Observations and questions on gold artefacts from underwater excavations

Abstract

In the present paper, we will study examples of settlement excavations that can sometimes reveal abundant gold material. These -underwater excavations took place in Alexandria and Aboukir Bay, Egypt, where we found numerous gold or gold-plated objects. Of these, some objects provide us with information about the trade routes used in those times, and others show us that refinement existed even during the Byzantine period. Some objects tell us fabulous stories, while others attest a high mastery of the available technology.Through specific examples, we will approach the scientific, aesthetic, historical and technological aspects pertaining to these gold objects.While most of these gold objects, jewellery and coins, have been studied before, and the results published elsewhere, considering the number of excavated objects, it is typically the less spectacular ones or the ones that were too difficult to interpret that have been neglected.Being an archaeologist specialised in the restoration of metal, I am thus not a metallurgist, a technologist, or even a numismatist, nor a historian specialised in the production or trade of gold objects. However, on the boat, underwater, or in the land laboratory, many questions concerning these archaeological objects deserve attention.With the help of three Case studies, we will see that some problems related to these objects have come up, and that a close collaboration with various gold artefact specialists appears necessary in order to try to solve these uncertainties.