Roman Mining and Metallurgy

Combinando las fuentes arqueológicas, literarias y epigráficas, se revisan los elementos metálicos empleados en las obras hidráulicas y la maquinaria de achique. Según la frecuencia de su uso, hemos de mencionar el plomo, seguido del bronce y en tercer lugar, el hierro. Los metales nobles, plata y oro, aparecen en proporciones casi testimoniales. La mayor cantidad de los metales romanos relacionados con el agua se emplearon en los acueductos, en las tuberías (fistulae) y en los elementos reguladores: calices, válvulas, grifos o llaves de paso (epitonia). Las máquinas para achicar agua eran esencialmente de madera, aunque para los ejes y los reluerzos se recurrió tanto al bronce como al hierro. Además, podemos mencionar la vertiente decorativa que ofrece el bronce como ornamento de las fuentes, en especial los caños por los que brota el agua, sin olvidar las vasijas y los instrumentos musicales.


Combining archaeological, literary, and epigraphic sources, this paper deals with the metallic elements used in hydraulic projects and water-lifting machinery. Following an order in direct proportion to their frequency of use we first mention lead, then bronze, and in third place, iron. Precious metals also played a role, but only in practically token amounts. Most of the Roman metalwork related to water was used in aqueducts - pipes (fistulae) and regulating devices such as villves (calices), taps, and stopcocks (epitonia). Wood was the main raw material for building large water-lifting machines, although bronze and iron were used on the axles and reinforcements. In addition to this authentic exhibition of technological power, presented to us by the metallic elements related lo hydraulic architecture and engineering, we should also point out that beyond its merely functilonal aspect brome had a decorative role as ornamentation on fountains, especially as water spouts.

The paper provides a review of the revised archaeological field survey of the core zone of the Roman mining area between the villages of Guberevac, Stojnik, Babe and Parcani. The Roman mines in this area were the most important sources of lead and silver in the area of metalla Tricornensia, one of the four mining territories in Moesia Superior within the metalla Moesiae Superioris.
After reviewing the available data that originates from the Kosmaj mining area, preserved documentation from the explorations and published material, we realised that in order to understand this complex area it was necessary to resort to new, more extensive archaeological
field survey. A significant number of registered and excavated archaeological sites had no precise data about their locations, and it is impossible to consider the spatial organisation of the mining area without that category of data.
Because of the above said, we have decided to continue, after an almost three-decade long pause, the field archaeological explorations of the Kosmaj mining area, the first phase of which was new archaeological field survey. Based on the consideration of the spatial distribution
of the registered Roman sites, the character of movable finds and papers about the organisation of the Roman mining areas, we divided the Kosmaj mining area into three parts: 1) military fortification with the central mining settlement, 2) core zone of the mines, 3) broader zone of the mines. During the revised field survey that has been performed so far, we directed our attention to accomplishing two goals. The first was to precisely locate the already registered archaeological sites, with the aim of establishing their current condition, to assess their exploration potential and secure sufficient data to create a report for declaring
the site a cultural monument. The second goal was to inspect as much of the mining area as possible, to gain an insight into its state of preservation and whether it was in jeopardy, and to collect data needed for planning further systematic field survey. Newly discovered sites
were also registered during this process. Because of limitations regarding the length of this paper, described are only the sites from the core zone of the mine area: the military fortification, the zone of the civilian settlement, certain buildings from the Roman period and the
exploitation zone (slag deposits, pinges, mineshafts). Particular attention was paid to establishing the shape of the Roman castel in Gradište (a polygonal shape with a circumference of around 600 m, with a ‘small town’ within it, on an oval elevation with a diameter of 55 m,
surrounded by a trench), and all the existing and newly registered mineshafts (Table 1, six existing and five newly registered mineshafts). Besides a critical review of the existing studies of this area and a warning about the intense devastation of the archaeological sites, the
paper provides basic guidelines for further investigation and protection treatment of the Roman mining complex.

Mediante Resolución de 31 de julio de 2009, de la Dirección General de Bienes Culturales se iniciaba el procedimiento para la inscripción en el CGPHA, del Bien de Interés Cultural con la tipología de Sitio Histórico de la Zona Minera de Cerro Muriano. El
decreto entre otros términos expresaba que a través de las veintiuna áreas patrimoniales protegidas era posible descubrir cómo las distintas culturas habían generado tecnologías e infraestructuras ligadas a la minería, organizaciones sociales del trabajo y asentamientos humanos específicos, antropizando de
una forma muy característica el paisaje de la sierra de Cerro Muriano.*
Culminaban así años de esfuerzo y dedicación a una de las reservas mineras que probablemente mejor resumen la historia de la minería y de la metalurgia del cobre peninsulares y cuya explotación más intensiva se daba bajo en el mandato de Augusto y en los albores del siglo XX, cuando la Cordoba Copper Company Ltd. se hizo propietaria de sus filones epigenéticos.

Nous étudions dans cet ouvrage les archers dans l'armée romaine. Nous établissons leur visage de la fin de la République romaine jusqu'à Trajan à travers les sources littéraires, épigraphiques et archéologiques. Nous examinons par la suite l'efficacité de leurs armes et tentons de montrer qu'elles peuvent refléter un véritable travail technique grâce à une étude métallographique, complétée par des analyses physico-chimiques, du mobilier de pointes de flèche découvert au Puy d'Issolud (Lot), l'antique Uxellodunum: l'objectif principal étant la caractérisation, pour ces armes, des structures métallurgiques, des distributions, des morphologies et compositions des phases et des constituants présents. Il est dès lors possible d'imaginer les différents protocoles d'élaboration et les traitements thermo-mécaniques développés par les forgerons pour leur mise en forme et d'apporter de nouveaux éléments à l'histoire des techniques de la forge en relation avec l'armée romaine et plus particulièrement avec les corps et l'armement des archers.

Il presente lavoro, incentrato sulla storia del lavoro e dei lavoratori nel mondo romano, si propone di ricostruire, attraverso l'epigrafia monumentale, l'identità e il profilo socio-economico di alcuni individui vissuti a Mutina o nel suo ager in età tardorepubblicana e altoimperiale. Si tratta di alcuni uomini e una donna le cui iscrizioni, di natura prevalentemente funeraria, ricordano diverse figure professionali: un aurifex, un copo,  un medicus, un negotians lanarius, un praeceptor, un tonsor, diversi vestiarii, un vicesimarius, un possibile unctor e una vilica. Nel testo si formulano inoltre alcune ipotesi in merito alle funzioni esercitate in ambito domestico dai cosiddetti "delicia" o "pueri delicati"; vengono infine analizzati i tre gentilizi di derivazione professionale finora attestati nel Modenese: Aerarius, Aurarius e Purpurarius. Quest'ultimo nome, in particolare, fino a oggi sembrerebbe attestato esclusivamente nella colonia di Mutina e nel suo ager.

The mining of metal ores was an important industry in the ancient world because it provided valuable resources: precious metals for coins and non-precious metals for tools and weapons. The Roman province of Dalmatia possessed significant deposits of gold, silver and iron. This article combines evidence from archaeology, coins, inscriptions and literature to assess the nature of the management, organisation and significance of this industry in Dalmatia during the Roman period with an eye especially to the involvement of the Roman state. It also considers the greater economic impact of the mines in terms of employment and provision of supplies.

This thesis is the result of a preventive archaeological work carried out during the project "Recovery and Musealisation of the Roman Factories of Sines" promoted by the Municipality of Sines, designated with the acronym SALGAS, between 2017 and 2018.
The archaeological intervention was carried out at Largo João de Deus, in Sines, outside the Fish Sauce Factory A and allowed the identification of new archaeological contexts associated with an artefactual component of roman chronology.
During Roman times, the present-day Largo João de Deus was densely occupied by fish processing workshops, a metallurgical workshop and a pottery. The study of the exhumed archaeological remains made it possible to interpret and date the archaeological contexts, showing two distinct moments of occupation. In the 1990’s, Largo João de Deus was dug by Carlos Tavares da Silva and Antónia Coelho-Soares (2006) who have documented a fish preparation factory built during the 1st century AD. The metallurgical workshop documented in 2017 would have operated between the 1st century and the end of the 2nd century, maybe beginning of the 3rd century AD. At that time the fish preparation workshops will have undergone changes and remodelling, and domestic contexts have been documented inside Factory A showing occupation between the 3rd century and the 4th century AD (Silva, Coelho-Soares, 2016: 106-108).
During the 2017 archaeological works, a pottery production kiln was also documented within a meter from the factory. However, its digging was not allowed. It would have enabled us the understand the production type and the possibility of Sines being an amphorae production centre, thesis defended by Dias Diogo e Reiner (1987).
The coexistence of several workshops with different trades during the same chronological period raised the issue of trade simultaneity. Would it have been possible to have such a polluting workshop as the mining smelting and processing industry side by side with a fish processing workshops? The 2017/2018 archaeological works have brought light into this issue and have categorized new archaeological contexts, as well as two rituals associated with the sacralization of space: one in Sector 3, in the metallurgical workshop and the other in Sector 4 in a domestic context.
In the framework of the present thesis, the analysis of the exhumed archaeological remains was consolidated. This made it possible to date all different contexts and to present a new chronology concerning Factory A construction. The analysis of remains from contexts of dumps and abandonment, with the exception of some contexts in Sector 4 and Structure 5 in Sector 3, has enabled the categorization of consumption preferences and the import of fine ceramics, which are compatible with the two phases of occupation of Largo João de Deus.

Nous nous intéressons ici au plomb et au cuivre, les deux métaux hispa-niques dont l'exploitation et la production à l'époque romaine (Ier s. a.C. – IIe s. p.C.) sont les mieux documentées ; ils ont été commercialisés sous la forme de lingots mou-lés et marqués d'inscriptions diverses, dont l'archéologie, l'épigraphie et, depuis une date relativement récente, l'archéométrie (les isotopes du plomb) permettent de déterminer l'origine, avec des probabilités relativement bien assurées. Pour qui veut retrouver les routes commerciales suivies par ces lingots en méditerranée occidentale, les épaves dont ils constituent tout ou partie de la cargaison représentent la principale source de documentation. mais, selon leur situation et selon la configuration et/ou la plus ou moins grande abondance de leur chargement métallique, ces épaves n'ont pas toutes la même signification du point de vue de ce commerce. nous sommes ainsi conduits à distinguer, d'une part, les routes maritimes d'exportation du plomb et du cuivre au départ de la péninsule ibérique et, d'autre part, les multiples voies de redistribution (terrestres, fluviales, maritimes) de ces métaux à partir des divers points ali-mentés par ces routes d'exportation (ports-entrepôts, petits ports, mouillages, etc.), principalement d'espagne en italie et en gaule. enfin, certaines épaves, bien que renfermant quelques lingots de plomb (rarement plus de deux ou trois), n'entrent pas dans le cadre ainsi défini ; pour d'autres, souvent par manque d'information suffisante, il est difficile de trancher, et l'on se contentera alors d'hypothèses.

The focus of this paper is the archaeometallurgical debris from Corta Lago, in the municipality of Rio Tinto. The site is located within a mining district known and exploited since the Late Bronze Age. This ore-rich district is the result of a regional tectonic event that led to the formation of the Iberian Pyrite Belt and characterises the whole western part of the Sierra Morena to the border with Portugal and part of Portugal itself. The ore deposits of the pyrite belt are characterised by sulphides, mainly iron sulphides. The typical deposit comprises different layers, from the bottom to the top: sulphides stockworks, massive sulphides and gossan. The metal content in these three geological layers was deposited in the same time, so they show the same isotopic signature (Marcoux 1997b). Between the massive sulphides and the gossan, the phenomena of oxidation and water infiltration formed the secondary enrichment layer (Davies 1935; Rothenberg and Blanco-Freijero 1981; Salkield 1987; Barriga 1990; Kassianidou 1992; Hunt Ortiz 2003). This enrichment layer is the one mainly exploited in Antiquity for the production of silver and copper. The layer is characterised by different members of a family of a complex hydrosulphate mineral called jarosite, with the generic formula xFe3(SO4)2(OH)6 where x can be K, Na, NH4, Ag and Pb. Depending on the main cation accompanying the iron, the jarosites have a different dominant colour, useful in Antiquity to recognise the vein to be exploited.

The diachronic development of the crossbow brooch was examined for northern Gaul during the Late Roman period (3rd to 5th century) in order to extrapolate changes in production organisation from variation in the copper-alloy composition and shape of the artefacts. A combined method of surface analysis by handheld XRF and dimensional analyses by focussing on variation or similarity was applied and interpreted in a typological framework to confirm and enhance the traditional production model of the crossbow brooch. This led to new insights into the processes of regionality and state-control in Roman metal production in a provincial context. From a simple military commodity to an elite symbol of power and authority, these changes in production and consumption reflect sociocultural changes in the Late Roman West.

Tokat Museum Silver Rings
Abstract Rings have been used by men and women with functional purposes such as ornaments, seal, indicating nobility and rank, engagement, charm, key rings, and carrying poison. The sections of rings can be in various forms such as semi-circular, square thin band as they can be worn on fingers as well as toes. In addition to plain circular rings, rings with bezel were used as well. The forms of rings have changed over time and new forms have emerged. Silver rings in Tokat Museum are considered as catalog study in this article. Although all nine rings are stoned, the stones of two rings are missing. Four of the rings have cornelian, two have glass, and one has silver stone. Cornelian stones are engraved with negative descriptions and monogram. Descriptions and monogram are the most popular applications of Rome and Late Rome period. Rings have a wide time range between 1st century B.C. and  5th century A.D. Silver rings evaluated within the context of this study are particularly important for providing data in terms of social and economical status of daily life standards, and culture of individuals of the Rome and Late Rome Period. Considering that all the pieces in the museum are brought from Tokat and its surroundings, the analysis of this group will reveal important information on the important settlement in the Ancient Era in terms of the region’s socio-economical cultural position and its relations with neighboring cities and the way of living of individuals in that area. Within this scope, the cataloging of silver rings from Rome Period in Tokat Museum will provide important information, will be used in comparing other artifacts found in archeological studies and will provide a resource for future research studies.


ÖZET: Yüzükler, kadınlar ve erkekler tarafından süs eşyası, mühür, asalet, rütbe belirtme, nişan, tılsım, nazarlık, anahtar yüzükler ve zehir taşıma gibi işlevsel amaçlarla kullanılmışlardır. El bazen de ayak parmaklarına takılan yüzük halkalarının kesiti yarım daire, kare ince bant gibi farklı biçimlerde olabilmektedir. Düz halka yüzüklerin dışında, kaşlı yüzükler de kullanılmıştır. Yüzük formları zamanla değişerek yeni formlar ortaya çıkmıştır. Tokat Arkeoloji Müzesi'nde yer alan gümüş yüzükler bu makalede katalog çalışması olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Toplam dokuz adet olan yüzüklerin tamamı taşlı olmasına rağmen iki yüzüğün taşları noksandır. Yüzüklerden dört tanesi akik, iki tanesi cam, bir tanesi gümüş taşa sahiptir. Akik taşlar üzerine negatif betimler ve monogram kazınmıştır. Betimler ve monogram Roma ve Geç Roma döneminim sevilen uygulamaları olarak dikkat çekmektedir. Yüzükler MS 1. yüzyıldan MS 5. yüzyıla kadar geniş bir zaman aralığına sahiptir. Çalışma kapsamında değerlendirilen gümüş yüzükler, özellikle Roma ve Geç Roma Dönemi insanının sosyal ve ekonomik durumu, günlük yaşam standartları ve kültürü hakkında vereceği veriler açısından oldukça önemlidir. Müzedeki eserlerin tamamının Tokat ve çevresinden geldiği düşünüldüğünde, bu gurubun analizi Antik Çağ'da önemli bir yerleşim olan bölgenin sosyo-ekonomik kültürel konumu ve çevresindeki şehirler ile olan ilişkileri ve orada yaşayan insanların günlük yaşam şekli üzerine önemli veriler sağlayacaktır. Bu anlamda Tokat Müzesi'ndeki Roma Dönemi gümüş yüzüklerin kataloglanması sonucunda, arkeolojik araştırmalarda bulunulan diğer eserlerin analojisinde kullanılarak ileride yapılacak çalışmalara referans oluşturacaktır.

This work focuses on the study of the solid state processes on naturally corroded ancient brass arte. The object was recovered from burial in the Tiber riverbed in Italy, has been characterised from the morphological, chemical and microstructural point of view. The artefact probably originates from a Roman brass coin or medal and the alloy substrate was identified as a leaded brass (85% copper, 12.8% zinc and 2.2% lead). A combination of XRF, SEM coupled with EDS spot analyses and elemental mapping, Raman spectroscopy and OM observations were employed in order to describe the corrosion processes that created the heterogeneous, multi-layer corrosion product stratification. The identification of copper sulphide layers and the precipitation of some, rarely reported, basic copper and zinc phosphates are among the most important findings of this work. Two phases of anaerobic and aerobic corrosion emerged from the analyses. The object has undergone dezincification at early stages and decuprification later on.  However, the most crucial action was the environmental elements activity, which determined the corrosion rate and the nature of the corrosion product layers. The results are critically discussed and correlated with the environmental conditions of the burial context.  The study is supported by an extensive literature review.

The monetary find described in the monograph A Hoard of Roman Silver Coins From the Mining Area of Metalla Tricornensia. An archaeological and numismatic study, by Bojana Borić-Brešković and Adam N. Crnobrnja, was discovered by chance in the village of Mirosaljci, 40 km to the south of Belgrade in 1995 and, after members of the Ministry of the Interior had promptly intervened, it was deposited in the National Museum in Belgrade. Its  contents, 724 denarii of Rome and two drachmas of Lycia,
minted in the period from the reign of Nero to that of Commodus, were examined from the archaeological, historical and numismatic aspects, with special emphasis on the spacial aspect of the find.
The place where the coins were discovered, located on the fertile south-western slopes of the Parcanski Vis, in the border area of the provinces of Moesia Superior,
Dalmatia and Pannonia Inferior, was the reason for a new analysis of the presumed directions of the borders and for reconsidering what is already known about the mining
territory on Mount Kosmaj, its organization and attribution to a particular province.
In this light, proceeding from earlier assumptions based on epigraphic and, to a lesser extent, archaeological material, supplemented by new, primarily archaeological
and topographic data, it emerged that the Kosmaj mines were located in the province of Moesia Superior and its metalla Tricornensia, and that the locality where the hoard
was discovered belonged to the territory of the imperial domain of the mining area of Kosmaj. Its position on the fertile southern slopes of the Parcanski Vis, favourable for
working the land, with a registered facility in the immediate vicinity, and significant evidence as to the presence of settlements in the surrounding area, defined the agrarian character of the entire area, which supplied the numerous population of this mining area with wheat and other foodstuffs.
On the basis of an exhaustive analysis of the hoard, it was shown that the main part of the find was formed during the 2nd century, during the reign of Antoninus Pius and,
especially, Marcus Aurelius, exactly at the time when the exploitation of silver-bearing lead ore was intensified and when it was at its peak. With Commodus, the inflow of
coins in the hoard became very sporadic and one denarius belonging to him, dated to the period from January 1st to July, 192 AD, determined the terminus a quo of its burial.
The most probable cause for this was economic instability which, besides local trouble or reasons of an entirely personal nature, could have been caused by Commodus’ internal policy, which was particularly unpopular towards the end of his life and reign.
Although the Kosmaj mines were in an administratively separate territory and had special economic status, they could not have remained isolated from the influence of
the rest of the province. Commodus’ repressive measures regarding taxation and fees were thus identified as being one of the possible causes for insecurity and destabilisation in the area of the Kosmaj mines, which did not necessarily have to leave a trace in written sources.

En José María Álvarez Martínez, Trinidad Nogales Basarrate e Isabel Rodà de Llanza (eds.). Actas del XVIII Congreso Internacional de Arqueología Clásica: Centro y periferia en el Mundo Clásico. Mérida, vol. II, pp. 1635-1638 [ISBN  978-84-606-7949-3].

On the Leaden Cistae from the Roman Shipwreck of Rena Maiore (Sardinia).
Arelate /Arles (dép. Bouches-du-Rhône / F) as a Transhipment Site in the Supra-regional Trade of Metals?
Besides a great amount of lead ingots, four leaden boxes (cistae) with manufacture’s inscriptions were part of the cargo of a vessel sunk in the Augustan era at Rena Maiore near to the northern coast of Sardinia. The assumption that they may have been produced on the Iberian Peninsula must be dismissed. A detailed epigraphic examination of the producer marks together with the analysis of the metal’s lead isotope compositions has revealed that the cistae were manufactured at Arles /Arelate, with lead coming from deposits in Germania (northern Eifel / northern Venn mountains or even northern Sauerland) and from Gaul itself (Cevennes / Massif Central). The cargo of the Rena Maiore wreck is the first to offer evidence that also in Gaul lead had been mined in greater quantities. At the same time, the Roman colony
of Arles developed into a major transhipment site both for goods such as lead.

À propos des cistae de plomb portant les noms de producteurs et provenant
de l’épave romaine de Rena Maiore (Sardaigne). Arelate /Arles (dép. Bouches-du-Rhône / F) comme un lieu de transbordement du commerce suprarégional des métaux?
La cargaison du bateau qui a coulé à l’époque augustéenne sur la côte septentrionale de la Sardaigne, près de Rena Maiore, ne se compose pas seulement de lingots de plomb, mais on y trouva également quatre cistae de plomb qui portent les noms de leurs producteurs. Selon l’opinion commune, ces objets auraient éventuellement été produits sur la péninsule ibérique. Celle-ci est à rejeter, car l’autopsie épigraphique n’a laissé aucun doute sur leur origine arlésienne (Arelate). L’analyse scientifique du matériel a confirmé que les ouvriers disposaient de plomb provenant des gisements de Germanie (Nord de l’Eifel et de la Fagne ou encore contrées septentrionales du Sauerland) et de Gaule (Massif Central). La cargaison de l’épave de Rena Maiore fournit un premier indice en faveur d’une extraction du plomb à grande échelle en Gaule. Dans ce cadre, l’Arles antique s’est développée en un lieu de transbordement remarquable entre autres pour le plomb en question.

Mining and metallurgical transformation in Celtiberia during Second Iron Age have a major technological
development with production of high-quality objects, although it was organized into a regional economic
system that was responsive to the needs of a rural society. Courting Celtiberia by the Roman Republic was a
drastic change in the metal production, in society and management of the mining landscape. Rome implants a
model of colonial exploitation of metals in Celtiberia that radically transformed the landscape between the
second century BC and first century AD.

La Sierra de la Mina, en Totana, fue seleccionada para la realización de un estudio sobre arqueominería en la periferia de los grandes distritos mineros del Sureste con el objetivo de documentar, caracterizar y evaluar los métodos y técnicas empleados por las formaciones sociales precapitalistas en la explotación de los georrecursos de las áreas marginales. En este trabajo se exponen las principales conclusiones.

El Workshop «Propter marmora nuevas tendencias en la investigación sobre los materiales lapídeos desde la Antigüedad hasta nuestros días» pretende ser un foro de encuentro y debate para los miembros de los equipos integrantes de los tres proyectos de investigación de I+D+i y la Red de investigación que lo organizan dedicados al estudio del marmor desde distintas perspectivas y disciplinas Arqueología, Geología, Epigrafía, Historia Moderna, Historia del Arte, Filología Clásica y Arqueometría

This brief paper considers a Constantinian bronze coin with double-obverse recently studied by Alan M. Stahl and Rafail Zoulis in Concordia Disciplinarum: Essays on Ancient Coinage, History and Archaeology in Honor of William E. Metcalf (Numismatic Studies 38) and suggests a reconsideration of the authors' first scenario (which they dismissed as implausible).  This paper argues that the casting techniques used by fourth century forgers can easily explain the existence of a double-obverse coin.

Roman Imperial mines and quarries, Roman army, Hispania, Britannia, Germania, Dacia, Illyricum, Moesia, Aegyptus, Mons Claudianus, Production, Ingots, Stela, Damnati ad metalla, Tacitus, Archives, Papyri, Beneficiarii, canabae and vici, stationarii.
See Introduction.