2007 Chemical and Mineralogical Examination of Metallurgical Ceramics from a Late Bronze Age copper smelting site in Cyprus (original) (raw)
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Journal of archaeological science, 2007
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.
Pyrgos-Mavroraki, an early 2nd millennium BC proto-industrial settlement, is an excellent case-study on which to apply experimental archaeometallurgy because it presents many different elements connected to the chaine-operatoire of copper metallurgy, typical of Early/Middle Bronze Age Cyprus. The site excavated by the Italian Archaeological Mission of the ITABC-CNR of Rome (Institute for Technologies applied to the Cultural Heritage of the Italian National Research Council), revealed different metallurgical areas and a coppersmith workshop equipped with a set of basalt anvils (Belgiorno, 2017). The combination of the metallurgical evidence of the entire copper processing (crucibles, moulds, anvils, stone tools), the huge presence of non-tapping slags all over the site and the identification of several structures interpretable as furnaces, suggested that some sort of smelting process took place at Pyrgos-Mavroraki. Some pilot experiments have been preliminarily carried out to test the construction technique, shape and thermal behaviour of the furnaces during a smelting process using different fuels. The simple, but important outcomes of these experiments will be essential to design an accurate protocol for the systematic experimental studies of the archaeometallurgy of this site (objective of a Northern Bridge Training Partnership funded PhD at Newcastle University).
A preliminary study of the metallurgical ceramics from Kition, Cyprus with the application of pXRF
Archaeological Science: Reports, 2016
Cyprus is considered to be one of the main sources for copper for the Old World since the second millennium BC. Yet we are still far from fully understanding the dynamics, which govern the organization of copper production and distribution on the island. The discovery of a complex of workshops during the excavation of the sacred pre- cinct at the site of Kition — Kathari located in south-east Cyprus led some scholars to suggest that copper ores were smelted in these workshops while others have more recently suggested that the workshops were dedicated to casting and recycling votive artifacts. In order to address this issue and to determine the nature of the metal- lurgical process taking place at Kition a collection of 57 metallurgical ceramics and crucible slags from the site dating from the 13th to the late 4th century BC, was analyzed chemically with the use of a handheld pXRF instru- ment. Also, the same technique was employed to distinguish the existence of different fabric groups in the assemblage.
Ancient Raw Copper from Primary Smelting Sites in Cyprus
MRS Proceedings, 2002
ABSTRACTFinds of metallic copper from various primary smelting sites in the Sia valley in Cyprus have been analysed by ICP-OES for their composition and by optical and electron microscopy for metallography. Results show a characteristic pattern of impurities for each of the sites examined which allow an assignment to specific types of ore body and geological matrix. Different zones of the Cyprus Ophiolite Complex were exploited in different periods in antiquity, but these results show different types could be exploited contemporaneously within a specific period, especially during the first millennium BC. One location in this area, Agia Varvara-Almyras, an Iron Age copper smelting site with the only complete chain of operation recorded in ancient Cypriote metallurgy, is used to show how analytical work can guide future field surveys to find ancient furnaces, slag heaps and mines. The ultimate goal of the project is to extend it to reconstruct the complete history of copper production...
A number of studies have focused on Plain Ware ceramics from Alassa-Pano Mandilaris, a site dating from Late Cypriot (LC) IIC to LC IIIA1, and have especially considered their wide fabric variation, with six macroscopic types and eight petrographic fabric groups identified2. More samples have been examined here (Black Slip, Coarse Cooking, and White Painted Wheelmade III3) in order to characterize production and ceramic technology. A total of twelve petrographic fabric groups were identified and the combination of petrography with lead (Pb) isotope analysis suggested that most could have been made with local raw materials4. New preliminary strontium (Sr) isotopic results identify two distinct groups that explain the nature and source(s) of the raw materials in more detail. This result is crucial for understanding local ceramic technology because it targets the very first steps of the operational chain: the selection and procurement of raw materials, and their sources. This paper will investigate: a) to what degree the local environment (including natural variability and/or the use of different clay sources) played a role in the distinction of the twelve fabric groups and b) whether the new grouping corresponds with distinct productions or ceramic traditions.
Thermal analysis as a method of characterizing ancient ceramic technologies
Thermochimica Acta, 1995
Ceramic materials represent manufacturing techniques which were improved consistently during the course of time. The components of ceramic materials are the "fingerprint" of the stable and/or metastable solid phases formed during the firing; the production processes of antique ceramics and pottery can be derived from their assemblage. There are many recognizable phases and their association depends, more than on their chemistry, upon the mineralogy of the raw materials, their grain-size distribution, maximum heating temperature, heating ratio, duration of firing and kiln redox atmosphere. All these factors help in understanding the "course" of reactions. Heating also affects the contact between the fine-sized clayey matrix and mineral clast fragments, appearing in reaction rims, sometimes showing newly-formed phases. The temperature at which ancient ceramics and pottery were fired varies over a wide range (600-1300°C) depending on the type of clay used and the kiln available, although firing temperatures not above 30&4OO"C have also been suggested. Clay minerals, as the main material for production of ceramics and pottery, show some characteristic reactions (dehydroxylation, decomposition, transformation) in the course of firing (heating effects) and several thermoanalytical criteria can be used for reconstruction of former production conditions. In the present work DTA, TGA and XRD results from byzantine and medieval ceramics are examined and information derived on ceramic technologies concerning raw materials and production conditions is validated by SEM observations concerning the extent of vitrification, as well as by the microstructural data provided by porosimetric measurements.
The formation of reference groups comprises an important procedure in chemical provenance studies of archaeological pottery. Material from ancient kilns is thought to be especially suitable for reference groups, as it comprises a definite unit of past production. Pottery from the Late Minoan IA kiln excavated at Kommos, Crete was analysed in order to produce a reference group in this important area of Minoan ceramic production. The samples were characterized by a combination of techniques providing information on the chemistry, mineralogy and microstructure of the ceramic body. Initially, the study was unable to establish, in a straightforward manner, a chemical reference group. Different ceramic pastes and a range of selective alterations and contaminations, affected by variable firing temperatures and burial environment, were shown to be responsible for the compositional variability. Procedures are described to compensate for such alterations and the perturbations in the data that they produce
Transformative copper metallurgy in Chalcolithic Cyprus: a reappraisal
Antiquity, 2021
The extraction and smelting of the rich copper ore deposits of Cyprus and the manufacture of copper objects on the island are thought to have begun during the Philia phase (c. 2400-2200 BC). Here, the authors present the results of lead isotope analysis undertaken on Late Chalcolithic (2900-2400 BC) metal objects from the site of Chlorakas-Palloures. The results facilitate a reassessment of the timing of the start of transformative copper technologies on Cyprus and the re-evaluation of contemporaneous copper artefacts from Jordan and Crete previously suggested to have been consistent with Cypriot ores. They conclude that there is no compelling evidence for transformative metallurgy in Chalcolithic Cyprus.
2021 Transformative copper metallurgy in Chalcolithic Cyprus: A reappraisal.
Antiquity, 2021
The extraction and smelting of the rich copper oredeposits of Cyprus and the manufacture of copperobjects on the island are thought to have begun duringthe Philia phase (c. 2400–2200 BC). Here, theauthors present the results of lead isotope analysisundertaken on Late Chalcolithic (2900–2400 BC)metal objects from the site of Chlorakas-Palloures.The results facilitate a reassessment of the timing ofthe start of transformative copper technologies onCyprus and the re-evaluation of contemporaneouscopper artefacts from Jordan and Crete previouslysuggested to have been consistent with Cypriotores. They conclude that there is no compelling evidencefor transformative metallurgy in ChalcolithicCyprus.