New Hints of Metallurgical Activity on the Atlantic Coast of France in the Mid Third Millennium Bc: Overview and Perspectives on Beaker Metallurgy in Western Europe

Abstract

The site of L’anse de la République, Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, Vendée, France, belonging to the Beaker culture, was discovered by Roger Joussaume in the 1960s. It was subsequently investigated during the late 1980s and more recently in 2014. Several items excavated during these operations are clearly linked to metallurgy. This article assesses the results of new analyses (XRF, petrographic analysis, metallographic microscope observation, SEM and EDS microprobe analysis) undertaken on the different artefacts (copper residue, slags, smelting-crucible sherds), which allow the authors to assert that copper ore was smelted on the site. Radiocarbon dating of organic residue preserved on a ceramic sherd confirms the dating of the site to the earliest phase of the Beaker culture (2500 bc). The metallic copper produced here is characterised by two main impurities: arsenic and nickel. This provides an opportunity to review the extremely rare vestiges of Beaker metallurgy in France, which contrast with the numerous metal objects recovered. This article also considers the use of domestic smelting vessels for smelting ore; this technique may have been more widespread than previously thought in the Beaker culture on the Atlantic coast of Europe.

The Bell Beaker Phenomenon in Europe

“…Most of these buildings date to between 2430 and 2150 calBC and are thus not directly associated with the earliest Bell Beaker horizon. For instance, the site of Anse de la République, in Vendée, has recently been redated to the 25th and 24th centuries BC (Gandois et al 2020). This site is of particular interest as it has yielded direct evidence of copper metallurgy in the form of beaker sherds used as crucibles, which have direct parallels on other western French sites (e.g., Les Florentins: Billard et al 1998).…”

Interwoven traditions in Bell Beaker metallurgy: Approaching the social value of copper at Bauma del Serrat del Pont (Northeast Iberia)

“…Interestingly, smelting crucibles only occur in France from the middle of the 3 rd millennium BCE, an innovation related to the Bell Beaker phenomenon (e.g. Al Claus, Travers des Fourches, Serrer de Boidons, Courondes and Bousquets, La Republique II, L’anse de la République and Saut Châteauneuf-les-Martigues) [ 14 , 23 , 24 , 27 , 28 ].…”

Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses

“…This sparse evidence for the exploitation of metalliferous resources in south-western Britain and indeed western Europe (Gandois et al, 2020) during the EBA presents a paradox, as the Cornish peninsula is rich in copper, gold, and especially tin (Penhallurick, 1986;Timberlake, 2017;Radivojevićet al, 2018). Recent advances in analytical techniques, including isotopic analysis of artefacts and identification of potential ore sources, have revealed that traces of these metals from south-western England were probably present in Bronze Age artefacts (Rohl & Needham, 1998;Haustein et al, 2010;Bray & Pollard, 2012).…”