Animal mummification was commonplace in ancient Egypt, with the remains of many animals placed inside statues or votive boxes with representations of animals or hybrid human-animal creatures. Votive ...boxes were made from a variety of materials and often sealed; some boxes are still preserved in this state in museum collections. A prior study of sealed copper alloy votive boxes from the collection of the British Museum used X-ray computed tomography to search for animal remains, where poor image quality resulted due to attenuation from the boxes and apparent dense metals inside. In this study, neutron tomography was applied to six of the votive boxes previously examined. Animal remains, likely from lizards, and fragments of textile wrappings were discovered inside three of the boxes. Evidence of the manufacturing process and subsequent repairs of the boxes were uncovered by neutrons. Significant quantities of lead were also identified in three boxes. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of neutron tomography for the study of mummified remains inside sealed metal containers, and give evidence linking the animal figures represented on top of votive boxes to the concealed remains.
Physical Barriers, Cultural Connections: A Reconsideration of the Metal Flow at the Beginning of the Metal Age in the Alps considers the early copper and copper-alloy metallurgy of the entire Circum- ...Alpine region. It introduces a new approach to the interpretation of chemical composition data sets, which has been applied to a comprehensive regional database for the first time. An extensive use of GIS has been applied to investigate the role of topography in the distribution of metal and to undertake spatial and geostastical analysis that may highlight patterns of distribution of some specific key compositional element. The Circum-Alpine Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age show some distinctively different patterns of metal use, which can be interpreted through changes in mining and social choices. But there are also some signs of continuity, in particular those which respect the use of major landscape features such as watersheds and river systems. Interestingly, the Alpine range does not act as a north-south barrier, as major differences in composition tend to appear on an east-west axis. Conversely, the river system seems to have a key role in the movement of metal. Geostastical analyses demonstrate the presence of a remelting process, applicable also in the case of ingots; evidence that opens new and interesting questions about the role of ingots and hoards in the distribution of metal at the beginning of the Metal Age. New tools and new analysis may also be useful to identify zones where there was a primary metal production and zones where metal was mostly received and heavily manipulated.
This book considers the early copper and copper-alloy metallurgy of the entire Circum- Alpine region. It introduces a new approach to the interpretation of chemical composition data sets, which has ...been applied to a comprehensive regional database for the first time.
A group of six coins from Ithaca in the British Museum collection has been analysed using a bench Bruker Artax X‐ray fluorescence spectrometer on a polished surface. The coins can be stylistically ...divided into two variants. The analysis highlighted that the two variants are chemically different, with one suspected of being a modern forgery. The first records of coins stylistically similar to the ones suspected of being forgeries are dated to the 19th century.
This paper hypothesises that these suspected forgeries have been produced by an expert forger remelting other, more common, ancient coins. We suggest that the forger was an expert smith and also a numismatist and/or antiquarian who was possibly aware of the most recent studies dedicated to the chemical composition of ancient coins. This paper presents the hypothesis that the forger may have melted ancient coins or other artefacts to produce modern forgeries with an ‘ancient’ composition.
This article examines the stylistic and metal composition differences between two variants of the bronze Odyssesus/Cock type from Ithaca. It posits that Variant 2 is a forgery, which must have been ...produced after the Hellenistic period but before the end of the 19,h century. It also identifies a historic substitution of a Variant 2 coin for a Variant 1 coin in the British Museum collection.
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•The role of daggers in prehistory is unclear. The modern term indicates a tool for stabbing.•Scientific analyses help to understand the human choice behind prehistoric dagger’s ...production.•Three daggers from prehistoric Switzerland don’t show the feature of stabbing.•Prehistoric daggers were probably multifunctional cutting tools.
The role of daggers in prehistoric European society has been long debated. Within this discussion, we may add some hints to understand the human choices behind daggers’ production, in a study in combination with the University of Oxford and the University of Geneva, that combines their shape, the metal used for them, the working production techniques. We can also inform about the use, reuse and reshape of the objects. In this paper, we are applying this approach in the study of three daggers (owned by the museum of Neuchatel) from western Switzerland, dated to the end of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.
This paper considers the early copper and copper-alloy metallurgy of the entire Alpine region. It introduces a new approach to the interpretation of chemical composition data sets, which has been ...applied to a comprehensive regional database for the first time. The Alpine Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age each have distinctive patterns of metal use, which can be interpreted through changes in mining, social choice, and major landscape features such as watersheds and river systems. Interestingly, the Alpine range does not act as a north-south barrier, as major differences in composition tend to appear on an east-west axis. Central among these is the prevalence of tin-bronze in the western Alps compared to the east. This ‘tin-line’ is discussed in terms of metal flow through the region and evidence for a deeply rooted geographical division that runs through much of Alpine prehistory.
Appendix II Perucchetti, Laura
Physical Barriers, Cultural Connections: A Reconsideration of the Metal Flow at the Beginning of the Metal Age in the Alps,
06/2017
Book Chapter
Appendix VI Perucchetti, Laura
Physical Barriers, Cultural Connections: A Reconsideration of the Metal Flow at the Beginning of the Metal Age in the Alps,
06/2017
Book Chapter
Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Work Perucchetti, Laura
Physical Barriers, Cultural Connections: A Reconsideration of the Metal Flow at the Beginning of the Metal Age in the Alps,
06/2017
Book Chapter
The stated aim of this book was to reconsider the archaeometallurgy of the prehistoric Alps in the light of new concepts, perceptions, and ideas. Chapter 3 explained some theoretical criticisms of ...the approach taken in previous archaeometrical studies and illustrated a new model, the Flow Model. In particular, this book represents an attempt to include space and the environment in the narrative of the Flow Model, with the use of GIS.
A significant issue with traditional methodologies is that they can – at their best - provide ‘static snapshots’ of the chemical composition of objects and the distribution of those
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