Vol. 22 No. 1 (2016): METALLA
The contribution of Rashidian is dealing with the results of the Excavations from the Middle Bronze Age copper ore beneficiation at Troiboden in the Austrian Alps. The anthropogenic sediments resulting from ore beneficiation and subsequent weathering processes were studied with a geoarchaeological approach and give an indication that the beneficiation process were more effective than previously thought.
The article of Merkel examines the copper-based metallurgical remains from Carolingian/Ottonian levels of Dortmund and Soest. They were analysed by microscopy, high-resolution ICP-MS and lead isotope analysis to reveal information about some of the earliest archaeological evidence for medieval brass production in Western Europe.
The contribution of Hauptmann presents the results of cosmetic pigment analyses from the Royal Tombs of Ur, Mesopotamia, 3rd millennium BC. Most of the cosmetic pigments were stored in shell containers. They are composed of a complex mixture of bluish-greenish minerals, bone white and fats or oils. The chromophores are thought to be produced from acid or wine in copper vessels making verdigris.
In this issue, METALLA presented new investigations, new results from the examination of metal artefacts and other archaeological finds from the Ur-Workshop in May 2015 at the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum (pages 77-145). The scientific questions addressed in this project focusses on the fallowing aspects. Are the technologies and innovations seen in the Ur metalwork a manifestation of the enormous political and cultural development of the urban settlements of Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC? Were these production techniques imported from elsewhere and where did the metals and other materials come from? Did they come from lands connected to Ur by its far-reaching trade contacts? To answer these questions, ressources, cultures and civilizations within distances of several thousands of kilometres in all directions from Mesopotamia have to be taken therefore into consideration.
Published:
2024-04-11
