Mining Archaeology Research Articles

Same same, or very different? Comparing grindstones from Late/Final Bronze Age settlements and a mining/ore beneficiation site in the Southern Alps

Archaeological excavations often uncover macrolithic tools such as grinding implements. They appear in settlements, at workshop sites and close to mines. By comparing implements found in mines and beneficiation sites directly with similar ones found at settlement sites, mining archaeology has a lot to gain. Domestic production and mining have, however, traditionally been considered separate spheres. This is largely responsible for the fact that tools from the two spheres of prehistoric life have so far only very rarely been compared with each other. Using a marginalised group of tools from three sites in the Southern Alps as a basis, I examine the characteristics and traces of Late Bronze Age grinding tool production to explore whether knowledge might have been transferred between different spheres of life during the aforementioned period.

Mining and metallurgical labor in Islamic period Southwest Asia

ABSTRACT As a richly-documented historical case study, Islamic period Southwest Asia provides useful insights into the archaeology of mining and metallurgy. Labor, however, is more difficult to reconstruct from available historical sources, and its study requires a more directly archaeological approach. This paper presents a series of approaches to mining and metallurgical labor, drawing primarily on case studies of copper, silver, and gold mines in Southwest Asia, to address issues of labor provisioning and organization, the social identities of laborers, and the ways in which laborers deployed and transmitted specialized knowledge of metallurgical practices.

Colluvial sediments originating from past land-use activities in the Erzgebirge Mountains, Central Europe: occurrence, properties, and historic environmental implications

Colluvial sediments originating from soil erosion on slopes have proven to constitute significant evidence for tracing past human impact on mountain landscapes. In the Central European Erzgebirge (Ore) Mountains, colluvial sediments are associated with specific landforms (footslopes, slope flattenings, dells) and cover a share of 11% (11,905 ha) of the regional soil landscape. Thirteen pedosedimentary sections with colluvial layers were investigated at five forested sites (520–730 m a.s.l.) within a context of mining archaeology, integrating data from pedology, archaeology, palaeobotany, and geochronology. The thickness of the gravel-bearing loamy, silty, and sandy colluvial layers is up to 70 cm, which are mostly located on top of the sections. The geochronological ages and archaeological data reveal a high to late medieval to post-medieval age of the colluvial sediments. Pollen data show a drastic decline of the mountain forests in the late twelfth to fifteenth centuries AD accompanied by an increase of pioneer trees and spruce at the expense of fir and beech. The primary cause of soil erosion and subsequent colluvial deposition at the sites investigated is medieval to post-medieval mining and other early industrial activities. A compilation of 395 radiocarbon and OSL ages, obtained from colluvial sediments at 197 upland sites in Central Europe, shows that anthropogenically initiated colluvial dynamics go as far back as the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. Most ages derive from the medieval to post-medieval period, corresponding to the general intensification of settlement and land-use activities including deforestation and widespread ore mining.

Ore sources of raw materials of the ancient metallurgy in the steppe Cis-Urals region

The paper considers problems to define the primary source of raw material for metallurgical production in the Bronze Age in the IV-II centuries BC on the steppe Sic-Urals area. The data of field, experimental, and geochemical analytical researches for 2016-2020 are used. The summary indicating the relation between the initial ore protolith and sulfide and silicious-carbonate oxidized ores dated by the end of the Permian period is formulated. Radiocarbon dates of bearing monuments of mining archaeology are given.

FAIR data for prehistoric mining archaeology

This paper presents an approach how to create FAIR data for prehistoric mining archaeology, based on the CIDOC CRM ontology and semantic web standards. The interdisciplinary Research Centre HiMAT (History of mining activities in the Tyrol and adjacent areas, University of Innsbruck) investigates mining history from prehistoric to modern times with an interdisciplinary approach. One of the projects carried out at the research centre is the multinational DACH project “Prehistoric copper production in the eastern and central Alps”. For a specific geographical region of the project, the data transformation to open and re-usable data is investigated in a separate Open Research Data pilot project. The methodological approach will use the FAIR principles to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable. Every archaeological investigation in Austria has to be documented according to the requirements of the Austrian Federal Monuments Office. This documentation is deposited in the CERN-based EU supported research data repository ZENODO. For each deposited file, metadata are created through the application of the conceptual metadata schema CIDOC CRM, an ISO standard for Cultural Heritage Information, which was adopted by ARIADNE, the European Union Research Infrastructure for archaeological resources. Concepts specific to mining archaeology research are organized with the DARIAH Back Bone Thesaurus, a model for sustainable interoperable thesauri maintenance, developed in the European Union Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities. Metadata are created through the extraction of information from the documentation and the transformation to a knowledge graph using semantic web standards. To facilitate usage, graph data are exported to hierarchical and tabular formats representing sites and objects with their geographic locations, temporal and typological assignments and links to the research activities and documents. Metadata are deposited together with the documentation into the repository.

Development of a multiparametric characterisation protocol for chert investigation and application on the Gargano Promontory mines

A nondestructive multiparametric protocol for chert investigations (NM-PCI) was developed to provide objective criteria for raw material procurements and provenance investigations of archaeological cherts. For this purpose, macroscopic and mesoscopic characteristics (structures, textures and paleontological contents) were used to describe the main visible chert features as well as colourimetric and geochemical data acquired with portable devices. Data handling was performed by means of cluster analysis multivariate statistics, with an appropriate selection of algorithms to process and visualize mixed data matrices (partitioning around medoids (PAM), t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE)). The protocol was applied to chert samples from the Gargano Promontory (Italy, Apulia) mining complex located in the districts of Peschici, Vieste and Mattinata. These mines, exploited for approximately four millennia, constitute an exceptional prehistoric record of mining archaeology and, above all, a key tool to understand the Neolithisation process throughout the Adriatic region. A map of the primary and secondary chert sources of the Gargano Promontory was produced to manage field sampling of mine structures. Waste materials were selected for the geologic samples of the five mines. Due to their inaccessibility, the samples from two mines consisted exclusively of waste materials. The NM-PCI proved able to discriminate most of the analysed mines and is well suited to provenance investigations of archaeological lithic industries. Compared to previous geochemical studies, the nondestructive method proposed here improves geological resolution, allowing the discrimination of cherts within the same formation.

Geological Map of a Treasure Chest of Geodiversity: The Lavagnina Lakes Area (Alessandria, Italy)

The aim of this work is to present a new georeferenced geological map of an area in the Ligurian Western Alps (Lavagnina Lakes area) that includes both a unique geodiversity and great biodiversity, a peculiar geological heritage, and cultural features. The study area is located in the northern part of the Capanne di Marcarolo Regional Natural Park, occurring in the southern Piedmont Region (Alessandria, NW Italy) and close to the suburbs of Genoa. This area has been studied by multi-disciplinary scientific researchers who, so far, have focused their attention on the occurrence of alkaline springs and investigation of different endemic floral species. Moreover, in the past, the Lavagnina Lakes area has been exploited due to the presence of gold mineralization, and several mining records are still visible. We performed detailed geological mapping at a 1:10,000 scale, and collected data that were later integrated into a digital GIS map. The database associated with the map contains information that may be interesting from different points of view: (i) scientific research; (ii) outreach and dissemination activities; and (iii) geotourism (i.e., trail networks and panoramic viewpoints). The area represents a section of the Jurassic Piedmont Ligurian oceanic lithosphere, showing several geologic processes on different scales, such as the serpentinization process and intense and widespread carbonation of ultramafic rocks; the area is, moreover, characterized by fault systems showing paleoseismic structures. Beyond scientific research activities (i.e., geology, geoarchaeology, and mining archaeology), the area can also be promoted for geotourism, outreach and dissemination activities, field trips for schools, and gold panning activities. Hence, our new digital map and our 3D model could be a useful tool to illustrate the main characteristics of the area, leading a non-expert public to explore different geological features in a relatively “small” area. In this way, our map could help to improve geotourism, be used as a tool for educational activities, and, finally, could also help the Capanne di Marcarolo Regional Natural Park to be recognized as a geopark.

The archaeology of contemporary artisanal gold mining at Mutanda Site, Eastern Zimbabwe

ABSTRACTIn this paper I seek to redefine how we might go about doing archaeology in a way that effectively decolonizes it by collaborating with local communities in research projects. My emphasis is on mining archaeology in precolonial and contemporary settings with a view to contributing to documenting and understanding indigenous African gold mining practices. I achieve this through an empirical illustration of a collaborative archaeological excavation undertaken at Mutanda Site in Eastern Zimbabwe and how we interpreted the recovered material culture jointly, using dialogical ethnographic engagements with community members. The paper also illustrates that gold mining in this area heavily relies upon indigenous knowledge of the past and its application in the present. Interpretation of material culture recovered during the excavation occurred using ethnographic analogies and ritual beliefs that are associated with mining in the area. Thus, a social process of knowledge production developed within this collaborative research.

Recent perspectives on a neglected category of heritage. Roman mining in the “Golden Quadrilateral”

Research on mining archaeology in Romania focused – mostly – on the historical interpretation of earlier mentions and very little on proper documentation (archaeological and topographic) of this peculiar type of vestiges. Only in the late 1990’ the first scientific approach to mining archaeology was undertaken in the framework of a Romanian-French cooperation, initially in the area of the Pianu Valley (Alba County) and later in the Roșia Montană – Bucium area, in the context of the “ Alburnus Maior” National Research Program. In this context, the area of the “ Golden Quadrilateral”, especially Roșia Montană, benefitted from a series of systematic mining archaeological research, both on the surface and underground. Despite the important results yielded by the research lasting more than a decade at Roșia Montană, by a national research program (halted later on), the field of ancient mining heritage in the “ Golden Quadrilateral” is deeply neglected, with deep inconsistencies between what is happening in Romania and the international developments in this field. The paper lists the issues approached during the last 15 years concerning mining archaeology and related heritage in Romania, bringing to the public’s attention a new approach concerning the latter’s documentation according to specific international practice.

Interdisciplinary characterisation and environmental imprints of mining and forestry in the upper Durance valley (France) during the Holocene

The upper Durance valley contains the largest silver–lead mines of the French Southern Alps. We investigated the characterisation and impact of these mining activities and associated forestry in the Argentière (L'Argentière-La Bessée) and Faravel (Freissinières) districts using a multidisciplinary approach that includes archaeological, palynological, geochemical, anthracological and dendrochronological studies applied to mining remnants and a peat bog (Fangeas, in the Faravel district). More specifically, we studied the occurrence of lead contamination episodes, the chronology of mining activities and their link to the evolution in woodland cover. Our chronology is based on mining archaeology, radiocarbon dating of about thirty charcoal samples and the dendrochronological analysis of more than 170 specimens of exhumed waterlogged wood. The anthracological analysis was established with more than 10,000 charcoals from firesetting. The main geochemical approach was based on the analysis of lead and its stable isotopes in sediment fractions from a peat core. The combination of palynological records and lead isotope imprints were used to characterise (i) a Roman contamination episode unknown to archaeology, (ii) the development of medieval mining activities and (iii) the reactivation of mining during the Modern period and the Industrial Revolution. Medieval mining coincides with an extension of the high mountain agropastoral areas. The in situ continuous human activities in the same industrial territory led to rational communal management of subalpine forests, but also to their parcelling that reached its peak in the High Middle Ages. Mining during the Modern period coincides with significant stress on woodland areas that also appears to be related to lumber and fuel timber production for shipyards (French Royal Navy) as well as the functioning of several military fortresses. The mining reactivation during the 19th c. matched public measures of forest protection that took shape in the afforestation programme of the uplands.

Wieliczka Salt Mine and its history written in annual growth rings of spruce wood

This paper presents results of dendrochronological analysis of spruce wood from the Wieliczka Salt Mine, one of the oldest mines in Poland. The wood came from the first level of the mine, from casings of drifts, chambers, mineshafts, short shafts, galleries and chapels. The oldest wood, representing spruce trees cut down in the 15th century, appears in the Wałczyn, August and Dusząca chambers, Bąkle chamber and Powroźnik gallery, as well as the cast between the Kaczorowski and Sroki chambers. Younger wood, from the 16th and 17th century, was recognized in the Krupiński, Dusząca, Reyna and Weszki chambers, the Leszno and Karol galleries, the Sułów short shaft, and the Lizak chapel. The 18th–19th century wood appears in the August, Wałczyn, Dusząca, Rex and Kloski chambers, the Klemens gallery, the Piżmowa chapel, and the Wałczyn short shaft. In two excavations of the August and Weszki chambers, fragments of 20th century wood were recognized. Wood from old mines is a valuable source of information on history of the mining excavations or tools used in the mines. It also allows extending the scope of research of the mining archaeology

Review: Mining Archaeology in the American West: A View from the Silver State, by Donald L. Hardesty

Review: <i>Mining Archaeology in the American West: A View from the Silver State</i>, by Donald L. Hardesty

The mineral wealth of ancient Arabia and its use I: Copper mining and smelting at Feinan and Timna – comparison and evaluation of techniques, production, and strategies

Near Eastern fieldwork in mining archaeology and archaeometallurgy began at Timna (Israel) in the 1960s and 1970s and continued in Feinan (Jordan) in the 1980s and 1990s. For the first time, Bronze Age copper mines were excavated and cleared and importance was given to the slag recovered. At both sites copper was produced for over 5000 years, from the Chalcolithic to the Mamluk periods. Although the broad outlines of technical development can be traced, much remains to be learned in future studies.

Lead Mining Archaeology in the Yorkshire Dales

This article explores how new research is transforming our understanding of the lead mining landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales. The bold assessments made by pioneers such as Arthur Raistrick are being overturned, as detailed field evidence challenges and overturn previous assumptions. The article puts forward new arguments with regard to the influence of geology on mine morphology and the dating of workings, and explores how new Global Position System technology is changing surveying techniques, allowing much higher resolution of detail. It presents a detailed analysis of the recently surveyed sites in the Yorkshire Dales that links above and below ground field evidence to the historical record. Finally it shows how mining archaeology gives researchers a rare and direct experience of the lives of people in the past.