Nerantzis N., Bassiakos Y., Georgakopoulou M., Filippaki E. and Mastrotheodoros G. (2017) Copper production in Early Bronze Age Thasos: New finds and experimental simulation in the context of contemporaneous Aegean metallurgical practices (original) (raw)
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Copper metallurgy of the Early Bronze Age in Thassos, north Aegean
Archaeometallurgical research of the last decade has added valuable information on copper and silver metallurgy practiced in the Bronze Age coastal settlements on Thassos in the north Aegean. The presence of mineral ores in the island's geology has been suggested as a determining factor for early silver and lead extraction from the respective indigenous sources. Yet up to date no solid archaeological evidence for mining in the Bronze Age has come to light whereas Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic large scale mining, gold and silver extraction and iron production have been confirmed. Despite the absence of information on prehistoric mining, smelting residues such as crucibles, tuyères and slag pieces, casting implements namely clay moulds, and artefacts of copper-based alloys were found in Early Bronze Age Limenaria, Aghios Antonios and Skala Sotiros. Recent slag analyses revealed increased levels of Ba and Zn, which are diagnostic elements of the Thassian deposits, hinting to the exploitation of local raw materials at an early stage. In addition to the metallurgical finds, arsenical-copper and bronze objects were found in the former sites and also at Aghios Ioannis and Kastri but their provenance has not been established so far. The present paper aims to present the evidence for Thassian copper metallurgy during the Bronze Age through analysis of raw materials (copper-bearing ores), metallurgical residues (crucibles, slag) and finished objects and to provide a preliminary interpretation of the findings. For the first time local production of arsenical copper in the north Aegean has been confirmed at Aghios Antonios, implying technological similarities with corresponding Cycladic and Cretan examples and suggesting establishment of far-reaching exchange networks active during the Early Bronze Age.
Copper production during the Early Bronze Age at Aghios Antonios, Potos on Thasos
The emergence of copper metallurgy in the northern Aegean is regarded as a derivative from more southeasterly areas whence the innovation of metals technology had originated. In the case of Thasos the possibilities offered by the occurrence of extensive metal bearing deposits enabled its early inhabitants to become engaged with metal extraction at an early stage during the Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age. A growing body of evidence from Limenaria and more recently from Aghios Antonios, Potos testifies to the reduction of local, secondary copper ores associated with the rich Pb/Zn/Ag mineralization on the island. A project of instrumental analysis that focused on metallurgical residues from Aghios Antonios revealed information on smelting during which low contents of zinc and arsenic had been incorporated into the copper prills found entrapped in the slag. Although zinc, which is residual, does not surpass 1%, the presence of arsenic in contents up to 4% is significant. The unintentional formation of arsenical copper owing to the polymetallic nature of the utilized ores and the resulting effects on the produced metal would have caused a reorientation of procurement strategies and further treatment of raw materials thereof. Such a finding might be taken as an indication of potentially deliberate selection of arsenic bearing ores to co-smelt with malachite, both of which could be found on the island. The evidence from Aghios Antonios puts Thasos into the wider discussion concerning the nature of copper reduction and emergence of alloying technologies in the Early Bronze Age Aegean.
2011
Kephala and Phournoi, on the island of Seriphos, add to a growing number of EBA metal production sites identified in the south-central Aegean. Analytical examination of samples from the two sites addressed the technological parameters of the copper smelting process, indicating the use of mixed oxidic and sulphidic copper-iron ores to produce unalloyed copper with minute copper sulphide inclusions. A preliminary geological reconnaissance of the island identified several small copper mineralizations, one of them close to the site of Kephala. Nevertheless, the ore sources used remain unclear. Comparisons are made with other contemporaneous neighbouring smelting sites.
Proceedings of the 7th Symposium of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry, Edited by Eleni Filippaki in collaboration with Y. Bassiakos, G. Facorellis, A. Oikonomou, M. Papageorgiou, P. Loukopoulou and M. Kaparou, 2024
Ancient ore processing and metal production in the minerals-rich north Aegean have been significant aspects of the region’s economic character as suggested by combined archaeological, geological and archaeometallurgical research. Archaeological finds from Thasos confirmed that the earliest steps of metallurgical technology on the island date back to the end of the Neolithic period. Excavations at three prehistoric settlements on Thasos, those of Limenaria, Skala Sotiros and Aghios Antonios, revealed evidence for early metallurgical practices that became the subject of recent interdisciplinary study. Attempting to further investigate the technical stages by which minerals were transformed into metals on prehistoric Thasos, this paper is focused on recent mineralogical analysis of ores by means of XRD, the study of stone tools used in ore processing, experimental crushing and grinding of Thasos ores and analysis of metallurgical residues by SEM/EDX. The combined results are useful for reconstructing the chaîne opératoire in an attempt to better understand prehistoric copper metallurgy on Thasos and examine its place within the broader Aegean metallurgical tradition of the Early Bronze Age. KEYWORDS: ORES, STONE TOOLS, CRUSHING, METALLURGY, COPPER, EXPERIMENTATION, THASOS
The site of Chrysokamino in northeastern Crete has yielded evidence for copper-smelting activities dating tothe 3rd millennium B.C. The finds from the site include numerous pieces of slag and clay fragments from shaft furnaces bearing numerous 1-2cm wide perforations. This furnace design is evidenced in other prehistoric sites in the southern Aegean, but is otherwise unknown in the Old World.As part of the post-excavation study of the material from the site, a technological investigation of the copper-smelting process at Chrysokamino was undertaken. Based on the scientific analysis of ore and slag samples, the main technological aspects of the smelting process were investigated, focusing particularly on the nature of the raw materials, the smelting conditions, the mechanisms of slag/metal separation and the nature of the smelting products. A series of experimental smelts, using raw materials and equipment similar to those witnessed at Chrysokamino, allowed the study of the behaviour of the perforated furnaces during smelting. Combining information from the scientific analysis and the smelting experiments, this paper offers the first detailed reconstruction of an early Aegean copper-smelting technology.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2023
Thasos is an island in the north Aegean with a long tradition in mining and metallurgical production the emergence of which could be traced to the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (c. 3200 BCE). The current study is focused on copper alloy artefacts that were found in several Early Bronze Age settlements on the island to provide an understanding of how they were produced and utilised/consumed by their users. Application of laboratory instrumental techniques, namely compositional analysis by X-ray Fluorescence and metallography coupled by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM/EDS) are used to illuminate our understanding of the methods utilised for their fabrication and the choice of certain alloys that were common during the Early Bronze Age. Results have revealed the predominance of arsenical copper fabricated by casting, followed by stages of hammering and annealing. A single example of a leaded copper object shows no parallels among the studied assemblage or other contemporary finds. The average arsenic contents of 2.9 wt% might be the result of accidental alloying of copper with arsenic-bearing copper minerals or indeed a conscious selection of mixed ores that contained both metals. Geological information is taken into consideration attempting to locate the possible sources of copper and arsenic-bearing minerals on the island that were potentially utilised as raw materials. Results point to the possible utilisation of fahlores (tennantite in particular) from a mining location close to Limenaria that could yield arsenical copper in a single stage smelting process. Considering the co-occurrence of arsenic and low silver contents in the fahlores from this location, they match well to the minute silver contents detected in two artefacts of the assemblage under study. Such preliminary findings are of special importance as they contribute to the ongoing discussion concerning the production of arsenical copper across the Aegean during the EBA.
A brief review is given of archaeological evidence for the Lavrion region in Attica. The ore geology of Lavrion is briefly summarized. Evidence is presented that geologists, mineralogists and mining engineers with expert knowledge of the Lavrion region have described the presence of copper ores and recorded the smelting and production of significant amounts of copper metal from these ores in the 19 th . Century AD. Both chalcopyrite and very easily smelted, by non-slagging processes, rich oxidized ores such as azurite and malachite were present in considerable amounts, especially in Lavrion. We present analyses which show that the oxidized ores often contain arsenic at the per cent level, and are potential sources for the accidental production of arsenical copper. Evidence is presented confirming that Lavrion copper ores were used in the Final Neolithic site of Kephala on Keos and that Lavrion copper ores were smelted in the Early Bronze Age furnaces at the site of Raphina in Attica. Data is given for the existence of some Bronze Age copper ingots, from both land based sites and from the Uluburun and Cape Gelidonya shipwrecks, which were made from Lavrion copper, and which attest to the movement of copper from Lavrion about the Aegean in the Bronze Age.