Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum - Forschung

"Wo das Eisen wächst". Die Ausgrabungen der Verhüttungsfundstellen am Trüllesseifen und Gerhardsseifen bei Siegen

2022-08-10T09:03:37+00:00

The volume Anschnitt, Beiheft 51 collates the results of the research project "The La Tène iron economy in the Siegerland region: interdisciplinary research on economic archaeology“, funded by the German Research Foundation [DFG] and carried out between 2002 and 2019 by the Deutschen Bergbau-Museum Bochum in cooperation with LWL-Archäologie für Westfalen and the Ruhr-University Bochum. The focus of our research and the excavations we initiated were the smelting sites of "Trüllesseifen" in Siegen-Oberschelden and "Gerhardsseifen" in Siegen-Niederschelden. These two excavations are the most extensive archaeological interventions on iron smelting installations of the Iron Age and Medieval period to have been carried out in the prominent mining region of the Siegerland. The various authors provide detailed accounts of the results achieved at the two sites, reconstruct the iron smelting processes step by step, discuss the extent of Iron Age and medieval production and also address aspects of the conservation and presentation of the features through a protective structure and a heritage path at Gerhardsseifen.

Pre-Columbian Mining and Resource Production between Southern Peru and Northern Chile. An Analysis of the Exchange Processes Concerning Lithic and Metal Resources Used by the Pre-Columbian Cultures in the Andes

2022-03-23T14:56:01+00:00

The results of this investigation contribute to the ongoing intensification of mining archaeological research in South America. Geochemical analysis and mining archaeological methods were implemented to define a small-scale mining district in Southern Peru. Jichja Parco was identified as the main supplier of obsidian throughout the whole span of human occupation in the research area, but other Trans-Andean sources have contributed raw material for the daily use of the people living in the Nasca-Palpa area. Concerning the consumption patterns of metal the research conducted confirmed the general metallurgical development model for the Andean region as the inhabitants of the research area started to incorporate gold during Early Paracas and probably introduced copper consumption at the beginning of the Nasca culture. However, the results received for the Middle Horizon indicate that an access to exotic Co-Sn and Co-As-Ni alloys from the influence sphere of the Tiwanaku Empire was given.

Die prähistorische Kupferproduktion im Oberhalbstein (Graubünden, Schweiz)

2022-02-18T07:34:37+00:00

The inner Alpine Oberhalbstein valley has long been known as a Bronze Age settlement chamber and prehistoric mining landscape. Systematic mining-archaeological investigations have now brought to light several prehistoric mines and almost 90 smelting sites. Extensive series of absolute dates suggest that copper production occurred in two main phases: a Late Bronze Age phase (11^th century BC) and an Early Iron Age phase (7^th century BC). In addition to the summary presentation of the mining archaeological findings, the present study puts a special focus on the detailed decoding of the processing technology. Based on typological, morphological and archaeometric investigations of smelting slag as well as ore analyses, the process chain is traced, from the mining of the ore via the processing, only traces of which are known as of yet, to the smelting. The publication contains an extensive appendix of research data.

The Open Access version of this publication is published with the support of the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung.

Funding no.: 10BP12_206259

Depositional Practices at the Natural Sanctuary of Veshnaveh, Central Iran. Jewellery and Watery Caves

2022-06-02T09:28:22+00:00

Between 2000 and 2005 alongside their Iranian colleagues, the team from the German Mining Museum examined the prehistoric copper-mining area located close to the village of Veshnaveh in the mountains of central Iran. Two mines, Chale Ghar 1 and 2, which had been hollowed out by copper-mining activities, had been filled with the water from melting snow. There objects were uncovered unrelated to prehistoric mining activities: among them were ceramics, as well as very well preserved animal bones, fruits and seeds, wooden vessels, as well as jewellery and personal ornaments.
The assemblage and the way in which the objects had been disposed support the assumption that the mines had probably served as a natural sanctuary. Aided by a 14C examination of charcoal collected at the bottom of the depositional features, and by the discovery of an Umayyad coin, it is sensible to assume that the use of Chale Ghar 1 – outside mining activities– ran from c. 800 BC to the 8th century AD.
The present study deals with the classification of the personal ornaments, their possible import and trade, the depositional practice and aspects of pre-Islamic religious acts and religious actors.

Das Grantal und sein Umfeld (Slowakisches Erzgebirge). Nutzungsstrategien eines sekundären Wirtschaftsraumes während der Bronzezeit

2022-06-02T08:38:28+00:00

The Slovakian Ore Mountains in central Slovakia, which are part of the Western Carpathians, are one of the most important metallogenic regions in central Europe. Over the last decades, the question of their prehistoric use was addressed in several studies, given the rich metal finds and indications of metallurgy, but could only partly be answered due to the complex, multi-phase genesis of the ore deposits, also in comparison to the deposits in Serbia / Bulgaria and the Alps. However, at a general level these studies succeeded in showing the importance of the Slovak deposits as raw material sources from the 4th millennium B.C. onwards, alongside the eastern Alps. Nevertheless, questions concerning the use of the area itself, the organisation of deposit exploitation and the their positive identification as raw material sources have hitherto had to remain open. In addition, the trade routes between the mining area and its surroundings, as well as the integration of the known large-scale settlements in the river valleys and in general the structure of Copper and Bronze Age settlement patterns remain largely unaddressed. Research into mining archaeology has remained somewhat in the background, and initial work was only carried out in Špania Dolina in the 1970s, where finds of mallets and pottery on late medieval and early modern waste dumps suggested use in the Copper and Bronze Ages. Within the framework of a collaborative project focusing on the economic basis of the Early Bronze Age settlement of the Žitava valley, the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum was invited to contribute to the mining archaeological investigation of the western Slovak Ore Mountains. This was followed by metallurgical and archaeological research on metalworking in the settlement of Fidvar near Vràble and the surrounding micro-region. A further focus was formed by mining archaeological prospection and the excavation of the ore deposits near Banská Bystrica in L’ubietová and Poniky, which were possibly used in the Bronze Age. Finally, the copper deposit of Špania Dolina [Herrengrund] was the centre of targeted fieldwork, as stone mallet and pottery finds from Piesky [Sandberg] indicated its exploitation since the Copper Age. This volume presents the results of our investigations.

Laurion. Montan- und siedlungsarchäologische Studien zum antiken Blei-Silberbergbau

2022-06-02T12:17:34+00:00

According to written sources, the silver mines of Laurium were one of the main pillars of the Athenian economy in Classical times. The exceptionally well preserved archaeological record of this southern Attic mining region substantially increases this knowledge base. Numerous structures, particularly of the Classical period, reveal an ancient mining region with a highly specialised “industry” and differentiated infrastructure. This publication is divided into two parts. Part 1 offers a new discussion of the chaîne opératoire of silver extraction, using archaeological, historical and archaeometric results. It discusses in how far ancient technological approaches indicate trends towards an optimisation of processes. Part 2 examines the development of mining in Laurium from the Geometric period to late Antiquity. While relying in particular on archaeology, it also considers historical and numismatic sources and the results of archaeometric analyses. For the first time, the development of mining is discussed in relation to the region’s settlement history. This interdisciplinary and diachronic starting point allows a nuanced reconstruction of the development of mining and draws out connections between mining and settlement development in this part of Attica.

Die montanarchäologischen Fundstellen im Siegerland. Überblick und Stand der Forschung zur eisenzeitlichen Montanlandschaft

2021-03-17T18:31:13+00:00

With contributions from Eberhard Klein and Thomas Stöllner.

Thanks to its extensive ore deposits, the Siegerland has a rich mining and smelting history, whose beginnings date back to the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Large-scale exploitation of ores in the region possibly began as early as the 5th century B.C. and was especially intense from the 3rd to the end of the 1st century B.C., when an economic region focusing on steel production developed. Given the number and state of preservation of sites connected to metallurgy, as well as the degree of specialisation of this mining landscape, the Siegerland can be counted among the most important production areas of Iron Age central Europe. A co-operative project between the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, the Ruhr-University Bochum and the LWL-Archäologie für Westfalen, Olpe office, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, has explored the Iron Age mining landscape of the Siegerland. The project focused on the reconstruction of production chains, from iron ore to the finished product, as well as on the economic area itself and its development. This was achieved through large-scale surveys, geophysical prospection and archaeological excavation of selected sites. In addition, we carried out archaeometallurgical analyses on production residues and the ores themselves, as well as archaeobotanical and geoarchaeological investigations in order to reconstruct the natural landscape. This publication presents the results of the archaeological surveys, excavations and mapping. The work of the project team is considerably broadened through the analysis of prior excavations and maps, beginning with late 19th century work. Most of these investigations could be included and are here published for the first time.

Mittelalterliche Bergbautechnik in historischen und archäologischen Quellen: Sammelband zum interdisziplinären Workshop vom 1.–3. Dezember 2016 in Herne

2021-03-17T18:30:44+00:00

This edited volume combines the contributions of participants to the interdisciplinary workshop ‘Medieval mining methods in historical and archaeological sources’, which was funded by the research division on mining history of the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum in Bochum and took place in December 2016 in Herne. The research projects represented here discuss the gains, risks and hurdles of interdisciplinary work in the study of mining history. Colleagues from the fields of building studies, mining archaeology, art history, economics, heritage management, legal history, archaeometallurgy and mining history, as well as practitioners working in metal casting and stone masonry are represented and illustrate the many disciplinary connections. The chapters in this volume offer a range of new perspectives and results of completed projects.

Silver, Copper, and Bronze in Early Dynastic Ur, Mesopotamia. A High-Resolution Analysis Approach

2021-03-15T18:14:22+00:00

The excavations of the Royal Tombs of Ur by Leonard Woolley in the 1920s to 30s provided a great wealth of precious metal artefacts, which must have travelled a long way due to their location in the metal-poor alluvial plains of the Euphrates. Where did you come from? Ur had a strategically important position on the shores of the Persian Gulf in the Early Bronze Age connecting to a long-distance trade network.
The University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology provided a collection of silver, copper, and bronze samples for provenance studies. They were analysed using state-of-the-art scientific methods.
The results gave interesting information about the silver and copper sources. In addition, detailed methodological evaluation of the in situ analysis could be achieved, as well as a large-scale compilation of the old mining regions in the Near and Middle East, which was compiled by means of GIS applications.

Alpine Copper II – Alpenkupfer II – Rame delle Alpi II – Ciuvre des Alpes II. New Results and Perspectives on Prehistoric Copper Production

2021-03-17T18:35:16+00:00

The exploitation of copper deposits in the mountainous areas of the Alps gained enormous economic importance particularly in the 2nd and 1st millennium B.C., as Alpine copper began to play a central role in the metal supply of Europe. This volume summarises the current state of research on prehistoric Alpine copper exploitation from the western and southern Alps to the gates of Vienna in the eastern Alps. The 23 papers were originally presented as contributions to a conference held in September 2016 at the University of Innsbruck, which covered topics such as mountain landscapes, mining, beneficiation, smelting and the metal trade in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. A particular focus of the present volume is the D-A-CH-funded project on ‘Prehistoric copper production in the Eastern and Central Alps: technical, social and economic dynamics in space and time’, a research collaboration between partners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The various contributions provide new perspectives on the questions surrounding fahlore and the different technological processes within the framework of a broader ‘chaîne opératoire’. Even with the current stage of research, it is already possible to sketch how different Alpine regions adapted more general technological and economic trends surrounding copper exploitation in very different ways.

Gabe – Markt- Redistribution. Der Austausch von Spondylus gaederopus in Europa zwischen 5500 und 5000 v. Chr.

2021-03-15T18:10:16+00:00

Exchange and trade are inherent parts of daily life and are inexorably integrated in social and economic practices. When trying to conceptualise prehistoric exchange, it is essential to distinguish reciprocity, redistribution and market exchange, but this model is often applied uncritically. The first part of the present study discusses this subdivision and replaces it with an alternative theory which divides exchange into social, economic and temporal dimensions. Using the foreign trade theory, developed in political economy, the second part of the study focuses on the economic dimension in prehistoric societies. This is centred on the case study of artefacts made from the Mediterranean shell Spondylus gaederopus, which for over 100 years have been referred to as the Neolithic trade goods par excellence, but which had hitherto not been systematically recorded. To investigate exchange, Spondylus artefacts in Europe dating to between 5.500 and 5.000 B.C. have been collected and analysed contextually. In contrast to earlier interpretations, this illustrates the enormous importance of the economic dimension for prehistoric societies.

Studien zu den bronzezeitlichen Bergbauhölzern im Mitterberger Gebiet

2021-03-17T17:59:53+00:00

South of Salzburg, in the inner Alpine Salzach valley, lies the Mitterberg area, one of the most important mining areas of the European Bronze Age. Discovered during the modern mining operations of the 19th century, archaeological research has been carried out by the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum since 2002. The present volume focuses on the wooden artefacts from the prehistoric mines of the Mitterberg area. Pit props, lighting splints and a broad spectrum of tools were uncovered partly in the 19th century, but mostly during the systematic excavations in recent years. Alongside the mine itself, these finds are the direct traces of human activities underground. As they also represent almost all aspects of mining work, their detailed analysis provides rich insights into Bronze Age mining, which is shown to be a highly developed and specialised field of activity.

Die kaiserzeitlichen Bunt-und Edelmetallfunde von Kamen-Westick. Verarbeitung römischer Metallimporte in einer germanischen Siedlung

2022-06-02T14:05:29+00:00

Kamen-Westick is among the most important Roman period settlements in Westphalia. In spite of a long history of research, however, the site has barely been analysed. In this publication, Patrick Könemann presents the extensive assemblage of non-ferrous and precious metal artefacts of the 1st to 5th centuries A.D., which comprises both Germanic and imported Roman objects. Here and elsewhere east of the Rhine, Roman non-ferrous and precious metal objects were reworked and and turned into Germanic products. The author hence focuses in particular on “metal recycling” at Kamen-Westick and present results based on archaeological and archaeometallurgical methods. Compared to other Roman period sites in the area between the Ruhr and Lippe, the Roman metal imports from Kamen-Westick are of exceptional quality and quantity. Therefore, the site’s inhabitants could fall back on a wide range of raw materials. Indigenous metallurgists evidently recycled Roman imports with specific characteristics, as revealed by archaeometallurgical analyses: the choice of material was first and foremost determined by its suitability for smithing. In addition, research shows that the composition of locally produced objects correlates with the alloys of Roman metal vessels. The working of non-ferrous metals at Kamen-Westick is indicated by scrap metal, casting residues and the remains of a mould and crucibles. A comparison with other Roman period sites with evidence for non-ferrous metal working suggests that this craft was organised in a similar way at an inter-regional scale. However, Warburg-Daseburg is so far the only site at which the complete production sequence, from scrap metal to finished product, could be documented.

„Das synt gemeyne bergrecht…“ Inhalte und Anwendung des Freiberger Bergrechts im Mittelalter

2022-06-14T14:53:04+00:00

Between the 12th and 14th centuries, many legal texts concerned with mining were emerged in the different mining districts of central Europe. In one of the most important medieval mining areas of modern-day Germany, the Ore Mountains, silver mining is first attested in the 12th century. From the 13th century there are direct and indirect references to mining regulations from Freiberg. The Freiberg mining laws in their two versions [A and B] have been preserved as 14th century and later copies. The present volume provides the first translation of the Middle High German text, following the edition of the late 19th century archivist and legal historian Hubert Emisch. A detailed analysis of the contents, presented thematically, and the comparison to information gleaned from mining archaeology, show that these legal texts were indeed very practice-oriented, as has been repeatedly claimed. In addition, dynamic processes in mining organisation and in the technological procedures are observable in connection with the development of the mining regulations. A synthesis of the general history of mining law from the 12th to the 14th centuries provides the starting point for situating the Freiberg mining laws in their inter-regional context and reflects the current state of research.

Frühe Prestigeobjekte aus Metall in Anatolien. Selbstdarstellung, Kommunikation und Metallkonsum im späten 4. und 3. Jahrtausend v.Chr.

2022-06-14T15:00:15+00:00

This volume offers a comparative analysis of early prestige goods [late 4th and 3rd me B.C.] in Anatolia and inter-regionally in the Ancient Near East. The artefacts presented here [diadems, maceheads and sceptre-like objects, exceptional axes, daggers and so on] are attributed to higher-ranking social groups [elites], who used these prestige items for self-presentation and for communicating – and thereby enhancing – their status and prestige within their own and to other cultural groups. In the Late Chalcolithic, technological and cultural innovations are reflected in the first appearance of special artefacts [e.g. swords], production techniques [e.g. silver damascening] and in the targeted use of special metals and alloys. In the course of the Early Bronze Age, elites were furnished with more status indicators and prestige goods, as well as magico-religious artefacts, which evidently functioned as signs for social hierarchy. In addition, an interdisciplinary study based on the metal objects from two Anatolian sites, İkiztepe and Alacahöyük, aimed to elucidate the use of ore sources. Contact between the Anatolian Black Sea coast [İkiztepe] and south-east Anatolia [Arslantepe] is archaeologically traceable via Late Chalcolithic metal artefacts, a pattern which can be corroborated using lead isotopic and chemical analyses. At the very least, there could have been a [sporadic] exchange of ideas, techniques and raw materials [metals]. In addition, lead isotope data for the copper-based and silver artefacts from the Early Bronze Age royal tombs at Alacahöyük could be analysed. Regarding the provenance of these items, it seems that several ore sources were used, as suggested by the wide scatter of lead isotope measurements. Contacts and interactions suggested on the basis of archaeological material also indicate the contemporary exploitation of different ore sources.

The RITaK Conferences. 2013-2014

2021-03-17T18:29:34+00:00

Globally, raw materials play a central role and are a key factor in determining the economic power and growth of modern states, confederations and coalitions. The extraction and supply of raw materials is a main driving force in global trade today, but has also profoundly influenced human economic and cultural history. In order to elucidate the importance of mineral ores in pre-modern societies, PhD students and staff at the Leibniz graduate school “Raw Materials, Innovation and Technology of Ancient Cultures” [RITaK] – a co-operation between the German Mining Museum [Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, DBM] and the Ruhr-University Bochum [RUB] – were involved in interdisciplinary research. This publication contains the results of the international RITaK end-of-project conference, held from the 27th-29th of September, as well as contributions to the RITaK workshop “Perspectives for an Economic Archaeology”, held on the 22nd and 23rd of November 2013. At a theoretical and model-building level, the first seven articles provide archaeological, sociological and economic perspectives on the diverse economic, cognitive, cultural and social feedback processes set in motion by the appropriation and use of raw materials. The following contributions focus on different archaeological and historical cultures in Europe, Central Asia and the Mediterranean area from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Raw material processing and preparation, metal recycling, prehistoric and historic mining, the exchange mechanisms involving raw materials and their products, as well as technology and knowledge transfer, are all covered. Together, the 23 contributions to this volume offer the possibility for intensive engagement with the theme of resources and their influence on and entanglement with human behaviour, mentalities, knowledge acquisition, technological and social developments and even the relationship between people and their environments and the human appropriation of space.

Silver and the Silver Economy at Hedeby

2022-09-05T13:25:00+00:00

The trade of silver in Viking Age Scandinavia is intertwined with the development and collapse of long distance trade routes stretching as far as the North Atlantic in the West to Central Asia in the East. Hedeby, a Viking emporium, was an important gateway of trade between the Baltic and North Seas, and this makes it is an ideal place to explore the evolution of the silver supply in the 10th and 11th centuries A.D. The elemental and lead isotope compositions of locally minted Hedeby coins were compared to jewelry objects, hacksilver and imported silver coins, and four chronologically related shifts could be identified that reflect changes in the origin and type of raw materials used. This study features the use of laser ablation mass spectrometry of ca. 200 silver objects, and these analyses are placed in a broader context of early medieval silver metallurgy, mining archaeology and numismatics to interpret the compositional shifts as shifts in trade. Additionally, studies on crucibles and lead-based finds from Hedeby were carried out as well as the analysis of ore and slag from Central Asia to explore recycling and silver production technologies during the Viking period.

Die latènezeitliche Eisenproduktion im Siegerland. Chaîne opératoire und Ökonometrie der Prozessschritte

2022-09-20T09:21:24+00:00

The Siegerland in the south of Westphalia is one of the most important mining areas of Central Europe. It is part of the right side of the Rhenish Massif and is crossed by the so called “Siegerland-Wied-district”, which is very rich in iron ore deposits. The iron ore of Siegerland was mined and melted into iron and steel from the Middle Ages to the 1960s. In the beginning of the 20th century the research of the two amateur archaeologists O. Krasa and P. Theis were the first who found slag heaps of the La Tène period in Siegerland. The publication focuses on questions of the archaeology of economics especially of iron production of the La Tène period in Siegerland. The study is based on the research of the DFG promoted cooperation project “The economy of iron production in Siegerland in the La Tène period”. To reconstruct the Chaîne opèratoire of iron production from raw material to product, not only the waste and remains of mining, smelting and forging had to be analysed with archeological and archeometallurgical methods. The analysis of pottery was also be included as well as the results of Anthracology, Palynology and Radiocarbon dating. The aim of this research was to examine the economic cycle of the La Tène period in Siegerland in as many aspects as possible. This includes also e. g. questions of trade routes, volume of production, trading partners or economic strategies.