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Experiencing visible and invisible metal casting techniques in the Bronze Age Italy, in Proceeding of the OpenArch Meeting Working with stones in European Pre- and Protohistory in theory and in practice", Albersdorf, 23-27 september 2013.
What we know about bronze age metalworking basically relies on finished artifacts and on stone, clay or bronze implements involved in the process of manufacturing (tuyères, crucibles, moulds, hammers, chisels, etc.). Moreover, evidences of structures for casting are extremely poor, at least in Italy, likely because of a lack of extensive excavations and the difficulty to clearly distinguish them from other kinds of firing structures, in absence of metalworking residuals. The reconstruction of the whole technology of production therefore requires a strong effort of making and testing hypothesis, referring not only on autoptic observations on archaeological finds, but also on archaeometrical analysis and study of landscape, in order to identify possible sources of supply of raw materials. In this work our aim is to deepen some aspects concerning archaeologically “visible” (stone mould production and casting), and “invisible” techniques (sword production) of metalworking in bronze age Italy, focussing on terramare area.
Papers in Italian Archaeology VI, Communities and Settlements from the Neolithic to the Early Medieval Period. Proceedings of the 6th Conference of Italian Archaeology (Groningen 2003), BAR Int. Series 1452 (II), Oxford 2005.
Metallurgy in Italy between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age: the Coming of IronMetallurgy had a special flourishing in Italian area between Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The large number of metal finds testifies this very peculiar moment; they are coming from settlements, tombs and hoards. Most of these objects are made of bronze, but there are also some realised in iron or bimetallic (bronze and iron) too. The alloying technology of copper reaches its apogee, as it is shown by the generalised use of bronze during LBA. The metallurgical analyses demonstrate that frequently copper came from recycling. Italian metallurgists of LBA and EIA used different copper alloys according to the mechanical and physical characteristics of the object they want to realise. This paper focalizes some areas of Italian territory, that are better known at present: Northern Italy, the East Alpine area, Lombardy and the Po valley, where there are the late Terramare; Central Italy, Etruria (Tuscany and Northern Latium); the Southern Italy, Calabria; besides the two main islands, Sardinia and Sicily. The spread of iron is an element of significant innovation. Recent researches give us new information about the beginnings of iron metallurgy in Italian area. So as for the bronze metallurgy, also for iron we selected some area: For the North: East Alpine area; for the Central Italy: Etruria, Latium and Campania; for the South: Calabria and Apulia; besides, Sardinia and Sicily. It seems probable that Sardinia had a relevant role in the diffusion of iron technology toward continental Italy.
Creta Antica 12, 2011 (2012)
Metallurgical Production and Long-Distance Interaction: New Evidence from LM IIIPhaistosThis thesis explores the craft of metallurgy in the British Bronze Age through an examination and analysis of metalworking tools. The goal of this research was to reassemble the Bronze Age metalsmithing toolkit based on an understanding of the craft and its practice. The first chapters examine the smith and metalsmithing tools through literary sources to establish a theoretical framework for understanding the significance of tools and smiths in the British Bronze Age. This is followed by a study of metalsmithing tools in museum collections. These examinations focussed on wear, design, and chemical composition. Tools were cross-referenced to contemporary tools, descriptions from ethnographic literature, and tools in modern workshops. This research also supplied data to create replica tools for use in an experimental programme to explore tool use and performance. The research culminated in establishing a system called Minimum Tools Required (MTR). It is based on the idea that the presence of an object implies the existence of the tools and materials necessary for its manufacture, and that the presence of tools implies a purpose, and the possibility of other tools and materials that are associated with that purpose. Using this system provides a means to assess assemblages and aids in understanding the kind and the number of tools and materials that were a necessary part of the Bronze Age metalsmith’s toolkit. The system also allows for more precise interpretations to be made of hoards. Tools can indicate the types of metal objects being made, or represent specific metalsmithing tasks. Thus by recognising the tools and their function, statements can be made about how these tools were used and the processes by which metal objects were made in the Bronze Age, resulting in a more complete understanding the organisation of the metalsmith’s craft in antiquity.
ABSTRACT – The development of forms of inequality in mainland Italy is analyzed for the periods between the Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (Recent Bronze Age). Basically about a millennium (ca. 2200-1150 BC) during which a trend towards more structured and hierarchical forms of social and political organization can be observed. In this perspective, the earliest forms of inequality – i.e., based on established forms of economic differentiation, and not only on rank – are visible at the threshold of the Recent Bronze Age in some regions. This paper reconsiders the model developed by Renato Peroni since 1970s, on the basis of the main archaeological evidence of recent years. Although the overall validity of that model is acknowledged, the wealth of recent evidence provides the opportunity to update and integrate the former model in several, substantial aspects.
Atti Accademia dei Lincei, Memorie 39(1)
Frattesina: la prospettiva europea (with extended English summary)2019 •
In this paper I explore what makes Frattesina (Fratta Polesine RO) a key site in Europe during the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age; the paper has an extended English summary and appears in the proceedings of the International Conference, Frattesina: un centro internazionale di produzione e di scambio nella tarda età del Bronzo del Veneto, edited by Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri, Paolo Bellintani and Claudio Giardino.
In Studi di Preistoria e Protostoria-3-Preistoria e Protostoria dell'Emilia Romagna, a c. M.Bernabò Brea
Insediamento del Bronzo Medio a Ugozzolo – Cimitero (PR)2018 •
A MIDDLE BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENT AT UGOZZOLO (PR) A 3x3 m. excavation revealed a long lasting MBA settlement site with rich and articulated pottery assemblages. The first phase has a MBA1 date, with rows of post-holes, ash discardes and clerances; the fine ware pottery includes axe-handles, large carinated cups, and biconical pots decorated with engraved motives. The pile dwelling has two main MBA2 phases with post holes and ash heaps. In Ph. 2 , the pottery includes thin-grooved fine ware and the first horned handles; in the later activity (Ph. 3), more complex grooved decorations and handles with conical or expanded terminations are common. In the last MBA3 dwelling (Ph. 4), the reorganisation of space was probabile for drainage purposes; the large amount of pottery discardes includes coarse and fine ware typologies (e.g. cup handles with frontale view development and later types).
2019 •
During the first excavations of the cemetery dating from the Bronze Age and Early Antiquity in the village of Velebit near Kanjiža (Northern Serbia) one of the excavated artefacts was found to belong to a used and broken stone mould for casting anvils. However, without an expert archaeologist to supervise the recovery of this find, which remained unknown for decades after its discovery, as a starting point, the authors of this article present a synthesis that takes into account several aspects of this significant class of metalcraft object. This proceeds from the history of the excavation to the general role of European Bronze Age anvils in gold and bronze metalworking, and then further on to their typological, terminological, chronological and functional analysis and to their long-range distribution as a sign of an interregional network of craftsmen, including their social context and symbolism.
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Neutron scattering material analysis of Bronze Age metal artefacts2008 •
2015 •
In M. Bernabò Brea, a c., Preistoria e Protostoria dell'Emilia Romagna-II, Studi di Preistoria e Protostoria, Ii, Firenze
Paolo Ferrari, Maria Bernabò Brea, Lorenza Bronzoni, Carmen Basile, Paola A.E. Bianchi, Federico Guarisco: L'area abitativa della prima fase della terramara di Forno del Gallo a Beneceto (Parma)2018 •
in Studi di Preistoria e Protostoria-3-Preistoria e Protostoria dell'Emilia Romagna, a c. M.Bernabò Brea
Metallurgia e spazi produttivi nel Bronzo Recente in Emilia:i casi di Beneceto e Poviglio2018 •
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society
Material genealogies: bronze moulds and their castings in later Bronze Age Britain2016 •
Archaeologia Cantiana
The Contents and Context of the Boughton Malherbe Late Bronze Age Hoard.2017 •
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy
Early Bronze Age axe-ingots from Brittany: evidence for connections with south-west Ireland2019 •
Atti XLV Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria”Preistoria e protostoria dell’Emilia-Romagna II”
Le ultime terramare e la Penisola: circolazione di modelli o diaspora?2018 •
Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 43, 2013, 175–193.
Mycenaean Greece and Bronze Age Italy: Cooperation, Trade or War?CAVAZZUTI C., SALVADEI L. 2014, I resti umani cremati dalla necropoli di Casinalbo, in A. Cardarelli (a cura di), La necropoli della terramara di Casinalbo, Firenze, pp. 677-715.
I resti umani cremati dalla necropoli di CasinalboIn Studi di Preistoria e Protostoria-3-Preistoria e Protostoria dell'Emilia Romagna, a c. M.Bernabò Brea
Spilloni dell’età del Bronzo da Forno del Gallo (Parma)2018 •
Bronze Age Metallurgy on Mediterranean Islands
Metallurgical Habits and Workshop Remains in LM IB Mochlos, East CreteAnna Maria Bietti Sestieri, Luciano Salzani, Claudio Giardino, Georges Verly
(2013) Ritual Treatment of weapons as a correlate of structural change in the Italian Late Bronze Age CommunitiesOxford Journal of Archaeology 25
Early Bronze Age metal trade in the Eastern Mediterranean. New compositional and lead isotope evidence from Cyprus, 20062006 •
Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica. Natural Sciences in Archaeology
Archaeobotany and the Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale (Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy): Experiences of Public Education