Archaeology of Mining

Recent research has demonstrated that the Eocene Timrat formation in northeastern Israel, which appears as an extensive land “strip” west of and parallel to the Rift Valley, was a major source of prehistoric flint. This supposition is supported by three large‐scale extraction and reduction (E&R) complexes identified within this region, which offer direct evidence of intense Lower and Middle Palaeolithic exploitation and limited Neolithic/Chalcolithic activities. Here, we present a first comprehensive overview of this “industrial strip” and of its E&R complexes (Nahal Dishon, Mt. Achbara, and Sede Ilan), demonstrating that these production areas were used mainly for the manufacture of large‐volume items such as Lower Palaeolithic hand axes, Middle Palaeolithic Levallois cores, and Neolithic/ Chalcolithic axes/adzes. Furthermore, we integrate information from recently published field studies and lithic analyses with new intercomplex and intracomplex inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (inductively coupled plasma (ICP)‐MS) analyses of flint debitage. The relatively large number of analysed samples (n = 69) constitutes the first robust reference database for provenance studies of this E&R “strip.” The potential contribution for provenance studies is demonstrated by a detailed ICP‐MS comparison drawn between specific extraction and reduction localities within the Dishon complex and flint tools found in six occupation sites located up to 20 km from the sources. The detailed geochemical study also yielded methodological insights regarding challenges associated with flint heterogeneity and patination effects.

The Balkan Peninsula played a crucial role for the introduction of metallurgy during the Copper Age and numerous archaeometallurgical examinations have delivered highly interesting insights on this topic. However, there is a lack of systematic analytical research on copper ore smelting and metal exchange for the later Bronze Age. In this paper we focus on the first archaeometallurgical results of slags from the sites Ružana, Trnjane and Čoka Njica, Eastern Serbia, complimented by the discussion of XRF and lead isotope analyses carried out on 28 copper-based artefacts. Importantly, radiocarbon dating from these sites points to copper production already being undertaken at the end of the Early Bronze Age (19th–18th centuries BC), more than 500 years earlier than previously assumed. This enables us to investigate the flow of metal during the 1st half of the 2nd millennium BC. The analyses of the metallurgical slags indicate a copper matte smelting process in small open pit furnaces and the use of local sulfidic copper ore sources. The fact that these intensive smelting activities in Eastern Serbia can be paralleled with the early production hotspots in central Europe e.g. on the Hochkönig (Mitterberg mining areas) sheds new light on the development of copper based metallurgy in Europe. At the same time, the evidence from Eastern Serbia shows that this area was a source of raw material for copper and bronze alloys providing a regional and supra-regional perspective. Furthermore, our analyses revealed the remarkable result, that by the start of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1700 BC) copper from the Northern Italian mining areas in the Trentino region also reached the western and central Balkans:
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................!!THE XRF and lead isotope data is added at the end of the article!!

Bronze is the defining metal of the European Bronze Age and has been at the center of archaeological and science-based research for well over a century. Archaeo-metallurgical studies have largely focused on determining the geological origin of the constituent metals, copper and tin, and their movement from producer to consumer sites. More recently, the effects of recycling, both temporal and spatial, on the composition of the circulating metal stock have received much attention. Also, discussions of the value and perception of bronze, both as individual objects and as hoarded material, continue to be the focus of scholarly debate. Here, we bring together the sometimes-diverging views of several research groups on these topics in an attempt to find common ground and set out the major directions of the debate, for the benefit of future research. The paper discusses how to determine and interpret the geological provenance of new metal entering the system; the circulation of extant metal across time and space, and how this is seen in changing compositional signatures; and some economic aspects of metal production. These include the role of metal-producing communities within larger economic settings, quantifying the amount of metal present at any one time within a society, and aspects of hoarding, a distinctive European phenomenon that is less prevalent in the Middle Eastern and Asian Bronze Age societies.

This paper presents results of excavations at an Iron Age (~10th c. BCE) gatehouse and associated livestock pens in one of the largest copper smelting camps in Timna Valley – Site 34 (" Slaves' Hill "). The extraordinary preservation of organic materials allowed for in depth investigations of animal bones as well as seeds and pollen found in dung piles. The results demonstrate that the gatehouse area was used for keeping donkeys (or mules), which were the common draught animal at the time, together with other livestock (probably goats). The donkeys were fed with grape pomace and hay (rather than straw) that originated from the Mediterranean regions, N100 km to the northeast (Edom) and 200 km to the north (Philistia/Judea). This food reflects special treatment and care, in accordance with the key role of the donkeys in the success of copper production and trade in a logistically challenging region. Furthermore, the excavations revealed a deliberate piling of the dung against the inner face of the site's wall, most probably in order to use it as fuel in the copper smelting process (the initial heating of the furnaces). In addition, the excavations yielded insights on the metalworkers themselves, including their rich diet (as reflected by animal bones and seeds) and activities at the gatehouse area. The latter includes secondary met-allurgical processes such as refining/melting in crucibles and probably casting of ingots. Lastly, the results of this study shed new light on the Iron Age society engaged in copper production in Timna (probably early Edom), further stressing its complexity and centralized organization, as well as its involvement in interregional trade. The gatehouse and walls also indicate substantial investment in deterrence and defense, reflecting a period of instability and military threat in 10th c. BCE Timna.

Příspěvek je věnován výpovědní schopnosti archeologických, ikonografických a písemných pramenů z 16. století pro poznání nemovitého zázemí a projevu hmotné kultury v prostředí stříbrorudných dolů horního revíru Jáchymov. Srovnání těchto pramenů přináší zajímavý pohled do prostředí důlní krajiny a každodenního života horníků v období 16. století.

Southwest Transylvania was an important source of metal and other natural resources for Bronze Age Europe, helping to facilitate the development of increasingly hierarchical societies. The absence of a radiocarbon-based chronology for Transylvania, however, has impeded understanding of the region's role within broader socioeconomic networks. Here, the presentation of the first radiocarbon chronology for the Wietenberg Culture in southwest Transylvania allows the authors to highlight the importance of interregional exchange and reliable access to metal for Bronze Age European societies, and emphasise that resource-procurement zones follow unique trajectories of socioeconomic organisation.

Guided by modern miners of the region the authors track down pre-Inca mining sites in the Southern Nasca Region of Peru. In the hinterlands away from both modern and ancient roads they find a surprising number of small sites serving the pre-Inca industry, principally in the Nasca period. Drawing analogies from modern practice they are able to distinguish the ancient sites dedicated to exploration, extraction or production.

The rapid expansion of non-ferrous metallurgy in the late Middle Ages (14th–15th centuries) enhanced ore demand, which was supported by mining intensification. Metallurgical workshops developed various supply strategies based on geological, political and economic constraints. This is particularly true for the Pyrenean multi-metals workshop of Castel-Minier (Ariège, France), where recent excavations unearthed an exceptional corpus of non-ferrous ores. A specific analytical methodology combining micro-Raman spectroscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (ESEM-EDX) was set up to study these artefacts. This composite methodology permitted the fast characterization of both mineral and gangue as well as a discussion of their economic potential. Ores identified were compared with ancient mines in neighbouring mining districts in order to sketch a geography of the mineral resources available to medieval metallurgists. Moreover, a chrono-stratigraphic study of ore distribution in Castel-Minier revealed the supply strategies, technological choices as well as spatializing of copper and lead metallurgies.

Detection of subsurface features using geophysical methods is an important component of archaeological research. Most geophysical methods suffer from loss of resolution with depth and are most successful when employed on hyper-shallow targets. We present a novel imaging method that utilizes summation of diffracted seismic energy in the depth domain to image the subsurface and detect areas of material contrasts, which is especially useful for detecting subsurface voids. The diffraction imaging (DI) method was validated in a synthetic case and in two archaeological sites where known ancient tunnels exist and then employed in the ancient copper ore district of Timna Valley (southern Israel). The results demonstrate the feasibility of the DI method to detect ancient underground mining galleries that connected between (now blocked) mining shafts, which in turn constitutes a significant contribution to the study of ancient prospection and mining technologies and related social and historical aspects. K E Y W O R D S diffraction imaging, Iron Age Levant, ancient mining and prospection, mining archaeology (montanarchäologie), shallow seismic imaging 1 | INTRODUCTION In the copper ore district of Timna (southern Israel, Figure 1), evidence of intense ancient mining activity is abundant. Thousands of prospection and mining shafts perforate the semi-circular Timna Valley , some reaching more than 40 m in depth (Conrad & Rothenberg, 1980). The vast majority of these shafts are blocked and can only be recognized at the surface by their round, flat, fine sediment fill which stands out from the surrounding desert pavement (termed 'plates', Figure 2). The copper ore mined in antiquity came from mineralization veins in a contact zone between two Lower Cretaceous sandstone formations, laying at varying depths below the surface depending on local conditions (Beyth, Segev, & Ginat, 2018). The question arises-did the ancient miners succeed in their prospection efforts? In some of the exposed shallower mines, successful prospection shafts were the initiation point of horizontally dug galleries that followed copper veins, connecting them to neighbouring shafts. However, for most of the mining fields in Timna, those ancient underground galleries are not accessible and only geophysical surveys can help detect their existence. Verifying the galleries existence is crucial for assessing the success of prospection, the volume of mined ore, and other key questions regarding mining technology and organization of production efforts. While previous geophysical surveys in Timna failed, we present in this article a new approach to the application of an existing method, the seismic diffraction imaging (DI) for detecting deep (>5 m), small (<1.5 m diameter) subsurface tunnels in archaeological sites.

Mina Primavera, a hematite (Fe2O3) mine located in southern Peru, was exploited beginning approximately 2,000 years ago by two Andean civilizations, the Nasca and Wari. Despite the importance of hematite in the material culture of the ancient Americas, few hematite mines have been reported in the New World literature and none have been reported for the Central Andes. An estimated 3,710 tonnes of hematite were extracted from the mine for over 1,400 years at an average rate of 2.65 tonnes per year, suggesting regular and extensive mining prior to Spanish conquest. The hematite was likely used as a pigment for painting pottery, and the mine demonstrates that iron ores were extracted extensively at an early date in the Americas.

Geoarchaeological reconstructions of land-use changes may help to reveal driving cultural factors and incentives behind these processes and relate them to supra-regional economic and political developments.
This is particularly true in the context of complete abandonment of a settlement. Here we present a case study from the site of Faule Pfütze, a small catchment in the Eastern Ore Mountains (Saxony). The historical record of this site is confined to the report of a settlement called Hohenwalde in 1404 CE and two later references to the then-abandoned settlement in 1492 and 1524 CE in this area. Combined geoarchaeological studies allowed for the reconstruction of several phases of land use. While a first phase of alluvial sedimentation occurred during the late 12th century, archaeological evidence for a permanent settlement is absent during this period. The onset of settlement activity is identified during the late 14th century and included a hitherto unknown massive stone building. Mining features are present nearby and are dated to the early 15th century. The local palynological
record shows evidence for reforestation during the mid 15th century and thereby corroborates the time of abandonment indicated by written sources. These processes are discussed in the context of a local
political conflict (Dohna Feud) leading to the redistribution of properties and the development of a mining economy during this time. Later land use from the mid 16th century onwards appears restricted to charcoal production, probably in the context of smelting works operating in nearby Schmiedeberg as indicated by rising lead concentrations in the alluvial record.

A pesar que la minería es una actividad crítica para obtener materiales primas, se reconoce poco sobre la minería en los Andes prehispánicos. En este artículo presentamos evidencia de actividad minera antigua desde Mina Primavera, una mina antigua bien preservada de Nasca, costa sur de Perú, con fechas de explotación principalmente entre el periodo Intermedio Temprano (1-750 d.C.) y el Horizonte Medio (750-1.000 d.C.). Nuestras excavaciones proveen evidencia de extracción y proceso de hematita –usada en ofrendas y como pigmentos–, pero también evidencia de rituales que occurieron en la mina. Discutimos las excavaciones y nuestras interpretaciones de los artefactos y hallazgos que se han encontrado.

Despite the fact that mining is a critical activity to obtain raw materials, very little is known about mining in the prehispanic Andes. In this paper we present evidence of ancient mining activities from Mina Primavera, a well-preserved hematite mine from Nasca, south coast of Peru dating primarily to the Early Intermediate Period (ca. A.D. 1-750) and to the Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 750-1,000). Our excavations provide evidence not only for the extraction and processing of hematite –used in offerings and as pigments– but also provide evidence for rituals that took place in the mine. We discuss excavations conducted within the mine over several seasons, as well as our interpretations of artifacts and features found.

Abstract: In this work we present the results of the initial works related to this new archaeological site discovered in Allande (SW Asturias) in June, 2007: the enclosure camp of Moyapán. The site shows a formal characteristics of the Roman forts already known about the Cantabrian surrounding area. We expound two interpretive principal ways (military camp of campaign in the frame of the operations of conquest and control of the territory by Roman army; or military establishment related to the exploration, the control and the putting in exploitation of the mining surrounding landscape) with the archaeological evidences which we have at the moment.

Les environs de Villefort dans les Cévennes recèlent de nombreux gisements métallifères principalement exploités pour extraire l’argent. Une étude archéologique menée en 2011 avait révélé des indices qui semblaient correspondre aux premiers usages de la poudre noire dans les mines. Des investigations complémentaires alliant recherches historiques et archéologiques ont permis de caractériser ces indices et de démontrer la précocité de l’arrivée de la poudre à Villefort, dès 1640. Cette découverte marque un nouveau jalon dans l’histoire de la diffusion d’une technique qui révolutionna l’art des mines.

Abstract: A critical examination is made of the evidence found to date of mining in the north-east and unpublished data are given regarding a recently discovered prehistoric mine (Mina de la Turquesa or Mina del Mas de les Moreres in Cornudella de Montsant, Tarragona province). A synthetic examination is also made of the body of evidence studied in recent years in the county of El Priorat in Tarragona province.

The city of Freiberg is a key site for understanding the dynamics of the settlement history during the mining boom in Saxony during the 12th century. Combining the extensive data sets from dendrochronological assemblages with macrobotanical spectra and including the palynological, geochemical and sedimentological results from two sediment cores in the Münzbach valley within the town, we reconstruct trends in land-use intensity and economy from the mid-12th century onwards. Our results indicate strong human impact by deforestation and subsequent soil erosion in this area during the establishment of the town in the mid-12th century. This was accompanied by rising pollution with heavy metals and waste in the overbank deposits. Despite the general trend of intensification, fluctuations in the share of deforested land become apparent and may be linked to economic crisis during the late 14th/15th century. Layers of landfill in the Münzbach valley could indicate efforts to reclaim this floodplain area within the town and may reveal attempts to improve the settlement’s sewage.