Use traces on crucibles and tuyères? : An archaeological experiment in ancient metallurgy
(2016) In BAR International Series 2785. p.21-28- Abstract
- To what extent can we identify sites where metallurgy has been conducted by studying the ceramic residue found at the site? Ceramic tools used for metal casting, such as crucibles, claymoulds and tuyères- so called ‘technical ceramics' - are often used as indicators of metalcrafts.Their often vitrified and sintered appearance is, on many occasions, used as traits of identification.This article discusses a crucible and a tuyère that show no clear traces of vitrification, and whether or not the objects should be disregarded as technical ceramics. By building reconstructions of these two objects and testing them in an archaeological experiment, we have been able to study the traces of use on the reconstruction and compare them to the two... (More)
- To what extent can we identify sites where metallurgy has been conducted by studying the ceramic residue found at the site? Ceramic tools used for metal casting, such as crucibles, claymoulds and tuyères- so called ‘technical ceramics' - are often used as indicators of metalcrafts.Their often vitrified and sintered appearance is, on many occasions, used as traits of identification.This article discusses a crucible and a tuyère that show no clear traces of vitrification, and whether or not the objects should be disregarded as technical ceramics. By building reconstructions of these two objects and testing them in an archaeological experiment, we have been able to study the traces of use on the reconstruction and compare them to the two artefacts. In this article we argue that signs of use, such as vitrification and sintering, are not always present on used tuyères and crucibles and that we should also try to look for other signs of use when classifying archaeological materials as technical ceramics. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/dcfb1cb2-640d-4ad6-9d04-122bc417fe39
- author
- Botwid, Katarina LU and Eklöv Pettersson, Paul LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2016
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Technical ceramics, Tuyére, Crucible, Bronze casting, Experimental archaeology, Ceramic artefacts
- host publication
- Prehistoric pottery across the Baltic : regions, influences and methods - regions, influences and methods
- series title
- BAR International Series
- editor
- Eklöv Pettersson, Paul
- volume
- 2785
- pages
- 21 - 28
- publisher
- British Archaeological Reports (BAR)
- ISSN
- 0143-3067
- ISBN
- 9781407314631
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- dcfb1cb2-640d-4ad6-9d04-122bc417fe39
- date added to LUP
- 2024-02-23 14:24:51
- date last changed
- 2024-02-26 09:20:55
@inproceedings{dcfb1cb2-640d-4ad6-9d04-122bc417fe39, abstract = {{To what extent can we identify sites where metallurgy has been conducted by studying the ceramic residue found at the site? Ceramic tools used for metal casting, such as crucibles, claymoulds and tuyères- so called ‘technical ceramics' - are often used as indicators of metalcrafts.Their often vitrified and sintered appearance is, on many occasions, used as traits of identification.This article discusses a crucible and a tuyère that show no clear traces of vitrification, and whether or not the objects should be disregarded as technical ceramics. By building reconstructions of these two objects and testing them in an archaeological experiment, we have been able to study the traces of use on the reconstruction and compare them to the two artefacts. In this article we argue that signs of use, such as vitrification and sintering, are not always present on used tuyères and crucibles and that we should also try to look for other signs of use when classifying archaeological materials as technical ceramics.}}, author = {{Botwid, Katarina and Eklöv Pettersson, Paul}}, booktitle = {{Prehistoric pottery across the Baltic : regions, influences and methods}}, editor = {{Eklöv Pettersson, Paul}}, isbn = {{9781407314631}}, issn = {{0143-3067}}, keywords = {{Technical ceramics; Tuyére; Crucible; Bronze casting; Experimental archaeology; Ceramic artefacts}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{21--28}}, publisher = {{British Archaeological Reports (BAR)}}, series = {{BAR International Series}}, title = {{Use traces on crucibles and tuyères? : An archaeological experiment in ancient metallurgy}}, volume = {{2785}}, year = {{2016}}, }