Archaeometallurgy in the Mediterranean: The Social Context of Mining, Technology, and Trade

Environmental and health effects of early copper metallurgy and mining in the Bronze Age

“…The production and use of copper and its alloys began earliest in Anatolia and the Near East by 8000 BCE, and spread from east to west through the Mediterranean, with the earliest sites dating from 5500 BCE (Kassianidou and Knapp 2008).…”

“…To get the high temperatures required to do this, furnaces and bellows had to be developed. Examples of these were discovered at the Wadi Faynan site and are thought to have been wind driven (Kassianidou and Knapp 2008).…”

“…However, there is conflicting support for this theory (McKerrell and Tylecote 1972;Branigan 1974). It is likely that a combination of the poisonous nature, rarity of arsenic ores and difficulties in manufacturing led to the reduction in the amount of arsenic bronze produced after the middle Bronze Age approximately 1600 BCE (Birmingham 1977;Kassianidou and Knapp 2008). Different ratios of tin or arsenic in copper change the characteristics of the bronze they produce.…”

“…However, these ores are a less common form of copper ore and are often associated with lead (De Jesus 1980). Tin bronze was introduced later than arsenic bronze and both alloys continued to be used, though the amount of arsenic bronze decreased over time (De Jesus 1980;Kassianidou and Knapp 2008). Interestingly, tin and arsenic bronze appear to have been kept actively separated, and not melted together, in either scrap form or after smelting, despite examples of both being used in the same object (De Jesus 1980).…”

“…Some are brightly coloured, and are often found in association with other, less vibrantly coloured, ores. The taste of water and presence of copper tolerating plants such as Silene inflate can also be used to identify copper ores (De Jesus 1980;Kassianidou and Knapp 2008).…”