THE 2007 EARLY IRANIAN METALLURGY WORKSHOP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF

NOTTINGHAM
Author(s): Lloyd Weeks
Source: Iran, Vol. 46 (2008), pp. 335-345
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25651450
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 ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORTS

THE 2007 EARLY IRANIAN METALLURGY WORKSHOP AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM

By Lloyd Weeks
University of Nottingham

Abstract
This article summarises the papers presented at a workshop on the early metallurgy of Iran, held in the
Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham, in September 2007. The fourteen presentations from
scholars based in Iran, Europe, and the USA summarise newly collected data and contextualise recent
archaeometallurgical research on an Iran-wide scale. Issues addressed include early copper smelting, artefact
alloying and fabrication, tin mining, early silver production, and technology transfer. It is hoped that the
Nottingham workshop will help to promote and direct further research into this subject.

Keywords
Archaeometallurgy; copper; silver; tin; arsenic; prehistory.

From 19-21 September 2007, a workshop on the early
metallurgy of Iran (c. 6500-2000 B.C.) was held in the
Department of Archaeology at the University of
Nottingham, UK. The Nottingham workshop brought
together fourteen archaeologists and archaeological
scientists from the UK, Iran, the USA, France, Germany
and Italy each studying aspects of prehistoric Iranian
metallurgy and/or the archaeology of the region. The
workshop allowed participants a chance to present and
summarise newly collected data, to debate results and
interpretations, and to contextualise their research on an
Iran-wide scale. A full list of attendees with contact
details is provided at the end of this report. As outlined
below, presentations and discussion covered issues as
diverse as early copper smelting and copper-base artefact
fabrication, tin mining and exchange systems, arsenical
copper, early silver production, and the transfer of
prehistoric technologies. All attendees are warmly
thanked for their contribution to what became a very
interesting and stimulating academic meeting.
As for the UCL Iranian Slag Workshop held in
December 2006,1 it is hoped that the Nottingham
workshop and various papers arising from it will provide
both a foundation and catalyst for future archaeometric
1 Thornton and Rehren 2007.
and archaeological research on early metallurgy and
cultural interaction in Iran. The workshop would not
have been possible without generous financial support
from the British Academy, the British Institute of Persian
Studies, and the University of Nottingham.
I. SUMMARY OF PRESENTATIONS
The following summaries were written by the authors of
individual contributions, and have been modified (by
LW) for length. The papers are listed in the order in
which they were presented at the workshop.
1.1. "Deh Hosein ancient Sn-Cu mine: a major source
of tin in the ancient world" by Nima Nezafati, Ernst
Pernicka and Morteza Momenzadeh
This presentation, introduces the recently discovered Deh
Hosein ancient tin-copper mine,2 and compares its ore
with ancient bronze artefacts from Luristan and
Mesopotamia in order to find a possible relationship. Deh
2 Momenzadeh et al 2002; Nezafati 2006; Nezafati et al
2006.

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 336 LLOYD WEEKS

Hosein is located on the NE border of Luristan, c. 45 km. intensive practice of lost-wax casting certainly
south-west of Arak city. The ancient workings consist of stimulated the technical development of the process,
numerous large ellipsoidal open depressions. Hammerallowing the elaboration of more complex and heavier
stones, grinding stones and early first millennium B.C. objects. The "Leopards Weight" (Balochistan, late fourth
pottery sherds were found in the open cast mines and or early third millennium B.C.) is one of the best
adjacent settlements. Charcoal from one of the diggings examples of these developments: the lost-wax copper
provided a 2a calibrated radiocarbon age range ofjacket, with its opened hollow shape, constitutes an
1775-1522 B.C. The mineralisation contains 35 oreextraordinary technical achievement.3 True hollow
minerals including arsenopyrite, native copper, coppercasting does not appear until the third millennium B.C.,
sulfide minerals, galena, pyrite and cassiterite. Analysis of
as illustrated by the manufacture of statuettes, including
17 ore samples from Deh Hosein by neutron activation the Nausharo bull figurine (Balochistan, 2300-2100
showed up to 6.72% Sn, 10% Cu, 23.9% As, 3.7% Pb,B.C.), or those from BMAC sites in Central Asia (based
0.75% Zn, and 13.3 ppm Au. Twenty-five Late Bronzeupon analyses of items in the Louvre collections).
Age bronze artefacts from Luristan (analysed by The birth of the lost-wax casting process can also be
EDXRF) show high concentrations of As, Pb, Zn, and Fe, paralleled with the first emergence of alloying in South
consistent with the ores from Deh Hosein. Additionally,Asia, as many of these early lost-wax cast artefacts were
the lead isotope ratios of 18 ore samples from Deh Hoseinmade of a copper-lead alloy (c. 10-40 wt% Pb and up to
exhibit a narrow range from 18.415-18.547 (206Pb/204Pb),4 wt% As). Significantly, it seems that the copper-lead
0.8438-0.8494 (207Pb/206Pb) and 2.0901-2.0959alloy was solely dedicated to artefacts made using the
(208Pb/206Pb). These results are in very good agreement lost-wax technique, a choice no doubt driven by the
with the Pb ratios of the bronze artefacts from Luristanadvantageous casting properties of such an alloy.
and other third millennium B.C. bronzes from the Persian
Gulf, the Aegean and Mesopotamia. Combined with the
known ancient textual references to tin and bronze1.3. "Archaeometallurgical Research in Central Iran "
sources east of Mesopotamia, our studies suggest thatby Ernst Pernicka
Deh Hosein may have been a major supplier of tin for the
ancient civilizations of SW Asia from the third-firstIn the Fertile Crescent, native copper was shaped by
millennium B.C. hammering and tempering from the ninth millennium
B.C., but smelted copper (as indicated by the occurrence
of slag and distinctive trace element patterns) first
appears only in the fifth millennium B.C. The earliest
1.2. "On the origin of lost-wax casting and alloying in
the Indo-Iranian World" by Benoit Mille evidence for copper smelting seems to surface on the
Iranian plateau at Tal-i-Iblis, Tepe Ghabristan, Tepe
Small copper-base wheel-shaped "amulets" have beenZaghe and other sites. Tepe Sialk presently boasts the
earliest occurrence of silver but it is not clear if it was
unearthed from the Early Chalcolithic levels at Mehrgarh
in Balochistan (Pakistan), dating from the late fifthsmelted or not.
millennium B.C. Visual and metallographic examina At Arisman, copper was smelted from the late fourth
tions prove their production by a lost-wax process?the millennium onwards, and a smelting furnace of the Sialk
earliest evidence so far for this metalworking technique. IV phase was excavated showing a similar design as at
Although a gap of more than 500 years exists betweenFeinan in the Wadi Arabah. The Arisman furnace
these ornaments from Mehrgarh and the later lost-wax consisted of a pear-shaped reaction volume of about 60
casts known in the Indo-Iranian world, the technologicalcm. height and 30 cm. diameter at the bottom. Crucible
and compositional links between these artefacts indicatefragments seem to indicate that the reaction product(s)
a similar tradition. We already know that the lost-wax ran into a crucible below this reaction zone. The walls of
process was commonly used during the second half of the reaction volume were repeatedly renewed so that
the fourth millenium B.C, as exemplified by figurative some 25 layers of burnt clay some 1 to 2 cm. thick
pinheads and compartmented seals, the latter of which remained. The composition of the slag has a bimodal dis
were produced and distributed across the region until thetribution, with copper-rich pyroxene slag with green
early second millennium B.C. Most, if not all, of these
artefacts were made using the lost-wax technique. This 3 Milled al 2005.

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 EARLY IRANIAN METALLURGY WORKSHOP 337
stains on the surface on the one hand and slag with
brown stains consisting mainly of olivine and magnetite
but also containing arsenides on the other. It is unlikely
that both slag types derive from the same smelting
charge but there is no separation of these slag types
recognisable in the field. Since the copper produced at
Arisman is mainly arsenical copper this may be an
indication that arsenic-rich materials were added inten
tionally. Lead isotope ratios exclude the often mentioned
deposits of Talmessi and Meskani as sources of the
copper, which are still unknown.
An interesting feature at Arisman is the abundant
occurrence of litharge, often in the form of elongated
moulds. This indicates silver production from argentifer
ous lead that derives from the mine of Nakhlak as has
been shown by lead isotope measurements. Thus, the
exploitation of this important lead-silver mine over the
last 6000 years has been proven. However, it is not yet
known where the primary smelting of the lead ores took
place, as no lead slags were found at Arisman.
1.4. <(Mineralogical andgeochemical investigations into
prehistoric smelting slags from Tepe Sialk, Central
Iran " by Marcus Schreiner
Mineralogical and geochemical analyses were
undertaken on slags from period 111:6/7 of the prehistoric
settlement of Tepe Sialk in the central Iranian highlands,
and on several other slags from the surface of the site.
The primary aims of this work were to characterise the
material and to reconstruct the fourth millennium obtained from at least four different sources. The silver
smelting process.
Chemically, the brown slags from the surface
(unstratified and hence undated) have typically a
pyroxene-melilite composition and do not contain
copper, whereas the stratified slags certainly belong to a
copper production and are unusually high in CaO and
MgO, and low in iron oxides. The copper content is very
high, pointing to a poorly developed smelting process.
Mineralogically, the surface slags contain silicates, glass,
and some oxides. However, the main silicates are
pyroxenes and melilites with few olivines, which are
otherwise ubiquitous in early slags. The copper slags are
very diverse and heterogeneous, indicating poor control
of the smelting process. Silicates occur together with
coloured glass, copper and iron oxides, sulfides, metal
droplets, and secondary hydroxides and chlorides. The
silicates are primarily pyroxenes and melilites with only
occasional olivines.
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The analyses indicate that the raw materials were
mixed ores with carbonates, oxides, and some sulfides.
Their source remains unknown, although one possible
location is the Qom formation limestones near the site.
The ores were crushed and put into a reaction vessel
(likely a ceramic crucible or a clay-lined bowl in the
earth) and heated with charcoal from above. The charge
just reached a temperature (c. 1000-1100?C) and oxygen
partial pressure (10 5 to 1011 atm) where the smelting
reactions could proceed, via either a simple reduction or
a roasting reduction between the differing ore minerals or
between partly reacted and unreacted ores. As the
viscosity of the silicate melt was too high, copper was
formed as droplets disseminated in the slag and had to be
retrieved by crushing. To be able to make larger artefacts,
the products of several runs had to be collected and
remelted.
1.5. "Early metallurgy in highland Iran, on the basis of
the Joint Iranian-German excavations at Arisman " by
Barbara Helwing
Arisman, a prehistoric metallurgical centre with evidence
for large-scale copper and silver extraction, was investi
gated by the joint Iranian-German project from
2000-2004.4 The site extends over > 1 km.2, comprising
clusters of small mounds and three large slag heaps
datable from the mid-fourth to the early third millennium
B.C. (correlating to Sialk 111:6-7 to Sialk IV: 1/2). The
copper ores processed at Arisman were copper arsenides
could be matched by LIA to sources in the Anarak region.
Sialk 111:6-7 layers in area B yielded a sequence of
alternating domestic architecture and pottery workshops,
plus crucibles of the well-known Ghabrestan type with a
pierced base. Such crucibles occurred in abundant
quantities in the industrial debris surrounding the pottery
kilns, together with litharge fragments from silver
cupellation. Installations related to these earliest metal
lurgical activities have yet to be found, although pit
furnaces (recorded in other parts of the site stratigraphi
cally pre-dating the Sialk IV period) may have served for
the smelting of copper in Ghabrestan-type crucibles.
Crucible smelting was replaced by furnace smelting
around 3000 B.C., as indicated by radiocarbon dates
from slagheap A that yielded a smelting furnace.
Slagheap D covers the time range between area B (Sialk
4 Chegini et al 2000; 2004.
 338 LLOYD WEEKS

Ill period crucible smelting) and the introduction of quarter of the site, in the second half of the fourth
smelting furnaces attested in slagheap A, and has been millennium B.C., there are also Pb slags which may
radiocarbon dated to the later fourth millennium B.C. No signify the first stage in the production of silver.
intact metallurgical installations are preserved in By the end of the fourth millennium B.C., slags
slagheap D, although furnace fragments were abundant. containing arsenic-rich speiss appear and suggest the
Contemporary with area D, a settlement of urban production of a direct alloying agent for adding arsenic
layout existed in area C. After its abandonment, the ruins to copper. Although Cu/As/Pb slags continue, there is
were reused for metallurgical activities. Fire platforms also a gradual shift to more pure-Cu slags with notable
were constructed partly above the older walls, and impurities. This trend may continue into the third
residues of copper droplets indicate that copper was millennium, although samples are lacking. Two slag
melted here. Numerous moulds for the casting of flat cakes picked up from the surface of the site are identical
axes and ingots were found. Silver extraction continued, to third millennium B.C. Cu-slag cakes from Shahr-i
using the same technology as before. By the first half of Sokhta and Oman and are currently being analysed by
the third millennium B.C., pithos burials (similar to those Claudio Giardino and the author.
from Sialk IV:2) were dug into the ruins of the area C
houses and contained among their grave goods massive
copper arm spirals and other metal objects. 1.7. "Metallurgy at Shahr-i Sokhta " by Claudio
Giardino, Giuseppe Guida, Alessandra Lazzari and
Massimo Vidale.
1.6. "The Early Metallurgy of Northeastern Iran: Tepe
Hissar" by Christopher Thornton Our archaeometallurgical research on Shahr-i Sokhta is
based on the items from Maurizio Tosi's 1970s
The earliest copper artefacts in northern Iran and Central excavations stored in Rome. These can be dated to Period
Asia occur in the period from the early sixth to the early II (2800-2550 B.C.) and Period III of the general
fifth millennium B.C., and arsenical copper is sequence (2550-2400 B.C.). Smelting and casting are
purportedly found in Turkmenistan by the second half of indicated by copper ore and crucible bottom fragments,
the fifth millennium B.C.5 As the Sialk II metal sintered and slagged furnace lining, shapeless slag pieces,
assemblage has never been analysed, Cu-As might truncated-conical slag cakes and matte disks. Further met
perhaps be found even earlier in north central Iran. One allurgical operations are suggested by the large number of
possibility for the source of this early Cu-As is Tepe semi-finished and finished objects and scrap metal.
Hissar, where analysis of c. 15 artefacts from the second Re-examination of a corpus of more than 400
half of the fifth millennium B.C. (periods IA-IB) by the previous chemical analyses gave an indication of an
Studien zu den Anfangen der Metallurgie (S.A.M.) intentional arsenical copper alloying. XRD results on the
group has shown As concentrations up to 2.5 wt%, Pb arsenical ores that are in Rome revealed the presence of
levels up to 1.1 wt%, and significant traces of Sb, Ag, cuprite, atacamite and digenite. SEM analyses carried on
and Ni?all suggestive of smelted metal. truncated-conical slag cakes revealed the presence of
This paper presented the results of the analysis of copper chlorites and copper sulfides. The matte disks,
slags, furnace linings and crucible fragments from early also analysed by SEM, contained a large amount of
fourth-early third millennium B.C. contexts at Hissar.6 sulfur and some lead.
The data suggest a fairly advanced smelting technology Previous research suggested a change in the location
utilising complex copper-iron sulfide ores with natural and organisation of metallurgical activities at the site,
impurities of lead and arsenic as early as the first half of whereby private household production in Period II was
the fourth millennium B.C. This is not a nascent replaced by a segregation of craft production in Period III
technology?earlier smelting sites must have existed in (indicated by the concentration of craft indicators in the
north-eastern and north central Iran. For most of the western and southern extension of the city). We hope that
fourth millennium B.C., the main smelting product is Cu our nearly completed studies will help not only to outline
"naturally" alloyed with As and/or Pb. In the industrial the range of metallurgical activities that were carried out
at Shahr-i Sokhta, but also to re-examine earlier
5 Terekhova 1981. hypotheses on craft specialisation at this important
6 See Thornton and Rehren 2007 and forthcoming research. Iranian site.

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 EARLY IRANIAN METALLURGY WORKSHOP 339

1.8. "Earliest Metallurgy of Southeastern Iran: Iblis
and Yahya " by Christopher Thornton
The purpose of this presentation was two-fold: firstly to
summarise the key-points that can be drawn from recent
work on the Tepe Yahya metal artefacts and related
synthetic studies of SE Iranian metallurgy, and secondly
to discuss new work by the author on the earliest Cu-As
artefact from SE Iran (an awl from Yahya VIA) in Germany. Three objects derive from excavations at Tepe
relation to Lesley Frame's recent research on contempo
rary fifth millennium B.C. crucibles from Tal-i Iblis.
Previous research focused special attention on the
very earliest native copper artefacts in the region,
including pins, beads and a tack from Yahya VIID (c.
from southeast Iran, supplemented by chemical and lead
isotope analyses where possible. To that end, about 580
prehistoric metal artefacts from Shahdad, Tepe Yahya,
Shahr-i Sokhta and Jiroft were investigated at the
National Museum of Iran in April-June 2006. Following
this investigation, 19 objects from Tepe Yahya and
Shahdad were sampled and analysed by EDXRF at the
Curt-Engelhom-Zentrum fur Archaometrie in Mannheim,
Yahya (MT 01-3), an axe, a figurine and a spearhead. The
remaining 16 samples come from Shahdad (MT 04-19)
and include various axes, adzes, chisels, daggers and
needles. All of these items belong to the period from the
second half of the third millennium to the first half of the

5500 B.C.). As there are no excavated sites in SE Iran second millennium B.C.
earlier than Yahya VIID it is unclear when metallurgy Preliminary results show that all artefacts consist of
might first have been adopted in the region. Analyses of arsenical copper with arsenic concentrations ranging
artefacts from Yahya VII-VC indicate the long and from roughly 0.4 to 6.5 wt%. Three objects stand out
continuous use of native copper at the site (in intricate compositionally. MT-02 has a high lead content that most
pre-casting ways) up until the mid-fourth millennium. At likely was added intentionally and also contains almost
this time, an "explosion" of Cu-As hits Yahya and from 1% tin. The presence of such low tin concentrations is
this point onwards all the metal is probably imported to usually interpreted as indication of re-use of scrap metal.
the site. Alloying with lead occurs at least by the late MT-10 and MT-11 differ from the remaining samples by
fourth millennium B.C., as seen also at Tal-i Iblis,7 and their high nickel concentrations that are combined with
local vs. regional styles of metalworking develop.8 arsenic at the same level suggesting an ore source with
In general, the ongoing analyses of the Yahya awl arsenic-nickel minerals like gersdorffite (NiAsS). MT-10
suggest the presence of smelted low-arsenic copper in SE also contains 0.84% tin.
Iran by the end of the fifth millennium B.C.?possibly The remaining samples can be considered composi
from Iblis, based on archaeological links between the tionally more or less homogeneous and compare well
sites at this time. Research by Lesley Frame on the Iblis with XRF results of 16 metal artefacts from Shahdad (see
crucibles9 suggests the relatively large scale smelting of Fig. I)10 suggesting that this metal derives from a single,
copper ores in crucibles by the fifth millennium. Most as yet unidentified ore source.
interestingly, one of the prills in the slagged interior of
one of the crucibles contained small amounts of arsenic.
It is likely that renewed soundings in the landscape near 1.10. "Technology and cultural contact across southern
to the main mound at Tal-i Iblis would allow us to Iran from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age (6500-3000
resolve the chronology of early Iblis and hopefully also B. C.) " by Cameron Petrie
to find more evidence for early smelting.
The period between 6500 and 3000 B.C. in southern Iran
is characterised by profound socio-economic transforma
1.9. "Chemical composition of Bronze Age metal finds tions that accompanied the move from village-based to
from Yahya and Shahdad" by David Meier urban societies. A range of technological developments
accompanied these shifts, including the spread of
The aim of this ongoing research project is to prepare an Neolithic subsistence practices, the development of
annotated catalogue of Early Bronze Age metal finds metallurgy, and a sequence of developments in ceramic
production, which are evident across a broad geographic
area. This paper examined the production technology
7 Pigott and Lechtman 2003. and distribution of ceramic assemblages in southern Iran
8 Thornton and Lamberg-Karlovsky 2004.
0 Frame 2004. 10 Vatandoost-Haghighi 1977.

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 340 LLOYD WEEKS

10 j-m-1-1?i i i i i b
^ Samples from recent investigation ^ =
/\ Samples from Vatandoost (1977)

fi .1 r * * * i
.01 =- ** A^?% =

001 '_1_1_1 i i 11 i I_i_i_i i i 1111_i_i_i i i 111

.01 .1 . 1 10
As
1 F-1-1 I I I I I I j-1-1 I I I I ll|-1-1 I I I I ll|-1-1 I I I I Ij;

O) A ^ A
< A AAA
A A#
A*
.01 r A -
: :

.0011
.001 .01 .1 1 10
Ni
Fig. 1. Logarithmic plots of arsenic versus antimony and nickel versus silver concentrations in the analysed samples,
compared with analyses by Vatandoost-Haghighi (1977).

between 6500-3000 B.C., in order to understand cultural
interaction during this period, and to move toward
outlining a theoretical framework for explaining these
processes.
The production technologies of the earliest Neolithic
ceramics in Khuzestan, Fars and Kerman were
remarkably similar: vessels were hand formed, probably
using a version of sequential slab construction involving
woven baskets, before being covered with a layer of finer
clay, slipped, decorated and fired at a low temperature.
However, while similar ceramic production technologies
were adopted in different regions at more or less the same
time, the ceramic vessels found in each region of southern
Iran have distinctive decoration. Despite further
widespread and contemporaneous technological develop
ments during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages
(e.g. shifts in the types of clay raw materials exploited and
the use of slow and ultimately fast wheels), the pattern of
regionally-distinct decorative traditions continues.
Traditionally, these regional styles have been taken to
indicate the existence of distinct cultural groups, by
directly correlating ceramic types with ethnic or cultural
identities. However, such interpretations emphasise
stylistic differences and ignore shared technological
traditions suggestive of specific types of communication
and interaction across the region. Both technological
similarities and stylistic differences must be built into
archaeological models attempting to understand the

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 EARLY IRANIAN METALLURGY WORKSHOP 341

behaviour of the individuals who produced, used, and 1.12. "Banesh Period Metallurgy at Tal-e Malyan " by
exchanged this material. Vincent Pigott

The 300 ha site of Tal-e Malyan (ancient Anshan) was an

1.11. "The earliest metal artefacts from highland SW
Iran: fabrication, composition, and exchange" by Lloyd mediating local exchange among craftsmen, farmers and
Weeks pastoral nomads. Analytical programmes at MASCA
(University of Pennsylvania Museum) have focused on
The earliest metal artefacts known from highland SW Iran Malyan Proto-Elamite/Banesh (c. 3400-2800 B.C.) and
come from the Neolithic (c. 6400-5000 B.C.) and
Chalcolithic (c. 5000-3900 B.C.) sites of the Kur River
Basin, Fars Province. Most of these early artefacts were
excavated by the University of Tokyo Iran Expeditions and
are currently stored in the University Museum, University
of Tokyo. The assemblage is small, a few dozen pieces in
total, incorporating small artefacts such as awls/points,
hooks, curved fragments and amorphous lumps.
With permission from Yoshihiro Nishiaki (University
Museum, University of Tokyo), an analytical study was
undertaken on a set of 16 of these artefacts. In addition,
5 samples of native copper and ore from Talmessi on the
Iranian Plateau were also analysed with the permission
of the Petrie Museum Collections Group, Institute of
Archaeology, UCL. The analytical programme aimed to
investigate the earliest use of native metals in highland
SW Iran and the transition from the use of native metals
to smelted metals in the region. The analytical
programme (WDS compositional analysis, optical met
allography and lead isotope analysis) is ongoing, and
only some preliminary interpretations are presented here.
Compositionally, the uncorroded copper-base
artefacts from Fars are characterised by their high purity,
with only trace levels of Ag. Corroded samples show
more variability, although pure (oxidised) copper phases
dominate and inclusions of metallic Ag are regularly
seen. These silver inclusions commonly incorporate a
few weight percent of copper and uranium. Arsenic-rich
inclusions (CusAs-domeykite) were also occasionally
seen in the archaeological samples. Interestingly,
Talmessi native copper samples exhibit identical metallic
Ag-Cu-U inclusions in a matrix of high-purity copper
with common vein-like inclusions of arsenic-rich
material (Q13AS). These compositional characteristics
serve to suggest that the metal used in Neolithic Fars may
have come from Talmessi on the Iranian plateau,
implying long-distance exchange of this material already
by the late seventh millennium B.C. The results of the
metallographic and lead isotope analyses are still too
preliminary to satisfactorily summarise here.
administrative/trade and craft production centre
Kaftari (c. 2200-1600 B.C.) period copper-base
artefacts,11 and incorporate PIXE compositional
analysis12 and optical metallography.
Overall, the Proto-Elamite/Banesh metals
assemblage is rather nondescript, composed mostly of
arsenical copper metal and comprising small items such
as pins and small fragments, apparently the debris of a
metal- shaping industry. The evidence suggests on-site
metallurgical activity on a modest scale akin to a cottage
industry. Production debris includes partially roasted ore
fragments, copper-base prills and slag, although not in
amounts one associates with significant production.
Numerous samples are housed at the University of
Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
USA and await further analysis.
The metalworking repertoire for shaping metal is the
basic trio of casting, hot and cold working, and
annealing. The few mould fragments known are open
faced. The evidence for lead is interpreted as recycled
metal in storage, as there is no direct production evidence
for lead. Other important finds include a possible tuyere
(broken?10 cm. long x 2 cm. internal diameter),
although tuyeres are not known from prehistoric sites
elsewhere on the Iranian Plateau. A ceramic furnace rim
fragment (c. 15 cm. in external diameter)13 appears suffi
ciently large to be the upper portion of a small furnace
stack?another uncommon find on the Plateau.
The Malyan analytical programme prompted a
number of questions, such as why did metalworkers
across Southwest Asia turn to arsenical copper in the first
place? There appears to have been a dramatic technolog
ical paradigm shift with the advent of the fourth
millennium B.C. when this alloy is transitioned to with
relative rapidity. The question was raised concerning the
nature of arsenical copper ore availability on the Iranian
Plateau: Ernst Pernicka and Nima Nezafati assured us
11 Pigott et al. 2003a; 2003b.
12 Pigott et al. 2003a: tabs A3 and A4).
13 Nicholas 1990: pi. 25a.

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 342 LLOYD WEEKS
that such ores are far more common than we have
previously been led to believe in the literature.
Finally, related concerns have led to the desire to
categorise the various methods by which arsenical
copper can be produced. Four methods thus far have
been identified:14
1) the addition of copper arsenides such as domeykite
and algodonite to molten Cu under reducing
conditions15 (although the addition of native As
[e.g., realgar, orpiment] to molten Cu is
explosive);16
2) the co-smelting of fahlerz and oxidic Cu minerals at
c. 1250 ?C;17
3) the low temperature smelting of Cu arsenates,
producing little or no slag;18
4) the co-smelting of weathered Cu-sulfarsenides and
iron oxides to produce an arsenic rich speiss which
can be added to molten Cu to produce arsenical Cu.
Producing Cu-As in this manner is pointedly
intentional and offers up the first good evidence in
support of intentional Cu-As production (i.e., other
than by purposeful smelting of As-rich Cu ores)?
the former often argued for but never documented.19
1.13. "Metallurgical Activity at Godin Tepe, Iran:
Production, Consumption, and Trade " by Lesley D.
Frame
The site of Godin Tepe yielded over 200 metal artefacts
and small amounts of metallurgical processing debris.
Compositional analysis of approximately one-third of
these objects revealed the transition from copper-arsenic
alloys to tin-bronze during Period III. Period IIL6
(2600-2400 B.C.) sees the earliest appearance of tin
bronze, though only in burial contexts. Tin-bronze occurs
regularly outside of burials beginning in Period IIL4
(2100-1900 B.C.). Metallographic investigation
illustrated a wide variability in manufacturing styles for
non-utilitarian artefacts such as decorative pins and
bracelets. This is in contrast to the uniform manufactur
ing methods employed for weapons and tools, where a
14 See also Pigott et al 2003a.
15 Heskel 1982: 2.
16 E. Pernicka, personal communication.
17 Rostoker et al. 1989; Rostoker and Dvorak 1991;
Lechtman 1996; Lechtman and Klein 1999.
18 Budd et al. 1992; Budd 1993.
19 See Thornton on Tepe Hissar, above.
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particular set of performance criteria (and therefore
material properties) are required. The variability in
manufacture appears for artefacts of similar typology
from the same period, suggesting that there were
different production styles for typologically similar
items, providing strong evidence for multiple producers
of these goods who copied styles and typology, but not
technological methods, from their contemporary
craftsmen. The material culture at Godin most likely
represents a variety of regional production styles for the
artefact types whose intended purposes do not constrain
the method of manufacture.
In addition, the limited amount of production debris
from Godin Periods VI: 1, IV (crucible and ore
fragments) and III (crucible, tuyere and casting molds)
provide undeniable evidence for small-scale production
of copper-base metal. The prill compositions from
Period VI: 1 and Period IV match well with their
respective associated ore fragments. Period VI: 1
crucible fragments were all of pure copper with sulfide
inclusions, and Period IV fragments were of arsenical
copper. One fragment from Period IV contained high
levels of arsenic and antimony, and it shows many char
acteristics of a smelting (rather than a melting) slag. This
indicates the smelting of arsenic as well as copper ores
at Godin Tepe, despite the small-scale nature of
production. Also of interest are the metallurgical
remains from Seh Gabi 6 km. north of Godin Tepe.
These have been tentatively dated to the later fifth
millennium B.C. and are currently being analysed.
1.14. "Metallic artefacts from the Susa I period" by
Agnes Benoit
The earliest occupation of the site of Susa (the Susa I
period) can be dated between 4200-3800 B.C. and
divided (following Le Brun) into two phases: layers
27-25 the earliest, and layers 24-23 the latest. Tombs
from this period at the base of the Acropolis mound
yielded ceramics of the Susa I style and the earliest
metallic artefacts from the site. Interestingly, no evidence
for contemporary metallurgical activities has been found
during the exploration of the site, although we cannot
discard the hypothesis that the early excavators of Susa
missed them.
Artefacts corresponding to layers 27-25: The
greatest number of artefacts came from the necropolis
flanking the funerary mound and in a lesser measure
from Level V of the Acropolis. They remain restricted to
 EARLY IRANIAN METALLURGY WORKSHOP 343

a limited number of privileged persons: of the estimated II. I. Arsenical copper

2000 tombs excavated, only 70 contained metallic
objects, mainly flat axes and mirrors, with very rarely, This issue was discussed at length in a dialogue initiated
pins and chisels, all of them in copper. and led by Vincent Pigott. The transition from pure
The 51 flat axes recorded by F. Tallon20 are typologi copper to arsenical copper was debated, as were the
cally simple. Their dimensions and weight vary greatly? different possible mechanisms for producing arsenical
from 80 grams to 1.7 kg?and they were cast into simple copper. These issues are summarised in Pigott's presen
open moulds. Two-thirds of these axes are composed of tation above (which includes views and information
almost pure copper. The form of the ten mirrors preserved generated in the discussion session). One of the main
in the Louvre21 is simple, discoid, with a diameter of c. points to arise from the discussion was a general feeling
9-17 cm. and a thickness of 1.5-2.5 mm. Their that terms such as "unintentional" or "accidental" were
composition is similar to that of the axes, the majority not necessarily useful or appropriate to describe the
being made of pure copper. Other items are very rare. Pins production of early Cu-As alloys in Iran (and perhaps
usually exhibit a thin shaft with a circular section of more widely in the Old World). The term "uncontrolled"
constant diameter except at the tip, which is pointed.22 was suggested by Ernst Pernicka as more acceptable, as
Artefacts corresponding to layers 24-23: The it does not make assumptions about intentionality that
common composition of the metallic items of this period are difficult to justify. The evidence from sites such as
appears to be copper lightly alloyed with arsenic or lead. Tepe Hissar (discussed by Thornton above), where
The period also witnessed a marked advance in the arsenic-rich smelting (by-)products were recovered from
attachment of the handle for metal artefacts. The range of fourth millennium contexts, raised the strong possibility
types is extended to include a double axe and several that this material was added to relatively pure smelted
hoes. The double axe preserved in the Louvre23 weighs copper to make arsenical copper?a clearly intentional
nearly 2 kg. and was elongated while hot. The central alloying process, even though the production of the high
perforation is of a type known from Tepe Gabristan and As "speiss slags" at Hissar may have been uncontrolled
Arisman. The shaft hole axe24 is not precisely situated or only partially controlled.
temporally or chronologically, and similar artefacts are
known from the Ubaid to the Uruk III period. For
comparison, the composition is virtually the same as the II. 2. Tin-bronze
axe from Mundigak 111:6.
The hoes25 belong to a shape that is found also in later The issue of tin sources was discussed. It was considered
periods, although the early examples are characterised by by Chris Thornton that a number of factors?most
their composition of pure copper. They were cast in a notably the lack of evidence for tin-bronzes on the
simple unifacial mould, and consequently exhibit a very Iranian plateau before that late third millennium B.C. and
flat upper surface. They present a short, stump-like the re-analyses of material from Mundigak26 which
handle. showed no evidence for the previously reported early
(fourth millennium) tin-bronze use?meant that
Afghanistan should no longer be cited as a possible
II. DISCUSSION SESSION source of the earliest tin in SW Asia. Afghanistan should
not be re-habilitated as a tin source unless controlled
The discussion session touched on a wide range of archaeological fieldwork and archaeometallurgical
issues, sites, artefacts and metallurgical processes. The analyses conclusively demonstrate early tin or tin-bronze
main themes that emerged are briefly summarised here. production in the region.

20 Tallon 1987: nos 371-422.

II. 3. Future research
21 Tallon 1987: nos 1223-32.
22 Tallon 1987: no. 817.
23 Tallon 1987: no. 74. The group discussion supported the formation of a
24 Tallon 1987: no. 71. loosely-integrated research group to investigate early
25 Tallon 1987: nos 528-29 for Louvre Museum and no. 531
in Tehran. 26 Benoit Mille, personal communication.

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 344 LLOYD WEEKS

Iranian metallurgy. The proposed continuation of the

Christopher Thornton (University of Pennsylvania, Department
workshop programme on a regular (perhaps two-yearly) of Anthropology, 3260 South St, Philadelphia, PA 19104,
basis will facilitate the exchange of information between USA. Email: cpt2@sas.upenn.edu)
Lloyd Weeks (Department of Archaeology, University of
the numerous institutes and individuals researching early
Iranian metallurgy, and will help to promote and direct Nottingham, University Park NG7 2RD, Nottingham, UK.
further research into this subject. Email: Lloyd.Weeks@nottingham.ac.uk)

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