Iron Age Copper Research Articles

The stone-to-metal transition reflected in the Iron Age copper production sites of Timna Valley, Israel.

Metalwork was a major technological innovation that displaced stone-tool technologies and transformed human society and the environment. However, our understanding of these processes remains partial. In this paper, we approach the stone-to-metal transition from a novel angle-the presence of flint knapping at metal production sites. Drawing on excavations at the Late Bronze and Iron Age copper smelting sites in Timna Valley, Israel, we demonstrate that systematic production of expedient stone tools was integral to these sites' industrial operations, placing it at the heart of the very same metal circulation networks that were presumably responsible for its displacement. The observations from Timna, coupled with evidence for the use of chipped stone technology in other early Iron Age metallurgical contexts, support the hypothesis that it was probably both the high accessibility of iron and its qualities that put an end to the stone tool industry. Copper and bronze could not easily fulfill the function of the ad hoc stone tools and were not used to replace stone tools even if they were available and accessible.

A not so isolated fringe: Dutch later prehistoric (c. 2200 BCE-AD 0) bronze alloy networks from compositional analyses on metals and corrosion layers

Using a corpus of over 370 compositional analyses of Dutch Bronze Age and Iron Age (c. 2000 BCE AD 0) copper alloy artefacts, long-term patterns in the types of alloys used for specific bronze objects are identified. As the Low Countries are devoid of copper ores and alloying elements, a combination of typo(chrono)logical and compositional analysis is used to identify through which European contact networks (such as Atlantic, Central European or Nordic exchange networks) these alloys were obtained. We employ a methodology that (following Bray et al., 2015) defines alloy groups by presence of As, Sb, Ag and Ni over 0.1 %wt, but expanded this classification to include Pb and to track high-impurity (>1%wt) alloys. Due to interfering soil-derived iron hydroxides, and preferent dissolution of copper from the objects’ surface, the determination of tin is in most cases overestimated when using p-XRF, so Sn was not systematically reviewed. Objects were assigned a calendar age in years BCE to facilitate chronological sorting. Using this classification, we could show how different alloys (using different base ores) were used in different periods, and in different combinations. Moreover, particular alloys were used for different groups of functional types of objects. Also, we show diachronic differences in the influx of new (or less frequently mixed) alloys and chronological trends in the substitution of As by Sn as main alloying element in the Early Bronze Age as well as the rise of leaded alloys at the close of the Bronze Age. Combining information on the composition of the objects with their typological traits, allowed us to reconstruct the scales and geographic scopes of the European contact networks in which the copper alloys used throughout later prehistory were obtained.

Fuel exploitation and environmental degradation at the Iron Age copper industry of the Timna Valley, southern Israel

Economic and industrial progress frequently comes at the expense of environmental sustainability. For the early Iron Age (~ eleventh to ninth centuries BCE) smelters of the ancient copper industry of the Timna Valley, southern Israel, where today the hyper-arid Aravah Desert provides sparse vegetation, woody fuel for metallurgical furnaces constituted the greatest limiting factor for continued operations. This study presents the first investigation into the fuel sources relied upon by this industry during its most intensive period, as reflected by hundreds of charcoal samples collected from two well-stratified and chronologically anchored accumulations of industrial waste. The two sites demonstrate similar results: a heavy reliance on the local vegetation, particularly Retama raetam (white broom) and the ecologically significant Acacia spp. (acacia thorn trees), two high-calorific and high-burning taxa best suited for such purposes. It was also observed that over the course of the industry, the search for fuel expanded, as evidenced by the later appearance of taxa unsuited for the prevailing regional conditions, hinting at the detrimental toll the industry took on the local ecosystem. Altogether, it is suggested that the lucrative copper industry ended due to limits in the availability of fuel, caused by anthropogenic hastening of desertification and environmental degradation.

Early evidence of royal purple dyed textile from Timna Valley (Israel).

In the context of a broad study aimed at examining dyeing technologies in the Timna textiles collection, three samples of prestigious fibers dyed with murex sea snail were identified. Our identification is based on the presence of 6-monobromoindigotin and 6,6-dibromoindigotin components (detected using HPLC analysis), which is considered unequivocal evidence for the use of murex-derived purple dyestuff. Furthermore, by comparing the analytical results with those obtained in a series of controlled dyeing experiments we were able to shed more light on the specific species used in the dyeing process and glean insights into the ancient dyeing technology. The samples originated from excavations at the extensive Iron Age copper smelting site of “Slaves’ Hill” (Site 34), which is tightly dated by radiocarbon to the late 11th–early 10th centuries BCE. While evidence for the important role of purple dyes in the ancient Mediterranean goes back to the Middle Bronze Age (early 2nd millennium BCE), finds of dyed textiles are extremely rare, and those from Timna are the oldest currently known in the Southern Levant. In conjunction with other observations of the very high quality of the Timna textiles, this provides an exceptional opportunity to address questions related to social stratification and organization of the nomadic society operating the mines (early Edom), the “fashion” of elite in the region during the early Iron Age, trade connections, technological capabilities, and more.

Up the Wadi: Development of an Iron Age Industrial Landscape in Faynan, Jordan

ABSTRACT In 2014, the Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project renewed excavations at Khirbat al-Jariya (KAJ), an Iron Age copper smelting site in Faynan, Jordan. Located roughly 3 km from the prominent smelting center Khirbat en-Nahas (KEN), KAJ was an integral component of Early Iron Age (ca. 1200–800 b.c.) copper production in Faynan, one of the largest copper ore deposits in the southern Levant. To date, the site had only been investigated by surveys and limited excavation; the 2014 excavations opened two areas (the largest extant building and a slag mound sounding) to explore the social dynamics and temporal intricacies of copper production. The excavation results, detailed site remapping, paleobotanical analysis, and new radiocarbon dates suggest KAJ more rapidly developed into a large-scale copper production center than previously believed, likely as a strategic expansion to the industry at KEN. This reinterpretation sheds new light on the development of the Iron Age industrial landscape in Faynan.

The Architectural Bias in Current Biblical Archaeology

Abstract This paper aims at highlighting a methodological flaw in current biblical archaeology, which became apparent as a result of recent research in the Aravah’s Iron Age copper production centers. In essence, this flaw, which cuts across all schools of biblical archaeology, is the prevailing, overly simplistic approach applied to the identification and interpretation of nomadic elements in biblical-era societies. These elements have typically been described as representing only one form of social organization, which is simple and almost negligible in historical reconstructions. However, the unique case of the Aravah demonstrates that the role of nomads in shaping the history of the southern Levant has been underestimated and downplayed in the research of the region, and that the total reliance on stone-built archaeological features in the identification of social complexity in the vast majority of recent studies has resulted in skewed historical reconstructions. Recognizing this “architectural bias” and understanding its sources have important implications on core issues in biblical archaeology today, as both “minimalists” and “maximalists” have been using stone-built architectural remains as the key to solving debated issues related to the geneses of Ancient Israel and neighboring polities (e.g., “high” vs. “low” Iron Age chronologies), in which— according to both biblical accounts and external sources—nomadic elements played a major role.

Early evidence (late 2nd millennium BCE) of plant-based dyeing of textiles from Timna, Israel.

In this article, we focus on the analysis of dyed textile fragments uncovered at an early Iron Age (11th-10th centuries BCE) copper smelting site during new excavations in the Timna Valley conducted by the Central Timna Valley (CTV) Project, as well as those found by the Arabah Expedition at the Hathor Temple (Site 200), dated to the Late Bronze/early Iron Ages (13th-11th centuries BCE). Analysis by HPLC-DAD identified two organic dyestuffs, Rubia tinctorum L. and indigotin, from a plant source (probably Isatis tinctoria L.). They are among the earliest plants known in the dyeing craft and cultivated primarily for this purpose. This study provides the earliest evidence of textiles dyed utilizing a chemical dyeing process based on an industrial dyeing plant from the Levant. Moreover, our results shed new light on the society operating the copper mines at the time, suggesting the existence of an elite that was interested in these high quality textiles and invested efforts in procuring them by long-distance trade.

The Iron Age copper industrial complex: A preliminary study of the role of ground stone tools at Khirbat en-Nahas, Jordan

The first industrial revolution in the southern Levant crystallized during the Iron Age when copper production reached scales never before seen in this part of the Middle East. Ever since copper ore was first smelted during the Chalcolithic period, the Arabah valley, and its widespread distribution of copper mineralization, was the main source for copper ore in the region. The main ore deposits are located in Timna (Israel) in the southern part of the valley, and some 105 km to the north, in the Faynan region (Jordan). Faynan is the largest copper ore resource zone in the southern Levant. Excavations at the Iron Age Faynan site of Khirbat en-Nahas and the recent final publication of that project have revealed peaks in industrial-scale production during the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. However, the role of ground stone tools in the Iron Age copper industry in Faynan has not been systematically presented. This paper presents a preliminary study of the ground stone assemblage from one excavation season at Khirbat en-Nahas, thereby highlighting the great potential for ground stone tools research at the site. Using the chaîne opératoire method of technological study, this paper takes a quantitative approach to the typological, material, and spatial distribution of ground stone artefacts at Khirbat en-Nahas to understand their role in copper production. Ethnoarchaeological study of hereditary bronze casting workshops in southern India provides a compelling model of how ground stone tools played a critical role in one of the most important dimensions of metal production in all periods - recycling - in an Iron Age copper factory.

The ground stone assemblage of a metal workers community: An unexplored dimension of Iron Age copper production at Timna

The systematic archaeological study of the Timna Valley began over 50 years ago. Since then it has become a key site for understanding ancient copper production technologies in the Near East and beyond. However, the fantastic quantity of ground stone tools which are present at the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age copper smelting sites were never systematically studied. Questions regarding their origin, distribution, typologies, and especially their role within the chaîne opératoire of copper production, were seldom addressed. Although surprising, this has been the case for almost all of the excavated metal production sites around the world.In the framework of the renewed excavations at several of the copper smelting sites at Timna, a pioneering study was conducted in which more than 1000 ground stone tools were identified and registered. These tools include, among others, grinding stones, pounders, anvils and mortars; most were manufactured of compacted sandstone and granite, exposed in several locations in the valley. In this paper we present a typology and quantitative analysis of the ground stone tools which were used by the metal workers, and offer an interpretation of how the various types of tools were employed as part of the copper production process. This provides new insights regarding the smelting process and the conditions needed for its successful outcome.

A Bronze Age Round Barrow Cemetery, Pit Alignments, Iron Age Burials, Iron Age Copper Working, and Later Activity at Four Crosses, Llandysilio, Powys

Excavation undertaken at the Upper Severn valley round barrow cemetery at Four Crosses, Llandysilio, Powys, between 2004 and 2006 has increased the known barrows and ring ditches to some twenty-seven monuments within this complex, and revealed additional burials. Based on limited dating evidence, and the data from earlier excavations, the majority of the barrows are thought to be constructed in the Bronze Age. The barrows are considered part of a larger linear cemetery. The landscape setting and wider significance of this linear barrow cemetery are explored within this report. Dating suggests two barrows were later, Iron Age additions. The excavation also investigated Iron Age and undated pit alignments, Middle Iron Age copper working and a small Romano-British inhumation cemetery and field systems. Much of this evidence reflects the continuing importance of the site for ritual and funerary activity.

Tripod cauldrons produced at Olympia give evidence for trade with copper from Faynan (Jordan) to South West Greece, c. 950–750 BCE

The large assemblages of tripod cauldrons excavated in Greek sanctuaries are well suited to trace the Early Iron Age copper trade. In this pilot study, chemical and lead isotope data of 11 tripod cauldrons from the Zeus sanctuary of Olympia are presented and discussed.For sampling, we selected tripod cauldrons that, according to recent chemical analyses of adhering remains of the casting ceramics, had been produced (cast) on the site of Olympia itself. Chronologically, these samples cover a time span between ca. 950 and 750BCE.Lead isotope analysis (LIA) and chemical bulk analysis indicate that the copper of all tripod-cauldrons under study was produced in the Wadi Arabah, more precisely in Faynan (Jordan). Our findings point to the existence of a well-organized Levantine - Aegean copper trail, active at least between c. 950 and 750BCE. This result is the first direct evidence for the exchange of commodities between the southern Levant and Greece in this period.

The “Tin Problem” in the Prehistoric Near East: Further Insights from a Study of Chemical Datasets on Copper Alloys from Iran and Mesopotamia

A great number of ancient bronzes have been recovered in the Near East, but the source of the tin used for their production remains elusive. This paper proposes new insights into the “tin problem” by using a “big data” approach. Chemical analyses of over 5000 Bronze Age and Iron Age copper alloys from Iran and neighbouring regions have been assembled. By interrogating this dataset within a suitable framework we can now show that different systems of exchange existed, where tin was added at different stages in the process, and we highlight the likely importance of tin sources in western Iran during the Iron Age.

NEW INSIGHTS ON THE COPPER MINES OF WADI FAYNAN/JORDAN

The article reviews archaeological surveys and excavations in the area of the Wadi Faynan, together with various dating proposals. In particular, the results so far published of the San Diego expedition under Thomas Levy and of the possible connection between Iron Age copper mining and the biblical King Solomon are considered, along with the necessity of utilizing evaluation of the material remains by conventional archaeological means (stratigraphy, ceramic typology) alongside laboratory analysis, and not the latter alone.

Late Bronze and Early Iron Age copper smelting technologies in the South Caucasus: the view from ancient Colchis c. 1500–600 BC

Many of the arguments for how and why people began to use iron in Southwest Asia rely on assumptions about the technology and relative organization of copper and iron smelting. However, research on the technological transformations of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age suffers from a lack of investigation of primary metal production contexts, especially in regions outside the Levant. The current research examines metal production debris from a large number of smelting sites in western Georgia, and addresses questions of technology and resource utilization through detailed examination of few select sites. Through the chemical and mineralogical analysis of slag samples, we demonstrate the existence of an extensive copper-production industry and reconstruct several key aspects of the smelting technology during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. Combining a statistical analysis of slag mineralogy with other lines of evidence, we argue that copper was extracted from sulfide ores through a process of roasting and smelting in deep pit furnaces. The data also suggest that metalworkers at different sites exploited different ore sources within the same ore body. These results form a fundamental basis for further examination of spatial and chronological patterns of technological variation, with implications for models of Near Eastern copper production in this crucial period. Intriguing evidence of bloomery iron smelting, though currently undated, reinforces the region's potential to provide data on a key technological transformation.

A New Chronological Framework for Iron Age Copper Production at Timna (Israel)

This paper presents the results of the 2009 excavations at Site 30 in the Timna Valley, Israel. The results, coupled with a suite of 11 new radiocarbon dates, fix the chronology of the site between the 11th and 9th centuries B.C.E. and challenge the previous chronological framework of the copper production activities in the southern Arabah Valley. The paper also presents a striking correlation between Site 30 and the recently reported archaeological record of Iron Age Faynan, indicating technological and social unity between the two regions. In light of the new results and reexamination of previously published materials, we suggest that the peak in copper production in the southern Arabah occurred after the Egyptians had left their small outpost at Timna; this activity was an offshoot of the more elaborate enterprise at Faynan. The well-organized Iron Age copper production in the Arabah Valley was based on local initiatives and conducted by local seminomadic tribes, probably belonging to the Edomite polity.

Geomagnetic field intensity: How high can it get? How fast can it change? Constraints from Iron Age copper slag

The intensity of the geomagnetic field varies over different time scales. Yet, constraints on the maximum intensity of the field as well as for its maximum rate of change are inadequate due to poor temporal resolution and large uncertainties in the geomagnetic record. The purpose of this study is to place firm limits on these fundamental properties by constructing a high-resolution archaeointensity record of the Levant from the 11th century to the early 9th century BCE, a period over which the geomagnetic field reached its maximum intensity in Eurasia over the past 50,000years. We investigate a 14C-dated sequence of ten layers of slag material, which accumulated within an ancient industrial waste mound of an Iron Age copper-smelting site in southern Israel. Depositional stratigraphy constrains relative ages of samples analyzed for paleointensity, and 14C dates from different horizons of the mound constrain the age of the whole sequence. The analysis yielded 35 paleointenisty data points with accuracy better than 94% and precision better than 6%, covering a period of less than 350years, most probably 200years. We construct a new high-resolution quasi-continuous archaeointensity curve of the Levant that displays two dramatic spikes in geomagnetic intensity, each corresponding to virtual axial dipole moment (VADM) in excess of 200 ZAm2. The geomagnetic spikes rise and fall over a period of less than 30years and are associated with VADM fluctuations of at least 70 ZAm2. Thus, the Levantine archaeomagnetic record places new constraints on maximum geomagnetic intensity as well as for its rate of change. Yet, it is not clear whether the geomagnetic spikes are local non-dipolar features or a geomagnetic dipolar phenomenon.

The beginning of Iron Age copper production in the southern Levant: new evidence from Khirbat al-Jariya, Faynan, Jordan

The authors have explored the workplace and house of copper workers of the early Iron Age (twelfth to tenth century BC) in Jordan's Wadi Faynan copper ore district, showing that it belongs in time between the collapse of the great Bronze Age states and the arrival of Egyptians in the area under Sheshonq I. They attribute this production to local tribes – perhaps those engaged in building the biblical kingdom of Edom.

The Iron Age Pottery from Khirbat en-Nahas, Jordan: A Preliminary Study

The 2002 excavations at the Iron Age copper metal production center of Khirbat en-Nahas have sparked lively scholarly debate concerning the dating of the Iron Age in southern Jordan as well as the processes that led to the rise of the biblical/historical kingdom of Edom. Until now, the important ceramic data from these excavations have been lacking in this debate. Here, the first detailed preliminary analysis of the Iron Age ceramic assemblage from this industrial site is presented. This new ceramic study provides an important data set, along with previously published high-precision radiocarbon dates and other artifacts for considering the emergence of Iron Age local social complexity during the 10th through 9th century B.C.E.—and perhaps as early as the 11th century B.C.E.

Analysis of the fuel wood used in Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age copper mining sites of the Schwaz and Brixlegg area (Tyrol, Austria)

Charcoal analysis was carried out as part of an interdisciplinary project focusing on the copper mining history of the former mining area of Schwaz and Brixlegg, a region pivotal as a copper source in prehistoric Europe. The goal was to use remains of carbonised wood to investigate environmental implications of prehistoric mining, as well as to gain new insight about the ancient mining technique of fire-setting. Charcoal samples from seven copper mining sites (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age) were analysed. The results reveal a strong preference for coniferous wood as fuel in fire-setting, but not in ore smelting/roasting processes. Species composition at the ore-processing sites indicates moderate forest degradation processes caused by human intervention.

Ancient Raw Copper from Primary Smelting Sites in Cyprus

ABSTRACTFinds of metallic copper from various primary smelting sites in the Sia valley in Cyprus have been analysed by ICP-OES for their composition and by optical and electron microscopy for metallography. Results show a characteristic pattern of impurities for each of the sites examined which allow an assignment to specific types of ore body and geological matrix. Different zones of the Cyprus Ophiolite Complex were exploited in different periods in antiquity, but these results show different types could be exploited contemporaneously within a specific period, especially during the first millennium BC. One location in this area, Agia Varvara-Almyras, an Iron Age copper smelting site with the only complete chain of operation recorded in ancient Cypriote metallurgy, is used to show how analytical work can guide future field surveys to find ancient furnaces, slag heaps and mines. The ultimate goal of the project is to extend it to reconstruct the complete history of copper production in a well-defined mining district over the last 4000 years.