposto figures. Indisputably, bronze gave particular freedom to artists in creating three-dimensional figures. In addition, the evolution in style encouraged the development of the uses of bronze to serve the new needs and tendencies in sculpture during the late Archaic and especially the Classical period. Through the examination of how technical matters affect style, this book presents fresh interpretations of these important monuments of Greek art and offers a new approach in the field of Greek free-standing bronze sculpture.

The notion of the change caused by smelting and melting technology during the 5th and 4th Millennium in the
Levant is not well understood. Chronological errors and socio-economic misconceptions have been shrouding a clear
view on the sequence of events and their interregional consequences. Surprisingly complex metallurgy started already in
the middle of the 5th Millennium BC and caused changes in social distinction, exchange systems and ideology. Other
technologies were not directly affected, but on the contrary, lithic technique and ceramic styles show great elaboration.
In a comparative approach the archaeological record of the Levant is compared to that of Southeastern Europe, and
several structural similarities are discussed. It is argued, that the chronological parallelism is an argument against an
autochthonous technical evaluation of the Balkan Peninsula, and that the social systems of both areas must have had
similarities, which made the new cast metal artefacts very attractive.

В отходах пирометаллургического производства меди накоплено значительное количество отвальных шлаков. Даже при среднем содержании меди в них 0,30–0,80 %, видно, что потери металлы
составляет значительных. В этой связи задача создания  рациональной и комплексной технологии переработки шлаков и промпродуктов медного производства является весьма актуальной. В статье рассмотрен инновационный метод снижения потерь меди со шлаком. Для проведения этого исследования
использованы восстановительно-сульфидирующих комплексы (ВСК), состоящие из клинкеров цинкового производства и хвостов обогатительных фабрик АГМК. Полученные результаты  показывает, что внедрение данной технологии в промышленность позволит повысить комплексности использование сырья.

Il contributo presenta le osservazioni conclusive in merito alle attività di produzione del ferro a Populonia, fra il periodo etrusco tardo e la romanizzazione. Il periodo di più intensa produzione, stando ai dati restituiti dalle indagini sul territorio e dagli scavi condotti nel golfo di Baratti, è compreso fra il VI e il II secolo a.C. Fra IV e III secolo le aree prospicienti la spiaggia di Baratti ospitano officine e forge per la produzione di semilavorati. Dopo la seconda guerra punica si apre un'intensa fase di attività di riduzione dei minerali di ferro (ematite) provenienti dall'isola d'Elba. Nella prima metà del I secolo a.C. la produzione metallurgica appare sostanzialmente ridimensionata e circoscritta a pochi, marginali, episodi.

En Lorraine, les fouilles des ferriers de Ludres-Chaudeau, Ludres-Village, Messein-Les Noires Terres et Frouard-Nerbevaux ont permis de mettre au jour des fragments de blocs-tuyères. En Suisse, les sites de Boécourt-Les Boulies, de la forêt des Bellaires (commune de Romainmôtier-Envy) et de Montcherand recelaient la même catégorie de mobilier. Ces tubes massifs en argile, destinés à insuffler l’air des soufflets dans la cuve du bas fourneau, ont également été identifiés dans deux ensembles métallurgiques alsaciens : Saâles-Sapin Dessus (Bas-Rhin) et Riquewihr/Kaysersberg-Hohe Schwaerz (Haut-Rhin). Tous ces sites ont été fouillés et datés de la période mérovingienne. Bien que les sections des blocs-tuyères ne sont pas systématiquement semblables entre les sites, cette catégorie de mobilier s’observe uniquement dans ces ferriers mérovingiens « à l’Est des Gaules », pour reprendre une expression de Marc Leroy.

Contrairement à leurs prédécesseurs romains, on assiste à une multiplication des sites de production de petite taille en cette période. Cette évolution des grands centres productifs romains aux nombreux petits sites alto-médiévaux ne résultent pas d’une relocalisation de l’économie, mais plutôt de l’adoption d’une nouvelle logique de production. Les fourneaux de ces différents sites présentent de nombreux traits communs qui tranchent radicalement avec les types romains. Ces similarités persistent durant toute la période malgré des changements politiques, économiques et juridiques, traduisant bien ici ce qui semble être une tradition sidérurgique.

Les sondages en cours sur les ferriers de Saâles-Sapin Dessus (67) et de Riquewihr/Kaysersberg-Hohe Schwaerz (68) ont pour objectifs d’approfondir nos connaissances sur cette culture technique qui n’en est qu’à l’état d’esquisse. Ces recherches archéologiques visent également à éclaircir les origines de la métallurgie du fer en Alsace ; la première mention remontant au XIIIe siècle permet d’appréhender le hiatus abyssal entre les données archéologiques et les sources historiques, qui se complètent vertueusement en dépeignant des réalités différentes.

Cette conférence a permis de présenter le Projet Collectif de Recherche "Le Chablais au second âge du Fer : la nécropole des Léchères à Chens-sur-Léman", qui vise à étudier un ensemble funéraire de La Tène ancienne / moyenne sur la rive méridionale du lac Léman (Haute-Savoie) afin de caractériser les communautés occupant à cette époque les marges nord-orientales du territoire allobroge, par une analyse archéo-anthropologique, paléométallurgique et céramologique.

A Roman copper ingot recovered from a wreck
located in the border region of the provinces of
Málaga and Cádiz is presented in the following
contribution. With a diameter of 45 to 53 cm and a
weight of 75.4 kg it is one of the heavier specimens.
Presumably the abbreviation of a name and the
indication of its weight were incised near the rim
of the bottom. Lead isotope and trace element
analysis suggest a provenance not from mines in
southern Hispania, but from the polymetallic ores
of the Catalunya region in northeastern Spain.

Le ricerche condotte sul Colle Madore, nel cuore della Sicilia centro-occidentale, hanno
messo in luce resti archeologici che documentano uno dei periodi della storia antica dell’isola più interessanti per le grandi trasformazioni culturali conseguenti la colonizzazione greca. La fondazione delle nuove città e il loro rapido sviluppo innestarono in tutta l’isola, dalle coste alle vallate più interne, un irripetibile processo di cambiamenti del tradizionale tessuto indigeno contribuendo a disegnare un rinnovato assetto culturale politico ed economico che inciderà profondamente nella storia siciliana.

The article is devoted to significance of metallurgy of bronze, delivering of copper and tin into Aegean and consumption of bronze in Mycenaean centers of the Late Bronze Age. Metallurgy of bronze was vital for the formation and development of Mycenaean society. Excavations of shipwrecks in Uluburun and at Cape Gelidonya showed that Cyprus was the main source of copper supplies to Aegean. However, there were also sources of this metal in Lavrion in Greece, the Taurus Mountains of Anatolia, in Israel and in Sardinia. It was generally believed that Mycenaeans held a monopoly on maritime commerce in the Eastern
Mediterranean but it was not correct. The discoveries in Uluburun and Cape Gelidonya shipwrecks led to conclusion that ships were Near Eastern in origin or perhaps Cypriot. The scale of supplies allows us
to consider it as a real trade in metals. In the mainland Greece, bronze objects were produced in various palace workshops, which are well known from the excavations of Kadmeia - the acropolis of Thebes. Most
of the bronze was involved in the production of offensive and defensive equipment. In the process of analyzing of archaeological material from Thebes and literary sources, the educational function of the objects made of bronze, such as tripods, was also revealed. Bronze object served as a mediator of relations between a man and the past.

In many villages in rural Ethiopia, traditional crafts and specialized production still perform an important function in local economies. In particular, the hereditary role and status of the blacksmith is often subject to strict cultural controls and ritual concerns that shroud his work in mystery. But centuries of multicultural influence and rapid modern change in the Amhara region have threatened the survival of iron working crafts. For how much longer will these and other traditional skills remain relevant here?

LIEN pour la lecture / LINK to read it
https://www.yumpu.com/fr/document/read/16922453/universite-paris-sorbonne-e-sorbonne

Etude archéologique des techniques d’acquisition et de transformation du métal dans le cadre de la production des lames de sabre au Japon (IXe -XVIe siècle). / "Cette thèse a pour thème les techniques d’acquisition et de transformation du fer dans le cadre de la production des lames japonaises, sur une période courant du IXe à la toute fin du XVIe siècle. Une partie préliminaire est présente afin de donner une idée de l’évolution de la métallurgie du fer jusqu’à cette date. Le type de minerais, les sables ferrifères, est alors abordé avec ses techniques d’acquisition et d’extraction. S’en suit une étude des méthodes de transformation par le biais des techniques de réduction. L’étude des différents sites permet de mettre en lumière deux types majeurs de fourneau dans l’archipel : un type à cheminée semi-enterré et un type en forme de boîte rectangulaire. Ce dernier débouche d’ailleurs sur la mise au point, au début du XVIIe siècle, du fourneau traditionnel, le tatara. En outre, l’archipel présente un développement des techniques de forge antérieur aux techniques de réduction. A partir du IXe siècle, la forge japonaise se retrouve donc déjà à un niveau technique particulièrement élevé, ayant développé, en plus des techniques de mise en forme, des techniques d’affinage, de carburation et de grappage, autorisant un recyclage du fer, permettant d’affranchir en partie les forgerons de la production des sites de réduction. C’est donc sur cette base technique particulièrement développée qu’a pu se mettre en place une partie de la production des lames. Ce recyclage explique en partie la disparition d’un très grand nombre de lames, auquel il faut adjoindre à partir de la fin du XVIe siècle, des chasses au sabre, permettant de distinguer la classe des guerriers, les samouraïs par un port d’arme qui leur était réservé.

This thesis is dealing with the iron smelting and forge techniques in the
production of Japanese swords, from the 9th to the end of the 16th century.
A preliminary part presents the evolution of iron smelting techniques in Japan,
from the origin to the 9th century.
The types of ore (iron sand) and their acquisition and extraction techniques
are discussed for a period during from the 9th to the 16th century in a
second part.
The smelting techniques used at the same period are then studied. The
archaeological research sheds light on two major types of furnace in the
archipelago: a semi-buried shaft furnace and a rectangular box shape
furnace. This last one leads in the early 17th century to the development
of the traditional Japanese furnace, the tatara.
Concerning the forging techniques, their development in the archipelago was
prior to the smelting techniques. Therefore, from the 9th century, the
technology of the Japanese forge had already reached a high level,
having developed in addition to the basic forge techniques, the
refining, carburizing and clustering (oroshigane) techniques, allowing
the smith to not be entirely dependent on the iron production of the
smelting furnace, but to also be able to rely on the recycled iron.
Consequently, a large part of the blade production in this period might
have relied on that techniques. This recycling helps to explain the
disappearance of a large number of blades, associated to sword hunts in
the late 16th century which led to distinguish a warrior class, the
samurai, carrying a weapon which is, from the early 17th century,
reserved to them."

Le titre interrogatif donné à cette contribution renvoie à un constat : l'absence de mention historiographique de dépôt intentionnel et ritualisé d'objets métalliques durant l'âge du Bronze corse. Cette particularité apparaît comme fortement originale au sein du contexte européen et méditerranéen, notamment en rapport aux régions les plus proches (Sardaigne, Toscane, Ligurie, Provence). Cette étonnante vacuité amène à s'interroger sur sa signification et à tenter de déterminer si elle résulte d'une réalité socio-culturelle ou d'une carence archéologique. La réflexion présentée ici se propose, à partir des rares données contextuelles disponibles sur l'île pour les artefacts en bronze, de dresser un bilan sur cette question. L'inventaire des outils et des armes métalliques de l'âge du Bronze insulaire est réduit à 36 individus. On focalisera cette étude sur ceux d'entre eux qui ont été découverts « associés » (haches de Mignataghja, de Monti Barbatu et de Partinellu) afin d'en fournir une grille de lecture contextualisée et débattre sur la notion de dépôt qui pourrait leur être inférée. On conclura par des considérations hypothétiques sur la découverte en milieu humide du poignard de Pancheraccia. Mots-clés Corse, âge du Bronze, dépôt, trouvaille isolée, outils, armes, bronze Abstract The interrogative title given to this contribution refers to an observation: the absence of historiographical mention of intentional and ritualized deposit of metallic objects (hoard) during the Corsican Bronze Age. This particularity appears to be highly original within the European and Mediterranean context, especially in relation to the closest regions (Sardinia, Tuscany, Liguria and Provence). This astonishing emptiness leads to wonder about its significance and to try to determine if it results from a socio-cultural reality or from an archaeological research problem. Based on the rare available contextual data on the island for the bronze artefacts, the reflection presented here proposes an assessment of this question. The inventory of Bronze Age tools and metallic weapons is reduced to 36 artefacts. This study will be focused on those who were discovered "associated" (axes of Mignataghja, Monti Barbatu and Partinellu) in order to provide a contextualized reading grid and discuss the notion of hoard that could be inferred. We will conclude with hypothetical considerations on the wet context discovery of the Pancheraccia dagger.

Si tratta della bozza del testo, nel file sono presenti alcuni refusi ed errori di formattazione che sono stati corretti in fase di pubblicazione. Mancano inoltre i ringraziamenti a tutte le persone che in varie forme hanno collaborato al progetto, presenti nel testo pubblicato.

Bronze finds from the apse of the early Christian basilica, atop of which was built Saint Sophia’s church in Thessaloniki, are presented and discussed. Namely, a hammered cross-shaped, bronze polycandelon with three of its original glass lamps, and a monumental cast bronze
arch decorated with a wine scroll stemming from a kantharos vessel, and the last part of the dedicatory inscription, “ἀνέθετο”. The arch was probably decorating a ciborium over the Holy Table or a reliquary, or the entrance of the chancel screen, over which was probably set the polycandelon. The church was destroyed by an earthquake and the precious bronze finds were not recovered, as were not recovered the massive bronze polycandelon chains which had been found at the middle of the church’s central nave in older excavations. The finds present the most important surviving works of the local metalworking trade of the late 5th or 6th c.

The work is devoted to studying of one of the basic problems of the early metal age — ancient non-ferrous metal working with the population of the south Low Urals basin (late IVth — IIIrd millennium B.C.), and to the investigation of metal industry with Sintashta tribes of the south High Urals basin of the early IInd millennium B.S. Use of an integrated approach while studying archaeological materials, with regard to the data of atomic-emission, spectrometric, and metallographic analyses, together with a typological and morphological description of the copper and bronze inventory of Yam and Sintashta cultures, allowed to reveal certain features regarding methods of non-ferrous metal working in ancient centres of metal indus-try. The paper shows a relationship between production practice and the initial raw material, basic regulari-ties in the development of hearths, determining ways of disseminating technical achievements. 
The book is addressed to historians, archaeologists, experts in the field of ancient metallurgy, stu-dents, and to all those interested in the history of ancient tribes in the Urals and West Siberia.

This conference was the first occasion on which a collection of papers was presented relating to the then new evidence for Bronze Age copper mining in Britain.
The publication has 22 papers recording the discovery and early work at the Great Orme, excavations and fieldwork at Parys Mountain, Nantyreira, Copa Hill, Mount Gabriel (Ireland) and at the Mitterberg (Austria). There are 4 papers on stone mining tools, 4 papers on firesetting techniques and experiments and other papers on radio-carbon dating, palaeoecological work, copper smelting and on general observations on early mining in Wales.

This article brings light to traditional technique of bronze casting through generation to
generation in Tamil Nadu with the help of literary source and practical knowledge. Bronze manufacture
shows a remarkable degree of continuity in Tamil Nadu. The technique followed in the bronze casting is
known as Cire‐Perdue or lost‐wax process. This technique is following still today by traditional bronze
sculptor known as Sthapathi.

(in: Experimentelle Archäologie in Europa 16 – Jahrbuch 2017, pp. 25-44)
In order to review the hardening properties during cold-forging and recrystallization through annealing and subsequent quenching, seven non-ferrous alloys were produced following ancient examples. The small flat blanks were uniformly forged and annealed and during all working steps the Brinell hardness was measured. The results were graphically plotted and compared with observations from archaeological, archaeometrical, historical and modern specialist literature, iconographical presentations and field studies. In the outlook the results are assessed.

The subject of this PhD thesis is the study of ancient metallurgical crucible assemblages, with a particular focus on the methodological framework for such studies. This is approached through three case studies from the eastern Mediterranean: Qantir – Pi-Ramesse (Ramesside Egypt, 13th century BC), Gordion (Late Phrygian/Achaemenid Anatolia, 6th-4th century BC) and Nicopolis/Philippopolis/Serdica/Stara Zagora (Roman Thrace, 2nd-5th century AD).

For each of these three case studies, the metallurgical activities are reconstructed and contextualised. This involves determining the technical processes, material use and organisation of metal production both on the site and regional scale. No relation exists between these sites and each case study stands on its own: results from the technological reconstruction are interpreted within their particular archaeological and regional/historical context, to which they offer novel contributions.

The main research material consists of crucible remains, and to a lesser extent metal remains, which are investigated using optical microscopy and SEM(-EDS) to establish the technological processes and material use. The applicability of handheld XRF for such reconstructions is evaluated as well. Finally, lead isotope analysis (using MC-ICP-MS) of metal remains (scrap, spills, ingots, objects and prills extracted from crucible slag) and crucible ceramic and slag is performed.

The overarching goal of this research is to evaluate methodological approaches to the study of crucibles and crucible assemblages by comparing the results for these three examples, not in terms of technology, but by evaluating the influence of varying crucible typology, preservation, abundance, contextual information, and sample availability, as well as the use of various analytical techniques. These considerations are then combined to formulate more general recommendations for the sampling, examination and interpretation of ancient crucible assemblages.