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604 Pages·1995·20.492 MB·English
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Prehistoric Gold in Europe NATO ASI Series Advanced Science Institutes Series A Series presenting the results of activities sponsored by the NATO Science Committee, which aims at the dissemination of advanced scientific and technological knowledge, with a view to strengthening links between scientific communities. The Series is published by an intemational board of publishers in conjunction with the NATO Scientific Affairs Division A Life Sciences Plenum Publishing Corporation B Physics London and New York C Mathematical and Physical Sciences Kluwer Academic Publishers o Behavioural and Social Sciences Dordrecht, Boston and London E Applied Sciences F Computer and Systems Sciences Springer·Veriag G Ecological Sciences Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, London, H Cell Biology Paris and Tokyo I Global Environmental Change PARTNERSHIP SUB-SERIES 1. Disarmament Technologies Kluwer Academic Publishers 2. Environment Springer·Veriag 3. High Technology Kluwer Academic Publishers 4. Science and Technology Policy Kluwer Academic Publishers 5. Computer Networking Kluwer Academic Publishers The Partnership Sub-Series incorporates activities undertaken in collaboration with NATO's Cooperation Partners, the countries of the CIS and Central and Eastern Europe, in Priority Areas of concern to those countries. NATO-PCO-DATA BASE The electronic index to the NATO ASI Series provides full bibliographical references (with keywords andlor abstracts) to more than 30000 contributions from international scientists published in all sections of the NATO ASI Series. Access to the NATO-PCO-DATA BASE is possible in two ways: - via online FILE 128 (NATO-PCO-DATA BASE) hosted by ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei, 1-00044 Frascatt, Italy. - via CD-ROM "NATO-PCO-DATA BASE" with user-friendly retrieval software in English, French and German (© WTV GmbH and DATAWARE Technologies Inc. 1989). The CD-ROM can be ordered through any member of the Board of Publishers or through NATO PCO, Overijse, Belgium. Series E: Applied Sciences -Vol. 280 Prehistoric Gold in Europe Mines, Metallurgy and Manufacture edited by Giulio Morteani Lehrstuhl fOr Angewandte Mineralogie und Geochemie, Technische Universitat MOnchen, Garching, Germany and Jeremy P. Northover Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Kluwer Academic Publishers Dordrecht / Boston / London Published in cooperation With NATO SCientific Affairs Division Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Prehistoric Gold in Europe Seeon, Germany September 27 -October 1, 1993 A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 978-90-481-4500-3 ISBN 978-94-015-1292-3 (eBook) DOl 10.1 007/978-94-015-1292-3 Published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Kluwer Academic Publishers incorporates the publishing programmes of D. Reidel, Martinus Nijhoff, Dr W. Junk and MTP Press. Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada by Kluwer Academic Publishers, 101 Philip Drive, Norwell, MA 02061, U.S.A. In all other countries, sold and distributed by Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, P.O. Box 322,3300 AH Dordrecht, The Netherlands. All Rights Reserved © 1995 Kluwer Academic Publishers Sotfcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1995 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo copying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ix The participants of the NATO-ARW meeting xi Chapter 1 - Chronology and Climatic Changes in Prehistory Notes on a general chronological scheme for Europe R. Gebhard ....................... ...................... .. .................................................................................... . 3 Outline of climatic and environmental changes in southern central Europe over the past 20,000 years f. Muller .. ........................ .. ............................................................................................. . 7 Chapter 2 -Gold and Society Considerations on the real and the symbolic value of gold O. Betz ....................................................................... . 19 Gold and society in prehistoric Europe C. Eluere ... 29 The monetary aspect of gold from prehistoric to modern times O. Burger ... ................... .. ........................................ . 33 From gift to commodity: The changing meaning of precious metals in the later Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula M. Rufz-Gtilvez ................................... . 45 The rise and fall of gold metallurgy in the Copper Age of the Carpathian Basin: The background of the change f. Makkay ........................... . 65 Gold and silver during the 3rd Mill. cal. B.C. M. Primas ................. .. .................. . 77 Chapter 3 - Sources of Precious Metals in Europe Mineral economics, mineralogy, geochemistry and structure of gold deposits: An overview G. Morteani ..... ... ....... .. .......................... . 97 The gold deposits of Europe: An overview of the possible metal sources for prehistoric gold objects G. Lehrberger 115 vi Accumulation of gold by electrochemical processes P. Moller ........................................................................................................................................... . 145 Ore mining in prehistoric Europe: An overview G. Weisgerber and E. Pernicka........................................................ ................ ........................... 159 Gold deposits and the archaeological distribution of gold artefacts: A case-study of the La Tene period in the Swiss Midlands F. Muller .............................................................................................................................. ............... 183 Gold in the Alps: A view from the south P. Piana Agostinetti, G. Bergonzi, M. Cattin, M. Del Soldato, F.M. Gambari and M. Tizzoni ....... ....... ............. ...................... ............................................................ .... ....... ...... ... .... 199 Celtic gold mines in west central Gaul B. Cauuet .............................................................................................................................................. 219 Chapter 4 - Gold Metallurgy, Alloying and Chemical Analysis The metallurgy of gold and silver in prehistoric times Ch. J. Raub ....................................................................................... . 243 Industry in Celtic oppida -aspects of high temperature processes R. Gebhard ...... ....... ................................... ...................................... .................. .......... .................... ..... 261 Coin moulds and other ceramic material: A key to Celtic precious metal working R. Gebhard, G. Lehrberger, G. Moneani, Ch. Raub, F.E. Wagner and U. Wagner 273 Gold analysis: From fire assay to spectroscopy -a review H. G. Bachmann ..................... ............. ......... ....................... .. .... ........... ........................................... . 303 On non-destructive analysis of gold objects WB. Stern ......................................................................................................................................... . 317 Some experiences with the analysis of gold-objects A. Voute ....................... ....... ......... ............. ............ ..... ....................... .............. .................. ....... ........ ...... 329 A look into the interior of Celtic gold coins G. Lehrberger and Ch. J. Raub ..................................................................................................... 341 Electrochemical corrosion of natural gold alloys P. Moller ............................................................................................................................................. . 357 The composition of gold from the ancient mining district of Verespatakl Rosia Montana, Romania A. Hauptmann, Th. Rehren and E. Pernicka ............................................................................ . 369 vii Chapter 5 -Manufacture of Gold in Prehistory Technical aspects of prehistoric gold objects on the basis of material analyses V. Pingel..... ................ ...... .... ......................... ......... ........ ... ................... .......... ....... ..... 385 Rotary motion - lathe and drill. Some new technological aspects concerning Late Bronze Age goldwork from southwestern Europe B.R. Armbruster ............ .................... ....................... .................................................... 399 The appearance of black patinated copper-gold alloys in the Mediterranean area in the Second Millenium B.C. -Material characterization and problem of origin A.R. Giumlia-Mair ........................... .................. ...................................................... 425 Sintering, welding, brazing and soldering as bonding techniques in Etruscan and Celtic goldsmithing R. Echt and W -R. Thiele 435 Gold wire techniques of Europe and the Mediterranean around 300 B.C. G. Nicolini 453 The gold from Arrabalde A. Perea and S. Rovira .......... . 471 Celtic goldwork in the Iberian Peninsula M. Almagro-Gorbea ....................................................................................................................... . 491 Gold in Early Bronze Age graves from Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein U. Steffgen .... .. ............................................................................. . 503 Bronze Age gold in Britain 1. P. Northover 515 The ceremonial jewellery from the Regolini-Galassi tomb in Cerveteri. Some ideas concerning the workshop F. W von Hase .................... .. 533 La Tene gold and silver in Italy: A review of the archaeological evidence G. Bergonzi ........... ......... .. .......................... . 561 Celtic gold in Bohemia 1. Waldhauser 577 New Aspects on Celtic coin hoards in southern Germany B. Ziegaus........ ................................ .. .................. . 597 Index 609 PREFACE This book presents the results of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Prehistoric Gold in Europe held at Seeon in Southern Bavaria (Germany) from September 26 to October 1, 1993. This workshop was designed to bring together archaeologists and other social scientists, geoscientists like geologists, mineralogists and geochemists, chemists, metallurgists and theologists to discuss our current knowledge of mines, metallurgy, goldsmithing and the role of gold and gold artifacts in the society of prehistoric Europe. Archaeology seeks to reveal the past history of humanity, to raise the dead, to make our ancestors tell us about themselves and their social conditions and hope and fears for times that are well beyond the written record. Archaeology can be a voyage of the imagination and we should be aware that we can often interpret the remains of the past in more than one way. Geosciences are faced with the problem of discovering how the earth works in producing not only the mineral deposits like that of gold, but also providing humans with the necessities of their daily life. It is evidence of the weight that we place on mineral resources that the terms "Stone", "Bronze" and "Iron" were used to describe the major eras of prehistory. Both geosciences and archaeology are used to "read" both sites and the meaning of every individual object. Each sherd, each piece of rock is telling the geoscientist and the archaeolo gist a story. Looking at both sciences remarkable similarities in their evolution can be seen. The scientific situation in geological as well as in archaeological sciences changed dramati cally in the late 1930s. From that time radiometric methods for dating archaeological and geological material by the radioactive decay of isotopes were developed. Hahn and Walling (1938) developed the rubidium/strontium method for the age determination of rocks and Libby (1946) developed the radiocarbon method for the age determination of organic remains. At that time also, experimental petrology started to add to the simple examination of the rocks by macroscopical and microscopical methods data on the pressure and temperature of their formation. From the same time also, analytical chemistry increased in precision and reliability, and non destructive methods like X- ray fluorescence and neutron activation made it possible to analyse archaeological objects without damage to valuable items and anxiety for museum conservators. The techniques developed after the 1930s reduced not only the scope for speculation about the age and composition of the objects, but encouraged archaeologists to ask questions about tool uses, social context, behaviour and social groups, and geologists to look in every detail at how the earth works. Gold and gold artifacts are excellent objects for unravelling the secrets of prehistory and its societies from their ambivalent character as condensed wealth and that basis of power, but also as transcendental symbols of eternal life and beauty, belonging more to the realm of the gods in heaven than to humans on earth. The world's two million years of human history are the archaeologist's laboratory (Hayden 1992). About 4000 million years of rocks and minerals are that of the geoscientist. Studying the past in an interdisciplinary enterprise should not only increase our knowledge in specific fields of science, but help us to develop a sense of perspective about our present condition. Empires and cultures come and go like the species in the earth's history. What we see from ix x prehistory to now is just a shadow of the grim reaping that occurred at the end of the Palaeo zoic, 220 million years ago. At the end of the Permian period: "The face of death was to be seen everywhere, both on land and in the sea. Only one of every ten species survived the end of the Permian" (Ward 1992). Archaeology and geosciences are both fascinating sciences of once and future things. We feel that their cooperation is just at the beginning and in the fu ture will produce remarkable results. Special thanks go to the Scientific and Evironmental Affairs Division of the NATO. Without its financial support that meeting would never have taken place. Thanks also to Dipl. -Geol. Christine Preinfalk and to Dr. Gerhard Lehrberger of the Chair of Applied Mine ralogy of the Technical University of Miinchen for assisting in the organization of the mee ting. The help of Christine Preinfalk was invaluable during the editing of this book. Without her assistance this book would never have been printed. Thanks to Prof. Hermann Dannhei mer (Miinchen) and Dr. Rupert Gebhard (Miinchen) for advice during the organization of the archaeological part of the meeting. Some of the manuscripts were reviewed by Dr. Peter Moller (Berlin) and Dr. Christiane Eluere (Paris). Thanks finally to all participants who, with their enthusiasm and competence, made that meeting so exciting. Peter Nonhover Giulio Moneani References Hahn, 0., Walling, E. (1938): Uber die Moglichkeit geologischer Altersbestimmungen rubi diumhaltiger Minerale und Gesteine.-Z. Anorg. Chemie 236: 78-82. Hayden, B. (1992): Archaeology: the science of once and future things.- (Freeman) New York: 484 pp. Libby, W.F. (1946): Atmospheric helium-three and radiocarbon from cosmic radiation. Phys. Rev. 69: 671-672. Ward, P.D. (1992): On Methuselah's trail. Living fossils and the great extinctions. (Freeman) New York: 212 pp. The Participants of the NATO-ARW Meeting in the Park of the Herrenchiemsee Castle (Southern Bavaria), September 1994 Who Is Who? 9 B. Cauuet 18 U. Steffien 27 R. Gebhard 1 G. Morteani 10 M. Primas 19 Ch.J. Raub 28 A. VoQte 2 H.·G. Bachmann 11 A. Giumlla Malr 20 P. Northover 29 F. Wa~er 3 Mrs. VoClte 12 M. Rulz·Galvez 21 F.W. v. Hase 30 A. Hauptmann 4 C. Eluere 13 G. Nicolini 22 B. Zieraus 31 W. Stem 5 G. Welsrerber 14 S. Furanti 23 R. Echt 32 T. Rehren 6 B.R. Armbruster 15 A. Furanti 24 V. Plnrel 33 P. Moller 7 E. Pemlcka 16 G. Lehrberrer 25 J. Waldhauser 34 P. Plana Arostinetd 8 C. Prelnfalk 17 H. Dannhelmer 26 F. MOiler 35 J. Makkay xi

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