Aurélie Cuénod
Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt, Lippstadt 1, Department Member
- University of Leicester, Archaeology and Ancient History, Department Memberadd
- Metalwork (Archaeology), Metallography, Mining and Metalwork in Ancient Near East, Archaeometallurgy, Metal Analysis, Early Metallurgy in Near East, and 13 moreCopper and Tin, Provenance studies of archaeological material, Metallography of Ancient Metals, Ancient Iron Metallurgy, African Archaeology, Trans-Saharan trade, Garamantes, Saharan Archaeology, West African Archaeology, Iranian Archaeology, Trans-Saharan Burials, Archeology of Roman mining, and Moroccan Archaeologyedit
- I am interested in the study of ancient copper and iron metallurgy and in particular in the mechanisms involved in technological change, in the study of metal recycling and in the question of how to deal with big datasets in archaeology. I have worked on ancient metallurgy in Iran, Libya and Moro... moreI am interested in the study of ancient copper and iron metallurgy and in particular in the mechanisms involved in technological change, in the study of metal recycling and in the question of how to deal with big datasets in archaeology. I have worked on ancient metallurgy in Iran, Libya and Morocco and have also worked on cataloging R.F. Tylecote’s collection of metallurgical samples (currently hosted at Oxford University) for the Historical Metallurgy Society.edit
This paper reports on the non-destructive analysis of 42 samples of copper alloy and glass from sites in Libya, using semi-quantitative μXRF, carried out as part of the work of the Trans-Sahara Project funded by the European Research... more
This paper reports on the non-destructive analysis of 42 samples of copper alloy and glass from sites in Libya, using semi-quantitative μXRF, carried out as part of the work of the Trans-Sahara Project funded by the
European Research Council. These are among the first chemical analyses to be performed on metals and glasses of any period found in Libya, and the results – though preliminary – raise some interesting possibilities. In particular, we discuss some possible indications with regard to the practice of recycling glasses, as evidenced through heterogeneous, malformed glass beads with variable quantities of lead. A glass mirror from Ghirza was also found to be backed in lead, and was probably the result of a glass-making technique still practised in recent times in India. The metal analysis has revealed evidence of a pre-Islamic
trade in brass in the northern Sahara, as well as showing the presence of objects made from the mixing of different types of scrap metal, a process probably taking place at the Garamantian metalworking site of Saniat Jibril among other locations. The importance of further analysis of available Libyan and other North African metal artefacts and glasses for the contextualisation and extension of these findings is emphasised.
European Research Council. These are among the first chemical analyses to be performed on metals and glasses of any period found in Libya, and the results – though preliminary – raise some interesting possibilities. In particular, we discuss some possible indications with regard to the practice of recycling glasses, as evidenced through heterogeneous, malformed glass beads with variable quantities of lead. A glass mirror from Ghirza was also found to be backed in lead, and was probably the result of a glass-making technique still practised in recent times in India. The metal analysis has revealed evidence of a pre-Islamic
trade in brass in the northern Sahara, as well as showing the presence of objects made from the mixing of different types of scrap metal, a process probably taking place at the Garamantian metalworking site of Saniat Jibril among other locations. The importance of further analysis of available Libyan and other North African metal artefacts and glasses for the contextualisation and extension of these findings is emphasised.