Late Bronze Age Copper Smelting Slags from Luserna (Trentino, Italy): Interpretation of the Metallurgical Process

Addis, Anna; Angelini, Ivana; Nimis, Paolo; Artioli, Gilberto

doi:10.1111/arcm.12160

Cited by 42 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The earliest evidences of human occupation date back to the Late and Final Bronze Age (approximately twelfth to the eleventh century bc ) and consist of a series of kilns and furnaces connected to the metallurgy of copper. These productive structures are concentrated at the edge of (often still active) mountain pools, which are the only water supply in this karst environment (De Guio, ; Addis et al , ; Artioli et al , ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Object‐based Shell Craters Classification from LiDAR‐derived Sky‐view Factor

Magnini

Bettineschi

Guio

2016

Archaeological Prospection

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This paper presents the results of the first attempt to assess, identify and quantify the residual number of shell craters of World War I currently present in the Vezzena/Luserna/Lavarone Plateau, areas of Millegrobbe, Bisele and Cima Campo (Province of Trento, Italy). Historical sources report the existence of several thousand artillery explosions: therefore, a field survey or a classic photo-interpretation would be labour-intensive and highly time-consuming. For this reason, a digital terrain model (DTM) of the test-site was processed using the Sky-view Factor algorithm and was analysed with an object-based approach, which implied: (1) multiresolution segmentation; (2) classification (main features considered size, shape and colour). The automatically classified shell craters were thus verified during an in situ survey that determined the accuracy of the method in the order of 84% of the total occurrences.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Object‐based Shell Craters Classification from LiDAR‐derived Sky‐view Factor

Magnini

Bettineschi

Guio

2016

Archaeological Prospection

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“…The Bronze Ages are based on radiocarbon dating of wood inclusions in slags and go back to~3000-2000 BC [22]. The microstructures and composition of slags from Luserna [20] show many similarities with the two Casaccia copper slags described here. It is likely that they are also Prehistoric, though no age determinations have been performed and there is no proof of that assumption.…”

Section: Prehistoric Copper Mining In the Eastern Alpsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Significant prehistoric copper mining occurred in the Oberhalbstein, north of the Casaccia locality [12,26,[59][60][61], in the Inn valley and Silvretta region [14][15][16]18,62], and around Luserna in Trentino-Italy [19][20][21]. The Bronze Ages are based on radiocarbon dating of wood inclusions in slags and go back to~3000-2000 BC [22].…”

Section: Prehistoric Copper Mining In the Eastern Alpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ancient metallurgy in Europe has been of longstanding interest [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] and particularly prehistoric copper production in the eastern Alps received a lot of attention such as the the Oberhalbstein in Graubünden (Switzerland) [12], Montafon [13,14], the Silvretta region [15], Kitzbühel [16], Mitterberg [16,17] and Obersteiermark [18] in Austria and the Trentino region in northern Italy [19][20][21][22]. Similar Bronze Age activities have been described from the Western Alps [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Slags as Evidence for Copper Mining above Casaccia, Val Bregaglia (Central Alps)

Wenk

Tamura

et al. 2019

Minerals

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Slags from the remote Mota Farun locality above Casaccia (Val Bregaglia, Swiss Alps) have been analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and microfocus synchrotron X-ray diffraction to determine mineralogical composition and microstructures. Non-magnetic slag samples are largely composed of euhedral and dendritic iron-rich olivine in a glassy matrix. Locally there are zones with globular inclusions rich in bornite ((Cu5Fe)S4) and locally metallic copper. Some regions display dendritic pentlandite ((Fe,Ni)9S8). Magnetic samples are mainly composed of fayalite (Fe2SiO4) and wüstite (FeO), with minor magnetite (Fe3O4). The mineralogical composition indicates that slags were the product of copper smelting. The slag compositions and morphologies are analogous to slags described from the Oberhalbstein (Graubünden, Switzerland) and the Trentino Alps (Italy) which are attributed to metallurgical exploitations of the Late Bronze Age. While the origin of the ore could not be determined, it may be related to ore deposits of chalcopyrite in greenschists and serpentinites in the vicinity, such as Alp Tgavretga (Septimer Pass) and Val Perossa (Val Bregaglia).

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“…The exploitation of copper ores in the Italian eastern Alps in prehistory is documented through numerous smelting sites. Two main peaks of activity have been identified: one in the Late Chalcolithic (2500-2200 BCE) and into the Early Bronze Age (2200-1650/1600 BCE) and another during the Italian Recent and Final Bronze Age (1350/1300-950 BCE) (Cierny, 2008;Angelini et al, 2013;Addis et al, 2016;Artioli et al, 2016;Canovaro et al, 2019). A dynamic mining and trading system appeared already during the Chalcolithic, when copper trade networks had been established between central Italy and the Alps, connecting the early Copper Age cultures in the area (Artioli et al, 2017;Dolfini et al, 2020).…”

Section: Metal Circulation and Cultural Exchange -Setting The Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

Rock Art and Trade Networks: From Scandinavia to the Italian Alps

Melheim

Sand-Eriksen

2020

Open Archaeology

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This article uses rock art to explore potential bonds between Scandinavia and Italy, starting in the second half of the third millennium BCE with the enigmatic Mjeltehaugen burial monument in coastal western Norway and its striking rock art images, and ending in the first millennium BCE with ship motifs in inland Val Camonica, Italy. While the carved dagger on the Mjeltehaugen slab is unique in its Nordic setting, such weapon depictions are frequently seen on the Continent, e.g. in South Tyrol, and more often in later Nordic rock art. Strong evidence of trade relations between the Italian Alps and Scandinavia is found c. 1500–1100 BCE when the importation of copper from South Tyrol coincided with two-way transmission of luxury items, and again in a different form, c. 1000–700 BCE when strong similarities in burial traditions between the two areas may be seen as evidence of direct cultural connections or a shared cultural koiné. In order to understand the social fabric of these relations and how they unfolded through time, the authors discuss several different models of interaction. It is hypothesised that rock art practices played a role in establishing and maintaining durable social relations, through what we consider to be a two-way transmission of symbolic concepts and iconography during seasonal meetings related to trade and travel.

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Late Bronze Age Copper Smelting Slags from Luserna (Trentino, Italy): Interpretation of the Metallurgical Process

Cited by 42 publications

References 18 publications

Object‐based Shell Craters Classification from LiDAR‐derived Sky‐view Factor

Object‐based Shell Craters Classification from LiDAR‐derived Sky‐view Factor

Slags as Evidence for Copper Mining above Casaccia, Val Bregaglia (Central Alps)

Rock Art and Trade Networks: From Scandinavia to the Italian Alps

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