of ancient mines through integration of remotely sensed and multiple data sets. a case study of the

360 Pages·2013·26.49 MB·English

THE ‘DISCOVERY’ OF ANCIENT MINES THROUGH INTEGRATION OF
REMOTELY SENSED AND MULTIPLE DATA SETS. A CASE STUDY OF
THE DERININ TEPE GOLD MINE, WESTERN ANATOLIA.

GRAHAM CHARLES SYLVESTER BSc. (Hons 1), MSc., Grad Dip. Bus. & Fin.
(Dist.)

This thesis is presented for the degree of Master of Arts of The University of Western
Australia.
School of Humanities
Department of Classics and Ancient History
2012

Every archaeological problem starts as a problem in geoarchaeology.

- Colin Renfrew
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ABSTRACT

Mining has been a process integral to human civilization and an understanding of its
history and development is therefore an important facet of Archaeology. Locating and
documentating ancient mining sites can contribute to the knowledge of the dynamics of
societies in which they operated but can also provide invaluable assistance in the search
for new mines. It is universally recognized that most new mines are found in the vicinity
of old mines. This study introduces a methodology for the detection of ancient mining
operations and ancillary activities, using the ancient gold mine workings at Derinin
Tepe in western Turkey as a case history and training site. Derinin Tepe has a long
history of mining, from at least Roman times up to current attempts to establish an
economic gold mine.
The search for ancient mines is best facilitated through integrated application of
a range of techniques each designed to detect characteristics specific to the type of
deposit being sought. This study examines a wide range of potentially useable
techniques and analyzes how the Derinin Tepe gold mineralization and mine responded
to each method/technique. Techniques assessed for possible use included remote
sensing through satellite imagery (including radar), airborne geophysics and aerial
photography, ground based geology, geochemistry, geobotany, field examination,
laboratory spectral analysis and desktop techniques including literature search, local
record search and interviewing of local people. The remotely sensed data has been
integrated with the ground based technical data in a Geographical Information System
(GIS) to analyse which applications are most useful for the detection of the deposit and
mine.
The Derinin Tepe site was most readily identifiable through its geochemical
signature and radar response. The study demonstrates that a number of possible
discoverative techniques did not work and documents the reasons why that is the case,
hence providing valuable insight into how these can be applied in any particular search.
Results indicate that not all techniques are applicable in every situation. The
selection of the techniques most likely to be useful in any particular search depend upon
a good understanding of the type of deposit being sought, its geological environment,
likely geochemical and geophysical responses and the potential mineralogy of any
alteration halo likely to be associated with the deposit. The nature and extent of
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vegetative cover and topography are also important in the selection of the techniques to
be applied to the search.
Geological methods are comparit1vely more significant than
archaeological/historical methods in the search for ancient mining and processing sites.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. THE RESEARCH 8
II. INTRODUCTION
II.1 The Importance of Mining 9
II.2 The Importance of Turkey in Mining History 17
II.3 The Study Area 18
II.4 Historical considerations
II.4.1 The Evolution of Metallurgical Culture and Development of the
Anatolian Trade Network 19
II.4.1.1 The Anatolian Trade Network 25
II.4.1.2 Western Anatolia from the Second Millennium BCE to Roman
Times and the place of Derinin Tepe therein 33
III. INDICATIVE METHODOLOGY
III.1 Introduction 50
III.2 Fieldwork 50
III.3 Aerial Photography 52
III.4 Satellite Imagery 55
III.5 Remote Sensing Spectral Emissivity 60
III.6 Radar Imaging 61
III.7 Geophysical Methods 66
III.8 Vegetation as an Indicator of Archaeological Sites 68
III.9 Geobotany 69
III.10 Geochemistry 71
III.11 Written Records from Local Archives 78
III.12 Unpublished Company Data 78
III.13 Published and unpublished Papers 78
IV. THE DERININ TEPE PROJECT AREA
1V.1 Location, Access, Tenure and Current Exploration History 79
IV.2 Geology 83
IV.3 Mineralization 84
IV.4 Ancient Workings 86
IV.5 Geochemistry 96
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IV.5.1 Soil Geochemistry Data Analysis 96
IV.5.2 Rock Geochemistry Data Analysis 111
IV.5.3 Conclusions 111
IV.6 Drilling 112
IV.7 Geophysics 116
V. REMOTE SENSING INVESTIGATIONS
V.1 ASTER Imagery
V.1.1 Epithermal Precious Metal Deposits 119
V.1.2 Geological Application of ASTER and other Satellite Imagery 121
V.1.3 Derinin Tepe ASTER Imagery 124
V.1.3.1 Green Vegetation Index 134
V.1.3.2 Abundance of AlOH Group Minerals Index 138
V.1.3.2 a Composition of AlOH Group Minerals Index 145
V.1.3.3 Ferrous Iron in Silicates Abundance Index 148
V.1.3.4 Opaque Minerals Index 151
V.1.3.5 Advanced Argillic Group Abundance Index 154
V.1.3.5a FeOH Group Abundance Index 157
V.1.3.6 MgOH Minerals Abundance Index 159
V.1.3.7 MgOH Trioctahedral Silicates Composition Index 162
V.1.3.8 Ferric iron Abundance in MgOH Group Minerals 164
V.1.3.9 Ferrous iron Abundance in MgOH Group Minerals
Index 166
V.1.4 Derinin Tepe Hill 169
V.1.5 Derinin Tepe Ridge 189
V.1.6 East of Derinin Tepe 203
V.1.7 South of Derinin Tepe 207
V.1.8 Kaolin Pit Area South of Derinin Tepe 210
V.1.9 Other Areas on the Derinin Tepe Regional Scene 214
V.1.10 Discussion of ASTER Spectral Results 216
V.2 PALSAR Radar
V.2.1 Methodology 219
V.2.2 Results 222
V.2.2 Discussion of PALSAR Results 230
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VI. SITE INVESTIGATION
VI.1 Data Review 238
VI.2 Derinin Tepe Site Investigation 238
VI.3 Sampling for material for spectral analysis in the laboratory 241
VI.4 Other ancient gold mining sites in the vicinity of Derinin Tepe 251
VI.5 Other mining operations 257
VI.6 Historical and archaeological considerations 258
VII. LABORATORY SPECTRAL ANALYSIS
VII.1 Spectral measurement 272
VII.2 Analysis of results 275
VIII. ASTER Z-PROFILE SPECTRAL ANALYSIS
VIII.1 Overview 280
VIII.2 The Derinin Tepe ASTER scene data 282
IX. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 299
IX.1 Choice of Techniques 299
IX.2 Choice of Techniques used at Derinin Tepe 301
IX.2.1 Geochemistry 302
IX.2.2 Aeromagnetics and Gravity 303
IX.2.3 PALSAR Radar 303
IX.2.4 ASTER Multispectral Imagery 303
IX.3 A Methodology Developed 307
X. CONCLUSIONS 307

BIBLIOGRAPHY 309
LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES, PLATES and APPENDICES 345
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the assistance afforded me by the management and staff of
KEFI Minerals PLC. who allowed me access to the Derinin Tepe project data and
provided me with logistic and field support in Turkey. Without this assistance the
project would not have been possible. I am also indebted to Dr. Rob Hewson who
schooled me in the use and operation of the software used to analyze the satellite
imagery and for his assistance in the interpretation of mineral spectra. CSIRO Division
of Earth Science and Resource Engineering allowed me access to their ARRC
laboratories at Bentley where the satellite data was processed and I would like to thank
Drs. Tom Cudahy and Carsten Laukamp for their guidance and assistance in this aspect
of the research. My supervisors, Prof. David Kennedy and Dr. Klaus Gesner have
provided me with wise counsel and encouragement and without them this work would
not have been possible. My sincere thanks also go out to Denese Shepherdson, Peter
Bloomfield and Rebecca Banks who have all provided significant help with the reading,
editing, structuring and formatting of this document. Unless otherwise attributed all
photographs in this work are my own.
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I. THE RESEARCH

The primary objective of the research was to develop a methodology for the detection of
ancient mining operations and ancillary activities (processing and infrastructure, such as
roads, structures) using the ancient mine workings at Derinin Tepe as a case history.
A secondary objective of the research was to determine (if possible) the role and
relationships of the detected operations in the local and regional societies within which
they were located.

The thesis is structured in the following manner.
The importance of mining with a brief history of mining and metallurgical
development is followed by the rationale for carrying out the research in Turkey and the
study area in particular.
The evolution of the mining and metallurgical culture in the region is traced and
is related to the development of trade routes. A condensed history of Anatolia is
presented so as to place the study area and mine in historical and cultural context.
Methods of possible use in the search for ancient mines are documented,
discussed and evaluated.
The Derinin Tepe Gold Mine is introduced and relevant company data presented
to place it in geological and geographical perspective. Ground based techniques which
could have been used to ‘discover’ the deposit are discussed utilizing the project data as
evidence.
The use of satellite imagery in the detection and documentation of Derinin Tepe
is examined with particular emphasis on ASTER multispectral spectrometry and
PALSAR radar imagery.
Field studies were used to further document the project area to provide ‘ground
truthing’ of the satellite data and to obtain cultural and archaeological information to
place the mine in cultural and historical context.
Laboratory spectral studies were also carried out to confirm the link between
field and satellite data sets.
The techniques which were successful in delineating the Derinin Tepe mine are
discussed as are those which were unsuccessful and the reasons for their failure.
Conclusions are then drawn on the structuring of a methodology for the
discovery of ancient mines.
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II. INTRODUCTION
II.1 The Importance of Mining
‘The greatest innovation in the history of civilization is the use of minerals’
Kaptan (1990, 75).

Early humans utilized natural raw materials such as stone, bone, wood and other
organic materials to facilitate food gathering and production. As hunter-gatherers they
undoubtedly noted the presence of, collected and produced tools from, naturally
occurring flint and obsidian which had particularly useful properties such as hardness or
sharpness (Semaw 1977). However, the discovery and use of coloured oxides of metals
(principally copper and iron) for artistic and decorative purposes was one early
indication of the use of intellect and civilization of Homo sapiens (Bronowski 1973, 54;
Shaw 2000, 57-59, 108).
The enormous breadth, depth and complexity of products used in our societies
are in no small measure the result of the processing of the Earth’s naturally occurring
minerals. It is by the process of mining that we have, since those very early days,
extracted the minerals we have always prized; from the flint gougers of the Palaeolithic
to the huge, bulk extractive open pit gold, coal and iron ore mines of today; mining has
always been an integral part of man’s life. It is for this reason that it is important to
examine how mining has influenced the society in which the individual has lived and is
an underlying purpose of this research.
Mining for metals marks a seminal point in human history – the recognition of the
immense usefulness and likely superiority of these materials as tools or weapons, the
invention and development of technologies required in extraction and working
(metallurgy), the need and ability to identify sources (prospection and geology) and –
related to that, the growth of geographical exploration and trade to obtain them. This
thesis is concerned with one aspect of that – the locations of early mines and how we
may trace them.
Mining including quarrying and mineral processing have become an integral and
indispensable part of human society. As such they provide an avenue for archaeological
investigation to further increase our knowledge of the nature and structure of the
societies in which our ancestors lived. An advantage of looking at old mines is that in
some parts of the world they are numerous and present an opportunity to study a wide
range of deposit types. In the USA alone, it has been estimated that there exist over
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560,000 old workings (Kertes 1996, US Department of the Interior 2007) and that a
similar number could be expected in Australia (because of its mineral wealth and
history of prospection) and in many other countries.
The study of ancient mining and processing operations can potentially provide
information on a wide range of aspects of the societies of which they formed part. It can
provide us with information on the stage of development of a society through what was
mined, why it was mined and how. Was the material mined for religious, cultural or for
practical use such as in weapons or tools? In early societies coloured minerals (typically
malachite or haematite) were mined for cosmetic purposes or for jewellery or artistic
purposes. Materials then began to be mined for making tools (e.g. flint and obsidian for
primitive tools then metals, typically copper). Rare and precious metals were collected
for beauty and as a store of wealth. Iron was always cherished and once technology
developed to allow it to be smelted, at some time before the end of the fourth
millennium BP, it became the dominant metal in the world, (even before the industrial
revolution). With the advent of steel-making iron and coal became the basic
commodities of the modern industrial society. The progression to postmodern society
has seen the demand for exotic metals such as rare earths and elements such as silicon
for chips, gallium and germanium for semi-conductor manufacture, metals such as
tungsten and niobium for superconductors and uranium for use as a nuclear fuel. What
was/is mined tells us a lot about both the absolute and relative stages of development of
societies.
Mining can also tell us something about the degree of development of
technology in a society, a proxy for the stage of development; ranging from basic
material collection (malachite, native copper, flints, obsidian etc. in simple societies) to
gouging, through to open pit and underground operations in increasingly complex
technological societies. In addition, the degree of sophistication of the mining and
methods of working also tell us something of the society undertaking the tasks. There
tends to be increasing sophistication in the method of working, such as from
underground open stope where a commonly large underground area is excavated, to
back-fill mining in which waste rock is returned to fill areas in the mine where ore has
been removed-commonly done to stabilize the workings. This has lead to simple open
pit mining which progressed to the use of benches - flat areas at regular vertical spacing
within the open pit from which mining of ore from the pit face is undertaken- over time
and the advancement of industry and technological sophistication of society. Size and