Search results for "Archaeometallurgy"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
Captación y selección de materias primas en la primera metalurgia del Sureste de la península ibérica
2020
The authors are grateful for the technical and human support provided by SGIker of UPV/EHU and European funding (ERDF and ESF). We are also in debt with Eduardo Galán, Ruth Maicas and Carmen Cacho, curators of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid) for facilitating the sampling and study of metal objects as well as with Ignacio Soriano Llopis for his help on the selection and sampling of the Palmela points, with Massimo Chiaradia who performed the analyses of the Palmela points at the Department of Earth Sciences (University of Geneva, Switzerland) and with Óscar García Vuelta for his pictures of some assemblages. We also appreciate and the careful work of editing and style of the TP edit…
New Insight on Archaeological Metal Finds, Nails and Lead Sheathings of the Punic Ship from Battle of the Egadi Islands
2023
The wreck of the Punic ship exhibited at the Archaeological Park of Lilybaeum (Marsala, Italy) is a unique example in the world. In this paper, the investigation of some metal finds (30 nails and 3 fragments of sheathings) belonging to the wreck of the Punic ship is reported. Portable X-ray fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy allowed us to identify the elements and compounds constituting them and make some deductions about their composition. X-ray diffractometry, polarised optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy of the collected micro-samples allowed us to explain the degradation that occurred in the underwater environment.
Evidencias de un recubrimiento de magnetita artificial en el armamento íbero
2011
A metallographic study of two pre-roman Iberian arms, affected by a cremation process, revealed the presence of an outer magnetite layer, providing highly protective properties. This layer is extraordinarily tenacious and of very homogeneous thickness, indicating an intentional manufacturing process rather than an accidental formation during the severe heating/cooling cycles the artefact suffered. Up to date, the intentional production of these types of layers has been attributed to a welding process of three different metallic sheets, here an alternative model is proposed, allowing, as could be simulated in the laboratory, the virtually exclusive formation of a magnetite coating.<br>…
L'évolution des premières métallurgies extractives du cuivre
2003
International audience; L'histoire de la métallurgie extractive débute avec le cuivre. Malgré la rareté, des témoignages archéologiques, l'étude des sites d'extraction et notamment des déchets permet depuis peu de caractériser, au moins partiellement, les premiers procédés. Ainsi, on arrive aujourd'hui à documenter ce qui fut une véritable révolution au tout début de cette métallurgie, quand, d'une activité à faible production durant le Chalcolithique et le début de l'âge du Bronze, on passe progressivement à une véritable production de masse vers le milieu et la fin de l'âge du Bronze. Les premiers procédés sont non scorifiants, ils séparent mal le stérile du métal, et conduisent à des per…
Microstructure and phase composition of bronze Montefortino helmets discovered Mediterranean seabed to explain an unusual corrosion
2021
AbstractTwo Monterfortino helmets, recovered in the Mediterranean seabed, show unusual features with respect to the more common helmets of the same period and found in underwater environments. Hence, they were investigated by a multi-analytical approach, which allowed us to identify the compounds constituting the helmets and to make some considerations about their metallurgy, although all the metal was converted to degradation products. The helmets, originally made in bronze, have maintained their original shape because of copper sulphides formation. The observed differences in composition between the two helmets were attributed to the position modification, of one of them, into the seabed …
Raw material procurement and selection in Southeast Iberia’s early metallurgy
2020
The role of metallurgy in the Copper Age communities of the Iberian Southeast is a recurrent question of archaeological research in western Europe. Based on lead isotope and trace element analyses of archaeometallurgical remains, this paper addresses the territorial organisation of metallurgical production during the Copper Age (3100-2200 cal BC) in the Vera Basin (Almería, Spain), the region with the earliest metallurgical evidence in western Europe. This paper comprises the study of materials from the three main settlements with metallurgical activity in the area (Las Pilas, Santa Bárbara and Almizaraque), as well as some metal objects from these and other sites (La Encantada I, Loma…
First discovery of orichalcum ingots from the remains of a 6th century BC shipwreck near Gela (Sicily) seabed
2017
Ingots recently recovered from the seabed near Gela, a major harbour of Sicily, reveal an unexpected side of ancient metallurgy. The ingots were found near remains of a ship and earthenware dated around the end of the VI century BC and probably coming from the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean sea. The ingots were analysed by means of X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy via a portable spectrometer. Results indicate that they are mostly consist of copper and zinc although many of them have a significant amount of lead. This alloy is nowday called brass, but in ancient time it was know as orichalcum, one of the rarest and most precious alloy along with gold and silver. Only small items of oric…
Metallic artefacts from Monte Molião (Lagos, Portugal) : the roman clothing elements
2020
As escavações arqueológicas levadas a efeito em Monte Molião permitiram recolher um conjunto muito significativo de artefactos metálicos, diversificados cronológica e funcionalmente, entre os quais se destacam os elementos de indumentária. Trata-se de fíbulas, de botões e de fechos de cinturão que pertencem à época romana, ocupação bem caracterizada no sítio através de sequências estratigráficas claras, que foram tidas em consideração na abordagem a estes materiais concretos.