Metal finds at the Middle and Late Bronze Age settlement of Scoglio del Tonno (Taranto, Apulia): results of archaeometallurgical analyses

Abstract

Scoglio del Tonno (Taranto) is a settlement with a strategic location in one of the best natural harbours of the Italian Peninsula. During the Late Bronze Age it was an emporion, a privileged and permanent landing place for ships sailing between the Aegean and Italian Peninsulas. Crucibles and a number of metal artefacts were found during its excavation (1899( , Quagliati 1900Säflund 1939); this work reports the quantitative analysis of these metal artefacts by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. All are made of copper alloys except for one piece, an eyelet pin made of a gold-silver-copper alloy. The examination of these objects and the analytical data obtained help reconstruct the functions of this site. Metal was systematically accumulated at Scoglio del Tonno, presumably to be shipped towards the eastern Mediterranean. The site highlights the exponential increase in northern Italian metal production during the Recent Bronze Age (ca. 14 th -13 th c. BC). RESUMEN

Handheld methods in archaeological research on large copper alloy assemblages: HH‐XRF against HH‐LIBS

“…(2010) give a 4–14% Sn range across all artefacts, corrosion not described; for Scoglio del Tonno, 10.9% is the average on drill‐cleaned items (Bietti Sestieri et al . 2010). Stamelou et al .…”

“…2010, 2015; and Bietti Sestieri et al . 2010). XRF measurements are known frequently to be distorted by corrosion, and we expected HH‐LIBS might be helpful in its ability to burn through corrosion and characterise the underlying alloy, giving more representative readings of base metal composition.…”

“…Five other recent large‐scale X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) studies of bronze alloy artefacts in the east/central Mediterranean Late Bronze Age (LBA)/Early Iron Age (EIA) offer a good comparative context for the method and aims of the analytical work (Bietti Sestieri et al . 2010; Giumlia‐Mair et al . 2010, 2015; Charalambous et al .…”

“…(2010); use of drill cleaning on all sampled objects by Bietti Sestieri et al . (2010). Many earlier smaller Mediterranean museum studies using XRF were destructive in removing corrosion with abrasive paper/scalpel/drills (e.g., Catling and Jones 1977; Mangou and Ioannou 1997).…”

Socioeconomic Crisis and Cultural Innovation: The Lba‐eia East Mediterranean via a Case Study of Lasithi, Crete

“…At Kouklia Skales, Cyprus, post‐1200 BC grave finds show exceptional higher‐tin alloys being used specifically in ornamental items, a pattern echoed at south Italian sites (Bietti Sestieri et al . 2010; Giumlia‐Mair et al . 2010; Charalambous et al .…”