- Projekt "Early Iron Age Copper Trails in the Mediterranean"
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Institut für Archäologie, LB Klassische Archäologie
Unter den Linden 6
D - 10099 Berlin - +49-30-2093-98130
- Early Iron Age, Geometric and archaic Greece, Levantine Archaeology, Archaeology of the Levant, Phoenician Punic Archaeology, Phoenicians, and 7 morePhoenician trade, Ancient economies (Archaeology), Ancient economy, Ancient Near Eastern Economy, Archaeometry, Archaeometallurgy, and Ancient Copper Miningedit
Research Interests:
The large assemblages of tripod cauldrons excavated in Greek sanctuaries are well suited to trace the Early Iron Age copper trade. In this pilot study, chemical and lead isotope data of 11 tripod cauldrons from the Zeus sanctuary of... more
The large assemblages of tripod cauldrons excavated in Greek sanctuaries are well suited to trace the Early Iron Age copper trade. In this pilot study, chemical and lead isotope data of 11 tripod cauldrons from the Zeus sanctuary of Olympia are presented and discussed. For sampling, we selected tripod cauldrons that, according to recent chemical analyses of adhering remains of the casting ceramics, had been produced (cast) on the site of Olympia itself. Chronologically, these samples cover a time span between ca. 950 and 750 BCE. Lead isotope analysis (LIA) and chemical bulk analysis indicate that the copper of all tripod-cauldrons under study was produced in the Wadi Arabah, more precisely in Faynan (Jordan). Our findings point to the existence of a well-organized Levantine-Aegean copper trail, active at least between c. 950 and 750 BCE. This result is the first direct evidence for the exchange of commodities between the southern Levant and Greece in this period.