Bronze Iron Age Research Articles

Проушные металлические топоры Обь-Иртышского междуречья: тенденции изменений форм в конце эпохи бронзы и начале раннего железного века

Проушные металлические топоры Обь-Иртышского междуречья: тенденции изменений форм в конце эпохи бронзы и начале раннего железного века

On the Curious Date of the Rylstone Log-Coffin Burial

Radiocarbon dates have been obtained from a log-coffin burial excavated in 1864 by Canon William Greenwell from a ditched round barrow at Scale House, near Rylstone, North Yorkshire. The oak tree-trunk coffin had contained an extended body wrapped in a wool textile. The body had entirely decayed and there were no other extant grave goods. In the absence of other grave goods, Greenwell attributed the burial to the Bronze Age because it lay under a ditched round barrow and had similarities with log-coffin burials from Britain and Denmark. This attribution has not been questioned since 1864 despite a number of early medieval log-coffin burials subsequently being found in northern Britain. Crucially, the example excavated near Quernmore, Lancashire in 1973, was published as Bronze Age but subsequently radiocarbon dated to ad 430–970. The Rylstone coffin and textile were radiocarbon dated to confirm that the burial was Early Bronze Age and not an early medieval coffin inserted into an earlier funerary monument. Unexpectedly, the dates were neither Early Bronze Age nor early medieval but c. 800 bc, the cusp of the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition in Britain. The burial at Rylstone is, therefore, one of only two sites in Britain, and is unparalleled elsewhere in north-western Europe at a time when disposal of the dead was primarily through dispersed cremated or unburnt disarticulated remains.

Marine response to climate changes during the last five millennia in the central Mediterranean Sea

We present a high-resolution paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the last five millennia from a shallow water marine sedimentary record from the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Gulf of Gaeta) using planktonic foraminifera, pollen, oxygen stable isotope, tephrostratigrapy and magnetostratigrapy. This multiproxy approach allows to evidence and characterize nine time intervals associated with archaeological/cultural periods: Eneolithic (base of the core–ca. 2410BCE), Early Bronze Age (ca. 2410BCE–ca. 1900BCE), Middle Bronze Age–Iron Age (ca. 1900BCE–ca. 500BCE), Roman Period (ca. 500BCE–ca. 550CE), Dark Age (ca. 550CE–ca. 860CE), Medieval Climate Anomaly (ca. 860CE–ca. 1250CE), Little Ice Age (ca. 1250CE–ca. 1850CE), Industrial Period (ca. 1850CE–ca. 1950CE), Modern Warm Period (ca. 1950CE–present day). The reconstructed climatic evolution in the investigated sedimentary succession is coherent with the short-term climate variability documented at the Mediterranean scale.By integrating the planktonic foraminiferal turnover from carnivorous to herbivorous–opportunistic species, the oxygen isotope record and the pollen distribution, we document important modification from the onset of the Roman Period to the present-day. From ca. 500CE upwards the documentation of the cooling trend punctuated by climate variability at secular scale evidenced by the short-term δ18O is very detailed. We hypothesise that the present day warm conditions started from the end of cold Maunder event. Additionally, we provide that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) directly affected the central Mediterranean region during the investigated time interval.

Microscopic study on some Iron Age bronze objects from Western Iran

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. The results showed that all objects were made of variable tin containing binary copper-tin alloy. It may be related to the application of an uncontrolled procedure to make bronze alloy. In some samples, lead and arsenic are detected as major elements, but they can be considered rather as impurities from the original ores. Different microstructural features such as elongated Cu–S inclusions as well as Pb globules are visible in the bronze matrix. Based on the metallographic examination, the bronze pieces are shaped by cycles of cold-working and annealing. The microstructure of Baba Jilan bronze objects is similar to other Iron Age bronze artefacts from different regions of Iran. In fact, process of bronze production in the Iron Age of Iran was to produce bronze alloy with different amounts of tin and without any third alloying element, using copper sulphidic or a mixture of copper sulphidic and oxidic ores to smelting copper, and applying working and heat treatment to shape and manufacture thin sheet objects.

Investigation on corrosion stratigraphy and morphology in some Iron Age bronze alloys vessels by OM, XRD and SEM–EDS methods

The recently study of the corrosion in some bronze artefacts from the Sangtarashan Iron Age site, western Iran, was established to identify corrosion morphology and mechanism in these objects. The corrosion layers in 22 samples were studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. The results showed that a thin corrosion crust has formed on the surface of bronzes with a triple-layer structure, including two internal and one external corrosion layers. The formation of these layers is due to copper leaching from the bronze surface. The internal corrosion part has been a compact, tin-rich corrosion/oxidation product (noble patina) with some evidences from original metallurgical aspects of the bronze as well as a very thin layer beneath the tin-rich layer. External corrosion products have been identified as basic copper carbonates, malachite and azurite. Based on the results, the corrosion morphology in the Sangtarashan Iron Age bronzes is due to long-term burial in an appropriate environment in a moderately corrosive soil. Although it is the first time to investigate Iron Age bronzes from Iran, this corrosion morphology is partially similar to type I corrosion morphology observed in archaeological bronze objects; nevertheless, some deviations are visible in comparison with previously established patterns.

Archaeometallurgical investigation of thirteenth–twelfth centuries BCE bronze objects from Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel

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 6.2wt% Sn and up to 4.0wt% 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.

БИОАРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДХОДЫ К ИЗУЧЕНИЮ СЛЕДОВ ИСКУССТВЕННОГО ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЯ НА ЧЕРЕП (на примере популяций эпохи бронзы и раннего железного века с территории Армении)

БИОАРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДХОДЫ К ИЗУЧЕНИЮ СЛЕДОВ ИСКУССТВЕННОГО ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЯ НА ЧЕРЕП (на примере популяций эпохи бронзы и раннего железного века с территории Армении)

Collapsing Commodities or Lavish Offerings? Understanding Massive Metalwork Deposition at Langton Matravers, Dorset During the Bronze Age-Iron Age Transition

Summary The discovery of 373 intact and broken tin-bronze socketed axes accompanied by 404 fragments in four pits at Langton Matravers collectively represents one of the largest hoards found to date in prehistoric Britain and Ireland. They were very probably never meant to be used as axes as the very high levels of tin they contain would have made them brittle. Many were poorly finished, with the majority still containing their casting cores. The axes are typologically dated to the Llyn Fawr metalwork phase (c.800–600 BC) and span the Bronze Age/Iron Age transition, when the production, circulation and deposition of bronze appear to have been substantially reduced throughout north-west Europe. By placing the Langton Matravers hoard(s) in a broader metallurgical, material and archaeological context, existing theories for this phenomenon, such as the preference for iron, a collapse in bronze supply, or the sharp devaluation of a social or ritual ‘bronze standard’, are evaluated. It is proposed that the Langton Matravers axes belong to a short phase in the centuries-long processes underlying the changing roles of bronze and iron.

New light on feasting and deposition: exploring accumulation history through taphonomic analysis at later prehistoric middens in Britain

This paper explores the potential of using taphonomic analysis to reconstruct broad-scale variation in patterns of consumption and deposition at six later prehistoric midden sites in the UK. These sites comprise large accumulations of material culture, dominated by faunal and ceramic fragments, presumed to result from feasting events during the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition. New artefact and landscape studies have refined the characterisation of these sites (Tubb 2011a, b; Waddington 2009), but little research has focussed on accumulation history. This research uses simple statistical analyses on a large dataset (NISP >20,000) to compare the prevalence of bone modifications between midden sites. Crucially, significant differences in modification are not interpreted directly. Additional tests are undertaken to assess whether variation in assemblage composition could account for differences in modification. Previous research has demonstrated that certain elements and the remains of certain taxa are more likely to exhibit modification, and consequently, a prevalence of these specimens could account for differences, rather than their resulting from varied depositional treatment (Madgwick and Mulville 2012). Therefore, patterns of modification are only interpreted once compositional differences can be discounted from responsibility. The study is intentionally broad in its focus and assesses whether large-scale inter-site differences in depositional practice can be reconstructed. Clear patterns are observed with some middens accumulating predominantly through rapid, large-scale deposits and others building up through smaller, more gradual deposits and being subject to greater disturbance and bone movement. These findings have implications for our understanding of ritualised consumption and deposition at the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition in Britain.

Swaledale's ‘Early Medieval Kingdom’ Revisited

Andrew has proposed that an early medieval kingdom occupied the upper end of Swaledale in North Yorkshire, based primarily on the suggestion that the westernmost of the Grinton-Fremington dykes post-dates a settlement of Romano-British origin. Based on new field surveys, this study argues that the settlement in question is probably of medieval origin, but in any case that the dyke is the earlier feature. Moreover, field boundaries associated with a recently recognised bona fide late Iron Age or Romano-British settlement close by certainly do post-date the dyke. Accordingly the westernmost dyke, and perhaps the other cross-valley dykes in the vicinity (but not necessarily the whole of the so-called ‘dyke system’), can be reassigned to the late Bronze Age or earlier Iron Age.

Artificial patination in Early Iron Age Europe: an analytical case study of a unique bronze artefact

Direct evidence for the intentional patination of metal objects is difficult to ascertain and therefore studies concerning this technique are controversial. Only a couple of objects with artificially patinated surfaces have been positively identified, ranging in date from the early 2nd millennium BC to Roman and medieval times. In this paper a skillfully crafted and coloured Early Iron Age bronze axe belonging to the Villanova culture of ancient Italy was selected for examination. Optical microscopy and multiple mineralogical analyses of the surface of this object demonstrate that it was patinated deliberately by a thermal treatment technology (thermal patination). So far, this Iron Age axe is the oldest European object where this technology had been applied.

Climatic signature of two mid–late Holocene fluvial incisions formed under sea-level highstand conditions (Pisa coastal plain, NW Tuscany, Italy)

Abstract A multi-proxy (stratigraphic, geomorphological, palynological, geophysical) study of mid–late Holocene deltaic–alluvial deposits beneath the Pisa Plain (Tuscany, Italy) reveals short-term enhances of fluvial activity under relative sea-level highstand (HST) conditions (last ~ 7000 cal yr BP). Early HST delta progradation led to the progressive infill of a broad lagoon area (~ 5000 cal yr BP), followed by the development of a stable alluvial depositional environment (~ 4000 cal yr BP). The intense phase of alluvial aggradation was punctuated by two events of enhanced fluvial incision that cut down to 10 m the underlying lagoonal substrate. The two erosive events, which reflect centennial-scale changes in the aggradation/degradation ratio, are chronologically constrained to the Eneolithic–Bronze age transition (~ 3800 cal yr BP) and to the Bronze–Iron age transition (2900–2800 cal yr BP), respectively. A detailed pollen profile highlights the correlation between these erosive events and two phases of increased humidity (Abies peaks 1 and 2) recorded in several sites of Europe. This correlation suggests a key-role of climate fluctuations in triggering channel incision. The peculiar high compressibility of the lagoonal substrate can also have acted as a factor able to foster the deepening of the channels. In contrast, the role of relative sea-level changes and human impact on the activation of the two erosive processes appears negligible.

Articles: Ethnicity in Archaeological Studies, based on a Case Study of East Pomerania during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (1100–400 BC)

Articles: Ethnicity in Archaeological Studies, based on a Case Study of East Pomerania during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (1100–400 BC)

Combining chemical data with GIS and PCA to investigate Phoenician–Punic Cu-metallurgy

This study focusses on the development and application of an innovative protocol which combines chemical data, GIS (geographical information system) and PCA, involving numeric (chemical composition) and categorical (typology of object, archaeological context, chronology and geographical areas) variables, as a simple tool to help in the visualisation and interpretation of large multidisciplinary datasets on Cu-based alloy archaeological artefacts influenced by Phoenician–Punic contacts. The protocol is a useful tool for highlighting existing connections between specific alloy chemical compositions, the location of the original settlement where the artefact had been produced and the proximity to mining resources, waterways, and allochthonous presence such as, in the specific case of this study, the Phoenician and Punic influence in the Iberian bronze production during the Late Bronze Age–Iron Age. The protocol was tested successfully in a case study concerning the precise dating and provenance of bronze statuettes of unknown age and provenance from the Evora Museum collection in Southern Portugal where it confirmed and further refined earlier hypotheses based solely on archaeological and/or chemical studies. The results were interpreted with a unique perspective, to validate the GIS system in combination with experimental chemical-physical data to yield the identification of metallurgical sites of bronze production.

Typology and function of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age cremation graves – a micro-regional case study

In Denmark, there has been little focus on characteristic differences between grave types from the transition period between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age with limited elaboration on the nature of the differences and on chronological variation. In nearby Scania, Sweden, a grave type classic for Southern Scandinavia, the ‘cremation pit’, has been interpreted as in situ remains of the actual cremation pyre, that is, a form of bustum. Here, we further explore this interpretation through both osteological and archaeological analyses of recently excavated graves from the Fraugde region on northern Funen, Denmark. In the Fraugde region, pyre debris in cremation graves clearly gain significance during the transition period from the Bronze Age towards the Pre-Roman Iron Age. The exclusive presence of cremation pits on the Pre-Roman Iron Age grave sites in contrast to the varied grave types present on the Bronze Age sites implies a change in cremation practice and technology during the transition peri...

Note préliminaire sur le site protohistorique de Punta di Casteddu (Sartène, Corse-du-Sud) / The protohistoric site of Punta di Casteddu (Sartène, Southern Corsica): a preliminary note

The protohistoric site of Punta di Casteddu is located in south-western Corsica, in the Sartenais region. It was discovered some twenty years ago and has recently been reassessed as part of an archaeological fieldwalking survey carried out within the research project “ Cauria, the megalithic site of Stazzona – I Stantari” directed by André D’Anna. The site was occupied and used from the middle of the Late Bronze Age to the middle of the Early Iron Age, i. e. the pre-and protohistoric periods by far the best represented in this micro-region. The site contains evidence of domestic activity including one or two houses and several clusters of rock cavities or shelters. Among the latter, the western group appears to have been extensively used, as shown by large quantities of material recovered from the surface, especially pottery. This pottery is typologically and technologically typical of the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition in this part of the island that probably saw a significant level of demographic growth and a remarkable degree of cultural unity from the end of the 2 nd millennium BC onwards. As a working hypothesis we interpret most rock cavities as having had a funerary use, suggesting for the first time that cremation may have taken place there, introduced to the island from north-western Italy at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age if not earlier. This would partly explain the absence of funerary contexts in this phase of Corsican protohistory.

Modeling Expansive Phenomena in Early Complex Societies: the Transition from Bronze Iron Age in Prehistoric Europe

The Bronze Age/Iron Age transition in Prehistoric Europe represents a perfect case study to test different and competing hypotheses of social dynamics and economic change in small-scale societies. The paper discusses the possibilities of modeling what could have happened in Europe between 1800 and 800 bc, in terms of spatiotemporal dynamics. The paper presents some theoretical aspects of the dynamic study of expansive phenomena and gives an overview of a computer model programmed to explain the way new burial forms expanded in Europe. The main idea is comparing classic demic diffusion models (spread of population), cultural transmission models (spread of ideas), and technological innovation diffusion model (spread of goods). We will present the fundamentals of a preliminary study towards the computational simulation of such hypothetical social mechanisms, using a dataset composed of more than 1,500 georeferenced and radiocarbon dated archaeological contexts of a period between the Early Bronze Age and the first Iron Age (1800–800 bc) from an area including the North-East of Iberian Peninsula, Southern France, Northern and Central Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Southern Germany.

Processes of Integration and Disintegration in Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Greece (1300 a 800 BC.)

O presente trabalho se propõe a pensar os processos de integração e desintegração na Grécia no final da Idade do Bronze e no início da Idade do Ferro. Assim sendo, pretendemos analisar a unidade cultural estruturada durante o período micênico e suas relações comerciais bem como a desintegração de ambas no final do segundo milênio e a configuração de um novo modelo baseado na distinção regional.

Dynamics of pioneer colonisation in the Early Iron Age in the Duero basin (Central Iberia, Spain): Integrating archaeological and palynological records

This study addresses the earliest strategies of permanent occupation in the mountainous regions bordering Northern Meseta in inland Iberia. This piece of work gathers together and discusses archaeological information about settlement in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age and previously published high-resolution palynological cores from three study areas. Its major goal is to assess both archaeological and pollen records in order to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of occupation and transformation of these upland settings. Until cal 700 BC there are no clear signs of permanence in the highlands surrounding the Duero basin, but from that point onwards various initiatives of small-scale spontaneous colonisation have been identified. Colonisation in the Iron Age involved pastoralism, cereal agriculture and a significant use of forestry resources, causing a major anthropogenic impact with irreversible consequences. The outlined account constitutes the first synthetic overview at a macro-regional scale on the beginnings of the integrated and diversified strategies implemented in these upland regions.

Impacts of cooling climate on prehistoric herding and farming strategies during the Bronze-Iron Age transition on the margins of the Eurasian steppe

Impacts of cooling climate on prehistoric herding and farming strategies during the Bronze-Iron Age transition on the margins of the Eurasian steppe