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[HQR05-05] Metalworking as considered from charcoal collected from furnaces at the Kaman-Kalehöyük site in Central Anatolia: a preliminary study
Keywords:XRF, Charcoal , Metalworking , Early Bronze Age, Turkey
The Anatolia region of the Republic of Turkey is a region where metallurgical technology was born and developed very early, even by world standards, and iron manufacturing in particular is thought to have begun with the Hittite Empire, which controlled most of Anatolia around 1400 BC. However, at the Kaman-Kalehöyük site, located 120 kilometers southwest of the capital (ancient name: Hattuşa) of the Hittite Empire, iron products have been excavated from the Early Bronze Age layer, which predates the Hittite Empire by over 1000 years. This suggests that iron was used even before the Hittite Empire. Furthermore, a detailed cultural chronology has been established at the site, and cultural layers from the Late Middle Bronze Age and Early Bronze Age, which predate the Iron Age, have been identified at the site, suggesting that the transition of metal technology from copper, bronze, to iron remains at the site.
Our research group led by Chiba Institute of Technology has discovered copper concentrations in charcoal contained in Early Bronze Age deposits (midon deposits) at the Kaman-Kalehöyük site. In this study, we collected charcoal from a furnace at the site and conducted a preliminary analysis to evaluate the relative amounts of copper and iron in the charcoal and to determine whether the furnace was used for metalworking and to estimate when the use of iron began.
Charcoal samples were collected from the remains of six Early Bronze Age furnace rooms located in Sector III, North District, at the Kaman-Kalehöyük site. For comparison, charcoal was also collected from the fire layer, which is thought to have been created by a large fire that burned wood used as roofing material. The fire layer containing this charcoal is located in Sector VI, North District, Early Bronze Age. A portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer (ELIO map, Bruker) was used for the analysis at 40 kV, 100 µA, and a measurement time of 120 seconds per point. Since analysis of light elements is difficult with this device and quantitative analysis values are not reliable, the results were evaluated relative to the obtained peak counts of copper and iron.
Charcoal collected from the furnace showed a range in the obtained peak counts of copper and iron. In addition, some of the coals obtained from the furnace had larger peak counts of both copper and iron than the coals collected from the fire layer and the coals in the midon analyzed in the previous study. These results may reflect the use of the furnace, and analysis of coals collected from various furnaces by this method may provide insight into the evolution of metalworking technology. In the future, we would like to increase the number of samples to test this hypothesis and consider electron microscopic observation to determine how iron and copper are contained in the charcoal.
Our research group led by Chiba Institute of Technology has discovered copper concentrations in charcoal contained in Early Bronze Age deposits (midon deposits) at the Kaman-Kalehöyük site. In this study, we collected charcoal from a furnace at the site and conducted a preliminary analysis to evaluate the relative amounts of copper and iron in the charcoal and to determine whether the furnace was used for metalworking and to estimate when the use of iron began.
Charcoal samples were collected from the remains of six Early Bronze Age furnace rooms located in Sector III, North District, at the Kaman-Kalehöyük site. For comparison, charcoal was also collected from the fire layer, which is thought to have been created by a large fire that burned wood used as roofing material. The fire layer containing this charcoal is located in Sector VI, North District, Early Bronze Age. A portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer (ELIO map, Bruker) was used for the analysis at 40 kV, 100 µA, and a measurement time of 120 seconds per point. Since analysis of light elements is difficult with this device and quantitative analysis values are not reliable, the results were evaluated relative to the obtained peak counts of copper and iron.
Charcoal collected from the furnace showed a range in the obtained peak counts of copper and iron. In addition, some of the coals obtained from the furnace had larger peak counts of both copper and iron than the coals collected from the fire layer and the coals in the midon analyzed in the previous study. These results may reflect the use of the furnace, and analysis of coals collected from various furnaces by this method may provide insight into the evolution of metalworking technology. In the future, we would like to increase the number of samples to test this hypothesis and consider electron microscopic observation to determine how iron and copper are contained in the charcoal.