open access at : https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.8.1.0001 A recent reanalysis of compositional and lead isotope legacy data from the early silver hoards of the southern Levant (ca. twelfth–ninth centuries BCE)... more
open access at : https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.8.1.0001
A recent reanalysis of compositional and lead isotope legacy data from the early silver hoards of the southern Levant (ca. twelfth–ninth centuries BCE) identified that not only was most of this hacksilver mixed but that it probably derived from the Pyritic belt of southern Iberia, the Taurus mountains in Anatolia, and a third unknown source. We propose that the unknown component of Tel Dor’s hacksilver was silver potentially derived from ores mined at Kalavasos on Cyprus. The presence of Cypriot silver in the southern Levant complements finds of Phoenician pottery on Cyprus, supporting that there was continuity of trade from the end of the Bronze Age to the beginning of the Iron Age between Cyprus and the Levant. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the technology required to smelt and cupellate argentiferous jarosite ores was first practiced on Cyprus prior to risky and costly ventures to Iberia.
keywords: Tel Dor, silver, jarosite, Phoenicians, mixing lines, lead isotopes
A recent reanalysis of compositional and lead isotope legacy data from the early silver hoards of the southern Levant (ca. twelfth–ninth centuries BCE) identified that not only was most of this hacksilver mixed but that it probably derived from the Pyritic belt of southern Iberia, the Taurus mountains in Anatolia, and a third unknown source. We propose that the unknown component of Tel Dor’s hacksilver was silver potentially derived from ores mined at Kalavasos on Cyprus. The presence of Cypriot silver in the southern Levant complements finds of Phoenician pottery on Cyprus, supporting that there was continuity of trade from the end of the Bronze Age to the beginning of the Iron Age between Cyprus and the Levant. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the technology required to smelt and cupellate argentiferous jarosite ores was first practiced on Cyprus prior to risky and costly ventures to Iberia.
keywords: Tel Dor, silver, jarosite, Phoenicians, mixing lines, lead isotopes
The origins of the silver trade across the Mediterranean, and the role of the Phoeni - cians in this phenomenon, remain contentious. This is partly because of difficulties encountered when trying to assign archaeological silver... more
The origins of the silver trade across the Mediterranean, and the role of the Phoeni
-
cians in this phenomenon, remain contentious. This is partly because of difficulties
encountered when trying to assign archaeological silver to its geological sources.
Here we present a reanalysis of Iron Age silver hoards in the southern Levant, which
demonstrates not only that recycling of silver was widespread in the Early and Late
Iron Age, but that the components of this mixed silver originated from the Aegean,
Anatolia and the western Mediterranean. An assessment of lead isotope analyses
combined with compositional data allows the identification of mixing lines based
on gold levels in the silver and the Pb crustal age (or, more loosely, geological age)
of the ore from which the silver originated. It is shown that, from as early as the
11th century BC, these mixed silver signatures derive from the Taurus mountains in
Anatolia, from Iberia and an unknown source—with Sardinia as an additional pos
-
sibility—and Laurion in Greece in the Late Iron Age. In contrast to copper, which
was deliberately alloyed with silver, gold appears to have been mixed unintention
-
ally, through the melting down of silver objects with gold parts. It is suggested that
vertical mixing lines
(with constant Pb crustal age but variable Au), may indicate
the melting down and mixing of silver in times of unrest, both here and in other
contexts. Gold and lead concentrations in the silver indicate that native silver from
Iberia was most likely used in the Early Iron Age, suggesting that the first people to
convey silver to the southern Levant were not miners but traders who had acquired
silver directly from the indigenous Bronze Age inhabitants of Iberia. However, evi
-
dence of the exploitation of jarosite also supports that silver ore mining and cupel
-
lation was ongoing in Iberia at a similar time, and continued in the Late Iron Age—
potentially a result of technological transfer from the East. In essence, the western
Mediterranean origin of the silver in these Early Iron Age southern Levantine hoards
supports an emerging picture of Mediterranean interactions and trade relations in
the increasingly
bright
Dark Ages (c. 1200–800 BC).
-
cians in this phenomenon, remain contentious. This is partly because of difficulties
encountered when trying to assign archaeological silver to its geological sources.
Here we present a reanalysis of Iron Age silver hoards in the southern Levant, which
demonstrates not only that recycling of silver was widespread in the Early and Late
Iron Age, but that the components of this mixed silver originated from the Aegean,
Anatolia and the western Mediterranean. An assessment of lead isotope analyses
combined with compositional data allows the identification of mixing lines based
on gold levels in the silver and the Pb crustal age (or, more loosely, geological age)
of the ore from which the silver originated. It is shown that, from as early as the
11th century BC, these mixed silver signatures derive from the Taurus mountains in
Anatolia, from Iberia and an unknown source—with Sardinia as an additional pos
-
sibility—and Laurion in Greece in the Late Iron Age. In contrast to copper, which
was deliberately alloyed with silver, gold appears to have been mixed unintention
-
ally, through the melting down of silver objects with gold parts. It is suggested that
vertical mixing lines
(with constant Pb crustal age but variable Au), may indicate
the melting down and mixing of silver in times of unrest, both here and in other
contexts. Gold and lead concentrations in the silver indicate that native silver from
Iberia was most likely used in the Early Iron Age, suggesting that the first people to
convey silver to the southern Levant were not miners but traders who had acquired
silver directly from the indigenous Bronze Age inhabitants of Iberia. However, evi
-
dence of the exploitation of jarosite also supports that silver ore mining and cupel
-
lation was ongoing in Iberia at a similar time, and continued in the Late Iron Age—
potentially a result of technological transfer from the East. In essence, the western
Mediterranean origin of the silver in these Early Iron Age southern Levantine hoards
supports an emerging picture of Mediterranean interactions and trade relations in
the increasingly
bright
Dark Ages (c. 1200–800 BC).