PRE‐CHRISTIAN OFFERINGS FROM GULDHULLET NEAR SMØRENGE ON BORNHOLM,DENMARK

As a result of metal detector surveys over several years, a unique find of gold figurines and gold foil figures from the 6^th century AD has come to light at a locality known as Guldhullet (‘the gold hole’). Geomagnetic surveys and a subsequent excavation in 2017 revealed a large number of ‘cooking pits’ close to the present‐day damp area where the finds were made. The pits are roughly contemporary with the gold finds, which suggests that the location was both a sacrificial site and an important communal meeting place.     

Jewellery Production

Abstract

Today's hand made gold jewellery includes the most costly and most beautiful items available. Master craftsmen are found in many countries and their jewellery follows a centuries old tradition. In more recent times, to supply increasing demand, gold jewellery has also been machine made, for example gold chains, particularly in Italy. Here these two basic aspects of jewellery production are reviewed: gold craftsmanship, casting, alloys for jewellery, electroforming, chain production and findings are all discussed.     

南诏大理国金属佛像制作工艺初探

为研究南诏大理国金属佛像的制作工艺,对部分金属佛像进行了科学分析,表明制作各种铜佛像时,主要使用失蜡铸造工艺,已使用多种金属元素作为材质,阿嵯耶观音像和其他铜像是以含砷的铜合金为特征,金质佛像的材质主要用金银合金,铸造小铜佛像则采用复杂的合金成分配比。根据铭文和绘画资料分析,这些金属佛像主要是大理本地的工匠制作。     

青海卡约文化出土的金器

卡约文化是分布在青海地区青铜时代的考古学文化,除发现陶、石、骨、角、牙、料器等类文物外,还发现了一批主要用于装饰的金器。这批金器从制作到用途,反映了青藏高原东北部古羌民族的重要文化特色。作为我国目前发现的最早黄金制品之一,卡约文化金器代表的是这一时段金属冶炼和制作技术的水平,也为我们探讨黄金的原始功用提供了重要线索。     

The examination of a pre-hispanic gold chisel from Colombia

A Pre-hispanic gold chisel from Colombia was examined by metallography, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, electron probe microanalysis, and microhardness methods. The chisel was found to be worked to shape with a ground cutting edge, and made in a gold-copper (tumbaga) alloy. Silver was present in the gold used to make the alloy. The results of the examination are discussed with a brief resumé of what is known about the composition and manufacture of these small tools in ancient Colombia.     

徐州楚王墓出土金银器大观

金和银两种金属,由于他们的结构密实,外表艳丽而舒润,延展性强,韧性好,便于操作,自古就受到人们的青睐,为人们所钟爱。常用它来制作货贝及器皿和饰品。     

Vietnamese (15th Century) Blue‐And‐White,Tam Thai and Lustre Porcelains/Stonewares: Glaze Composition and Decoration Techniques*

EDS, X‐ray fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, thermal expansion–shrinkage measurement and scanning electron microscopy were applied to determine the elemental components, structural phases and glazing temperatures of the transparent glazes, blue underglaze and overglaze tam thai (including gold‐like lustre) decorations from the 15th‐century Vietnamese porcelains/stonewares found at the Chu Ðâu–My Xa kiln site and in the Cù Lao Chàm (Hôi An) cargo. The ancient technology for colouring the glazes is discussed. The various blue tones in the underglazed décor result from cobalt‐containing manganese ore, with the intentional addition of iron oxide. The overglaze copper‐green and the gold‐like lustre were obtained by dispersing copper in lead‐based glass. The red colour was made using hematite dispersed in lead‐rich flux.     

The Production of Thin‐Walled Jointless Gold Beads from the Maykop Culture Megalithic Tomb of the Early Bronze Age at Tsarskaya in the North Caucasus: Results of Analytical and Experimental Research

This study, the first of this kind, reconstructs the technical chaîne operatoire of thin‐walled jointless gold bead production in the Maykop culture on the basis of trace‐wear analysis, experimental research and comparative analysis, using gold beads from the Early Bronze Age dolmen (c. 3200–2900 bc ) in kurgan 2 at Tsarskaya (discovered in 1898). The results of the study demonstrate that such beads were produced from a perforated disc‐shaped blank by pressure (with intermittent annealing) within a hemispherical depression in a shaping block (presumably made from stone or bone) and subsequent abrasive treatment of the surface. Most probably, this technique was a regional expression of Near Eastern jewellery traditions that emerged within the urbanized centres of Upper Mesopotamia in the early fourth millennium bc and spread out, through the Caucasus, into the southern boundaries of the Eurasian steppe.     

Evidence of Soldering Technology on Pre‐Columbian Gold Pendants from Western and North‐Western Colombia

Microscopic examination and analysis (metallography, X‐radiography, SEM–EDS, pXRF and μ‐XRF) of a group of stylistically linked gold alloy pendants from western and north‐western Colombia confirms the use of a highly unusual manufacturing technique for the region. While the Darién pendants were made using lost‐wax casting by a diverse group of cultures from southern Colombia through Costa Rica, only one subset of pendants produced in the Gran‐Zenú region (the Caribbean lowlands of northern Colombia) and the Chocó region (the Pacific area of western Colombia) in the Early Period (ad 0–900) was found to be manufactured by hammering of gold sheet and fine wires followed by hard soldering of components to produce true filigree. Similarities in features between the stylistically related cast and hammered pendants suggest that the hammered pendants may have served as a prototype for the cast versions. Other possible instances of hard soldering in the region are also presented.     

云南江川县李家山墓地出土金属器的分析和研究

Using metallorgraphic structure analysis and SEM-EDX,this paper examines 55 sam-ples taken from metal artifaets unearthed at the Lijiashan burials in Jiangchuan county,YunnanProvince.The results reveal that different materials,including gold,silver,copper,tin-bronze,lead-bronze,and iron,were used to produce these artifacts during a time span from mid-Warring Statesperiod to the Western Han dynasty.Metallorgraphic analyses indicate that the bronzes were made ofcasting metal and that some were subsequentl...     

Geological setting, nature of ore fluids and sulphur isotope geochemistry of the Fu Ning Carlin-type gold deposits, Yunnan Province, China

Carlin‐type gold deposits in southern China are present in Palaeozoic to Mesozoic siliciclastic and carbonate rocks. The border region of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi Provinces contains gold deposits on the south‐western margin of the Pre‐Cambrian South China Craton in south‐eastern Yunnan Province. The Fu Ning gold deposits host epigenetic, micron‐sized disseminated gold in: (i) Middle Devonian (D₁p) black carbonaceous mudstone at the Kuzhubao gold deposit and (ii) fault breccia zones at the contact between Triassic gabbro (β ) and the Devonian mudstone (D₁p) at the Bashishan gold deposit. The deposits are associated with zones of intense deformation with enhanced permeability and porosity that focused hydrothermal fluid flow, especially where low‐angle N‐S striking thrust faults are cut by NW striking strike‐slip and/or NE striking normal faults. Major sulphide ore minerals in the Fu Ning gold deposits are pyrite, arsenopyrite, arsenic‐rich pyrite, stibnite and minor iron‐poor sphalerite. Gangue minerals are quartz, sericite, calcite, ankerite and chlorite. Hypogene ore grades range from 1 to 7 g t^?1 Au and up to 18 g t^?1 Au at the Kuzhubao gold deposit and are generally less than 3 g t^?1 Au at the Bashishan gold deposit. Sub‐microscopic gold mineralization is associated with finely disseminated arsenic‐rich pyrite in the Stage III mineral assemblage. Two types of primary fluid inclusions have been recorded: Type I liquid–vapour inclusions with moderate‐to‐high liquid/vapour ratios, and Type II inclusions containing moderate liquid/vapour ratios with CO₂ as determined from laser Raman analysis. Temperature of homogenization (T_h) data collected from these primary fluid inclusions in gold‐ore Stage III quartz ranged from 180 to 275°C at the Kuzhubao gold deposit and 210 to 330°C at the Bashishan gold deposit. Salinity results indicate that there were possibly two fluids present during gold deposition, including: (i) an early fluid with 0.8–6.5 wt.% NaCl equivalent, similar to salinity in shear‐zone‐hosted gold deposits with metamorphic derived fluids; and (ii) a late fluid with 11.8–13.4 wt.% NaCl equivalent, indicating possible derivation from connate waters and/or brine sources. CO₂ and trace CH₄ were only detected by laser Raman spectrometry in gold‐ore‐stage primary fluid inclusions. Results of sulphur isotope studies showed that δ³⁴S values for pyrite and arsenopyrite associated with gold‐ore mineralization during Stage III at the Kuzhubao and Bashishan gold deposits are isotopically similar and moderately heavy with a range from +9 to +15 per mil, and also fall into the range of δ³⁴S values reported for Carlin‐type gold deposits. Sulphur isotopes suggest that the Fu Ning gold deposits were formed from connate waters and/or basinal brines. Fluid geochemistry data from the Fu Ning gold deposits suggest a Carlin‐type genetic model, involving fluid mixing between: (i) deep CO₂‐rich metamorphic fluids, (ii) moderately saline, reduced connate waters and/or basinal brines; and (iii) evolved meteoric waters.     

当阳赵巷春秋楚墓璧形包金饰片的保护与研究

湖北当阳赵巷M12墓中出土了金属饰片459件,其中部分饰片表面附有满工錾刻的金箔或锡箔,纹饰繁缛精细,线条流畅,极具楚地艺术风格,其中以青铜包金饰片最为精美。因发掘后未经保护处理并长期堆放在库房内,致使金箔多数受压卷曲,纹饰细节均被泥土和锈蚀产物覆盖,散落金箔无法拼合整理,其装饰位置亦无法确定。为制定符合其特殊情况的修复方案,以该墓葬中出土的璧形包金青铜饰片为研究对象,首先采用显微分析、X荧光光谱分析、X射线衍射、扫描电镜-能谱、离子色谱等分析手段,对其青铜基体、金箔、锈蚀产物及其埋藏环境进行了科学分析,并以此为基础完成了锈蚀清洗、金箔比对、金箔回贴等相关工作,创新性地提出金箔比对与回贴中的相关原则,并可为同类文物的保护修复提供一套完整可借鉴的保护方案。此外,还整理了先秦时期璧形包金金属饰片的出土情况,并推断其应为漆木盾上的饰件。     

The second issuance of a Tuscan gold coin: the gold groat of Lucca, 1256

In 1252 Genoa and Florence embarked upon the issuance of gold coins. Although Genoa's effort ultimately failed due to an internal economic crisis, the Florentine florin dominated the international money markets of western Europe and beyond for the next two and a half centuries. Lucca, Florence's Tuscan neighbor, likewise ventured into the issuance of a gold coin at least by 1256. However, Lucca's gold issue was apparently of a modest scale and never mounted a challenge to the florin. This article establishes the date ante quern at which Lucca made her return to gold and attempts to explain why the Lucchese gold groat did not become a significant factor in Europe's earliest experiment with bimetallism.     

Accumulation by dispossession and hazardscape production in post-corporate gold mining in Itogon,Philippines

This study investigates the experience of a gold mining community two decades after corporate mining activities ceased and were replaced by informal subcontract small-scale mining in Itogon, Philippines. Drawing on David Harvey’s accumulation by dispossession and Daanish Mustafa’s hazardscape, we consider the lasting effects, from 1903, of dispossession upon the establishment of the first commercial mines in the Philippines as experienced by traditional miners in Itogon. Despite the closure of mining operations, mineral lands remain privately owned, resulting in the persistence of legal land dispossession among local small-scale gold miners. Mining activities still continue as small-scale miners are able to access abandoned mines through subcontract mining. Subcontract mining has changed the source of capital that funds mining activities from mining corporation to rent-seeking small-scale mining financiers, but the new economic relations still benefit from the capitalist logic of low natural resources and labour value. We argue that the production of hazardscapes is a consequence of accumulation by dispossession through (1) processes of expropriation of mineral lands and the consequent creation of free labour among local miners; (2) the externalisation environmental cost as an accumulation strategy that results in the production of socionatural hazards; and (3) exploitation of those who labour and who are made to work in precarious work environment while contributing to the production of hazardscapes.     

山东日照海曲汉代夹纻胎漆器金银装饰工艺浅析

为了更好地探讨出土汉代夹纻胎漆器的金银装饰工艺,本研究运用显微镜等仪器,对山东日照海曲汉代墓地出土几件夹纻胎漆器的金银装饰工艺进行分析研究。研究发现:金饰片多镶嵌在漆灰层上的漆膜层中,银饰片和银构件多镶嵌在漆膜及漆灰层中;在金银饰与漆膜接界处有出于保护目的,且与周围图案相协调的描饰;金银装饰上的描饰与其周围的描饰图案融为一体。夹纻胎漆器的金银装饰工艺因金银饰件面,与漆膜层面高低,分为"粘贴"和"镶嵌"两类,本研究样品中暂未发现粘贴工艺。结合现代漆器装饰工艺调查结果,初步探讨了几件夹纻胎漆器金银的镶嵌工艺流程。本研究可利于汉代夹纻胎漆器金银装饰工艺的发掘、利用与传承。     

DETECTING CHANGES OF CELTIC GOLD SOURCES THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF TRACE ELEMENT AND Pb ISOTOPE LASER ABLATION ANALYSIS OF CELTIC GOLD COINS*

This project follows on from an initial study of Celtic gold coins from the Middle Rhine/Moselle region, which was based on material found at the Martberg, a Late Iron Age/Roman sanctuary and settlement (River Moselle, western Germany; Bendall 2003 ). The earlier work was expanded to encompass over 100 examples of various other regional Celtic gold coinages from the collection of the Römisch‐Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz. The alloy (Au–Ag–Cu) and trace element compositions (in particular Ni, Sb and Pt) were determined by EPMA and LA–ICP–MS, respectively, and their Pb isotope signatures were measured by LA–MC–ICP–MS. Of the 28 trace elements measured, only Ni, Sb and Pt were found to show meaningful variations and so only they are presented here. In particular, differences in the Pt/Au ratios between various groups of earlier coinage (imitations of Philippus and Alexander/Nike staters, Sch. 23 and some early Boian coins) on the one hand, and the majority of the Boian and the southern rainbow cup coinages on the other, indicate a significant difference in the gold sources exploited for these regional coinages. The Pb isotope data confirm previous conclusions that the contribution of gold to the total lead in the Au–Ag–Cu coin alloys can be detected, especially for coins with over 70% gold, and show that possible gold sources include both eastern Mediterranean and Alpine sources. Combining the Pb isotope data with the Pt/Au ratios allows the potential gold sources to be further differentiated.     

Metals,microanalysis and meaning: a study of metal objects excavated from the indigenous cemetery of El Chorro de Maíta,Cuba

This is the first publication reporting systematic analytical research conducted on archaeological metals from Cuba. The main focus of the study consists of beads and small metal objects excavated at the cemetery of El Chorro de Maíta, which comprises some of the richest funerary deposits so far recovered on the island. Some comparative samples from the nearby site of Alcalá were also investigated, with an emphasis made on the manufacture, composition and origins of the different alloys. The resulting picture is that members of the social elite of the indigenous Taíno peoples were buried with beads made of placer gold exploited locally, gold–copper–silver pendants brought from continental South America and, above all, brass lacetags from European clothing that were perceived as sacred metals. The archaeometallurgical approach offers fresh insight into the relationships between Europeans and Taínos, and the impact of colonization on the indigenous customs, values and social structures.     

THE CROW DOWN HOARD, LAMBOURN, WEST BERKSHIRE

Summary.   The discovery of a hoard of five middle Bronze Age gold objects during a metal-detecting rally on the Lambourn Downs in 2004 precipitated an archaeological investigation into their character, provenance and context. This article describes the objects themselves, their composition, how they were made and their archaeological background. It also reports the result of forensic archaeological work undertaken on them. The parallels for the objects and the social context of their deposition are discussed.     

金玉同盟——东周金器和玉器之装饰风格与角色演变

除了延续自前代的风格传统与工艺技术外,东周玉器与源自于他类材质器物的启发关系尤其密切,其中金器扮演了关键性的角色。东周金器对玉器装饰风格的影响,主要表现在纹饰布局、纹饰母题以及追求浮雕的空间表现等几个方面。此时玉器和金器在风格上的相互转换与兴替消长,不仅导致金玉材质间的相互置换,更重要的是,它们的装饰形式也因应被模仿对象的材质特性而改头换面,并且发展出新的审美价值和象征意蕴。