Boom and bust in Bronze Age Britain: major copper production from the Great Orme mine and European trade, <i>c</i>. 1600–1400 BC

Williams, R. A.; Veslud, Cécile Le Carlier de

doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.130

Cited by 22 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Within this range lie both the Slovakian and the East Alpine ores at Mitterberg [ 27 , 28 , 35 ]. Isotope group 3 (49 axes, 73%) discloses a very dense concentration and does not exceed 18.55 206 Pb /204 Pb and 15.63 207 Pb/ 204 Pb, which, in Europe, matches the English and Welsh mining areas, specifically the Great Orme mines [ 36 , 39 , 87 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remarkably, the range of group 3 axe values is tightly constrained, covering only a small region of the known values for the Mitterberg and Great Orme deposits ( Fig 11 ). This may well imply that both English/Welsh and East Alpine sources have to be considered as sources for our group 3, especially given that new trace element data from the Great Orme area [ 36 , 87 ] shows that the correlation Ni = As is not unique to copper from Mitterberg. Detailed investigations suggest that mixing of two, if not three, different raw materials (or metallic artefacts) was in fact used to produce the Nordic shaft-hole axes collected in isotope group 3.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The isotopic ratios of these artefacts match the signatures of British and Welsh ore deposits ( Fig 14 ). Even though the flanged axes generally show higher silver values and therefore present Sb–Ag ratios more likely compatible with Great Orme [ 36 , 87 ], the majority of these artefacts escape further classification because their trace elemental values lie in between the known trace element composition of East Alpine and Welsh deposits. By analogy with the shaft-hole axes of isotope group 3 and with cases of intentional reuse of LN II–NBA IA artefacts [see 1 , 2 ], this could tentatively be explained by mixing.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three groups are identifiable, and it is notable that all three include both axe types. Isotope group 1 (four axes, 6%) fully matches the isotope ratios of the Italian Alps [75] [36,39,87].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 92%

“…[86] for example at Mitterberg [1,35]). However, the Slovakian Ore Mountains, the Alto Adige, Trentino and Veneto in the Italian Alps of South Tyrol (AATV) and the Great Orme mining area in Wales show a similar relationship of nickel and arsenic [36,87], became available after 1600-1500 BC [88], and were within reach of the Nordic zone. The striking uniformity and predominance of a copper with low impurity levels suggesting smelting of chalcopyrite ores-in use at this time over large parts of non-Mediterranean Europe-have long puzzled researchers [89,90].…”

Section: Metal In the Nba 1600-1300 Bc: Low-impurity Copper Of Chalcopyrite Quality And Its Predominance From 1600 Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting networks and mixing metals: Changing metal trade routes to Scandinavia correlate with Neolithic and Bronze Age transformations

2021

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Based on 550 metal analyses, this study sheds decisive light on how the Nordic Bronze Age was founded on metal imports from shifting ore sources associated with altered trade routes. On-and-off presence of copper characterised the Neolithic. At 2100–2000 BC, a continuous rise in the flow of metals to southern Scandinavia begins. First to arrive via the central German Únětician hubs was high-impurity metal from the Austrian Inn Valley and Slovakia; this was complemented by high-tin British metal, enabling early local production of tin bronzes. Increased metal use locally fuelled the leadership competitions visible in the metal-led material culture. The Únětice downfall c.1600 BC resulted for a short period in a raw materials shortage, visible in the reuse of existing stocks, but stimulated direct Nordic access to the Carpathian basin. This new access expedited innovations in metalwork with reliance on chalcopyrite from Slovakia, as well as opening new sources in the eastern Alps, along an eastern route that also conveyed Baltic amber as far as the Aegean. British metal plays a central role during this period. Finally, from c.1500 BC, when British copper imports ceased, the predominance of novel northern Italian copper coincides with the full establishment of the NBA and highlights a western route, connecting the NBA with the southern German Tumulus culture and the first transalpine amber traffic.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Metal In the Nba 1600-1300 Bc: Low-impurity Copper Of Chalcopyrite Quality And Its Predominance From 1600 Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting networks and mixing metals: Changing metal trade routes to Scandinavia correlate with Neolithic and Bronze Age transformations

2021

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Was There a 3.2 ka Crisis in Europe? A Critical Comparison of Climatic, Environmental, and Archaeological Evidence for Radical Change during the Bronze Age–Iron Age Transition

Molloy

2022

J Archaeol Res

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The globalizing connections that defined the European Bronze Age in the second millennium BC either ended or abruptly changed in the decades around 1200 BC. The impact of climate change at 3.2 ka on such social changes has been debated for the eastern Mediterranean. This paper extends this enquiry of shifting human–climate relationships during the later Bronze Age into Europe for the first time. There, climate data indicate that significant shifts occurred in hydroclimate and temperatures in various parts of Europe ca. 3.2 ka. To test potential societal impacts, I review and evaluate archaeological data from Ireland and Britain, the Nordic area, the Carpathian Basin, the Po Valley, and the Aegean region in parallel with paleoclimate data. I argue that 1200 BC was a turning point for many societies in Europe and that climate played an important role in shaping this. Although long-term trajectories of sociopolitical systems were paramount in defining how and when specific societies changed, climate change acted as a force multiplier that undermined societal resilience in the wake of initial social disjunctures. In this way, it shaped, often detrimentally, the reconfiguration of societies. By impacting more directly on social venues of political recovery, realignment, and reorganization, climate forces accentuate societal crises and, in some areas, sustained them to the point of sociopolitical collapse.

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A small change revolution. Weight systems and the emergence of the first Pan-European money

Ialongo

Lago

2021

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Boom and bust in Bronze Age Britain: major copper production from the Great Orme mine and European trade, c. 1600–1400 BC

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 22 publications

References 17 publications

Shifting networks and mixing metals: Changing metal trade routes to Scandinavia correlate with Neolithic and Bronze Age transformations

Shifting networks and mixing metals: Changing metal trade routes to Scandinavia correlate with Neolithic and Bronze Age transformations

Was There a 3.2 ka Crisis in Europe? A Critical Comparison of Climatic, Environmental, and Archaeological Evidence for Radical Change during the Bronze Age–Iron Age Transition

A small change revolution. Weight systems and the emergence of the first Pan-European money

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