POST‐MEDIEVAL CRUCIBLE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION: A STUDY OF MATERIALS AND MATERIALITIES*

This paper is concerned with the manufacture and trade of post‐medieval crucibles (14th–19th centuries). The analytical study of crucibles from different contexts in Europe and America employed optical microscopy and SEM–EDS, coupled with archaeological and historical data. We identified two major producers of crucibles, both of them in Central Europe, whose products appear widely distributed internationally. The analytical data allow an explanation of the technical reasons behind their superior reputation, as both crucible types shared comparable material properties, such as thermal, chemical and mechanical stability. Conversely, the two crucible types were radically different in their manufacture and appearance. We argue that, besides technical considerations, sensorial aspects such as texture and colour may have played an important role in the perception and choice of materials.     

Roman double-layered crucibles from Autun/France: a petrological and geochemical approach

Eighteen double-layered crucible fragments found in an archaeological excavation site of the Lycée militaire (Autun/France), which dates to the Gallo-Roman period, were analysed with a series of classical mineralogical techniques in order to obtain knowledge about the raw materials of the individual layers. This work focuses on the usage of the crucibles as well as technical aspects of their production. The crucible fragments were studied by using petrographical (optical microscopy), elemental (SEM-EDS, EMPA, XRF-WDS) and mineralogical (XRD) techniques.     

云南云龙坡头出土铜斧的科学分析

为研究滇西特别是古哀牢地区的古代铜器制作技术,采用金相显微镜、扫描电镜能谱分析等实验方法,对滇西云龙县坡头村出土的11件铜斧进行分析与研究。结果表明:云龙铜斧材质以Cu-Sn二元合金为主,另有Cu-SnAs三元合金。普遍存在硫化物夹杂,铸造与锻造两种制作技术并存,以锻造为主。11件样品中均进行过冷加工。本研究对认识古哀牢地区铜器制作技术与该地区青铜文化有一定的价值。     

A truly refractory crucible from fourth millennium Tepe Hissar, Northeast Iran

From the Early Chalcolithic to the Late Iron Age, melting and smelting crucibles were usually made from non-refractory ceramic fabrics, which required heating of the charge from within the crucible to avoid collapsing the ceramic itself. In this paper, an unusual melting crucible from Northeast Iran, radiocarbon-dated to the Late Chalcolithic (ca. 3600 BCE), will be presented that significantly changes our understanding of the development of technical ceramics in Southwest Asia. This crucible, made of a highly refractory talc-based ceramic held together by an outer layer of traditional non-refractory ceramic, is to our knowledge unprecedented at such an early date. As will be argued, this ancient crucible was heated from the exterior or from below and not from the interior. This method of firing, combined with the highly-specialized construction technique, makes this crucible so far unique in prehistoric metallurgy, and forces us to re-examine traditional models for the development of technical ceramics and metallurgical practices in the Old World.     

Building a high-resolution chronology at the Maya archaeological site of El Palmar,Mexico

This paper discusses how detailed analyses of archaeological contexts and macrobotanical remains are critical for building a high-resolution chronology in archaeological research. While the application of Bayesian modelling has improved chronology-building significantly, archaeologists have sometimes neglected different dates recovered from the same depositional layer without further scrutiny. Based on 78 radiocarbon samples, this problem is challenged by building a high-resolution chronology of the Guzmán Group, a small plaza compound of the ancient Maya city of El Palmar, Mexico. The results permit a deeper understanding of relationships between dynastic interactions and the emergence of non-royal elites in Classic Maya society.     

Selected with care? – the technology of crucibles in late prehistoric Scotland. A petrographic and chemical assessment

Prehistoric crucibles and other metalworking ceramics are often described as highly specialised tools made from refractory materials, but little is known about regional trajectories and individual material developments. Hence, further analyses of materials from less studied regions are needed. The current study investigates the technological development of crucibles from late prehistoric Scotland and its relation to technological choices and specialisation. The examination, using ceramic petrography and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, focuses on the selection of clays and additives for the manufacture of crucibles in contrast to moulds and pottery. It is demonstrated that the production of crucibles in the late prehistoric period predominantly used local resources. Late Bronze Age crucibles have a close relationship with other types of technical and domestic ceramics, while materials in the Iron Age indicate an increased material specialisation for the preparation of particular fabrics. This development is seen across Scotland and echoes trends seen in other areas of Europe, emphasising the role and importance of metallurgical and technological networks.     

Assessing the influence of agrochemicals on the rate of copper corrosion in the vadose zone of arable land Part 2: Laboratory simulations

Abstract

Gordion was the capital of ancient Phrygia and reputed home of King Midas (c. 700 BC). Its monuments include the Midas Tumulus, nearly a hundred smaller burial mounds and the ancient city of Gordion itself. Agricultural development and the natural forces of wind and water erosion threaten the integrity of these mounds. In order to preserve the monuments, the Gordion Project is attempting to create a solid cover of grasses and flowers on the Midas Mound. Both archaeological conservation and the preservation of biological diversity are served best by encouraging native plants to grow. To that end, a fence was erected in 1996, and lining the erosion channels with unbaked mudbrick has proved a successful experiment.     

RAMESSIDE GLASS-COLOURING CRUCIBLES*

The preparation of glass in New Kingdom Egypt heavily involved the use of crucibles. Shape, mode of operation and function of these vessels have been reconstructed on the basis of new, stratified material from the excavation at Qantir, eastern Nile Delta. The crucible fabric, the internal layer protecting the vessel from the charge, and the glass melted in the crucibles are characterized by chemical and petrographic studies. The crucibles were apparently employed mainly to add the colourants to the glass. The broader archaeological context strongly suggests that glass production in the Late Bronze Age has been a highly developed, specialized and organized craft, with different factories for glass production, for colouring, and for working, connected by a wide-ranging trade network.     

Modeling wood acquisition strategies from archaeological charcoal remains

Archaeological charcoal remains are often used to reconstruct local woodland composition in the past, but rarely address how and why people may have selected specific woody taxa for particular purposes. Models from the field of human behavioral ecology predict that people forage for wood resources by taking into account the relative usefulness, abundance, and handling time related to procuring different wood types. Archaeological and ecological data from the site of Gordion, in Central Anatolia (modern Turkey), were used to test expectations associated with such models. Results suggest that inhabitants of Gordion used wood types for fuel in proportion to their local availability, but that they selected specific, more distant woods for construction. In most occupation periods pine was preferred for construction, perhaps because it produces long, straight timbers for roofing, despite the distance at which it grows from the site. This case study demonstrates that behavioral ecology modeling can help to distinguish between multiple wood acquisition strategies potentially used in the past and improve our understanding of wood use from archaeological charcoal remains.     

The Context and Significance of Copper Artifacts in Postclassic and Early Historic Lamanai,Belize

Abstract

We consider the archaeological contexts in which copper objects have been recovered at the ancient Maya site of Lamanai in northern Belize and the significance these objects had for the residents of the community during Postclassic (ca. A.D. 950–1544) and Spanish colonial (post 1544) times. More copper objects have been recovered from controlled archaeological contexts at Lamanai than any other site in the southern Maya lowlands area. Bells make up the majority of the assemblage during the centuries just prior to and during historical times, but high status objects such as rings and clothing ornaments found in elite burials dominate in the Early Postclassic period. All of these objects were imported from outside the Maya area. Utilitarian objects, including needles, axes, and fish books, are found in a variety of contexts during Late Postclassic and Spanish colonial times, as are bells and rings. Production materials, including prills, blanks, and pigs/ingots, in addition to mis-cast objects that are production failures, also appear during this time. Nearly all of the copper objects found at Lamanai are distinctly Mesoamerican in form and design, and based on metallurgical analyses it appears that manufacturing technologies were distinctly Mesoamerican as well. The presence of production materials and mis-cast piecesy along with the results of chemical compositional and microstructural analyses, support the idea that the Maya at Lamanai were engaged in the on-site production of copper objects by late precolumbian times.     

Chemical and mineralogical examination of metallurgical ceramics from a Late Bronze Age copper smelting site in Cyprus

For metallurgical processes in antiquity functional materials were required, which were sufficiently heat resistant. Commonly, ceramics were used for the production of furnaces, tuyères and crucibles. Because normal pottery usually could not withstand the extreme temperatures, which were needed for metallurgical operations, the ceramic production process had to be modified. An analytical case study will be presented on refractory ceramics from the Late Bronze Age copper smelting site Politiko-Phorades (Cyprus). Cyprus had a major role in copper production, starting from this period, and the selected site is the earliest primary smelting site discovered in Cyprus until now. Furnace and tuyère fragments were analysed chemically and mineralogically, in order to investigate ancient ceramic technology in view of heat resistance.     

湖北郧县乔家院墓地出土战国及东汉铜器的成分与金相分析

2006年3 ～12月,在南水北调中线工程中,湖北省文物考古研究所等单位对郧县五峰乡乔家院墓群进行了考古勘探和发掘工作.限于考古发掘材料和学者关注度等因素,利用科技手段对该墓地出土战国及东汉时期青铜器的研究尚未见报道.同时,关于鄂西北地区出土古代青铜器的科学分析研究目前并不多见.鉴于此,本研究利用金相显微镜、XRF等方法分析了湖北省郧县乔家院墓地出土的14件战国及东汉时期铜器样品.分析表明除铜壶镶嵌丝为低锡二元(Cu-Sn)合金外,其他13件均为Cu-Sn-Pb三元合金;其制作工艺以铸造为主,另外还采用了热锻、热锻后冷加工、铜质芯撑、错红铜等工艺.以上分析数据为湖北地区战国及东汉时期青铜合金构成及成型工艺积累了相关数据.     

Small Size,Large Scale Roman Brass Production in Germania Inferior

A new type of Roman crucible is attributed to brass making on the evidence of chemical and microscopic analysis. Clearly, being technical ceramic used in a high temperature process, these vessels differ significantly in their design from known Roman copper-alloy melting crucibles. Upon scientific analysis, the size, shape and fabric characteristics were found to match the specific thermodynamic requirements of cementation for brass production, while several other possible interpretations were convincingly excluded.     

Site preservation at Gordian,an Iron Age city in Anatolia

Abstract

Since excavations began at the Citadel Mound of Gordion in the 1950s, the site has been exposed to the extreme weather conditions of Central Anatolia. The architectural remains, including a unique palace quarter and citadel, are deteriorating to the extent that the legibility of the site is threatened.

The excavated area within the mound, comprising more than two hectares, is too vast to be covered by protective sheltering given the current budget. Conventional backfilling is also precluded, as this would obscure key topographical elements of the site and distort the stratigraphical context of the city within its surrounding citadel.

To preserve the site under these conditions, a technique of sandbag buttressing and clay capping has been implemented at Gordion. Using locally available materials, this system of interpretive stabilization not only preserves the architecture of the ancient city within its stratigraphical context, but improves the legibility of the site as a whole.     

Archaeological markers of agricultural risk management

Managing agricultural risk, or variance in annual production, is a priority for farmers and herders. This article reviews the ethnographic and historical literature on agricultural risk management and identifies diversification and intensification as two distinct approaches to managing risk. Quantitative analysis of plant and animal remains from archaeological sites produces robust datasets that can be used to test predictions of risk management models related to diversification and intensification strategies. I present a variety of established and novel paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological measures that have implications for risk management and argue that multiple lines of evidence are needed to identify risk-management practices from archaeological remains. The article concludes with a case study of the multiperiod urban center of Gordion in central Turkey, where quantitative analysis of plant and animal remains demonstrates diachronic changes in agricultural risk management over 3000 years of occupation.     

Iron Age tin bronze metallurgy at Marlik,Northern Iran: an analytical investigation

The archaeological excavations performed in 1961 and 1962 at the necropolis of Marlik (Gilan District, northern Iran) revealed important archaeological remains dating to Iron Age I and II periods (late second/early first millennium BCE). While the metal collection from Marlik includes various gold, silver and bronze objects and is considered one of the most significant finds of metal objects from the prehistoric Iran, the technological investigations discussed in this paper provide information on tin bronze objects only from Marlik. Both the composition and the microstructure of 25 copper alloy objects have been determined in order to achieve a better understanding of the metallurgical processes used in northern Iran from the second to the first millennium BCE. Experimental analyses were carried out using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and optical microscopy. The results demonstrated that the copper-base objects were made of the binary copper–tin alloy with variable tin contents. Other elements such as As, Ni, Pb, Zn and Sb were detected in minor/trace amounts. Variable tin content may be due to the application of an uncontrolled procedure to produce bronze alloy (e.g. co-smelting or cementation). Microscopic observations and microanalyses revealed the presence of numerous copper sulphide inclusions, lead globules and intermetallic phases scattered in the bronze solid solution. The microstructures seen in the bronze objects under study were varied and included worked/annealed or dendritic grain structures.     

不稳定青铜器的处理方法

“青铜病”的稳定问题对文物保护工作者来说还是一个挑战。文献报道了不少的处理方法,每种方法都有其优点及不足之处。本文对“青铜病”的处理方法进行了考察,主要讨论了化学封护法的应用及其未来的研究方向。     

Archaeometallurgical Investigations in Nakhchivan,Azerbaijan: What Does the Evidence from Late Chalcolithic Ovçular Tepesi Tell Us about the Beginning of Extractive Metallurgy?

The Late Chalcolithic (4400–3950 b.c.) occupation levels from Ovçular Tepesi have yielded a significant assemblage of copper objects and remains of copper production. Together with ore finds, two fragments of nozzle, crucible remains, and a number of small metal artifacts, this assemblage includes the unexpected discovery of three copper axes in an infant burial jar. These axes are the earliest examples of large copper tools known to date in southwestern Asia, whether it is in the Caucasus, Iran, or the Anatolian highlands. More importantly, the fact that these objects were locally produced suggests that significant metallurgical activities were being carried out at Ovçular as early as the second half of the 5th millennium b.c. After presenting the evidence from Ovçular Tepesi, this paper will proceed to a reassessment of the available archaeological and geochemical data concerning the emergence of extractive metallurgy in the southern Caucasus.     

Interpreting,dating, and reevaluating the botanical assemblage from tell Kedesh: a case study of historical contamination

Botanical assemblage including charred and mineralized macro plant remains were examined from tell Kedesh in the Upper Galilee, Israel. Flotation samples were collected from various contexts within and outside a large Persian-Hellenistic administrative building complex at tell Kedesh, dated to the 5th to the 2nd century BC, based on the archaeological material. Four AMS radiocarbon dates were obtained on plant macro remains recovered from the flotation samples from the complex. The radiocarbon dates range from the 9th century BC to 17th century AD. The discrepancy among the radiocarbon dates obtained from plant remains and those based on archaeological material can be attributed to bioturbation, including the deep burrowing of harvester ants. The study demonstrates the need for direct radiocarbon dating of the charred plant remains generally assumed to be of ancient origin. This research improves the understanding of depositional and postdepositional processes of plant macro remains and explains their mode of arrival, relevant for the sites with a long occupational history by humans and animals.