张掖西城驿遗址冶铸遗物研究

对甘肃张掖西城驿遗址出土的32个炉渣、29个矿石、5个炉壁附渣进行了扫描电镜观测。认定绝大部分炉渣是氧化矿石直接冶炼红铜的,少量炉渣是冶炼含砷、锑等合金的;绝大部分矿石是含有少量硫化矿物的铜氧化矿石,少量矿石含有砷、锑、铅等矿物;在一块炉壁附渣中检测出锡、砷、锑、铋合金元素,表明其对应的冶炼产品为青铜。上述现象集中体现在二期中段出土遗物中,表明至少在这一时段该遗址已经能够使用普通的铜氧化矿石冶炼红铜,再配入含有锡、砷、铅、锑、铋的矿石炼制青铜合金。     

东下冯遗址冶铸遗存研究

本研究对东下冯遗址出土的17件第三期冶金遗物进行了金相和扫描电子显微镜-能谱分析。其中1件附渣冰铜块的检测表明该遗址的铜有独立于锡、铅料的来源。熔铜渣及铜块的分析表明第三期时已经使用锡青铜,同时还有铅青铜、铅锡青铜、砷铜等合金种类的应用。青铜合金通过向红铜中添加锡、铅物料(可能含砷)得到,与二里头等遗址类似。     

安徽枞阳陈家山遗址青铜渣初步研究

枞阳陈家山遗址是皖西南地区新发现的一处商周时期青铜冶金遗存,本文报道了该遗址14枚炉渣的科学分析结果.炉渣中不仅存在红铜、锡青铜冶炼渣,还发现有砷青铜、砷锡青铜冶炼渣.青铜冶炼流程为两步法,所用锡料可能来自赣北.本文对于全面认识长江中下游早期冶金技术以及产业格局具有重要的学术价值,并指出商周时期这种锡、砷青铜冶金并行的现象是值得重视的.     

云南剑川海门口遗址第三次发掘出土铜铁器的分析及其年代

为研究云南剑川海门口遗址出土铜铁器的制作技术及其年代,本文对第3次发掘出土的17件铜器和3件铁器进行了成分分析,部分器物进行了显微组织观察。结果表明海门口遗址出土铜器的合金元素有铜、锡、铅、锑、砷等多种成分,当时已有较多的合金配比知识,加工方式多样化,处于较为成熟的青铜时代。2件铁器出土于第6层,1件铁器出土于第5层,出土于第6层的1件铁器进行了金相观察,为人工冶炼的块炼铁,是铁器时代的产物。剑川海门口出土的铜器与周边地区青铜文化出土的铜器也有密切的联系,结合碳十四数据,本文初步推断剑川海门口第3次发掘出土铜铁器的年代应处于春秋到战国时期。     

垣曲商城出土炉渣壁内金属颗粒及矿物组成的初步研究

采用偏光矿相显微镜、扫描电镜及X射线能谱分析等方法,研究垣曲商城出土炉渣或炉壁样品中主要合金元素Cu、Sn、Pb、As在炉渣中的分布及存在形式,同时分析了炉渣中主要物相的组成。结果表明,样品的主要结晶矿物有铜蓝或铜的硫化物矿物晶体、赤铜矿、孔雀石矿以及含有Co、Ni氧化物的短棒状或粒状结晶相;炉渣或炉壁中铜颗粒则以星散状或较大颗粒分布。Cu、As、Pb主要以合金颗粒的形态存在于炉渣巾,而锡则较多以四方柱状或针状氧化物骸晶形态存在于渣中;还有部分Cu、Pb存在于玻璃态渣相中。初步研究结果显示,出土炉渣炉壁的遗址属于冶炼、熔化或铸造工艺过程相关联的冶铸遗址,锡则是以金属锡在熔铜或铸造过程中加入。     

大冶香炉山遗址采集炉渣初步研究

对湖北省大冶市香炉山遗址采集的20个炉渣样品进行了扫描电镜检测,发现了炼制锑青铜、锡铅青铜、生铁的炉渣。重点对锡铅青铜的冶炼流程进行了推断,认为该遗址首先使用伴生有铅镍砷等元素的铜矿石进行还原冶炼,再添加锡料生产以锡铅为主要合金元素并含有镍砷的青铜,先后排出不含锡和含锡的两种高铁型炉渣。香炉山遗址出现的青铜生产证据,预示着大冶地区可能存在着相当规模的有别于中原的早期青铜产业,对探讨鄂东南地区早期冶金技术与当地文明的演进关系具有重要意义。     

山东临淄齐国故城石佛堂炼铜遗存的调查与研究

本文运用扫描电子显微镜及能谱分析(SEM-EDS)等研究方法,对石佛堂村采集的炉渣样品进行科学分析。结果表明,石佛堂遗址的炉渣可分四类,其中三类炉渣基体成分相似,硅、铁含量较高,一类基体含有较高的硅、铁、钡。遗址采集到的炉渣均为还原渣,第一类炉渣所对应的产物为红铜,第二类炉渣是在冶炼过程中偶然产生的。第三类炉渣对应的产物是金属铅,第四类炉渣所对应的产物为青铜。炉渣有合适的密度、硅酸度、熔点及良好的流动性,渣中含铜量较低,熔炼的还原气氛较好。以上述分析为基础,结合附近矿产资源的赋存与开发情况,认为石佛堂遗址在战国汉代时期很可能存在着利用其他地点冶炼的冰铜与单独冶炼的铅、来源不明的锡锑合金共同冶炼青铜的工艺。对邹平县西铜山的初步考察发现了采矿石锤等证据。     

四川西昌东坪遗址炉渣分析与冶炼技术研究

东坪遗址位于四川省西昌市南部,自1987年发现以来,经历两次考古发掘,被认定为一处两汉之际的冶铜铸币遗址。本研究对东坪遗址采集的炉渣和矿石样品进行分析检测,并对炉渣中夹杂炭样进行碳十四测年。炉渣及矿石分析结果表明该遗址使用铜铅混合硫化矿石,通过火法冶炼生产铜铅合金。遗址及周边地区出土铜锭与五铢钱铅含量均较高,应与冶炼活动中使用铜铅混合矿石有关。东坪炉渣中还发现多种含钼物相,表明所用矿石中可能含钼。遗址西侧冷饭沟铜矿富含多种铜铅矿物,并有古代开采迹象,因此可能为遗址矿料的主要来源。     

云南大理黄矿厂遗址银铅冶炼技术研究

云南大理黄矿厂遗址是一处明清时期大型银铅生产遗址。在以往研究中,已有学者对该遗址的开采年代、银课总额进行了梳理,但在冶炼技术复原方面还需进一步的研究。本研究通过分析黄矿厂遗址四个地点冶炼的炉渣,对黄矿厂遗址银铅冶炼技术进行了重建。研究结果显示,黄矿厂遗址各地点炉渣可依据其形态特征、主微量元素、稀土元素配分曲线以及铅同位素比值的差异分为A、B、C、D四类。A、B、C类炉渣使用焙烧还原熔炼法,D类炉渣则使用铁还原沉淀熔炼法进行冶炼。铅同位素测试结果显示B、C类炉渣所用矿石的铅同位素特征近似,D类炉渣则具有明显偏高的铅同位素比值。稀土元素的分析结果显示B类炉渣的δEu呈负异常,而其他三类均为轻微正异常。A类炉渣中一件含有高放铅,其余为与B、C类近似的普通铅,微量元素含量较为离散,分布范围远大于其他各类,显示了较为多元的银铅矿物来源。综上,黄矿厂遗址工匠可能使用了多种不同工艺进行冶炼,所用铅矿物可能来自多个不同矿床,显示该遗址在较长的生产周期中发生了多次生产技术与资源的变迁。     

重庆市云阳县旧县坪汉代冰铜等冶炼遗物的检测研究

利用金相显微镜和扫描电镜对重庆市云阳县旧县坪遗址出土的冶铜遗物进行检测分析,可知这些样品包括中等品位的冰铜、白冰铜,冰铜渣、高铁还原渣、铁铌合金、金属铜产品、铜锡二元合金青铜。这些多种形式的样品中,并没有典型的冶炼渣,样品中还有小块的铸范残片,因此,这些样品反映出遗址包含了与处理冰铜产品、配制青铜合金及铸造相关的活动迹象。关于汉代的中等品位冰铜的报道,目前还没有先例,样品所代表的工艺,反映出这一时期硫化矿冶铜的工艺水平,对于研究中国冶金发展的历史具有十分重要的意义,同时,也为这一地区各遗址和墓葬以及出土遗物的综合研究提出了新的课题。     

The production of speiss (iron arsenide) during the Early Bronze Age in Iran

In this paper, analyses of some unusual slag samples from the prehistoric site of Tepe Hissar in northeastern Iran are presented. These slags are the remains of a five-thousand-year-old pyrotechnological process that produced speiss, a quasi-metallic material usually formed as an accidental by-product of copper or lead smelting. We argue that the “speiss slags” from Tepe Hissar suggest the intentional production of iron–arsenic alloy (“speiss”) in prehistory. Why the Tepe Hissar metalworkers produced speiss is a question that requires further investigation, but our preliminary assessment suggests that it was to provide arsenic as an alloying component for arsenical copper, the preferred copper alloy during much of the Early Bronze Age in Iran, and widely used across the ancient world. This recognition significantly advances our understanding of the early stages of metallurgy in the Old World.     

Ancient Mining and Smelting Activities in the Wadi Abu Gerida Area,Central Eastern Desert,Egypt: Preliminary Results

Old mining and smelting features in the Abu Gerida area have been studied using field observations, microscopy and SEM–EDS to detect the ores that were exploited in antiquity. There are two groups of shafts in the area. The first group encloses secondary copper minerals and is associated with glassy slags containing copper prills. The other group is associated with hematite that was extracted and transferred to a smelting station to the west of the mining site, where iron slags and charcoal fragments are found. These slags are composed mainly of wüstite, fayalite–kirschsteinite and traces of metallic iron. Pottery fragments from this area were dated to the Ptolemaic Period, which may be the age of iron exploitation. Copper might have been exploited earlier.     

炉渣分析揭示古代炼铜技术

对古代炼铜工艺、熔炼过程及其炉渣进行了分类,建立了以铜和硫的赋存状态与相对含量（Cu／S）鉴别炉渣种类,进而结合其它遗迹遗物来揭示古代炼铜技术的研究方法。     

Partitioning of trace elements between the ores, fluxes, slags and metal during the smelting of copper

This paper gives the results of smelting seven parcels of copper ores from well-known mining areas. The behaviour of the trace elements introduced from the ore, the fuel, and the fluxes has been investigated by analysis of the main products, metallic copper and the slags. Most of the ores were capable of giving copper of relatively high purity and therefore, in order to represent conditions believed to have existed in the Early Bronze Age, two artificial ores were made up and copper high in arsenic and nickel was obtained.The results show that it is relatively easy to smelt a wide range of copper minerals to give copper of high purity apart from iron. This latter element can be removed by careful refining. The remaining elements are present at the parts/10³ level. Wood fuel is thought to contribute little to the trace element pattern. Even if it did, it would merely reinforce the elements already contributed by the ore and flux as the timber is likely to have been grown in the immediate vicinity of the ore and will probably contain the same trace elements.Useful comparison is made between the trace element pattern resulting from these smelting runs and material from archaeological sites in the vicinity of the mining areas.     

Late Bronze Age Copper Smelting Slags from Luserna (Trentino,Italy): Interpretation of the Metallurgical Process

In the Late Bronze Age, the extractive metallurgy of copper in north‐eastern Italy achieved a peak of technological efficiency and mass production, as evidenced by the substantial number of metallurgical sites and the large volume of slags resulting from smelting activities. In order to define the technological features of the Late Bronze Age metallurgical process, more than 20 slags from the smelting site of Luserna (Trentino, Italy) were fully analysed by means of optical microscopy, X‐ray powder diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Three different slag types were identified based on mineralogical and chemico‐physical parameters, each being interpreted as the product of distinct metallurgical steps. A Cu‐smelting model is proposed accordingly.     

Copper Mines,Chromite Copper Ores and Slags of the Ishkinino Bronze Age Archaeological Microregion,The Southern Urals

The study addresses copper mines structure and composition of copper ores and slags at the Ishkinino archaeological microregion, Orenburg Province. Both ores and slags contain chromites derived from the host ultrabasite rock. Chromites were subdivided into three categories in terms of Cr2O3 content: 45–50%, 50–55%, and 55–61%. The proportions are similar to those observed in chromites of the malachite ores of the Ishkinino cobalt-copper-pyrite deposit. The reguli found in the slag contain copper sul?des and iron phosphides with a high content of nickel. Our results evidence the exploitation of local copper mines in the Late Bronze Age. Finds of chromite ores and slag at the archaeological sites of the Southern Urals are listed, and goals for future research are outlined.     

An assessment of the magnetic response of an iron‐smelting site*

The magnetic response derived from an iron‐smelting site was investigated by comparing magnetometry and magnetic susceptibility geophysical survey data and laboratory analyses of the magnetic characteristics of the furnace and slags. Magnetic analysis and microscopy (optical and SEM) of samples from the furnace lining and the slag deposits demonstrated the heterogeneity in the magnetic, morphological and mineral compositions of both materials. The comparison of the magnetic characteristics of the material with the geophysical survey data illustrated the importance of using both magnetometry and magnetic susceptibility survey techniques to maximize the information from an iron‐smelting site. The furnace was dated archaeomagnetically to the 14th century ad . The results demonstrate that the magnetic analysis of iron‐smelting sites is highly valuable, both to characterize sites and to improve the understanding of early iron‐working technology.     

Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of high-medieval lead–silver smelting slags from Wiesloch near Heidelberg (Germany)—an approach to process reconstruction

Here, we present detailed electron microprobe analyses and age data of high-medieval lead–silver smelting slags. The mineral composition data provide a database of all silicate and oxide phases in the slag. Bulk chemistry as well as mineral composition is used to reconstruct liquidus, solidus, and viscosity of the slag melt. By calculating the mass balance of the smelting process, a mass ratio of the various compounds used in the smelting process is determined. Through this we were able to discriminate qualitatively between non-ferrous metal smelting slags and bloomery slags. We also report a new type and process of silver production in which argentiferous galmei (zinc carbonate) was used as a main silver ore together with galena. The results indicate a sophisticated high-medieval smelting technology, in which a slag with a low liquidus and a low viscosity was created.     

On the origins of extractive metallurgy: new evidence from Europe

The beginnings of extractive metallurgy in Eurasia are contentious. The first cast copper objects in this region emerge c. 7000 years ago, and their production has been tentatively linked to centres in the Near East. This assumption, however, is not substantiated by evidence for copper smelting in those centres. Here, we present results from recent excavations from Belovode, a Vin?a culture site in Eastern Serbia, which has provided the earliest direct evidence for copper smelting to date. The earliest copper smelting activities there took place c. 7000 years ago, contemporary with the emergence of the first cast copper objects. Through optical, chemical and provenance analyses of copper slag, minerals, ores and artefacts, we demonstrate the presence of an established metallurgical technology during this period, exploiting multiple sources for raw materials. These results extend the known record of copper smelting by more than half a millennium, with substantial implications. Extractive metallurgy occurs at a location far away from the Near East, challenging the traditional model of a single origin of metallurgy and reviving the possibility of multiple, independent inventions.     

Iron smelting and smithing in major urban centers in Israel during the Iron Age

By-products of iron production, mainly slag and bloom fragments, unearthed at three Iron Age urban centres in Israel (Hazor, Tel Beer sheba and Rehov), were analysed in order to better understand the organization of iron production during the Iron Age. The production remains studied are all dated not earlier than the Iron Age IIA, and thus shed light on a period of transition from bronze to iron production. Chemical composition and microstructural analyses enable us to determine that both the smelting of iron ores and the refining of the bloom took place within the urban centres of Hazor and Beer-Sheba. We show that slag cakes are the products of smelting, possibly carried out in pit-furnaces. Hammerscales, products of primary and secondary smithing, were attached to slags. From these observations we infer that all stages of iron production were practiced in these urban centres.