Geoarchaeological Investigations in the Bronze Age Ore Beneficiation Landscape of Troiboden (Province of Salzburg, Austria)

Abstract

Mitterberg is the largest known Middle Bronze Age copper mining area in the Austrian Alps. During the course of the 2011 excavation  campaign, a geoarchaeological investigation was conducted at the Troiboden peat bog, immediately southwest of the Mitterberg  mine’s main entrance, which shows evidence of a more sophisticated ore beneficiation process with less copper loss than previously  anticipated and has yet to be demonstrated at Bronze Age sites elsewhere. A portion of results of this investigation is summarized  here. A sediment typology based on geoarchaological analysis is presented, and interpretations are made regarding the situation of  the ore beneficiation landscape of Troiboden and its relationships both with the Mitterberg mines and its natural setting.