Abstract
We describe two crucible fragments from an early Islamic context at the West African site of Tadmekka, in the Republic of Mali. They are made from a very sandy fabric and contain numerous gold particles and mineral grains in a matrix of lightly-coloured glass-based crucible slag. We interpret these as remains of a process separating freshly-panned gold concentrate from residual mineral inclusions, by melting the concentrate together with crushed glass beads. The process has similarities in modern artisanal practice, and shows the versatility of craftspeople in this major urban trading centre famous for its gold wealth.
Highlights
Throughout history the search for gold has driven economic and military expansion of most western Asian and European empires, and the expansion of the early Islamic empires into northern Africa from the 7th century AD is no exception
The sub-Saharan economies were almost entirely pre-monetary, where items such as glass beads took on some of the roles of coinage, while the North African Islamic economy depended on gold coinage, based to a large extent on imports of fresh gold from the south
The previously much overlooked gold coinage of Tadmekka described by al-Bakri e seemingly a “bald” coinage connected to the trans-Saharan export of gold e is explored elsewhere, based on the discovery of coin mould fragments excavated from a metallurgical workshop (Nixon et al, 2011)
Summary
Throughout history the search for gold has driven economic and military expansion of most western Asian and European empires, and the expansion of the early Islamic empires into northern Africa from the 7th century AD is no exception. Tadmekka was one of the earliest towns established at the Sahara’s southern edge as a market for the central cross-Saharan camel caravan routes, linking the important emporium of Gao in the south with cities in what is Algeria, Tunis and Libya in the north (Fig. 1: Map of area). The sub-Saharan economies were almost entirely pre-monetary, where items such as glass beads took on some of the roles of coinage, while the North African Islamic economy depended on gold coinage, based to a large extent on imports of fresh gold from the south. The previously much overlooked gold coinage of Tadmekka described by al-Bakri e seemingly a “bald” (i.e. unstamped) coinage connected to the trans-Saharan export of gold e is explored elsewhere, based on the discovery of coin mould fragments excavated from a metallurgical workshop (Nixon et al, 2011)
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