Unalloyed copper objects were produced in the Chalcolithic Southern Levant in a two-step process. Copper ore was smelted in pit furnaces, and the mechanically extracted copper prills melt in crucibles and cast into objects. However, the air supply remained unknown, and practical considerations shed doubt on the validity of some of the reconstructed practices. To refine the reconstruction, the metallurgical material from Abu Matar was reassessed. Most importantly, several previously unreported fragments suggest the use of bellows and covering the furnace with large pottery fragments. Our results provide probably the earliest evidence for the use of bellows.

Bellows and furnace covers in the unalloyed copper metallurgy of the Chalcolithic Southern Levant: reassessing the evidence from Abu Matar / Rose, Thomas; Natali, Stefano; Brotzu, Andrea; Fabian, Peter; Goren, Yuval. - In: ARCHAEOMETRY. - ISSN 1475-4754. - (2023). [10.1111/arcm.12931]

Bellows and furnace covers in the unalloyed copper metallurgy of the Chalcolithic Southern Levant: reassessing the evidence from Abu Matar

Thomas Rose
Primo
;
Stefano Natali
Secondo
;
Andrea Brotzu;
2023

Abstract

Unalloyed copper objects were produced in the Chalcolithic Southern Levant in a two-step process. Copper ore was smelted in pit furnaces, and the mechanically extracted copper prills melt in crucibles and cast into objects. However, the air supply remained unknown, and practical considerations shed doubt on the validity of some of the reconstructed practices. To refine the reconstruction, the metallurgical material from Abu Matar was reassessed. Most importantly, several previously unreported fragments suggest the use of bellows and covering the furnace with large pottery fragments. Our results provide probably the earliest evidence for the use of bellows.
2023
Abu Matar; bellows; Chalcolithic; copper; furnace; Ghassulian; metallurgy; slag; Southern Levant; tuyère
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Bellows and furnace covers in the unalloyed copper metallurgy of the Chalcolithic Southern Levant: reassessing the evidence from Abu Matar / Rose, Thomas; Natali, Stefano; Brotzu, Andrea; Fabian, Peter; Goren, Yuval. - In: ARCHAEOMETRY. - ISSN 1475-4754. - (2023). [10.1111/arcm.12931]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1697013
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