Iron Age Leaded Tin Bronzes from Khirbet Edh-Dharih, Jordan (original) (raw)
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Iron Age tin bronze metallurgy at Marlik, Northern Iran: an analytical investigation
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2015
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.
Recent studies in the southern Levant have clarified that bronze – the commonly used metal during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages – continued to be produced throughout the entire Iron Age I. In order to gain more information concerning the metallurgical industry in southern Canaan during the Late Bronze–Iron Age transition, we performed an archaeometallurgical study of three well-preserved bronze objects – a 13th century BCE axe and 12th century BCE hoe and handle – discovered in the renewed excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel. Analyzing the composition, microstructure and microhardness of the objects, the study aims at reconstructing their manufacturing processes. The chemical analysis revealed that the three objects were made of bronze, with up to 6.2 wt% Sn and up to 4.0 wt% Pb. Giving their properties and shape, the objects were first cast, most likely in an open mould and then brought to the desired final size and shape probably through cold-forging and annealing cycles. The results of the present research contribute to the accumulating knowledge concerning the Canaanite metallurgical industry during the Late Bronze II–Iron Age I transition.
Tin bronze replaced arsenical copper as the preferred alloy in the Levant for reasons that have long been debated. Found almost exclusively in graves, these two types of copper alloys share nearly identical mechanical properties. The Bronze Age cemetery of ‘Enot Shuni has yielded the first metals ever analysed from an uninterrupted stratigraphic sequence in the Levant, spanning the earliest adoption of tin bronze from the Early Bronze Age (EB) IV through the Middle Bronze Age (MB) II (c. 2300–1530 BC). SEM–EDS analysis of these artefacts, combined with a compositional meta-database of all previously published EB IV – MB II alloys, reveals diachronic alloy progression as selected by populations of the Levant. It has long been qualitatively understood that bronze became the primary alloy by the MB II. These results verify this trend and quantify human demand, showing that tin importation increased by 103% and arsenic content decreased by 49% throughout these periods. This shift in technological choice is attributed to cultural reorientation from the Egyptian to Mesopotamian sphere of influence, as well as to tin’s appreciable fuel efficiency over pure copper and arsenical copper in light of unprecedented timber shortages.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020
Metallographic, chemical and lead isotopic analyses of copper-based artefacts recovered from the Northwest Quarter in Jerash (ancient Gerasa) in Jordan provide new information on the civic life and material culture from a key urban site in the Roman Empire's eastern provinces. The samples span the city's occupation from its flourishing under Roman rule into the Byzantine and early Islamic periods. We examined 49 copper-based artefacts using reflected light microscopy and micro-X-ray fluorescence. A subset of these artefacts was analysed by electron microprobe spectroscopy for major and minor elements at higher spatial resolution, and by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for lead isotopes. Results imply that binary bronze dominated the Roman period, (leaded) brass characterised the Byzantine period, while tin-containing alloys were prevalent during the Islamic period. Lead isotopes suggest that during the Roman and Byzantine periods some of the metal in Jerash came from European and/or Mediterranean sources, while copper used during the Islamic period may have been sourced more locally from Timna. The changes in alloy types and lead isotopes suggest that recycling of metals took place in Jerash possibly as early as the Roman period and more frequent from the Byzantine period onwards.
Levant, 2003
Bronze Age through to the early Iron Age. Data arising from a combination of chemical, metallographic and lead isotope analyses are considered in terms of artefact typology, manufacturing techniques and archaeological context, and their social and economic implications for ancient metallurgy discussed.
Microscopic study on some Iron Age bronze objects from Western Iran
2016
Background: A microscopic study on ancient metals was established to identify chemical composition and microstructure of archaeological tin bronze objects. For this purpose, ten small bronze pieces from Baba Jilan Iron Age site, western Iran, were selected and studied by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) methods.
2019
The development of metallurgy of tin Bronze in the Luristan region during the prehistoric period has been a subject of interest for archaeologists and scientists. Tin Bronze was firstly used at the early Bronze Age (begin-ning of the third millennium BC) in western Iran and was widespread during the Iron Age (end of second millennium and first half of the first millennium BC) at the Luristan region , well-known as the Luristan Bronzes. Nevertheless, there are only some scientific and analytical studies about the metallurgy of tin Bronze in Luristan during the Iron Age, despite of large number of Bronze objects discovered from looting as well as archaeological excavations. In this paper, a comparative and statistical study is undertaken on the available analytical results of some Bronze objects from Luristan. These are including the un-provenanced collections in museums as well as objects excavated from some Iron Age sites such as War Kabud, Bard-i Bal, Sangtarashan, Baba Jilan and so on. The results show that the majority of Luristan Bronzes are made of the variable tin-containing binary Bronze alloy, although arsenic and lead have important role in the composition of some objects. Based on the chemical compsoiton of objects, it is worth noting that there is no correlation between objects’ typology and alloy composition in the Luristan Bronzes. The probable methods applied to produce tin Bronze may be an uncontrolled alloying operation such as cementation, co-smelting or using Cu-Sn complex ores directly