Naturwissenschaften (2008) 95:361–366 DOI 10.1007/s00114-007-0331-2
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Gold and gold working in Late Bronze Age Northern Greece M. Vavelidis & S. Andreou
Received: 16 March 2007 / Revised: 26 October 2007 / Accepted: 17 November 2007 / Published online: 18 December 2007 # Springer-Verlag 2007
Abstract Numerous objects of gold displaying an impressive variety of types and manufacturing techniques are known from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) contexts of Mycenaean Greece, but very little is known about the origin and processing of gold during the second millennium B.C. Ancient literature and recent research indicate that northern Greece is probably the richest gold-bearing region in Greece, and yet, very little evidence exists regarding the exploitation of its deposits and the production as well as use of gold in the area during prehistory. The unusual find of a group of small stone crucibles at the prehistoric settlement of Thessaloniki Toumba, one with visible traces of gold melting, proves local production and offers a rare opportunity to examine the process of on-site gold working. Furthermore, the comparison of the chemical composition of prehistoric artefacts from two settlements with those of gold deposits in their immediate areas supports the local extraction of gold and opens up the prospect for some of the Mycenaean gold to have originated in northern Greece. The scarcity of gold items in northern Greek LBA contexts may not represent the actual amount of gold produced and consumed, but could be a result of the local social attitudes towards the circulation and deposition of artefacts from precious metals. Keywords Gold . Metallurgy . Prehistoric . Gold composition . Greece M. Vavelidis (*) Department of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece e-mail:
[email protected] M. Vavelidis : S. Andreou Department of Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Introduction The earliest objects of gold appeared on mainland Greece in the fifth millennium B.C. Most of them were found in settlements in central and eastern Macedonia in northern Greece (McGeehan Liritzis 1996). After the seventeenth century B.C., gold artefacts displaying a wide variety of types and techniques crowded the graves of the Mycenaean elites in southern Greece, but very few items of the same period are known from central and eastern Macedonia. Very little is known regarding the sources of the metal and the processing sites of gold artefacts in the BA Aegean. Less than half a dozen finds from Knossos, Troy and Vardaroftsa (Axiohori) indicate gold melting (Evely 2000; Schliemann 1968; Heurtley 1939). Some suggestions have been made regarding the sources of the metal used in the period: from distant Egypt and the Carpathian Mountains to Laconia in the Peloponnesus (Davis 1983; Dickinson 1994). It has been also suggested, however, that some of the gold that was used in the Aegean during the third millennium originated in northern Greece and that local metal was used for the production of the Neolithic gold artefacts found there (McGeehan Liritzis 1996). Indeed, ancient writers mention several gold-bearing places in northern Greece. Well known were the gold mines on the island of Thasos, at “Skapti Ili” and on the Pangaion mountain. The Gallikos (Ehedoros) river was also mentioned as important local source by the fifth century B.C. Recent research has identified a large number of primary and placer gold deposits in northern Greece (Fig. 1). In the former, native gold occurs within iron, arsenic, copper, antimony, polymetallic ores and quartz and occasionally as gold tellurides. The silver content of the placer gold is lower than in the primary deposits, and in only few instances, copper has been found in gold (Vavelidis 2004).
362
Naturwissenschaften (2008) 95:361–366
Fig. 1 The distribution of gold deposits in Northern Greece and the settlements of Thessaloniki Toumba and Kastanas Toumba
The exploitation of gold in Macedonia and Thrace in the historical period is also supported by material evidence. No archaeological confirmation exists regarding prehistoric mining activity for gold. Nevertheless, some indications of early activity may be obtained through the study of mining techniques and metallurgical remains (Vavelidis 2004). The exploitation of the mines of Thasos started in the sixth century B.C. and continued to the fifteenth century A.D. (Wagner et al. 1981). At Palea Kavala, there is technological evidence that mining activity could have started earlier than the sixth century B.C. and continued to the Ottoman period (Vavelidis et al. 1996). Investigations on the Pangeon mountain have also confirmed ancient activity (Unger 1987). Definite traces have been identified in the Strymon district (Fig. 1 nos. 16–17; Vavelidis 1989b). At the Gallikos river, indications of ancient gold exploitation from the river sediments were also located (Vavelidis and Boboti-Tsitlakidou 1993). Additional sites with remains of past activity have been located. The ore deposits in Chalkidiki are rich in gold and silver (Fig. 1 nos. 24–26). Gold occurs mainly in polymetallic ores and in copper and manganese deposits. In some cases, it also occurs as placer gold. Archaeological evidence for mining dates to the Roman and the Ottoman periods (Wagner et al. 1986), but the intensity of activities
in the recent past may have resulted in the destruction of earlier remains. In fact, observations on the technological characteristics of mining and metallurgical traces, particularly at Metangitsi, indicate activities which may go back to the fifth and sixth centuries B.C. (Vavelidis 1989a). Several locations also exist near Thessaloniki with traces of gold exploitation, dating to periods before and after the Middle Ages. Such locations have been found in the Mygdonia basin, the Anthemous district and the Axios and Aliakmon rivers (Fig. 1 nos. 20, 21, 23, 29, 30; Vavelidis 1999). In fact, ancient literature and recent research indicate that northern Greece could be the richest gold-bearing region in Greece (Vavelidis 1999, Vavelidis 2004). Considering the number of gold deposits and the indications of ancient mining activity in Macedonia, the dearth of precious metal objects during the Late Bronze Age (LBA) in the region is intriguing. At the settlement of Kastanas (Fig. 1), where the only secure LBA items of gold had been found until recently, it is suggested that they could have been imported from southern Greece (Hochstetter 1987). Does then the rarity of gold objects in LBA Macedonian contexts indicate an actual scarcity of such artefacts during this period? Does the archaeological scarcity reflect a state of poverty or a real lack of interest among the LBA population to develop the technological
Naturwissenschaften (2008) 95:361–366
363
skills to extract, refine and work the metal from the numerous deposits of the region? The aim of this contribution is to investigate these questions in the light of recent archaeological and mineralogical research.
–
Materials and methods
–
The archaeological finds discussed here were excavated between 1986 and 1999 in the settlement of Thessaloniki Toumba, a long-lived tell (ca. 2000–300 B.C.) located 1.5 km from the coast (Fig. 1). During the LBA (ca. 1400–1050 B.C.), the site had a casemated wall and large mud-brick buildings with extensive storage facilities (Andreou et al. 2001). There is secure evidence for on-site bronze working during the twelfth and eleventh centuries B.C. A stone crucible with traces of gold suggests also gold working (Mavroeidi et al. 2006). A tubular bead and a small foil of gold and two pieces of gold wire, one twisted, were also found in different buildings of the LBA settlement. The following objects from Thessaloniki Toumba, all largely damaged, were analyzed:
–
–
A stone crucible (KE4417) of sericitic schist (max. length 3.5 cm; Fig. 2a,b) from a building of ca. 1200– 1100 B.C. The front end and parts of the upper surface
Fig. 2 a Stone crucible KE4417 with traces of burning. b Secondary SEM view of spheroids (arrow) of gold in KE4417. c Tubular bead KE4526 with impressed grooves. d Folded foil KE836. e Curved wire KE987 from chain ring. f Secondary SEM view of KE987 with facets from hammering and traces of twisting. g Stone crucible KE4422 found next to KE4417
of the crucible are broken, but the remains of a socket are visible, as are traces of burning on the rim and the inside of the bowl. A tubular bead (KE4526; 4.2 mm max. length) with impressed parallel grooves (Fig. 2c), from a house of ca. 1300–1200 B.C. A folded foil (KE836; 4 mm long; Fig. 2d). Same building and date as KE4417. A curved wire (KE987; 4.8 mm max. diameter), probably part of a chain ring of uncertain date (Fig. 2e).
The three gold artefacts and the crucible were examined by reflected light and scanning electron microscopes (JEOL 840A). The artefacts and the remains of gold in the crucible were chemically analyzed with microprobe (Cameca Camebax).
Results Remains of gold melting were identified in the form of spheroids in the crucible (Fig. 2b). Electronic microscopy showed that the spheroids are massive with a smooth surface. They vary in size between 10 and 450 μm. The grooves on the tubular bead suggest a soft tool with 0.25-mm-wide edge
364
Naturwissenschaften (2008) 95:361–366
(Fig. 2c). Examination by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the same object indicated hammering. Traces of hammering are also evident on the folded foil when examined by SEM. Examination by SEM of the curved wire presented slight facets, short longitudinal folds and a varying diameter (Fig. 2f). Traces of chloride and sulfur were also identified here.
Discussion The traces of burning in the interior of the crucible indicate that melting was accomplished through the placement of charcoal inside the bowl together with the metal, as illustrated in the walls of a sixth Dynasty tomb in Saqqara (Riederer 1987). An identical crucible was found next to the one analyzed. This was fully preserved with a spout for pouring and a socket for handling (Fig. 2g). No remains of metal were preserved here, but sparse traces of burning were also seen inside the bowl and on the rim. The morphological similarity and the find spot argue in favor of a similar use for both crucibles. Two additional small stone crucibles with similar characteristics, dating to the twelfth and the tenth centuries B.C., were also excavated. None retains visible remains of metal, probably due to post-
excavational cleaning. It is conceivable that they were used in gold melting activities as well. Stone crucibles are not known in the prehistoric Aegean, and they are rare in the rest of prehistoric Europe. Clay crucibles used for the melting of gold are equally scarce (Evely 2000, Harding 2000). All the known examples, however, are of small size, which is related to the small amounts of metal required for the manufacture of objects made of gold (Tylecote 1987). The manufacture of small ingots of gold for later use with hammering seems probable as well as the process of alloying. None of the analyzed gold objects from Toumba display a chemical composition similar to the gold remains on the crucible (Table 1). If we assume that the remains represent primary intended use, the high content of copper in the spheroids could suggest that copper was added in the crucible as an alloy during melting (Ramage and Craddock 2000). It is not possible at this point to positively identify the sources of the gold used in the artefacts from the site. The complications involved in the attribution of golden artefacts to particular metal sources are important and have been recently discussed (Chapman et al. 2006). We would like to point out however, that there are deposits in short distances from the site, which display compositions not incompatible
Table 1 Chemical compositions of artefacts from the Late Bronze Age settlements of Thessaloniki Toumba and Kastanas and of placer deposits located in the wider region of the settlements Artefacts Thessaloniki Toumba KE4417 Spheroids KE4526 Bead KE836 Foil KE987 wirea Kastanasb Au 5305 Au 5279 Au 5278 Au 5280 Depositsc Nigrita Mygdonia Lakkia-Peristeria Gallikos 1 Gallikos 2 Axios 1 Axios 2 Thasos1 Thasos2 Palea Kavala1 Palea Kavala2 a
Au wt%
Ag wt%
Cu wt%
Os wt%
Ir wt%
Pt wt%
Sn wt%
76.80 77.50 90.30 99.80
20.35 22 9.25 0.15
3.50 0.55 0.50 <0.10
< 0.10 <0.10 nd nd
nd <0.15 nd nd
nd <0.05 nd nd
nd nd nd
74.00 86.85 91.85 92.90
15.00 13.00 8.00 7.00
0.11 0.15 0.12 0.07
0.01 0.01
0.002 0.003
78.10 90.85 98.70 84.40 84.20 93.10 90.70 93.80 96.60 93.90 87.95
22.00 9.35 1.35 15.40 14.00 7.50 8.80 6.10 2.95 5.95 11.85
<0.10 <0.10 <0.10 0.10 0.30 0.10 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.15 0.20
<0.05 nd nd <0.05 <0.05 nd nd nd nd nd nd
nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
< 0.10 <0.05 <0.10 <0.05 <0.05 <0.05 <0.05 nd nd nd nd
<0.15 <0.05 <0.10 <0.05 <0.05 <0.05 <0.05 nd nd nd nd
Traces of chloride and sulfur were also identified. Hartman in Hochstetter 1987 c Mean values. Details in Vavelidis 1999; for Thasos and Palea Kavala, Vavelidis et al. 1988 and Vavelidis et al. 1997b, respectively. b
Naturwissenschaften (2008) 95:361–366
with those of the Toumba objects. KE4526 has a chemical composition compatible with the placer gold deposits in the Nigrita district (Table 1. Fig. 1 no. 17; Vavelidis 1999). KE836 is closer in composition to the placer gold deposits in the Mygdonia basin (Table 1. Fig. 1 no. 21; Vavelidis et al. 1997a). Finally, the composition of KE987 is compatible to the placer gold deposits in the Peristera-Lakkia area, ca. 20 km east of Thessaloniki Toumba (Table 1, Fig. 1 no. 23; Vavelidis 1999). In the same object, some traces of chloride could have resulted from further refinement of the gold with the use of saltwater. This type of refinement is usually considered to postdate the LBA (Evely 2000). Indeed, this object came from a mixed context which also contained later pottery. The same object displays traces of hammering and twisting (Fig. 2e,f) The objects from Thessaloniki Toumba exhibit different chemical compositions from the roughly contemporary artefacts found at the settlement of Kastanas on the Axios River (Table 1, Fig. 1; Hartmann 1987). The composition of two Kastanas objects (Au5305, Au5279) is compatible with placers of the Gallikos river (Table 1; Fig. 1 no. 28; Vavelidis and Boboti-Tsitlakidou 1993, Vavelidis 1999), while two others (Au5278, Au5280) with such of the Axios river (Table 1; Fig. 1 no. 29; Charistos and Vavelidis 1999). Returning to the initial questions of this contribution, the stone crucible from Thessaloniki Toumba confirms that objects of gold were manufactured in northern Greece during the LBA. If the other stone crucibles found at the site were also intended for the same use, then gold working must have been systematically practiced at the site between the twelfth and tenth centuries B.C. The analytical data indicate that probably metal from different gold deposits was used at Toumba. Different objects, however, are compatible with different sources in the region, and the use of local deposits during the LBA is not unlikely, although it cannot be confirmed at this stage of research. Further work is also necessary to investigate the possibility that the rich deposits of northern Greece could have provided some of the gold used in the LBA by the Mycenaeans in the south. Different gold deposits had probably been used at the LBA settlement of Kastanas. Nevertheless, in view of the discussion here, it is not necessary to consider that the Kastanas artefacts were imports from the Mycenaean centers, as it was originally suggested. How, then, could we explain the dearth of gold objects during the LBA in the region, considering the positive evidence for local production, the large number of local deposits and the possibility that mining activity could have been taking place during the Bronze Age? It seems likely that the archaeological scarcity may misrepresent the actual volume of artefacts produced and consumed locally. The dearth of precious finds may have resulted form the pattern of their deposition during the LBA. Social attitudes could
365
have discouraged the withdrawal of precious artefacts in hoards or graves, promoting instead their continuous circulation and recycling until they would have become unusable. Acknowledgements We thank I. Mavroeidi for help with the study of the artefacts and K. Efkleidou for help with the illustrations. We also thank Professor G. A. Wagner for commenting on an early version of the manuscript and Dr. R. J. Chapman and three more anonymous referees for their comments. The research was partly supported through a grant from the Institute of Aegean Prehistory.
References Andreou S, Fotiadis M, Kotsakis K (2001) The Neolithic and Bronze Age of Northern Greece. In: Cullen T (ed) Aegean prehistory. A review. American Journal of Archaeology Supplement 1. Archaeological Institute of America, Boston, pp 259–328 Chapman RJ, Leake RC, Warner RA et al (2006) Microchemical characterisation of natural gold and artefact gold as a tool for provenancing prehistoric gold artefacts: A case study in Ireland. Appl Geochem 21:904–918 Charistos V, Vavelidis M (1999) The placer gold deposits in the Axios river, Central Macedonia, Greece. Eur J Mineral 11(Supplement):50 Davis EN (1983) The gold of the shaft graves: The Transylvanian connection. In: Gold in the Aegean Bronze Age. Temple University Aegean Symposium, vol. 8. Temple University, Philadelphia, pp 32–38 Dickinson OTPK (1994) The Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Evely D (2000) Minoan crafts: tools and techniques. An introduction. SIMA 92. vol. 2. P. Astrom, Jonsered Harding AF (2000) European societies in the Bronze Age. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Hartmann A (1987) Addendum G. Über die analytische Untersuchung der Goldfunde von Kastanas. In: Hochstetter A (ed) Kastanas: Ausgrabungen in einem Siedlungshügel der Bronze—und Eisenzeit Makedoniens, 1975–1979. Die Kleinfunde. Volker Spiess, Berlin, pp 127–128 Heurtley WA (1939) Prehistoric Macedonia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Hochstetter A (1987) Kastanas: Ausgrabungen in einem Siedlungshügel der Bronze—und Eisenzeit Makedoniens, 1975–1979. Die Kleinfunde. Volker Spiess, Berlin Mavroeidi I, Andreou S, Vavelidis M (2006) Metal objects and metalworking activities at Thessaloniki Toumba during the Bronze Age (In Greek). Archaeol Work Macedonia Thrace 18:315–328 McGeehan Liritzis V (1996) The role and development of metallurgy in the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age of Greece. Paul Astrom, Jonsered Ramage A, Craddock P (2000) King Croesus’ gold. Excavations at Sardis and the history of gold refining. British Museum, London Riederer J (1987) Archäologie und Chemie: Einblicke in die Vergangenheit: Ausstellung des Rathgen-Forschungslabors SMPK, September 1987–Januar 1988. Rathgen-Forschungslabor SMPK., Berlin Schliemann H (1968) Ilios: the city and country of the Trojans. B. Blom, New York Tylecote RF (1987) The early history of metallurgy in Europe. Longman, London Unger HJ (1987) Das Pangaion. Ein altes Bergbauzentrum in Ostmakedonien. Prähistorische Zeitschrift 62(1):87–112
366 Vavelidis M (1989a) Das Au-Ag Vorkommen von Metagitsi, Chalkidiki (Nordgriechenland). Eur J Mineral 1(Supplement.):192 Vavelidis M (1989b) Das Seifengoldvorkommen im Gebiet von Chimaros. Naturwissenschaften 76:521–22 Vavelidis M (1999) Archaeometric research on the provenance of gold of archaeological finds from Macedonia dating from the Neolithic to the late Hellenistic period (in Greek). General Secretariat of Research and Technology. Thessaloniki Vavelidis M (2004) Gold deposits and ancient mining activities in Macedonia and Thrace (in Greek). Thessalon Polis 14:74–93 Vavelidis M, Boboti-Tsitlakidou I (1993) Changes of the gold grains morphology during their downstream transport in the Gallikos placer example. Bull Geol Soc Greece 28:245–263 Vavelidis M, Gialoglou G, Melfos V, Wagner GA (1996) Goldgrube in Palaea Kavala Griechenland: Entdeckung von Skaptehyle. Erzmetall 49:547–554 Vavelidis M, Melfos V, Boboti-Tsitlakidis I (1997a) A new occurrence of placer gold in the Marathousa area (central Macedonia, N.
Naturwissenschaften (2008) 95:361–366 Greece). In: Papunen H (ed) Mineral deposits: research and exploration, where do they meet? Proceedings of the Fourth Biennial SGA Meeting, Turku, Finland, 11–13 August, 1997. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 339–342 Vavelidis M, Melfos V, Eleftheriadis G (1997b) Mineralogy and microthermometric investigations in the Au-bearing sulphide mineralization of Palea Kavala (Macedonia, Greece). In: Papunen H (ed) Mineral deposits: research and exploration, where do they meet? Proceedings of the Fourth Biennial SGA Meeting, Turku, Finland, 11–13 August, 1997. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 343–346 Vavelidis M, Pernicka E, Wagner GA (1988) Die Goldvorkommen von Thasos. Anschnitt 6:113–124 Wagner GA, Pernicka E, Gialoglou G, Vavelidis M (1981) Ancient gold mines on Thasos. Naturwissenschaften 68:263–264 Wagner GA, Pernicka E, Vavelidis M, Baranyi I, Bassiakos Y (1986) Archäometallurgische Untersuchungen auf Chalkidiki. Anschnitt 5–6:166–186