EARLYMETALLURGY

OF THE PERSIAN
GULF

Technology, Trade, and the Bronze Age World

A M E R I C A N S C H O O L OF PREHISTORIC RESEARCH M O N O G R A P H SERIES

Series Editors

C. C. L A M B E R G - K A R L O VSKY, Harvard University

DAVID PILBEAM, Harvard University
OFE R BAR-YOSEF, Harvard University

Editorial Board

STE V E N L. K U H N , University of Arizona, Tucson

D A N I E L E. LIEBE R M AN, Harvard University
R I C H A R D H. M E A D 0 W, Harvard University
M A R Y M. V O I G T , The College of William & Mary
H E N R Y T. W R I G H T , University of Michigan, A n n Arbor

Production Editor

W R E N F 0 U R N I ER, Harvard University

The American School of Prehistoric Research (ASPR) Monographs in Archaeology and

Paleoanthropology present a series of documents covering a variety of subjects in the archaeology
of the Old World (Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania). This series encompasses a broad range
of subjects-from the early prehistory to the Neolithic Revolution in the Old World, and beyond
including: hunter-gatherers to complex societies; the rise of agriculture; the emergence of urban
societies; human physical morphology, evolution and adaptation, as well as; various technologies
such as metallurgy, pottery production, tool making, and shelter construction. Additionally, the
subjects of symbolism, religion, and art will be presented within the context of archaeological stud-
ies including mortuary practices and rock art. Volumes may be authored by one investigator, a team
of investigators, or may be an edited collection of shorter articles by a number of different special-
ists working on related topics.
 Technology, Trade, and the Bronze Age World

Lloyd R. Weeks

Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.

Boston Leiden
2003
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Weeks, Lloyd R., 1970-

Early metallurgy of the Persian Gulf : technology, trade, and the Bronze Age World 1
Lloyd R. Weeks.
p. cm. - (American school of prehistoric research monograph series ;vol. 2)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-391-04213-0
1. Bronze age-Persian Gulf. 2. Metal-work, Prehistoric-Persian Gulf. 3. Mines and
mineral resources, Prehistoric-Persian Gulf. 4. Excavations-(Archaeology)-Persian
Gulf. 5. Bronze-Persian Gulf-Metallurgy. 6. Tin bronze-Persian Gulf. 7. Persian
Gulf-Antiquities. I. Title. 11. Series.

ISSN 1543-0529
ISBN 0-391-04213-0

O Copyright 2004 by Brill Academic Publishers, Inc., Boston

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written
permission from the publisher.

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the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright
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Fees are subject to change.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contents Foreword vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
List of Figures xiii
List of Tables xvii

lntroduction 1
Outline and Genesis of the Project 1
Copper Production and the Bronze Age Economy
of Southeastern Arabia 4
Alloying Practices in Bronze Age SoutheasternArabia 5
Investigation of the Bronze Age Tin Trade 5
Analytical Techniques 6
Outline of Chapters 6
Geology and Early Exploitationof Copper
Deposits in Southeastern Arabia 7
Geology of Northern Oman and Masirah 7
Copper Deposits in Southeastern Arabia 12
Early Research into Ancient Copper Production
in the Oman Peninsula 14
German Mining Museum Project in Oman 22
Periodicity in Copper Production in Prehistoric
Southeastern Arabia 33
Organization of Early Copper Production 43
Copper-Base Objects in Bronze Age Southeastern
Arabia 54
Summary 57
Analyzed Artifacts: Contexts and Chronology 59
AI Sufouh 59
Unarl 61
Unar2 63
Tell Abraq 64
Results of CompositionalAnalyses 71
lntroduction 71
Elemental Concentrations 73
Elemental Relationships: Rank-CorrelationAnalyses 96
Principal Components Analyses (PCA) 99
Summary 102
Discussion of Compositional Results 105
lntroduction 105
Iron and Sulfur 105
Arsenic, Nickel and Cobalt 109
Tin-Bronze 121
Alloy Use in Different Object Categories 124
Summary 127
 Lead lsotope Analysis in Archaeology 129
Theoretical Basis of the Lead lsotope Technique 129
LIA in Archaeology 131
Issues for Archaeological LIA in the Gulf Region 134
Summary 143
Lead lsotope Data from the Gulf
(L. R. Weeks and K. D. Collerson) 145
lntroduction 145
Radiogenic Outliers in the Analyzed Umm al-Nar Period
Objects 145
Isotopic Differences by Site 147
Differences by Composition (Alloy Group) 150
lsotopic Comparisons with Bronze Age Objects from the
Gulf 152
Absolute Provenance 155
Tin-Bronze in Wider Western Asia: Important Lead
lsotope Studies 160
LIA: Summary of the Main Findings 163
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 165
lntroduction l65
Tin Deposits in Western Asia and Surrounding Regions 166
Archaeological Evidence for Early Tin-Bronzes 173
Texts Referringto the Bronze Age Use and Trade ofTin 178
Summary of Archaeological, Geological and Textual
Evidence 180
Tin-Bronze in the Gulf: Patterns of Acquisition 181
Reconsidering the "Tin Problem" 187
Summary and Conclusions 197
Aims Reiterated 197
Summary of Major Results l98
Prospects for Future Research 200
Appendix
Analytical Techniques and
Data Treatment 203
References 209
Index 247
Foreword Mesopotamia, as has often been stated, lacked resources. Its
lack of metal ores required this world of, at times, independent
city-states and, at other times, empire, to look to distant lands
in order to procure its metauores.
Mesopotamian technology, however, was not a form of
administrative or scribal concern. When it came to metal tech-
nology written texts offer limited information and are all but
silent on the training, organization, and recruitment of metal
smiths. Similarly, the texts are vague, or more typically silent,
as to the geographical provenience from whence they obtained
their metallore, its quantity, quality, price, or techniques of fab-
rication. It is left to the archaeologist and the recovered metal
artifacts, workshops, associated tools, and mines, to address
these questions.
As important as the recovery of the metal object is its
analysis. Analyses are especially helpful with regard to eluci-
dating the sources of the metauore, the techniques of their
manufacture, and the uses to which they were put. Recently
there has been a trend in historical narrative to focus upon a
given item and build upon it a regional, even global, history of
the world. Thus, we have the history of the world according to
spices, salt, cod-fish, homespun, maps, the banana and the
potato, clocks, tobacco, and of course slaves, to mention but a
few volumes that have produced a macrohistory according to a
single item. Archaeologists have long been practitioners of
such an approach. The study of metals, archaeometallurgy, has
long had pride-of-place in such an approach. This monograph
attests to the contribution of both archaeology and our arsenal
of new analytical techniques in the study of metallurgy.
Decades ago V. G. Childe placed metallurgy on the top of
his list of important crafts. He maintained that the develop-
ment of early civilizations was a consequence of the invention
of metallurgy (Childe 1930). Bronze-working, he believed,
encouraged the manufacture of tools, which in turn led to
more productive agriculture, and the growth of cities. Seventy-
five years ago, Childe (1930:39) could point out that "Other
documents from Mesopotamia, also written in the wedge-like
characters called cuneiform, refer to the importation of copper
from the mountainous region east of the Tigris and of metal
and stones from Magan (probably Oman on the Persian
Gulf)". As demonstrated in this volume Childe's location of
Magan as an important source of copper is shown to be
entirely correct.
In this volume Lloyd Weeks adds a significant chapter to
our study of archaeometallurgy. His initial focus is the

vii
Arabian Peninsula where he introduces us to a new corpus
of metal artifacts from the United Arab Emirates.
Surprisingly, a significant percentage of these metals,
recovered from the site of Tell Abraq, are tin-bronzes.
Importantly, these artifacts, and others from near-by
sites, are subject to Proton-Induced X-ray Emission
analysis (PIXE). With these results in hand his horizon
widens and takes on a review of metallurgy within the
Bronze Age of the entirety of the Arabian Peninsula,
where an extensive amount of archaeometallurgical work
has been undertaken within the past few decades. Finally,
his volume offers an up-to-date review of the enduring
"tin-problem" within the context of the greater Near
East. Again, Childe (1928:157) confronted the problem:
"The Sumerians drew supplies of copper from Oman,
from the Iranian Plateau, and even from Anatolia, but
the source of their tin remains unknown". Today we
have answers, even if they must still be regarded as par-
tial ones. With a full appreciation of the complexity of
interactions that characterized the third millennium
throughout the Near East the author is not reticent to
offer conclusions. Thus, he states that ". . . the absolute
source of the metal [tin-bronze] is likely to have been far
to the north and east in Afghanistan or central Asia". The
central Asian source has been given reality by the recent
discovery in Uzbekistan and Tadzhikistan of Bronze Age
settlements and mines involved in tin production
(Parzinger and Boroffka 2003). How is it then that if
central Asian tin was reaching the Arabian Peninsula
that there is a paucity, indeed a very great poverty, of
contemporary tin-bronzes on the Iranian Plateau? The
question does not allude the author. In fact, nothing
within the data base, either bibliographic nor artifactual,
escapes his lens.
With careful attention to detail, a comprehensive
appreciation of the evidence at hand, while subjecting
the relevant evidence to laboratory analysis, Hercule
Poirot would be in agreement that Lloyd Weeks' study
adds both substantial evidence and clues that point
toward an emerging solution of the century long case of
the "tin-problem".
Finally, thanks are due to Mr. Landon T. Clay whose gen-
erous support over the years include some of the metals
analysis reported upon in this volume.
C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky

viii
Preface This volume examines the production and exchange of
copper and its alloys in the Bronze Age Persian Gulf.
During the third and second millennia BCE, the Gulf
was a critical long-distance trade route by which pres-
tige goods such as lapis lazuli, carnelian and ivory
reached wider western Asia. Additionally, the Gulf func-
tioned as a major metal supply route for Mesopotamia
and southwestern Iran, and abundant cuneiform sources
testify to the flourishing copper trade between the urban
centers of southern Mesopotamia and the Bronze Age
Gulf polities of Dilmun and Magan.
Multiple aspects of the Bronze Age Gulf trade net-
work are investigated in this research program, which is
based upon the archaeometallurgical analysis of copper-
alloy objects from four third millennium BCE sites in
the United Arab Emirates. The data generated by com-
positional and lead isotope analyses are integrated with
geological information from southeastern Arabia and
technological studies of early copper smelting in the
region, and provide important insights into a number of
issues of archaeological significance. These range from
technological aspects of early copper-base alloy produc-
tion in southeastern Arabia, to more anthropologically-
informed research regarding the interaction of specialized
copper production, exchange, and social complexity in
early Arabia.
The broader archaeological issue of the Bronze Age
tin trade is also investigated in detail. The trade in this
metal linked vast areas of western Asia, from the Indo-
Iranian borderlands to the Aegean, through a series of
overland and maritime trade routes and exchange rela-
tionships that are only hazily understood. The discovery
of tin and tin-bronze objects in third millennium BCE
contexts in the U.A.E., demonstrated conclusively in the
present volume, provides important new evidence for the
discussion of the tin trade, a long-standing problem of
Bronze Age western Asian archaeology.
This page intentionally left blank
AcknowledgmentS This book began its life as a doctoral dissertation
undertaken at the University of Sydney, Australia.
Although subsequent periods of research have resulted
in the substantial reworking of the original text, as
well as many additions, the ideas and approaches con-
tained within it remain those which were shaped so
strongly by my thesis supervisors, Dan Potts (University
of Sydney) and Richard Thomas (University of Western
Sydney). I would like to express my gratitude for their
guidance during that critical and seemingly endless
period, and in particular to Dan Potts for his practical
and intellectual input into so many aspects of the work.
My thesis was assessed by Andreas Hauptmann
(Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, Bochum), Roger Moorey
(Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), and Vincent Pigott
(Institute of Archaeology, London), and this volume
has been greatly improved by their constructive com-
ments and criticisms.
Of course, this volume has reached its present
form since my arrival at the Peabody Museum and is
funded through the good graces of the American
School of Prehistoric Research (ASPR). I would like to
sincerely thank the ASPR and in particular Karl
Lamberg-Karlovsky and Ofer Bar-Yosef for the oppor-
tunity to produce this study, and for shepherding the
manuscript when it threatened to stray. Great thanks
must also be extended to Wren Fournier, who acted as
production editor for the volume and oversaw all
aspects of the editorial and production processes,
including some particularly time-consuming adapta-
tions of images.
The volume is based upon a large number of mate-
rial analyses, for which the assistance of numerous
scholars and institutions must be acknowledged. The
PIXE analyses were conducted by Grahame Bailey,
Philip Johnson and Ed Stelcer at the Australian
Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas
Heights, N.S.W., and Rainer Siegele provided impor-
tant information on the accuracy and precision of the
data. The TIMS lead isotope analyses of artifacts from
Tell Abraq were conducted at the Department of Earth
Sciences, University of Queensland, by Ken Collerson
and Immo Wendt. The more recent MC-ICP-MS iso-
topic analyses of material from A1 Sufouh, Unarl, and
Unar2 were also conducted at the University of
Queensland facilities under the direction of Ken Finally, I would like to acknowledge my friends and
Collerson, and were undertaken by Balz Kamber and family, who have been there for the duration. N o part of
Arildo Oliveira. I would like to express my gratitude this work could have been completed without their sup-
t o all of these people for their diligence, and for taking port and it is therefore to them, individually and in their
the time to discuss various aspects of the analytical collective role as my personal safety net, that I owe my
techniques and data for my enlightenment. greatest thanks.
Of course, analyses could never have proceeded
without material to analyze. For allowing access to
archaeological samples, I would particularly like to thank
Sabah Jasim (Sharjah Archaeological Museum, U.A.E.),
Christian Velde and Derek Kennet (Ras al-Khaimah
Museum, U.A.E.), Hussein Qandil (Dubai Museum,
U.A.E.), Dan Potts (Sydney University Excavations at Tell
Abraq), and Jodie Benton (Sydney University Excavations
at A1 Sufouh). A number of these scholars have also provid-
ed important unpublished contextual information on the
samples, for which I am grateful.
The volume benefited greatly from advice generously
given during its formulation, and from editorial correc-
tions. For general discussions regarding statistical
approaches, and for confusing me by not thinking in the
same way (apparently there is more than one), I would like
to thank John Clegg (University of Sydney). Advice on the
application of multivariate statistics to the PIXE data was
kindly provided by Richard Wright (University of Sydney)
and Peter Grave (University of New England). Large
chunks of the volume were read and constructively com-
mented upon by Peter Magee (Bryn Mawr College),
Alastair Paterson (University of Western Australia) and
Cameron Petrie (Somerville College, Oxford), a terrific
help. The ideas that they read about benefited from wide-
ranging archaeological discussions with Phi1 Kohl
(Wellesley College), A. Bernard Knapp (University of
Glasgow), and Mike Barbetti (University of Sydney).
My doctoral research was financially supported by an
Australian Commonwealth government Australian
Postgraduate Award scholarship, three grants for PIXE
analyses from the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science
and Engineering (AINSE), a Carlyle Greenwell bequest for
isotopic analyses of material from the United Arab
Emirates, and a grant from the British School of
Archaeology in Iraq (BSAI)for isotopic analyses of materi-
al from Saar, Bahrain. New isotopic analyses of objects
from the U.A.E. presented in this volume were supported
by a grant from the ASPR.
List of Figures Major archaeological sites of the U.A.E.
Geological units comprising the Oman
Mountains
Major copper deposits and metallurgical
sites of southeastern Arabia
Slag heaps at Samdah, Oman
Slag fields at Tawi 'Arja, Oman
Settlement at Maysar 1, the mining area
M2, and the cemetery M3
Evidence for Umm al-Nar Period mining at
Maysar 2, Oman
Hammer and anvil stones from Maysar 1, Oman
Fragments of the base of a smelting furnace
from Maysar 1, Oman
Slag typology for Umm al-Nar Period copper
production at Maysar 1
2.10 Iron Age smelting remains from Oman
2.11 Iron Age copper slag from 'Arja in Oman
2.12 Periods of copper production in southeastern
Arabia
2.13 Slag-filled planoconvex copper ingot from
Al-Aqir in Oman
2.14 Hoard of planoconvex copper ingots found
at Maysar 1 in House 4
2.15 Third millennium BCE copper-smelting
settlement of Zahra 1, Oman
2.16 Iron Age slag heap at Raki 2, Oman
3.1 Chronology of the excavated tomb
assemblages
3.2 A1 Sufouh Tomb I after excavation (from west)
3.3 Fragments of copper-base objects from A1
Sufouh analyzed in this study
3.4 Unarl Umm al-Nar Period tomb
3.5 Fragments of copper-base objects from
Unarl analyzed in this study
3.6 Unar2 tomb after excavation, showing
chamber designations (from north)
3.7 Fragments of copper-base objects from
Unar2 analyzed in this study
3.8 Tell Abraq tomb after excavation (from north)
3.9 Two copper-base rings from the Tell Abraq
tomb, as excavated in position on phalanges
3.10 Copper-base objects from Tell Abraq
analyzed in this study

xiii
3.1 1 Spearhead TA21 83 from the Tell Abraq Urnm
al-Nar Period tomb
3.12 Daggerlknife blade TA2268 from the Tell
Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb
3.13 Daggerlknife blade TA2270 from the Tell
Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb
3.14 Daggerlknife blade TA2315 from the Tell
Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb
3.15 Daggerlknife blade TA2440 from the Tell
Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb
3.16 Socketed spearhead TA2757 from the Tell
Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb
4.1 Sulfur concentrations in A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects
4.2 Sulfur concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE
4.3 Iron concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects
4.4 Iron concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE
4.5 Cobalt concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects
4.6 Cobalt concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE
4.7 Nickel concentrations in A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects
4.8 Nickel concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE
4.9 Arsenic concentrations in A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects
4.10 Arsenic concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE
4.1 1 Selenium concentrations in A1 Sufouh, Unarl ,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects
4.12 Selenium concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE
4.13 Silver concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE
4.14 Lead concentrations in A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects
4.15 Lead concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE
4.16 Tin concentrations in A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects
xiv
4.17 Tin concentrations in all Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE 95
4.1 8 Negative correlation between tin and cobalt
in the Urnm al-Nar objects analyzed by PIXE 98
4.19 Arsenic and nickel in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE 98
4.20 Nickel and cobalt in the Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE 98
4.21 Arsenic and cobalt in the Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE 99
4.22 Tin and silver in the Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE 99
4.23 Element Correlations as found in a PCA of
the unmodified PIXE compositional data and
PIXE data converted to rank-order 100
4.24 PCA scattergram of untransformed PIXE data
for objects from Tell Abraq and A1 Sufouh 100
4.25 PCA scattergrams of ranked PIXE data for
all Umm al-Nar Period objects 101
4.26 PCA scattergrams of Urnm al-Nar Period
copper objects only 102
4.27 PCA scattergrams of Urnm al-Nar Period tin-
bronzes only 102
4.28 Alloy use in the four Urnm al-Nar Period
tomb assemblages 104
Iron and sulfur levels in finished objects in
comparison to secondary refining waste from
the settlements of Saar and Muweilah 107
Nickel, arsenic, and tin concentrations in
Umm al-Nar Period objects 120
Tin concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE, and previously
analyzed Iron Age objects from
southeastern Arabia 121
Alloy use in different object categories 126
Lead isotope data for massive sulfide deposits
from Oman, in comparison to mid-ocean
ridge basalts (MORB) 135
Isotopic variability of copper ores from
individual ore deposits in Oman 136
LIA data for copper ores from Oman 137
Isotopic composition of Omani ores, in
comparison to copper ingots and finished
objects from southeastern Arabia and Bahrain 137
 LIA data for all Urnm al-Nar Period objects
from the U.A.E. analyzed in this study
LIA data for all Urnm al-Nar Period objects,
arranged by site
LIA data for all Urnm al-Nar Period objects
by alloy category
207Pb1206Pb isotopic composition of Urnm
al-Nar Period copper objects from the UAE
analyzed in this study
207Pb/206Pb Isotopic ranges for Urnm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed in this study
LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed in this study, and Gulf copper ingots
analyzed previously
LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period copper
objects analyzed in this study, and copper-base
artifacts and prills analyzed by Prange et al.
(1999: Figure 7)
LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period copper-low
tin and tin-bronze objects analyzed in this
study, and copper-base artifacts and prills
analyzed by Prange et al. (1999: Figure 7)
LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed in this study, and copper-base
artifacts and prills from Saar, Bahrain
LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period copper
objects analyzed in this study, and copper
artifacts and prills from Wadi SuqILate Bronze
Age contexts at Tell Abraq (Weeks 1999)
LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period tin-bearing
objects analyzed in this study, and tin-bronze
artifacts and prills from Wadi SuqILate Bronze
Age contexts at Tell Abraq (Weeks 1999)
LIA data for copper objects from the
U.A.E. analyzed in this study, and Omani
copper ores
7.13 LIA data for copper-low tin objects from the
U.A.E. analyzed in this study, and Omani
copper ores
7.14 LIA data for tin-bronze objects from the
U.A.E. analyzed in this study, and Omani
copper ores
7.15 LIA data for AsINi-copper objects from the
U.A.E. analyzed in this study, and Omani
copper ores
7.16 LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed in this study, and Indian ores
and slags
7.17 LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed in this study, Iranian copper ores
and slags
7.1 8 LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed in this study, and Saudi Arabian
copper and tin ores
7.19 LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed in this study, in comparison to the
isotopic characteristics of copper ores from
Anatolia, the Aegean, Feinan and Timna
7.20 LIA data for tin (and zinc)-bearing objects
from the Aegean and northwestern Anatolia,
in comparison to tin-bronzes and copper-low
tin objects from the U.A.E.
154 Map showing ore deposits and archaeological
and metallurgical sites mentioned in Chapter
Eight
SR2 target chamber schematic
154 The relationship between PIXE sensitivity
and atomic number
The relationship between PIXE precision
155 and element concentration 205
Chromium concentrations in al.l analyzed
PIXE samples 206
155
This page intentionally left blank
List of Tables Chronological periodization of southeastern
Arabian prehistory
Geology and stratigraphy of the northern
Oman Mountains
Objects from A1 Sufouh analyzed by PIXE
Objects from Unarl analyzed by PIXE
Objects from Unar2 analyzed by PIXE
AMS Radiocarbon dates associated with the
Tell Abraq tomb
Objects from the Tell Abraq tomb analyzed
by PIXE
PIXE compositional data for objects from
A1 Sufouh
PIXEcompositional data of objects fromUnar 1
PIXE compositional data for objects from Unar2
PIXE compositional data for objects from
Tell Abraq
Sulfur concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE
Sulfur levels recorded in previous analytical
studies
Iron concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE
Ironlevelsrecordedin previous analytical studies
Cobalt concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE
Cobalt levels in previously analyzed objects
Nickel concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE
Nickel levels recorded in previous analytical
studies
Zinc concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE
Zinc levelsrecorded in previous analytical studies
Arsenic concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE
Arsenic levels recorded in previous analytical
studies
Selenium concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE 88
Silver concentrations in Urnm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE 90
Silver levels recorded in previous analytical
studies 90

xvii
4.20 Antimony levels recorded in previous analytical
studies 92
4.21 Lead concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE 92
4.22 Lead levels recorded in previous analytical
studies 94
4.23 Tin concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed by PIXE 94
4.24 Rank-correlation coefficients for all Umm al-Nar
Period objects 97
7.1 Lead isotope data for objects from A1 Sufouh,
Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq 146

xviii
 Introduction
Outline and Genesis of the Project
This volume presents a study of early metal produc-
tion, exchange and use in the Persian Gulf region.
The issues addressed range from technological aspects
of early metal extraction and alloy production, to the
broader socioeconomic issues related to the produc-
tion and trade of metallic resources in the Gulf and
the use of tin and tin-bronze in early western Asia
(Figure 1).
Metallurgical studies have been of primary interest
in the archaeology of the Gulf from the earliest peri-
ods of work in the region. This is chiefly a result of
scholarly debate regarding the location of the lands of
Dilmun and Magan, which are mentioned in Bronze
Age historical texts from Greater Mesopotamia and
which were intimately linked with the supply of copper
to the Sumerians, Akkadians and Babylonians in the
third and early-second millennia BCE (e.g. Oppenheim
1954; Leemans 1960; Muhly 1973a; Weisgerber 1983;
Potts 1B o a : 133-149). Archaeological and Assyriological
research in the twentieth century have paid great atten-
tion to locating the lands of Dilmun and Magan, and
it is now clear that both are to be placed within the
Gulf region: Dilmun in the central Gulf, incorporating
eastern Saudi Arabia and particularly Bahrain from the
later third millennium BCE onwards, and Magan at
the southern end of the Gulf, incorporating southeast-
ern Arabia and, perhaps, some areas of southeastern
Iran (Heimpel 1987).
While these debates over historical geography date
back to the nineteenth Century (Potts 1986:271-272),
archaeological research in the Persian Gulf region is a
comparatively recent pursuit. Fieldwork in southeastern
Arabia was initiated by Danish archaeologists in the
1 9 . 5 0 ~and
~ a great deal of research since that time has
allowed the development of a secure chronology for
prehistoric southeastern Arabia (Table p), and a some-
what less assured understanding of the economic, tech-
nological, social and political characteristics of these
early Gulf societies. The archaeological evidence indi-
cates that, by the early third millennium BCE (the Hafit
Period), relatively small, sedentary communities existed
in southeastern Arabia that were founded upon agri-
cultural subsistence and the exploitation of marine
resources (Potts 199713). The evidence for small numbers
of copper-base objects from collective Hafit graves (e.g.
Frifelt 1975b) suggests that local copper extraction had
already begun by this period. This subsistence basis for
human settlement persisted into the later third millenni-
um (the Umm al-Nar Period), when it was supplemented
by a new form of subsistence adaptation based upon
specialized production and exchange of various com-
modities (e.g. copper, ceramics, and stone vessels) within
southeastern Arabia (Cleuziou and Tosi 1989, 2000).
This regional exchange network represented a critical
adaptation in an environment where resources were
plentiful but often strongly localized geographically.
The development of an integrated local economic sys-
tem in southeastern Arabia was contemporary with a
dramatic increase in the number of known settlements,
and with material remains from settlement and funer-
ary contexts indicating extremely far-flung trade con-
tacts with regions such as Mesopotamia, Iran, the Indus
Valley, central Asia and the central Gulf (Potts 1990a,
1993e, 2003a, 2003b). However, settlements remained
relatively small, usually no larger than a few hectares,
and there is no evidence for the development of large
political institutions or significant social hierarchies
(Crawford l998:l3 8). In the early second millennium
BCE (the Wadi Suq Period) there was a dramatic reduc-
tion in the number of settlements, an occurrence that
has been related to the increasing importance of
nomadic pastoralism as a subsistence regime (Cleuziou
1981; Carter 1997).
Figure 1.1 Major archaeological sites of the U.A.E. referred to in the text.Objects analyzed in this volume come from AI Sufouh, Unarl, Unar2,
and Tell Abraq.

2 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

 It is against this background that the evidence for
third millennium copper extraction in southeastern
Arabia, the "copper mountain of Magan", must be
considered. The large scale of this production was
demonstrated from the late 1970s through archaeomet-
allurgical research by the German Mining Museum in
the Sultanate of Oman (Weisgerber 1980b, 1981;
Hauptmann 1985, 1987; Yule and Weisgerber 1996;
Weisgerber and Yule 1999; Prange et al. 1999). This
ongoing field project established the production of
copper in southeastern Arabia from as early as the
Umm al-Nar Period, and the high-volume copper
trade between the Gulf area and Mesopotamia sup-
ported by these studies and by cuneiform references is
regarded as crucial in the socioeconomic development
of the region in the Bronze Age and later (e.g. Edens
1992). The compositional and lead isotope analyses
(LIA) which form the substantive core of this volume
were undertaken on copper-base objects of this period,
from four Umm al-Nar Period collective assemblages
that can be dated between 2450-1900 BCE (see
Chapter Three for details).
As outlined above, the data and discussions pre-
sented in the following chapters exist within a local
technological framework largely constructed by the
German research in Oman. Nevertheless, the new
analyses represent an important complement to the
German research in two respects. Firstly, the analyses
provide evidence of metal use in settlements that are
not associated with primary copper production, which
has until recently been the main focus of the German
research (although see Prange et al. 1999). Secondly,
the analyses are important for our understanding of
metal use in more northerly areas of the Oman
Peninsula rather than those where the German team
has traditionally worked. Looking beyond the data
from southeastern Arabia itself, the results of this
study can be related to broader regional developments
in western Asia, particularly the development of min-
ing, metallurgy and pyrotechnology on the Iranian
Plateau, the adoption of new alloys such as tin-
bronze in neighboring regions of western Asia, and
the long-distance trade in metals that linked the Gulf
with complex societies stretching from the Indus Valley
to Anatolia.
Table 1.1
Chronological Periodization of Southeastern Arabian Prehistory
Broad Chronological Phase Cultural Period Absolute Date BCE
BRONZE AGE Hafit Period
(3100-1 300 BCE) Umm al-Nar Period
Wadi Suq Period
Late Bronze Age
IRON AGE Iron I
(1300-300 BCE) Iron II
lron Ill
Chronological periodization of southeastern Arabian prehistory.
Note: Periodization after Velde (2003),Potts (1 997b), and Magee
(1 996b).
The genesis of the volume lies in previous analyses
of material from the site of Tell Abraq in the U.A.E.,
undertaken by the author in 1995 (Weeks 1997). That
study analyzed the changes in copper alloy use at Tell
Abraq through the entire occupational sequence of the
site: a period of two millennia spanning ca. 2300-300
BCE. The study showed that tin-bronze had been used
at Tell Abraq from the earliest phases of its occupation
in the third millennium, alongside objects of relatively
pure copper and arsenical copper. As such, the findings
contrasted strongly with previous studies of early metal
use in southeastern Arabia (e.g. Hauptmann 1987;
Hauptmann et al. 1988; Berthoud et al. 1980, 1982).
These studies had indicated that tin-bronze was
extremely rare in the region in the third millennium
and was not consistently used until the end of the sec-
ond millennium.
The analyses of the Tell Abraq objects thus raised the
question of whether Tell Abraq, clearly the largest site on
the Gulf coast of southeastern Arabia during the late-third
and second millennia (Potts 1993a), was somehow unique
in terms of its access to metallic resources. For example, it
has been proposed that Tell Abraq functioned as the chief
outlet for Omani copper in the last centuries of the third
millennium (Frifelt 1995) and the site may therefore have
had greater access to a variety of metal resources and
other luxury goods than most sites in the Oman Peninsula.
Alternatively, Carter (2001:196) has suggested that Tell
Abraq might be best regarded as a trading post between
the centrallnorthern Gulf and South Asia; an "exception-
al" site not well integrated economically with southeast-
ern Arabia beyond the northern coastal region.
Introduction 3
 These early archaeometallurgical analyses from
Tell Abraq suggested the possibility of differences in
metal procurement patterns between northern and
southern areas of the Oman Peninsula. Further
basic questions posed by the Tell Abraq analyses
related to the chronology of the earliest tin and tin-
bronze use in the region, and the mechanisms and
routes by which this clearly foreign material
reached the Gulf. However, due to the dearth of
analytical programs on chronologically and geo-
graphically related metal objects, the Tell Abraq
analyses stood somewhat in isolation. As a conse-
quence, it was difficult to assess whether the site
was representative of more widespread metallurgical
practices in southeastern Arabia, o r whether it was
indeed unique in its metalworking technology and
access t o foreign resources. The analyses of objects
from three other tomb assemblages in the northern
U.A.E., from the sites of A1 Sufouh, U n a r l , and
Unar2, are thus significant in providing a more
secure analytical basis t o support the discussion of
the issues raised by the initial Tell Abraq analyses.
Additionally, excavation of the second half of the
Umm al-Nar Period tomb a t Tell Abraq was com-
pleted in 1997-1998, bringing t o light many more
copper-base objects from the late third millennium
BCE. The analysis of a sub-set of these newly recov-
ered objects using a fully quantitative technique was
deemed desirable, in order to support the results of
the semi-quantitative EDS analyses of material from
the site undertaken previously.
As a group, analyses of the four tomb assem-
blages allow for a relatively clear understanding of
developments in alloying technology and raw mate-
rial exchange patterns over the last half of the third
millennium BCE in the northern Oman Peninsula.
Such issues are indeed the focus of much of the dis-
cussion presented in this volume. However, other
issues such as the organization of copper produc-
tion in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia, and the
local and foreign factors that influenced the scale
of production, and the role of the Gulf in the third
millennium tin trade are also addressed. These the-
oretical and substantive issues are outlined below
in greater detail.
4 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Copper Production and the Bronze Age
Economy of Southeastern Arabia
One of the main theoretical foci of this volume relates
not to the interpretation of the analytical data generated
by PIXE and LIA, but to an investigation of the organi-
zation of copper production in Bronze Age southeastern
Arabia, and an examination of the integration of copper
production with other local subsistence activities. As
noted above, the Umm al-Nar Period witnessed what
many archaeologists have characterized as an increasing
level of cultural and economic integration. The
exchange of copper produced in the mountainous areas
of the interior no doubt played a significant role in this
integration. In Chapter Two, the possible effects of feed-
back between greater economic integration and increas-
ingly specialized craft production are examined in detail.
The implications of these factors for our understanding
of emerging social complexity in Bronze Age southeast-
ern Arabia are also addressed.
The importance of local exchange systems in generating
demand for copper is emphasized partly to counteract
the prominence that has previously been granted to
foreign demand for copper from areas such as
Mesopotamia, Dilmun, and perhaps the Indus Valley. It
is clear that both local and foreign demand played a role
in determining total output of copper in the third millen-
nium, and also the ways in which that production was
organized. As will be seen in Chapter Two, the archaeo-
logical evidence for particular modes of copper produc-
tion in Bronze Age Oman is very scarce. Nevertheless,
there is some evidence for Bronze Age copper extraction
sites producing at very different scales, which might ten-
tatively support the notion of distinct modes of produc-
tion. Whether such differences can be linked to chronol-
ogy, production for local or foreign markets, or other
factors remains uncertain.
Prehistoric copper production in Oman, beginning at
around 3000 BCE, also witnesses distinct periods of
growth and decline, to the point where long periods of
complete abandonment of the industry have been hypothe-
sized in the Late Bronze Age and the Late Pre-Islamic
Period. This "periodicity" or "cyclicality" of production
is another reflection of changes in local and foreign
demand for copper, in addition to environmental factors,
changing technology, and historically contingent political
and economic events in southeastern Arabia and neigh-
boring regions of western Asia. In Chapter Two, the many
factors that may have caused the periodicity of copper
production in southeastern Arabia are examined in detail.
Alloying Practices in Bronze Age
Southeastern Arabia
Considerable information regarding early metalworking
practices in southeastern Arabia is generated by the ana-
lytical data presented and discussed in Chapters Four and
Five. When the compositional analyses are compared with
the work of the German Mining Museum, important fac-
tors regarding the production and use of certain alloy
types, changes in local ore types exploited, and in the tech-
nology of extraction can be examined.
A brief note on terminology is required here to facili-
tate the discussion. All objects made of copper and its
alloysarereferred to ascopper-baseobjects. In theanalyzed
assemblages from Umm al-Nar Period southeastern
Arabia, the most common alloy types are pure copper
(which contains less than one percent of arsenic, nickel,
zinc and lead, and less than two percent tin), tin-bronze
(copper with more than two percent tin), arsenical cop-
per (copper with more than one percent arsenic), and
nickel copper (copper with more than one percent nick-
el). The last two alloy types are commonly grouped
together under the label As/Ni-copper, which includes all
copper samples with more than one percent of arsenic
andlor nickel. No a priori assumptions are made regard-
ing the intentional production of these alloys.
Justifications for these definitions can be found in
Chapters Four and Five.
The discussion of the compositional data focuses on
the production and use of tin-bronze and As/Ni-copper.
Based upon mineralogical studies of ore deposits in
southeastern Arabia, it is suggested that the latter alloy is
probably a local product. In addition to the investigation
of the particular kinds of Omani ore deposits that may
have produced such an alloy, discussion focuses upon the
various mechanisms by which As/Ni-copper may have
been produced and the material properties that may have
differentiated it from pure copper and from tin-bronze.
Analyses of alloying processes for the production of tin-
bronze are also addressed, based upon tin concentra-
tions in the objects and also evidence from minor and
trace element concentrations. Chronological aspects of
tin-bronze use in the northern Oman Peninsula are also
investigated and significant differences in the use of tin-
bronze and As/Ni copper for specific object categories
are visible. The technological, economic, and ideological
factors that may have mediated processes of alloy selec-
tion in third millennium southeastern Arabia are dis-
cussed in detail.
Investigationof the Bronze Age Tin Trade
The investigation of early tin and tin-bronze use in the
northern Oman Peninsula is important for understanding
early metal use and trade both within the Gulf, and in
wider western Asia. The tin sources used in Bronze Age
western Asia remain unidentified after more than 50 years
of investigation (Muhly 1973a; 1985a; 1993a; Stech and
Piggot 1986) and related fieldwork, analytical programs
and archaeological debates are actively in progress (e.g.
Yener and Vandiver 1993a; Moorey l994:297-30 1;
Alimov et al. 1998; Yener 2000). The debate is concerned
as much with the trade routes and mechanisms by which
tin and tin-bronze may have moved in the third millenni-
um as it is with the absolute source of the material. The
discovery of early tin-bronze use at Tell Abraq has high-
lighted the possible role of the Gulf trade in the distribu-
tion of this material, an avenue which had been largely
under-emphasized due to the dearth of tin-bronzes report-
ed in other compositional studies of material from
Bahrain and southeastern Arabia (e.g. McKerrell
1977:167; Hauptmann et al. 1988; Prange et al. 1999).
The archaeological objects from the four Umm al-Nar
Period tomb assemblages analyzed in this volume add con-
siderably to the body of evidence for early tin-bronze use in
the Gulf. Furthermore, the significance of the timing and
frequency of early tin-bronze use in the Gulf for general
discussions of Bronze Age Gulf archaeology is addressed.
In particular, the possible cultural contacts that might
account for the use of tin in the central Gulf and in south-
eastern Arabia are assessed. Any discussions of this nature
rely for their validity upon multiple strands of evidence
from geology, archaeology and early textual sources (e.g.
Muhly 1985a, 1993a; Penhallurick 1986; Stech and Pigott
1986), and these are presented in detail in order to reach a
satisfactory conclusion regarding the likely sources of tin
used in the Gulf in the Bronze Age.
Introduction 5
 The possible significance of the early tin-bronze
exchange in the Gulf for wider western Asia is also con-
sidered in detail. The results of the LIA of more than 40
objects from the four Umm al-Nar Period tomb assem-
blages provide crucial evidence for this discussion. The
isotopic data provide important information on the
extent of the early tin and tin-bronze trade in western
Asia and beyond and the possible technological and
socioeconomic implications of this trade are discussed
in detail.
Analytical Techniques
As noted above, the data presented in this volume
involve both compositional and lead isotopic analy-
ses. The compositional analyses were undertaken
using the technique of Proton-Induced X-ray Emission
(PIXE). Details of the application of the PIXE tech-
nique to the objects analyzed in this study, as well as
information on accuracy, precision and sensitivity of
the data, are provided in Chapter Four and Appendix
One. PIXE analyses have been successfully used as the
basis of a number of archaeometallurgical analysis pro-
grams in the Old World (e.g. Fleming and Swann
1985:142).
Currently, the use of LIA is much debated within
archaeological science and archaeology in general
(e.g. Budd et al. 1995a, 1995b, 1996; Muhly 1995a;
Pernicka 1995a; Tite 1996; Knapp 2000; Gale 2001).
As the issues surrounding the application of LIA to
archaeological provenance studies can be complex, a
detailed discussion of the development of LIA in
archaeology is given in Chapter Six. LIA can provide
extremely useful information in the generation and
assessment of novel archaeological hypotheses regard-
ing provenance (e.g. Pernicka et al. 1990, 1993), as
demonstrated by the results presented and interpreted
in Chapter Seven. Useful results are dependent upon a
detailed understanding of both geological and anthro-
pogenic factors controlling lead isotope signatures of
archaeological objects, and the value of integrating
isotopic and compositional data is clear (e.g. Pernicka
1995a; Bridgford 2000; Begemann et al. 2001).
Details of the analytical technique for LIA and infor-
mation on data precision and accuracy can be found
in Appendix One.
6 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Outline of Chapters
Following this introductory chapter, Chapter Two pres-
ents the background to the present study, summarizing all
previous geological and archaeological work relevant to
early metallurgy in the Gulf region. It incorporates an
extensive discussion of the factors that affected the scale
and periodicity of early metal extraction in southeastern
Arabia; an examination of the organization of Umm al-
Nar Period copper production; an assessment of the inte-
gration of various specialized production regimes (includ-
ing metallurgy) in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia, and; a
presentation of the evidence for copper-base object fabri-
cation and alloying technologies. Chapter Three reviews
the chronological and contextual information on the
objects analyzed in this volume. Chapter Four presents
and summarizes the compositional data for all analyzed
samples on an element-by-element basis. It concludes
with a statistical analysis of elemental correlations in the
collected data, and of the chemical characteristics of the
archaeological metal assemblages from each of the four
funerary structures. The implications of the composition-
a1 data and statistical analyses are discussed in Chapter
Five, with particular focus upon the types of ores that
may have been exploited in the Umm al-Nar Period and
the production and use of various local and imported
copper-base alloys such as As/Ni-copper and tin-bronze.
Chapter Six is a summary of theoretical and practical
developments in the application of LIA to archaeology, as
a background to Chapter Seven, where the results of the
LIA of copper-base objects from the four Umm al-Nar
Period tomb assemblages are presented. Particular atten-
tion is paid to the possible local and foreign metal sources
that were used to produce the analyzed copper-base
objects. Chapter Eight focuses more specifically on the
possible sources of tin used in the Gulf in the Bronze Age
and includes a discussion of the trade routes, exchange
mechanisms, and socioeconomic importance of the third
millennium BCE tin and tin-bronze trade in western Asia.
The overall results of the research are summarized in
Chapter 9.
2 Geology and Early
Exploitation of
Copper Deposits in
Southeastern Arabia
This chapter addresses the nature of copper deposits in
southeastern Arabia and past archaeological studies of
ancient copper production in the region. The first sec-
tion of the chapter begins with a brief description of
the geology of southeastern Arabia, and the A1 Hajjar
Mountains in particular, including the basic stratigraph-
ic units, their time of formation, and the mechanisms of
their emplacement. Subsequently, a detailed description
is given of the various copper deposits of southeastern
Arabia, their geological setting, mineralogy, and impor-
tance for ancient metal production.
In the second section of the chapter, archaeological
research into ancient copper production in southeastern
Arabia is discussed. Early approaches to provenance
and the question of the location of Magan are dealt
with first, followed by a section on early geological and
archaeological surveys in the region and a discussion of
the work of the German Mining Museum in Oman.
The discussion of early primary copper extraction in
southeastern Arabia concludes with an investigation of
the apparent periodicity in copper production in the
Bronze and Iron Ages, and an examination of the ways
in which copper production was organized and inte-
grated into the broader Bronze Age economy of the
region. The chapter concludes with a discussion of
changes in the technology of copper-base object fabrica-
tion over the course of the Bronze Age, examining both
the range of items produced and the alloying practices
that are evidenced.
Geology of Northern Oman and Masirah
All of the copper deposits of southeastern Arabia, with
the exception of those on Masirah Island, are to be
found within various geological units of the northern
Oman or A1 Hajjar Mountains. In the following sec-
tions, brief descriptions of the geology of the A1 Hajjar
Mountains and Masirah Island are given, as they form
an important basis for the understanding of ancient
copper mining and production in southeastern Arabia.
Geology of the Northern Oman (A1 Hajjar) Mountains
The A1 Hajjar Mountains are comprised of a number of
different groups of rocks, whose genesis, location and
association have been explained in different ways over
the course of geological research in the region, dating
as far back as the 1900s (Pilgrim 1908). Although com-
prehensive local geological research did not begin until
the 1960s, the geology of Oman and the U.A.E. is rela-
tively well understood for a number of reasons. In par-
ticular, the search for new oil and gas reserves was a
primary motivator of early geological research in the
region, as was the chance to study the world's best
exposed and most complete piece of former oceanic
mantle and crust, the so-called "Semail Ophiolite"
(Glennie 1995:6-9; Batchelor 1992:109). A number of
important general studies of the mountains have been
published (e.g. Greenwood and Loney 1968; Glennie et al.
1974; Robertson et al. 1990), as well as publications on
specific geological units within the mountains, particu-
larly the ophiolite (e.g. Lippard et al. 1986; Boudier
and Nicolas 1988).
The various geological divisions used to describe
and explain the geology of the northern Oman
Mountains (see Glennie 1995; Lippard et al. 1986) are
given in Table 2.1 in stratigraphic order (oldest at the
bottom). The table indicates the basic bipartite divi-
sion of the rocks of the region into autochthonous and
allochthonous sequences. The autochthonous units,
include basement granites and shallow marine sediments
that were deposited on the Arabian continental shelf or
platform, and which remain in the position in which
they formed. These units include the "Basement",
"Hajar Supergroup" and "Aruma Group" discussed by
Glennie (1995:23-32) and Lippard et al. (1986:9-16)
and date from the Precambrian to the Late Cretaceous.
 Above these autochthonous units sit two series of
allochthonous rocks, so-named because they have been
moved from their place of formation into their current
position by various geological processes. Allochthonous
units are noted in Table 2.1. The lower of these units,
the "Hawasina," is composed largely of marine sedi-
ments that were deposited on the floor of an ancient
ocean called the Neo-Tethys, which lay to the northeast
of Arabia, between mid-Triassic and mid-Cretaceous
times (ca. 270-70 million years ago [Ma]; Lippard et al.
1986:12; Glennie 1995:4). The upper allochthonous unit
is the Semail Ophiolite, a section of oceanic upper man-
tle and crust that formed on the floor of one part of the
Neo-Tethys in the Mid-Cretaceous (ca. 105-170 Ma;
Glennie 1995:4-5).
From about 105 Ma, active spreading ridges in the
Neo-Tethys and the South Atlantic Ocean focused great
horizontal compressive forces upon the oceanic crust of
the Neo-Tethys, causing it to rupture and leading to the
formation of an eastward-dipping subduction zone
(Glennie 199553). It was in fact the presence of this
subduction zone that led to the formation of the Semail
oceanic crust in the associated back-arc environment of
the subduction zone (Lippard et al. 1986:Figure 4.11).
As described by Glennie (1995:5), at 105 Ma these three
groups of rocks (the autochthonous series and the two
allochthonous series) lay side-by-side, with the granites
and shallow marine sediments of the Arabian shelf to
the west and the newly-forming oceanic crust of the
Semail to the east. The Hawasina sediments overlay
older and deeper oceanic crust in between the Arabian
platform and the Semail crust.
The subduction zone in the Neo-Tethys and the
compressive forces which initiated the formation of the
Semail oceanic ridge led to the emplacement of first the
Hawasina sediments and then the Semail oceanic litho-
sphere over the Arabian shelf in the period between
about 105 and 70 Ma. The relative direction of trans-
port was from northeast to southwest, and the distances
involved were of the order of several hundred km
(Shackleton and Ries 1990:721). Horizontal compressive
forces ceased to operate at around 75 Ma, and the uplift
of the partially subducted, buoyant continental crust
onto which the Hawasina and Semail units had been
emplaced led to the detachment of the Semail nappe
8 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
from its contiguous oceanic crust and the local elevation
of parts of the nappe above sea level for the first time
(Glennie l995:%-56).
At this time, however, the rock units formed a chain
of low-relief islands rather than a mountain range. It
was not until approximately 30 Ma that these units were
uplifted to form the Oman Mountains, as a result of the
compressive forces arising from the separation of Arabia
from Africa and the collision of the Indian plate with the
southern edge of Eurasia (Glennie 199.55). In the inter-
vening period between about 70 and 30 Ma
(Mastrichtian-Lower Tertiary), shallow marine sedi-
ments were deposited above a number of the rock units
that formed the island arc. These units remained in their
relative place of formation after the uplift of the Oman
mountains, and are thus referred to by Glennie
(1995:Table 1)as "neo-autochthonous".
The Oman Mountains, in their present form, com-
prise an arc more than 700 km long and up to 150 km
wide, parallel to the Gulf of Oman. They extend from
the Musandam Peninsula and the Straits of Hormuz in
the north to Ras a1 Hadd in the southeast at an elevation
of generally between 500-1,500 m, although Jebel
Akhdar rises to ca. 3,000 m (Lippard et al. 1986:l-2).
The rock formations that comprise the Oman Mountains
are illustrated in Figure 2.1.
The most extensive geological unit of the mountains
is the Semail Nappe, with an area of approximately
20,000 km2 and a thickness of between five and ten kilo-
metres, which has been broken into 12 generally intact
blocks of varying sizes as a result of erosion and of fault-
ing during and after emplacement (Glennie et al. 1974).
The Hawasina outcrops mostly on the southern and
western extremities of the Oman Mountains, but also
occurs in the interior of the mountains, for example at
the type site of the "Hawasina Window" in Wadi
Hawasina, and in the Dibba Zone in the north. The
upper and lower autochthonous units of the mountain
range are exposed in the region of Jebel Akhdar, in the
mountains south of Muscat, in the Huqf region, and at
the northern end of the Oman Mountains in the
Musandam Peninsula. Neo-autochthonous rocks are seen
in the A1 Ain region, particularly at Jebel Hafit, and in
the coastal region between Saih Hatat and Ras al-Hadd
in Oman (Glennie 1995:Figure 10).
Table 2.1
Tectonostratigraphic Units of the Northern Oman Mountains
Age (Ma BP) Stratigraphic Unit

Mostly shallow marine limestones (Maastrichtian-EarlyTertiary) of: 1) the Hadhramaut Group, and;

Formed 105-95 Oceanic crust (Mid-Late Cretaceous), consisting of: 1) a crustal sequence of extrusive basaltic pillow
lavas and interbedded pelagic sediments;
a sheeted dyke complex; high-level plutonic rocks;
and layered peridotites and gabbros;
2) a mantle sequence of peridotites and harzburgites, and;
3) a basal metamorphic sheet of amphibolites and

Formed 270-70 Mostly calcareous sandstones (U. Permian-Turonian)

deposited as turbidites, comprised of: 1) the Umar Group;
2) the AI AridhIKawr Groups, and;
3) the SumeiniIHamrat Duru Groups (including the
Wahrah Formation).
"Aruma Group" (AllochthonousUnit)
1) Simsima limestones (U.Cretaceous-L.Tertiary);
2) Fiqa shales and conglomerates of the Juweiza
Formation (Campanian),and;
3) conglomerates and turbidites of the Muti Formation
(Santonian-Campanian).
270-90 "Upper Autochthon" (= Hajar Supergroup)
Shallow marine limestones and dolomites comprised of
(in the central mountains): 1) the Wasia Group (M. Cretaceous);
2) the Kahmah Group (L. Cretaceous);
3) the Sahtan Group (Jurassic),and;
41 the Akhdar Grow (U. Permian-U.Triassic).
650-270 "Lower Autochthon"
A sedimentary sequence of limestones and dolomites consisting of: 1) Palaeozoic siltstones of Saih Hatat, Quartzites of
J. Qamar and J. Ramaq, and;
2) Eocambrian rocks of the eastern Huqf.
850-650 "Basement" (AutochthonousUnit)
Jebel Ja'alan sedimentary rocks (Precambrian)

Geology and stratigraphy of the northern Oman Mountains.

Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 9

 Figure 2.1 The geological units comprising the Oman Mountains.
Geology of Masirah Island
Masirah Island is located 24 km off the southeastern
coast of Oman (Figure 2.2). The island is 64 km long
and up to 16 km wide, with a highest elevation of 277
m (Moseley 1969:293-294). It contains a suite of rocks
that are very similar to those of the Semail Nappe,
including mantle serpentinites, ultramafic to gabbroic
cumulates, massive gabbros, sheeted dykes, basaltic pil-
low lavas and radiolarian cherts (Abbotts 1981; Moseley
1990:665). These rocks were originally thought to repre-
sent a part of the Sernail Nappe (Moseley 1969; cf.
Moseley and Abbotts 1979), however, recent geological
research has determined that the ophiolitic rocks of
Masirah are genetically unrelated to the mainland ophi-
olite, being late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous in age
(145-125 Ma; Gnos et al. 1997; Meyer et al. 1996;
Smewing et al. 1991).
10 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
The ophiolitic rocks of Masirah Island are unusual
in that they were emplaced a long time after their for-
mation, having drifted in oceanic lithosphere for
approximately 90 Ma (Meyer et al. 1996:187). There
are actually two distinct ophiolite nappes on Masirah
Island (Gnos and Perrin 1996:55), the upper of which
was obducted onto the lower between the late
Maastrichtian and the pre-Eocene (ca. 60-50 Ma; Gnos
and Perrin 1996:62). It is likely that the emplacement
of the lower Masirah Ophiolite onto the Arabian shelf
was related to the northward movement of the Indian
plate (although this is a complicated issue; for a full
explanation and illustration, please see e.g., Moseley and
Abbotts 1979; Shackleton and Ries 1990; Smewing et
al. 1991), and took place slightly after the obduction of
the upper ophiolite nappe onto the lower (Gnos and
Perrin 1996:62).
Figure 2.2 The major copper deposits and metallurgical sites of southeastern Arabia (triangles) and third millennium settlements (small
circles).

Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 11

Copper Deposits in Southeastern Arabia
The vast majority of copper deposits in southeastern
Arabia (Figure 2.2) are hosted in rocks of the Semail
Ophiolite, the formation and emplacement of which is
described above. As shown in Table 2.1, the Semail
Ophiolite consists of rock series with both mantle and
crustal origins. The mantle series is the lowest strati-
graphic unit in the Semail Nappe, and is composed
mostly of variably serpentinized ultramafic rocks (most-
ly tectonized harzburgites and dunites) with an estimat-
ed maximum thickness of 10-12 km (Lippard et al.
1986:41). The peridotites of the mantle series are over-
lain by a magmatic assemblage of cumulate gabbros and
peridotites up to four km thick (the "Layered Series"),
and a sequence of high-level plutonic rocks (the "High-
Level Intrusives"), generally gabbros, of up to 500 m
thick (Lippard et al. 1986:14, 41). The high-level intru-
sives are stratigraphically overlain by a sheeted diabase
dyke complex of up to 1.5 km in thickness, which acted
as a feeder for an overlying extrusive sequence of
basaltic pillow lavas up to two km thick. The extrusive
basalts are interbedded and overlain by pelagic sedi-
ments (Lippard et al. 1986:41, Figure 3.3).
Massive Sulfide Deposits of the Semail Extrusive Series
The largest copper deposits in southeastern Arabia are
those concentrated in the Semail upper extrusive
sequence. These massive sulfide deposits are strata-
bound within the pillow lavas of the ophiolite, although
they are not exclusively associated with any particular
stratigraphic interval, and are directly comparable to
the large copper deposits of the Troodos Ophiolite in
Cyprus (Coleman 1977:124-126; Batchelor 1992:108;
Lippard et al. 1986:127). The copper, iron and zinc-rich
ores are exhalative sedimentary deposits formed either
in sea-floor depressions near oceanic ridges or as a
result of sea-mount volcanism (Ixer et al. 1984:123;
Hauptmann 1985:27). The ore metals themselves origi-
nated in the volcanic rocks, from which they were
mobilized by hydrothermal seawater solutions
(Jankovic, 1986:27; Hauptmann 1985:27).
The massive sulfide deposits are comprised primari-
ly of pyrite (FeS2),chalcopyrite (CuFeS2),and sphalerite
(ZnS), but exhibit well-developed gossans consisting of
brightly colored iron oxides, hydroxides and sulfates in
12 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
addition to secondary copper minerals such as malachite
( C U ~ C O , ( O H ) azurite
~), ( C U ~ ( C O ~ ) ~ ( and
O H rare
)~)
native copper (Coleman 1977:125; Ixer et al. 1984;
Hauptmann 1985:26; Weisgerber 1987: 170).
Cementation zones or zones of secondary enrichment
are not seen in the massive sulfide deposits (Hauptmann
1985:25; Hauptmann et al. 1988:35), although there are
considerable quantities of secondary sulfur-containing
minerals such as bornite (Cu5FeS4),chalcocite (Cu2S)
and covellite (CuS) in some deposits (Ixer et al.
1984:120 and Table 2; Smewing et al. 1977536).
The three largest deposits in the region occur in the
hinterland of Sohar, at the sites of Bayda, Lasail and
'Arja, while other massive sulfide deposits and stock-
works are known at Zuha, Raki, Hayl as-Safil and
Daris in the Sultanate of Oman (Calvez and Lescuyer
1991). Detailed summaries of the formation and miner-
alogy of these deposits can be found in numerous publi-
cations (e.g. Ixer et al. 1984, 1986; Hauptmann
1985:25-27; Lippard et al. 1986:127-128; Lescuyer et
al. 1988; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991; Batchelor 1992; A1
Azry et al. 1993).
The extrusive lavas of the upper Semail ophiolite
were formed as a result of two separate but nearly con-
temporary magmatic events (M1 and M2). The forma-
tion of the first series of pillow lavas (the V1 or
Geotimes unit), which forms the footwall of all the main
massive sulfide deposits in southeastern Arabia, was
related to the first magmatic event. The Geotimes Unit
directly overlies the sheeted dyke complex from which it
was derived (Batchelor 1992:114) and was formed in
late Albian to early Cenomanian times (Calvez and
Lescuyer 1991). The Bayda massive sulfide deposit is
thought to have been formed by hydrothermal activity at
this time (Batchelor 1992: 114).
The upper lava unit (V2, consisting of the Lasail and
Alley Units) is related to the second magmatic event
(M2), and its earliest manifestations are associated with
the hydrothermal activity that formed the massive sulfide
deposits at Lasail and 'Arja, as well as those at Zuha,
Raki and Hayl as-Safil (Batchelor 1992:114). Thus, the
majority of massive sulfide deposits in the Semail
Ophiolite occur at the contact between the V1 and V2
volcanic units. The Lasail ore deposit has a hanging-wall
of Lasail Unit lavas, whereas the 'Arja deposit has a
hanging-wall of Alley Unit lavas (Ixer et al. 1984:Figure
2). This volcanic and hydrothermal activity is of
Cenomanian to Turonian age and represents the most
important period of copper mineralization related to the
Oman Mountains (Batchelor 1992: 114).
Other Copper Deposits of the Semail Ophiolite
Although the largest copper deposits of the Oman
Mountains occur as massive sulfide deposits in the
upper extrusive sequence, smaller vein-type deposits are
in fact found throughout the ophiolite crustal sequence
and in mantle sequence rocks (Hauptmann
1985:21-3 1).Minor sulfide concentrations are found in
the sheeted dyke complex (Weisgerber 1 9 8 0 ~115;:
Weisgerber l98Oa: 89; Hauptmann and Weisgerber
1980:134) and high level gab bros, often associated with
northwest-southeast trending faults (Coleman
1977:124; Lippard et al. 1986:128). Copper deposits
are also known from lower in the crustal sequence, at
the contact between cumulate gabbro and cumulate
peridotite near the petrological Moho (Coleman et al.
1978:12; Weisgerber 1980c:115; Weisgerber 1981:190),
and along major fractures within the mantle harzbur-
gites (Goettler et al. 1976:46-47; Hauptmann
1985:21-31; Lorand 1988; Batchelor l992:ll4). It is
likely that a lot of this fracture mineralization is related
to mineralization at higher levels within the ophiolite
extrusive sequence (Batchelor 1992:114), although
some deposits lie along northwest-trending faults relat-
ed to younger tectonics (Coleman et al. 1978 12).
Although these deposits are generally small, with
lengths of less than 600 m and widths of less than 20 m
(Hauptmann 1985:27; Batchelor l992:l l 4 ) , they are
frequently of high grade and contain significant quanti-
ties of secondary minerals such as brochantite
( C U & ~ ~ ( O Hmalachite,
)~), azurite and chrysocolla
(CuSi03.2H20)in addition to primary chalcopyrite and
pyrite (Goettler et al. 1976:47-50; Hauptmann 1985:26;
Hauptmann et al. l 9 8 8:35). Geological researchers in
southeastern Arabia have commonly noted an associa-
tion between ancient slag heaps and these lower ophi-
olitic copper deposits (Greenwood and Loney l968:3 1;
Glennie et al. 1974:284; Goettler et al. 1976; Coleman
et al. 1978; Batchelor 1992:114), and have therefore
suggested that these ores, rather than those of the massive
sulfide deposits, were of the greatest importance for
early metallurgy in the region (Goettler et al. 1976:47;
Hauptmann et al. 1988:35). There are significant differ-
ences in the mineralogy of the massive sulfide deposits
and those from lower in the ophiolite sequence
(Hauptmann 1985:21-31) which, when compared to
compositional data from the analysis of archaeological
copper-base objects, also support such a conclusion
(Hauptmann et al. 1988:35).
It should, however, be noted that significant
amounts of low-grade oxidized copper minerals were
available in the gossans (i.e. the upper weathered zones)
of the massive sulfide deposits of the extrusive sequence
(Weisgerber 198Oc:115-1 16), and that a number of these
deposits in the vicinity of Wadi Jizzi were worked as
early as the third millennium BCE (Weisgerber
1987:145). This is in contrast to the evidence suggesting
that the unaltered primary copper ores of the massive
sulfide deposits (i.e. chalcopyrite and bornite) were not
worked on a significant scale until the local Iron Age,
around the beginning of the first millennium BCE
(Weisgerber 1987:145).
Ophiolitic Copper Deposits on Masirah Island
A common feature of ophiolites is the occurrence of
massive sulfide deposits in the various rock units, partic-
ularly extrusive rocks, of which they are comprised
(Coleman 1977:124). There are thus strong a priori rea-
sons to suspect the presence of copper deposits on
Masirah Island. In fact, copper mineralization was
reported on Masirah Island as early as the 1840s (Carter
1848) in the form of disseminated carbonates (malachite
and azurite) associated with haematite (Fe203)in quartz
veins (Batchelor 1992:117). Other copper mineraliza-
tions are found in rocks of the sheeted dyke complex
(Moseley 1990:Figure 5 ) and pillow lavas on the island
(Moseley and Abbotts 1979:Figure l ) , and it has been
suggested that the Masirah Ophiolite and small ophio-
lites at Ra's al-Madrakah and Ra's al-Jibsch on the near-
by mainland "carry obvious potential for Cyprus-type
copper mineralization" (Batchelor 1992:117).
Only a small amount of archaeological work has
been carried out on Masirah Island, but even the earliest
geological reports mention the presence of ancient slag
heaps (Batchelor 1992:117). Archaeological information
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 13
and radiocarbon analyses indicate that copper mining on
Masirah Island can be placed at least as early as the
eighteenth century BCE (Weisgerber l 9 8 8:footnote 7;
Weisgerber 1991:327), and the copper of the island is
therefore significant for discussions of Bronze Age pro-
duction and trade in the region.
Non-Ophiolitic Copper Deposits in Southeastern Arabia
In addition to copper deposits within rock units of the
Semail Ophiolite, small copper mineralizations can be
found within stratigraphic units that underlie the Semail
Nappe. Both massive sulfide and vein-type mineraliza-
tion is found within Hawasina rocks in the Sultanate of
Oman and the U.A.E. (e.g. Hauptmann et al. 1988:48).
The largest Hawasina hosted copper deposit is that at A1
Ajal, not far from Muscat (Lescuyer et al. 1988; Calvez
and Lescuyer 1991). This Late Permian (>250 Ma)
deposit, roughly 100 m long and five m thick, has high
levels of gold and silver but a relatively low concentra-
tion of copper in the gossan as a result of considerable
leaching (Batchelor 1992:117).
Further to the north, a number of geological surveys
in the U.A.E. (Greenwood and Loney 1968; Hassan and
Al-Sulaimi 1979) have demonstrated small veins of frac-
ture-related copper mineralization in Hawasina rocks.
The mineralization is usually of chalcopyrite with vary-
ing quantities of secondary copper carbonates (mala-
chite), silicates (chrysocolla) and secondary sulfur-bear-
ing species such as chalcocite (Greenwood and Loney
1968:29-3 1, 51). At present, there is no archaeological
evidence for the exploitation of Hawasina-hosted
deposits in southeastern Arabia.
Early Research into Ancient Copper
Production in the Oman Peninsula
Cuneiform Sources Referring to Dilmun, Magan
and Meluhha
The investigation of copper production in the region of
southeastern Arabia began with the study of
Mesopotamian Bronze Age cuneiform documents. Over
the course of the third and early second millennia BCE
the Gulf, known to the Mesopotamians as the Lower
Sea, was the most critical trade route for the supply of
luxury goods and some essential raw materials to the
Mesopotamian alluvium (T. F. Potts 1994). A significant
14 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
body of cuneiform texts, dating from the Jemdet Nasr
Period to the Old Babylonian Period, records the
exchange of cloth, textiles, grain, silver, oils and other
Mesopotamian manufactured goods with polities of the
Lower Sea, for the procurement of various types of
wood, semi-precious stones, ivory and above all, copper
(Leemans 1960:lO-12; Oppenheim 1954). These
cuneiform texts are our earliest historical references to
copper trade in the Gulf region, and are reviewed here
due to their importance for reconstructions of early cop-
per production in southeastern Arabia.
The three toponyms associated with the Gulf trade
are Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha, each of which is men-
tioned as a supplier of copper at various periods in
Mesopotamian history: Magan and Meluhha are referred
to only in the Sargonic-Ur I11 periods (ca. 2350-2000
BCE), whereas the toponym Dilmun occurs from the
Late UrukIJemdet Nasr Period through to the Isin-Larsa
and Old Babylonian Periods, ca. 3100-1750 BCE
(Heimpel 1987, 1988, 1993; Potts 1990a). There is a
strong agreement between archaeological and textual evi-
dence for locating Dilmun on the Arabian littoral of the
central Gulf, incorporating Tarut Island by the middle of
the third millennium BCE and concentrated primarily on
the islands of Bahrain and Failaka by the beginning of
the second millennium BCE (Crawford l998 :1-8 and
Figure 1.2; Potts 1990a). Likewise, the archaeological
evidence for extensive Bronze Age copper extraction in
the Sultanate of Oman (see below) can be correlated
with cuneiform references to Magan as a major supplier
of copper, in order to suggest that Magan encompassed
the area covered by the modern countries of the U.A.E.
and Oman (Potts 1990a:133-149; Heimpel 1988). An
association between the Oman Peninsula and the
Sumerian copper-supplying land of Magan had already
been suggested in the nineteenth century based upon geo-
graphical considerations (Potts 1986:271-272), and by
the second decade of the twentieth century early histori-
cal references to copper production in Oman had been
used to support the association (Potts 1990a:117).
However, the details of a number of Old Akkadian mili-
tary campaigns against the region (and the booty they
brought back to Mesopotamia) are more equivocal, and
suggest the possibility that areas on the north of the
Straits of Hormuz were also included within the
Mesopotamian conception of Magan (Glassner 1989;
Heimpel 1987). Although the possibility of a political
entity spanning the Straits of Hormuz finds parallels in
more recent Sasanian-early Islamic polities which did
just that (Wilkinson 1979:889), archaeological assem-
blages from each side of the Gulf are so distinct as to
suggest that Magan occupied only southeastern Arabia.
Almost all the third millennium BCE cuneiform
texts from southern Mesopotamia which mention spe-
cific toponyms as copper sources speak of copper from
either Magan or Dilmun (T. F. Potts 1994:Table 4.1).
Meluhha, the third polity of the Lower Sea, is men-
tioned only rarely as a copper supplier, and then for
amounts of only a few kilograms (Leemans 1960:161).
The common association of Meluhha with the supply
of carnelian, lapis lazuli, gold, precious woods, and
especially ivory, suggests that the toponym is to be
related to the region between the Makran coast and
Gujarat, encompassing sites of the Indus civilization
(Heimpel 1993).
Dilmun and the Pre-Sargonic Gulf Trade
Cuneiform references to Dilmun occur as early as the
late fourth millennium BCE, in both lexical lists and
economic documents of the "Archaic Texts" from the
Eanna precinct in Uruk. In these texts, Dilmun is men-
tioned in association with a particular type of metal axe,
and there is a partial text which refers to Dilmun copper
and another which mentions a Dilmun garment (Nissen
1986; Englund 1983). From Pre-Sargonic Lagash, texts
from the reigns of Lugalanda and Urukagina in the
twenty-fourth century BCE indicate the receipt of
Dilmun copper from the merchant Ur-Enki, in quantities
on the order of 100 kg. Contemporary texts show that
items such as milk, cereal products, fat, salve and possi-
bly cedar resin, in addition to the wool and silver more
commonly seen in later periods, were traded to Dilmun
in return for copper and wood. Such successful trading
expeditions seem to have been commemorated by the
dedication of bronze models of Dilmun ships to the god-
dess Nanshe, at her temple in Lagash (Potts 1990a:182).
There are also a number of references to Dilmun in the
cuneiform documents from Ebla in Syria, dated to the
mid-third millennium. Dilmun occurs as a toponym and
as an element in professional titles (Potts 1986:Table l),
and it seems that the Dilmun shekel was used in eco-
nomic transactions in Ebla (Potts 1986:Table 1; Pettinato
1983). Significantly, there are also references to Dilmun
copper and Dilmun tin at Ebla (Pettinato 1983:77-78).
As there are no known copper sources in eastern
Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, these early references to
Dilmun copper are usually taken to indicate Dilmun's
role as a transhipment center for copper produced fur-
ther afield. The later significance of Magan as a copper
supplier, and the evidence of copper production in the
later third millennium in southeastern Arabia, are often
invoked as reasons to see the earliest Dilmun copper as
originating in the Oman Peninsula (e.g. Cleuziou and
Mkry 2002:282). As has been described above, there is
evidence for the widespread use of copper-base objects
in southeastern Arabia by the late fourth millennium
BCE, but as yet local production has not been conclu-
sively demonstrated before the Umm al-Nar Period (see
below). Thus, the hypothesis that the early-third millen-
nium cuneiform references to Dilmun copper reflect pri-
mary copper extraction in southeastern Arabia is yet to
be verified.
Gulf Trade in the Old-Akkadian t o Ur 111 Periods
By the Old Akkadian Period, direct connections are
established between all the polities involved in the Gulf
trade. This fact is most clearly indicated by the claim of
Sargon that, under his rule, ships from Dilmun, Magan
and Meluhha docked at the quay of his city at Agade
(Heimpel 1987:no. 13). Economic texts detailing com-
mercial traffic with Dilmun are relatively scarce at this
time (Potts 1990a:183), although Dilmunites and
Dilmun boats are still mentioned. A particular type of
copper traded at the time, designated as urudu-a-EN-da,
is known from a handful of Old Akkadian texts, and is
thought to represent copper from Dilmun. In a number
of texts this type of copper is explicitly recorded as hav-
ing come from Dilmun, and Waetzoldt and Bachmann
(1984:6) regard urudu-a-EN-da as coming from Dilmun
even when the source is not specifically identified.
Dilmun's role in the Gulf trade in wood and copper is
further documented by inscriptions of Gudea of Lagash
(Potts l99Oa:l84). Copper from Magan itself is men-
tioned in only very minor quantities at this time
(Heimpel 1987:no. 20), and Manishtusu's reference to a
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 15
campaign against a region across the Lower Sea, where
he traveled to the metal mines, is rather equivocal:
although the crossing of the Lower Sea from Sherihum
(in Iran) would suggest a location somewhere on the
Arabian side of the Gulf, Magan is not mentioned by
name, and the mines are said to be for KU, usually trans-
lated as "silver" or "precious metal" (Glassner 1989).
Thus, it is difficult to regard the text as the first historical
reference to copper production in Oman (contra Potts
1990a:138), although Glassner's (l989:186) claim that
the lack of silver in southeastern Arabia suggests that
Magan lay on the Iranian side of the Gulf is contradicted
by medieval references to silver and gold mines in Oman
(Weisgerber l987:147).
By the Ur I11 Period, Magan seems to have been
more important than Dilmun in the Gulf trade, and mer-
chants from Ur traded directly with Magan. There are no
references to copper traded from Dilmun at this time,
even though there are scattered references to Dilmunites
in Southern Mesopotamia and to a continued trade with
Dilmun (Potts 1990a:186). A number of texts from the
reign of Ibbi-Sin indicate that a Mesopotamian merchant
by the name of Lu-Enlilla received large amounts of gar-
ments and wool (and at other times, oil and leather
objects) from the storehouse of the temple of Nanna in
order to buy copper in Magan (Leemans 1960:19). These
economic documents are supplemented by a slightly earli-
er text which indicates that the temple received from Lu-
Enlilla a tithe of goods that were obtained on a trip to
Magan: not only copper (more than 150 kg), but also
beads of semi-precious stones, ivory and "Magan"
onions (Oppenheim 1954:13; Leemans 1960:21).
Dilmun in Isin-Larsa and Old Babylonian Sources
Magan is not mentioned in cuneiform sources after the
Ur I11 period, and there is a corresponding increase in the
frequency of references to Dilmun, which is particularly
associated with the acquisition of copper (Oppenheim
1954:15). From the Larsa Period at Ur, specifically the
tenth-nineteenth years of the reign of Rim-Sin (ca.
1813-1 804 BC on the Middle chronology: Van de
Mieroop 1992:136-137) there exist a number of famous
texts related to the activities of Ea-nasir, an alik Tilmun
or Dilmun trader, who was involved in the copper trade
in the Gulf. Individual maritime trading expeditions to
16 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Dilmun, probably undertaken by Ea-nasir himself
(Leemans 1960:52), were financed by large numbers of
investors, who each contributed a small amount of capi-
tal to the mission in the form of silver rings, baskets,
sesame oil, and textiles (Van de Mieroop 1992:196).
Upon return from Dilmun, the proceeds were divided
amongst the investors, who frequently complained about
the quality of the copper that had been supplied to them
(Oppenheim 1954:lO-11). Although the archives from
the house of Ea-nasir indicate that the trade was under-
taken by private merchants, the Palace was involved in
proceedings as sometime investor, and through the collec-
tion of taxes upon the completion of the expedition (Van
de Mieroop 1992:197; Leemans 1960:SO). Leemans
(1960:54), in fact, sees the Palace as Ea-nasir's major
client. Earlier in the second millennium, it seems that the
Ningal temple was more involved in the trade than the
Palace, insofar as tithes of goods or votive offerings pro-
cured by Dilmun traders were deposited at the temple
(Leemans 1960:19-22; Van de Mieroop 1992:197). The
volume of the copper trade was large: texts from the
early Larsa period contain references to tithes of hun-
dreds of kilograms of copper from trade expeditions to
Dilmun (Leemans 1960:23-36), while individual texts
from the from the house of Ea-nasir in Ur mention up to
18,000 kilograms of copper (Leemans 196050).
Oppenheim (1954: 13) contrasts the copper trade
undertaken by Ea-nasir with that of Lu-Enlilla from the
Ur I11 Period. The goods traded between Mesopotamia
and the Gulf in the Lu-Enlilla and Ea-nasir archives are
very similar, but the economic context of financing the
venture is different: in the Larsa Period, Ea-nasir acted a
private merchant (even though the Palace may have close-
ly monitored and been a major beneficiary of the trade),
whereas in the Ur I11 Period, Lu-Enlilla seems to have
been an agent of an institution, the Nanna temple
(Oppenheim 1954:14).
Sometime between the fall of Larsa and the decline of
the Dynasty of Hammurabi, Dilmun ceased to supply cop-
per to southern Mesopotamia. Although still mentioned in
cuneiform sources, it was known only for its local agricul-
tural products and sweet water, not as a supplier of cop-
per (Oppenheim 1954:15-1 6). Crawford (1996,
1998:154-155) has suggested that this was probably the
result of the disruption caused by the establishment of a
unified Babylon under Hammurabi, and his conquest of
Mari and the middle-Euphrates region. Hammurabi's
actions simultaneously decimated Mesopotamia's major
point of access to the Gulf trade, led to a widespread
depopulation of southern Mesopotamia, and opened up
routes to alternative copper sources in Anatolia and the
Mediterranean. It is perhaps no coincidence that a text
from the fifth year of the reign of Hammurabi's succes-
sor, Samsu-Iluna, bearing the first cuneiform reference to
copper from Cyprus (Alashiya), also contains the last
reference to Dilmun copper (Potts 1990a:226; Crawford
1998:155).
As for the earlier periods of the Gulf trade, the cop-
per of the Dilmun trade in the Isin-Larsa and Old
Babylonian Periods is most commonly regarded as having
originated in southeastern Arabia. As outlined below,
however, the evidence for copper production at this peri-
od in the Oman Peninsula is extremely limited, a situation
which is surprising given the fact that the Gulf copper
trade seems to have reached its greatest extent at this
time. Any hypotheses suggesting the exclusive origin of
early second millennium Dilmun copper in Oman are
impossible to evaluate at this stage, and will require
extensive archaeometallurgical research to verify.
Arab and European Historical Sources
There is an enormous chronological gap before the next
historical references to copper production in southeastern
Arabia in the tenth century CE. These sources consist of
Arab historical and legal documents from the medieval
period and later (Weisgerber 1987:l47-148), which are
supplemented by the accounts of early European explor-
ers in the Gulf region (Potts l99Oa: 114-1 17). They pos-
sess the distinct advantage of referring directly to copper
production in Oman, rather than to the trade through the
Gulf of copper which may or may not have originated in
southeastern Arabia.
Amongst the earliest of these sources is the Arab his-
torian and geographer Abul Hasan Ali Al-Mas'udi, who
visited Sohar in the early tenth century CE and noted
that copper was produced in the region. A later Persian
manuscript from the fourteenth century CE by Al-
Mustaufi indicates the production of gold, silver and iron
in southeastern Arabia (Weisgerber 1987:147), but does
not mention copper. These accounts were substantiated
by those of eighteenth and nineteenth Century European
explorers in the region such as Carsten Niebuhr, J. R.
Wellsted, H. J. Carter, A. Germain and S. B. Miles (Potts
1990a:114-116; Carter 1848). These observers refer con-
sistently to local copper mines in Oman and on Masirah
Island, although the operational status of these mines
appears uncertain.
There are also Arabic historical texts dealing with
mining regulations in Oman. The earliest reference is al-
Jami by Ibn Ja'far which dates to ca. 900 CE, while mines
in the vicinity of Izki and in Wadi al-Jizzi are mentioned
in the twelfth century CE without specific reference to the
materials extracted from them (Weisgerber 1987:147;
Potts l99Oa:ll4). The records indicate that mines could
be sub-let from their owners, probably merchants in
Sohar, for 10 percent of the net profit of the mine (J. C.
Wilkinson 1979:892). Rules existed to cover the leasing of
mines when the lessee had terminated work or when rent
was not being paid. Mining licenses could be unlimited,
but could also be granted for limited time periods of up to
100 years, and included details of the topographical limits
of the claim (Weisgerber 1987:148). Additionally, partner-
ships existed between owners and miners, in which profits
and risks were shared (Weisgerber 1987:148).
These early legal documents and historical sources, in
addition to the reports of the first European explorers in
the region, provide important information which cannot
necessarily be supplied by archaeological evidence alone.
For example, information on the administration and legal
control of mining in the tenth century CE adds consider-
ably to our understanding of the organization of produc-
tion at this time, while the limited evidence for local pro-
duction recounted by later European explorers can also
corroborate archaeological evidence of declining produc-
tion in the second millennium CE. Unfortunately, the
accuracy of some of the European material is questionable
(Potts 1990a:115), while the Arabic sources focus primari-
ly upon the laws of mine ownership and the division of
profits (Potts 1990a:114-115; Weisgerber 1987:147-148),
without mentioning important operations such as ore con-
centration, smelting, and refining. Archaeometallurgical
evidence will always be critical in supplying evidence for
copper production in periods where historical data are
lacking, and for providing a material framework to aid
in the interpretation of historical records when they exist.
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 17
Early Scientific Analyses
The earliest scientific investigation of copper produc-
tion in the region was undertaken in the 1920s, as
one component of research into the sources of copper
used by the Sumerians (Peake 1928). In this analyti-
cal program, a number of early copper objects from
Mesopotamian sites such as Ur, Kish and Tell al-
Ubeid, were analyzed for their composition. It was
hoped that such analyses, when linked with analyses
of ores and slags from western Asian mining regions,
could have provided evidence of which sources were
most likely to have provided the copper used by the
Sumerians.
The conclusions of the study were founded upon
the idea that relatively high percentages of nickel
characterized both the ore sample from Oman and
early copper objects from Mesopotamia. It followed
that, during the third millennium, at least some cop-
per used in Mesopotamia was obtained from Oman
(Peake 1928). While recent research has indeed indi-
cated that this conclusion is true, the metallurgical
bases of the arguments used in the Antiquity article
are in fact erroneous. Modern geological and archae-
ological research indicates that nickel occurs in many
copper deposits of western Asia (Cheng and
Schwitter 1957:351; Muhly 1973a:229), and therefore
high nickel levels in archaeological objects cannot be
used to suggest that early Mesopotamian copper
came from the relatively nickel-rich deposits of
Oman. Additionally, nickel does not occur with the
same frequency in all the copper deposits of Oman
and the U.A.E., meaning that copper produced in
southeastern Arabia could have very low levels of
nickel (Hastings et al. 1975:lS; Goettler et al.
1976:46-47; Batchelor 1992). In general, the reliabili-
ty of using compositional data to source archaeologi-
cal objects of copper has been increasingly ques-
tioned since the 1970s (e.g. Craddock 1976;
Craddock and Giumlia-Mair l 9 8 8; Pollard and
Herron 1996:302 ff.; Budd et al. 1996; Pernicka
1999). Another problem with this early study was
the extremely small database employed to support
hypotheses of provenance. A total of only 20 archae-
ological objects were analyzed, along with one cop-
per slag and one ore sample from Oman.
18 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Geological and Archaeological Surveys in the Early 1970s
The next phase of research into early metallurgy in
southeastern Arabia did not occur until the 1970s, and
involved the first significant archaeological and scien-
tific study of the material remains of ancient smelt-
ing operations within Oman. During this period, the
importance of southeastern Arabia to studies of the
Gulf copper trade was first clearly demonstrated,
through the discovery of evidence for copper produc-
tion from the third millennium BCE onwards. This
archaeological evidence came to light primarily
through research programs conducted by the geologi-
cal survey company Prospections Limited Oman
(Goettler et al. 1976), by Harvard University
(Hastings et al. 1975), and by the Institute for
Human Palaeontology in Rome (Tosi 1975).
Geological research in the region was undertaken
by Prospections Limited Oman from 1973.
Interestingly, geological survey for copper deposits in
Oman was to a large degree inspired by Geoffrey
Bibby's then recently published book, Looking for
Dilmun (Bibby 1970; Goettler et al. 1976:43). One
of the major approaches utilized in Prospection
Limited's survey for copper deposits was the ques-
tioning of local inhabitants with regard to their
knowledge of old smelting places in the mountains
(Weisgerber 1991b:79). As a result, the investigations
of Prospection Limited resulted in some important
archaeological discoveries, including the remains of
at least 44 ancient production sites. These sites were
recognized primarily by the presence of slag pro-
duced by ancient smelting operations, estimated visu-
ally to range from "a few tons to, in one instance,
more than 100,000 tons" (Goettler et al.
1976:43-44). Examples of slag heaps associated with
early copper smelting in the region are illustrated in
Figures 2.3-2.4. Nineteen deposits were estimated to
have at least 1,000 tonnes of slag. The variations in
the size of slag deposits at different smelting sites
were thought t o reflect the fact that smelting opera-
tions at a newly discovered ore body were part of
the prospecting process (Goettler et al. 1976:44). In
this model, small slag heaps represented "test runs"
in which the viability of an ore body had been
assessed and found to be non-economic.
 Figure 2.3. Slag heaps at Samdah, Oman (from Weisgerber 1978: PI. 12b).
Evidence for the extraction of copper ores was
also recorded. Surface mining was recorded in the
form of small pits and trenches, as well as larger
"open" pits of up to 100 m wide, while shafts and
adits of considerable depth were found at a number of
sites. The overall impression gained by the geologists
of Prospection Limited was that "a major effort
involving extremely hard, highly organized work was
mounted" in order to extract and process the copper
ores (Goettler et al. 1976:45).
Consideration was also given to the technology
employed in the copper smelting and the types of
ores exploited. It was suggested that secondary cop-
per minerals such as malachite, azurite and turquoise
( C U A ~ ~ ( P O ~ ) ~ ( O Hwould
) ~ - S have
H ~ ~been
) the pri-
mary ores utilized. This supposition was supported
by the fact that 23 of the 44 production sites were
adjacent to workings in shear zones in basic intru-
sions, in which only secondary minerals were present
(Goettler et al. 1976:46-47). It was thought that sec-
ondary ores would have provided a high-grade feed
to the smelters, and would have been easily seen and
separated by early miners due to their bright colors.
Additionally, the major sulfidic ore found in Omani
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 19
 Figure 2.4. Slag fields at Tawi 'Arja, Oman (after Weisgerber 1978: PI. 18a).
deposits, chalcopyrite, was generally found to be high-
ly intermixed with other minerals in the ore body, and
hence difficult to extract by hand sorting (Goettler et
al. 1976:47). Native copper was regarded as occurring
so rarely as to have been insignificant for early copper
use in the region (Goettler et al. 1976:47).
Establishing the periods of use of the mines and
smelters located in the geological survey was considered
of basic interest, but conclusions were difficult to draw
and required the introduction of archaeological evidence.
Goettler et al. (1976:45) suggested three main periods of
exploitation: a pre-Islamic phase, a phase dating to the
nineth to tenth centuries CE, and finally a phase dating to
the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries CE. Workings of the
pre-Islamic phase were considered, partly on archaeolog-
ical evidence collected by the Harvard Archaeological
Survey, to have been worked as early as 2500 BCE, possi-
bly continuing into the second millennium BCE (Goettler
et al. 1976:45-46). The later phases of extraction were
determined through the analysis of pot-sherds from vari-
ous smelting sites, and also through the radiocarbon
dating of charcoal inclusions in slag samples (Goettler
et al. 1976:46).
20 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Evidence of third millennium BCE mining activi-
ties was also recorded by the Italian expedition to
Oman (Tosi 1975) and by the Harvard Archaeological
Survey (Hastings et al. 1975). The Harvard survey was
not aimed solely at the discovery of sites related to cop-
per production, nevertheless third millennium BCE sites
with evidence of copper smelting were recorded at Wadi
Samad 5, Batin 1, and Zahir 2-3 (Hastings et al.
1975:12 and Figure 2). Fieldwork by the Italian mission
also generated discussion on ancient mining in the
region, and Tosi and Piperno suggested that "surface
mining in the deposits or the gathering of metal-bearing
pebbles from the wadi beds probably prevailed over
actual mining operations" (Tosi 1975:198). The evidence
for third millennium copper smelting in the region was
regarded by the Italian mission as very similar to mid-
third millennium material with which the authors were
already familiar, from the site of Shahr-i Sokhta in
Iranian Seistan (Tosi 1975:202). However, the recon-
structions of smelting technology suggested by both the
Italian mission and the Harvard team (Hastings et al.
1975:12) were speculative efforts unsupported by scien-
tific analyses of the extant smelting remains.
 Brief mention is made, in both archaeological and
geological reports from the early 1970s, of the impor-
tance of these discoveries for the location of the land
of Magan. A number of compositional analyses of ore
was presented by Prospection Limited (Goettler et al.
1976:49-SO), in which the presence of nickel was
demonstrated (particularly for deposits in shear zones
in ultrabasic rocks), in support of the conclusions of
Peake (1928) discussed above. In contrast, Hastings et
al. (1975:l.S) noted that, although there was good evi-
dence for the production of copper in the region in the
third millennium BCE, at the time of their article there
was no clear evidence for the export Omani copper in
the Bronze Age. Indeed, the area was regarded by these
researchers as "a scene of quiet well being untouched
by the maelstrom of Mesopotamia or Iran" (Hastings
et al. 1975:15). Sensibly, however, they allowed that
excavation might change the reconstructions suggested
by their survey data.
Thus, the archaeological and geological work car-
ried out in Oman between 1973 and 1975 was able to
demonstrate significant evidence for ancient copper pro-
duction in the region. Theories were proposed regarding
the technologies and processes of copper smelting at var-
ious periods in the region's past, although archaeometal-
lurgical and related analyses were extremely limited.
Estimation of the periods of copper production also
proved problematic, while calculations of the volume of
copper production in the various periods of extraction
were not possible due to this chronological uncertainty,
in addition to the incomplete nature of survey and the
lack of detailed archaeometallurgical analyses.
Analyses by the Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique (CNRS), France
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a number of
archaeometallurgical studies were published by scholars
from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
(CNRS), the Commissariat i1'Energie Atomique, and
the Laboratoire de Recherche des Musies de France
that included analyses of material from southeastern
Arabia (Berthoud 1979; Berthoud et al. 1980, 1982;
Berthoud and Cleuziou 1983). The articles represented
an effort to characterize the evolution of alloying tech-
niques in early western Asia (Berthoud et al. 1982), and
to scientifically determine the provenance of copper
used in various regions bordering the Gulf in the fourth
and third millennia BCE (Berthoud et al. 1980;
Berthoud and Cleuziou 1983). Surprisingly, these were
the first published analyses of copper-base objects from
the Gulf since the work of Peake for the Sumerian
Copper Committee in the 1920s.
The provenance program was based on two series
of compositional data: one on copper ores from vari-
ous ancient mining regions in western and central
Asia, the second on copper objects from Iran,
Mesopotamia and southeastern Arabia (Berthoud and
Cleuziou 1983:242). Berthoud et al. (1980:88;
Berthoud and Cleuziou 1983:242-243) noted a great
similarity in the composition of copper used in the
mid-third millennium from the "Vase i la Cachette",
late third millennium BCE copper objects from Ur,
and Umm al-Nar Period objects from southeastern
Arabia (Hili and Umm al-Nar Island), as well as dis-
tinct differences in the composition of copper pro-
duced in Iran and Oman. They concluded, amongst
other things, that southern Mesopotamia and
Khuzistan obtained their copper from southeastern
Arabian sources at least by the Early Dynastic I11
period, and perhaps as early as the EDII period
(Berthoud and Cleuziou 1983:243).
The analytical approach of Berthoud (1979) has
been questioned (Seeliger et al. 1985:642-643, note
74) on the grounds that the analyses were of an
accuracy and precision insufficient to allow the stat-
ed conclusions of the work, and on the limited num-
ber of analyses used to characterize copper produced
in different areas (Hauptmann 1987:209; Hauptmann
et al. 1988:34). The claimed ability of the analyses to
satisfactorily delineate between southeastern Arabian
and Iranian ore sources has been particularly disput-
ed. The limited nature of the ore database is particu-
larly clear in some instances, for example in south-
eastern Arabia where analyzed ores contained arsenic
levels of up to only 690 ppm, whereas objects from
the region contained up to seven percent arsenic
(Berthoud et al. 1982:45). Nevertheless, the French
analytical program was important for providing the
first characterization of the chemical composition of
significant numbers of copper-base objects from
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 21
southeastern Arabia, and for focusing on material
from the northern part of the Oman Peninsula, in
the modern U.A.E. The subsequent work by the
German Mining Museum, to which we will now
turn, has dealt almost exclusively with material from
more southerly regions, in the modern day Sultanate
of Oman.
German Mining Museum Project in Oman
The work in Oman of the German Mining Museum
began in January 1977, as a collaboration with the
Oman Department of Antiquities and scholars from the
University of Naples (Costa 1978:9). It was agreed at
that time that a German expedition to the region was to
be entrusted with all studies concerning archaeometal-
lurgy (Costa 1978:13), and important field seasons were
conducted by this expedition in the late 1970s and early
1980s (Weisgerber 1978a, 1978b, 1980b, 1980c, 1981,
1987, l 9 8 8; Hauptmann and Weisgerber 1980;
Hauptmann 1985, 1987; Hauptmann et al. 1988).
German research in the Sultanate of Oman with a
strong, though far from exclusive, emphasis upon copper
production continues to this day (e.g. Yule 1996; Yule
and Weisgerber 1996; Prange et al. 1999).
The early survey work of the German team was able
to build upon the results of the geological survey under-
taken by Prospection Limited in the early 1970s
(Weisgerber 1978a:20), and was particularly focused
upon the importance of Oman and southeastern Arabia
in general as a potential location of Magan (e.g.
Weisgerber 1983, 1984, 1991b). This research focus was
inspired by Geoffrey Bibby's Looking for Dilmun
(Weisgerber 1991:76), and remains a hallmark of more
recent archaeometallurgical work on Omani material by
the German team (Prange et al. 1999).
Their initial research centered upon mining sites in
the hinterland of Sohar, at Lasail, Bayda, 'Arja and
Samdah, and on the third millennium BCE site of
Maysar 1 in the Wadi Samad that had been discovered
by the Harvard Archaeological Survey (Figure 2.2;
Hastings et al. 1975; Weisgerber 1978a; see also
Lamberg-Karlovsky 2001:xxxiv-vi). It was soon realized
that the vast majority of the more than 150 mining and
smelting sites that they recorded were worked in the
Islamic period (Weisgerber 1980b:68; l98Oc: 115),
22 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
although it was recognized that evidence for earlier peri-
ods of production at these sites could occasionally be
found (e.g. Weisgerber 1980b:lOl; 198l:l87-190). The
situation encountered by the German team in Oman is
paralleled by that in Cyprus, where evidence for signifi-
cant Bronze Age production is often obscured or
destroyed by later Phoenician and Roman workings
(Weisgerber 1982:28).
Over the course of four field seasons in the Sultanate
of Oman, the German Mining Museum expedition was
able to provide an outline of the periods of copper pro-
duction in the region (e.g. Weisgerber l 9 8 1:Abb. 4),
characterize the development of copper mining and
extraction technology (e.g. Hauptmann 1985), estimate
the volume of copper produced in some historic and pre-
historic periods (Hauptmann 1985:108-1 O9), and begin
to address the social and economic implications of this
industry for southeastern Arabia (e.g. Weisgerber
l98Oc: 117-1 18). Additionally, as the archaeology of
southeastern Arabia was so poorly known in the 1970s,
the fieldwork of the German mission was crucial in the
development of a basic chronological framework for dis-
cussion of the archaeology of the region (Weisgerber
1982:29). As such, the results of these investigations
rank as amongst the most important contributions to the
archaeology of southeastern Arabia by a single research
group. The archaeometallurgical results of this research
are summarized below.
Periods of Production
It is estimated that there are approximately 50 major
copper deposits and more than 100 minor deposits in the
mountains of northern Oman (Weisgerber 1983:270).
The majority of these ore-bodies show signs of exploita-
tion in the Islamic period, however multi-period
exploitation has been found to be commonplace
(Weisgerber 1983:274) and the earliest period of copper
exploitation in the region can be traced back to the third
millennium BCE. The German mission in Oman has pro-
vided a reasonably secure chronological basis for the dis-
cussion of various periods of copper production in
southeastern Arabia based upon typological analyses of
excavated material (e.g. Weisgerber 1987:Figure 76;
Hauptmann 1985:38-40) and programs of scientific dat-
ing, notably radiocarbon and thermoluminescence (e.g.
3 50 1OOm
I 1 I l l ' , , ' )

Figure 2.5.The settlement at Maysar 1, the mining area M2,and the cemetery M3, in Oman (from
Weisgerber 1983: Figure 2).

Geology and Early Exploitationof Copper

Weisgerber 1981:250-251 and Abb. 95; Yule and
Weisgerber 1996:141). Nevertheless, some limitations in
the chronological attribution of smelting sites do exist,
and their effect on archaeological theories are discussed
in the relevant sections below.
As outlined below, evidence for local copper pro-
duction in the Hafit Period is entirely circumstantial,
and includes the presence of copper objects in Hafit
graves and in the upper levels of fifth-third millennium
BCE shell-middens at Wadi Shab GAS1, Ra's al-Hamra
and Ra's al-Hadd. Copper production sites of this peri-
od are not reported by the German researchers, however
an early but undated "trial and error" phase of copper
production from Maysar 1 is thought to represent cop-
per extraction prior to the Bliitezeit of production at the
site in the late third millennium BCE (Hauptmann
l985:ll3). Copper "droplet-slags" from this period at
Maysar 1 are extremely high in copper, suggesting an
inefficient extraction of metal which may have been car-
ried out in open crucibles (Hauptmann 1985:92). A sec-
ond smelting site recorded at al-Batin has been dated by
thermoluminescence to ca. 2500 BCE, i.e. a few cen-
turies before production at Maysar 1 (Yule 1996; Yule
and Weisgerber 1996:141). The slag from al-Batin is
typologically distinct from that produced later in the
Urnm al-Nar Period (Yule and Weisgerber 1996:l 4 l ) ,
but little more can be said about the technology of cop-
per extraction in southeastern Arabia in the early-mid
third millennium BC.
Archaeological evidence suggests an expansion of
production from the later third millennium BCE. Sites of
this period are generally referred to in German reports
as "Bronze Age (third to second millennium)", but are
clearly regarded as dating to the Urnm al-Nar Period
rather than the Wadi Suq Period (Hauptmann
1985:113-115). At least twenty sites with evidence for
copper extraction are listed by Hauptmann
(1985:116-117), some of the most important being
Maysar 1, Assayab, Bilad al-Maaidin, Wadi Salh 1 and
Tawi-Ubaylah (Weisgerber l 9 8 1:l87-190; Hauptmann
et al. 1988:35). Up to 4,000 tonnes of slag are recorded
at individual Bronze Age smelting sites, although the
reconstructions of smelting technology depend mostly
upon material excavated from the late Urnm al-Nar
Period settlement at Maysar 1 (Figure 2.5), which pro-
24 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
duced only about 100 tonnes of slag (Weisgerber 1980b;
1981; Hauptmann 1985:92-95). Although only around
20 sites with Bronze Age slag were recorded by the
German team, they envisage that contemporary copper
extraction would have taken place at many, perhaps
most, of the known copper deposits in the region
(Weisgerber 1984:198; Hauptmann l985:95). The evi-
dence from many sites may have been completely cov-
ered or destroyed by later mining activities, particularly
during the early Islamic period. The association of Urnm
al-Nar Period burial cairns with numerous extraction
sites showing no signs of Bronze Age exploitation is
regarded as suggestive of the widespread distribution of
early mining and smelting activities in the region
(Weisgerber 1978a: 19-20). However, this hypothesis is
unproven.
The combined results of archaeological survey, exca-
vation and archaeometallurgical analysis have allowed a
reconstruction of the volume of copper produced in
southeastern Arabia in the second half of the third mil-
lennium BCE. Based on the amount of Bronze Age slag
recorded at smelting sites in Oman (ca. 10,000 tonnes)
and an experimentally calculated slag to copper ratio of
between 5:l and 10:1, Hauptmann (1985:108) was able
to arrive at a minimum figure for Urnm al-Nar Period
copper production of between 1,000 and 2,000 tonnes.
Given the likelihood that many Urnm al-Nar Period
smelting sites were destroyed by later mining activities, a
conservative estimate of total production of between
2,000 and 4,000 tonnes was suggested (Hauptmann
1985:108).
Extensive evidence for copper use in the Wadi Suq
Period exists in the form of copper-base grave goods
(Velde 2003:109-112; Weisgerber 1991a; Potts
1990a:252-253), and primary copper production is
thought by some scholars to have continued in this peri-
od, perhaps at levels similar to that in the preceding
Urnm al-Nar Period (e.g. Velde 2003: 109; Weisgerber
1988:285). However, it must be stressed that the use of
copper objects is at best circumstantial evidence for con-
temporary primary copper extraction (contra Velde
2003:109), given the fact that much of the copper used
in the Wadi Suq Period could have been obtained from
robbing the richly-furnished Urnm al-Nar Period graves
that covered the peninsula, or through trade (e.g.
Weisgerber l 9 8 1:2l9). In contrast to the third millenni-
um or the Iron Age, very few Wadi Suq Period settle-
ments are known (Velde 2003:Table 1; Carter 1997),
and none show evidence for primary copper smelting
such as that seen in the Wadi Fizh or at Maysar 1. The
only clear evidence for contemporary primary produc-
tion is the presence of copper mines on Masirah Island,
which have been radiocarbon dated to approximately
1800 BCE (Weisgerber 1988:note 7; unfortunately
details of calibration are not given). In addition, copper
smelting in this period has been hypothesized based
upon the presence of Wadi Suq type tombs in Wadi Salh
and Wadi Samad in areas adjacent to copper smelting
refuse, although the contemporaneity of the tombs and
the smelting practices is far from certain (Weisgerber
1988:285 and note 7). No published reports exist
regarding the volume of slag of Wadi Suq date from
these sites, and the technological basis of production
remains unknown (Yule and Weisgerber 1996: 144).
If it is maintained that significant copper production
continued into the second millennium BCE in Oman, the
continued non-appearance of Wadi Suq extraction and
smelting sites must be explained through either: 1)
incomplete survey; 2) near-complete destruction or
obscurement by later production, or; 3) problems in the
recognition or dating of this material on archaeological
sites (cf. Hauptmann 1985:95). With fieldwork by the
German mission continuing into the 1990s, the likeli-
hood of incomplete survey as an explanation for the
dearth of Wadi Suq-related smelting sites is quickly
diminishing (cf. Weisgerber 1988:285). Likewise, the
discovery of Bronze Age and Iron Age smelting remains
amongst extensive early Islamic operations at numerous
sites suggests that the second factor is unlikely to have
completely compromised the search for second millenni-
um smelting remains. With regard to the third possibili-
ty, Velde (2003:109) has suggested that the "scanty
knowledge" of second millennium material culture at
the time the German surveys were undertaken may have
affected the recognition of Wadi Suq Period smelting
sites. However, even the early publications of the
German team (e.g. Weisgerber 1981:219) show aware-
ness of the second millennium funerary material recov-
ered by Frifelt (1975a) in the Wadi Suq and by the
French excavations at the Hili-8 settlement (Cleuziou
1980, 1981). The non-recognition of this material by the
German researchers, therefore, seems unlikely.
Furthermore, the continuation of the German fieldwork
into the late 1990s, when 2nd millennium material cul-
ture sequences were much more clearly known, suggests
that the continued scarcity of Wadi Suq Period smelting
sites is unlikely to be explained by non-recognition of
diagnostic material remains.
It is the chronological range of putative "Bronze
Age" smelting sites which may require closer scrutiny.
The ceramic material from Bronze Age smelting sites
located within settlements (e.g. Maysar 1, Wadi Fizh 1)
shows that they date exclusively to the later Umm al-Nar
Period (e.g. Weisgerber 1981:Abb. 17). However, most
"Bronze Age" smelting sites are not associated with set-
tlement remains and, consequently, lack ceramics. These
sites are thus dated by comparison to Maysar 1 slag
typologies rather than to ceramic typologies, and could
feasibly cover a greater time period than Maysar 1 itself.
Specifically, such sites may have resulted from primary
copper production well into the Wadi Suq Period.
Clearly, detailed archaeometallurgical investigations are
required at such extraction sites, and in areas such as
Masirah Island where some evidence for Wadi Suq
Period copper production does exist. Until such work
has been undertaken, reconstructions of the volume and
periodicity of local copper production in the second mil-
lennium BCE, such as presented by Weisgerber
(1981:Abb. 4) and Hauptmann (1985:Abb. l),remain
conjectural (see below).
An increase in copper production has been hypothe-
sized for the Iron Age in southeastern Arabia, as a result
of the first exploitation of the massive sulfide deposits of
the upper extrusive sequence of the Semail Ophiolite
(Weisgerber l 9 8 8:286). At least twenty archaeological
sites related to Iron Age copper extraction are recorded
(Hauptmann 1985:116-1 17), including large-scale mines
(Weisgerber 1987:150), slag fields, and settlements for
which copper processing was an important economic
activity (e.g. Costa and Wilkinson 1987:99-103). Some
of the more important sites include Lasail (Weisgerber
1987:150), Raki (Weisgerber 1988:286; Yule and
Weisgerber 1996:142-144; Weisgerber and Yule
1999:109-116 and Figure 12) and 'Arja site 132
(Weisgerber 1987:l48), although analysis of archaeomet-
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 25
allurgical finds is minimal and technological details of
Iron Age smelting processes remain largely unknown
(Yule and Weisgerber 1996: 142). Evidence for techno-
logical change within the Iron Age is provided by strati-
fied slag deposits from Raki, which show two different
slag types, and which are at least partially datable to ca.
1100-800 BCE by radiocarbon determinations
(Weisgerber and Yule 1999:115).
Iron Age sites face, in general, the same problems of
preservation as Bronze Age sites. They are very prone to
destruction by early Islamic activities, particularly as
they concentrated upon the exploitation of the same ore
bodies (massive sulfide deposits) as mined in the Islamic
period, and their original number was undoubtedly
greater than that observed through modern survey and
excavation. As for the Bronze Age, Iron Age copper
extraction at a number of sites has been postulated on
the basis of nearby Iron Age burial cairns (e.g. Yule and
Weisgerber 1996:142)
Although no published estimates exist for the
amount of copper produced in the Iron Age, a consider-
able increase from preceding Bronze Age output is clear,
judging from the volume of surviving extraction waste.
Single smelting sites with as much as 45,000 tonnes of
Iron Age slag have been recorded (Hauptmann
1985:107, 116-117; cf. Yule and Weisgerber
1996:142-144), and a minimum production of
7,000-20,000 tonnes can be confidently suggested,
based on Hauptmann's (1985:108-109) calculations for
the massive sulfide extraction of the early Islamic peri-
od and the presence of more than 80,000 tonnes of Iron
Age copper slag at the sites of Raki 2 and Tawi Raki 2
alone (Hauptmann 1985:ll6-117). The great quantity
of copper-base objects from Iron Age tombs in south-
eastern Arabia, for example Qidfa (Im-Obersteg 1987;
Corboud et al. 1988) and IbriISelme (Weisgerber
l 9 8 1:232-233; Yule and Weisgerber 2001), provides
additional circumstantial support for the large-scale
local production of copper in the Iron Age.
A significant gap seems to exist in the evidence for
copper production in southeastern Arabia between the
mid first millennium BCE and the mid first millennium
CE. Very few radiocarbon dates exist for smelting oper-
ations from the first millennium BCE (see Weisgerber
1981:Abb. 95), as sites were dated by the presence of
26 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
diagnostic Iron Age or "Lizq Period" ceramic sherds.
Pottery of the later first millennium BCE and early cen-
turies CE in Oman (the so-called "Samad Period") has
not been recovered from any smelting sites, and the next
evidence for production is provided by some slag sam-
ples from 'Arja which yielded late pre-Islamic radiocar-
bon age ranges of the fifth to seventh centuries CE
(Weisgerber 1980b:Table 2; Weisgerber 1987:148-149
and Table 14). At present, copper processing of this
period is recorded only at two sites in the vicinity of the
Bayda gossan, and at Raki (Yule 1996:176), although it
is thought that late Sasanian exploitation of other cop-
per mines in the region is likely (Weisgerber 1987:149).
Copper production in southeastern Arabia reached
its greatest extent in the early Islamic period, and the
enormous quantities of waste material generated by
these activities have obliterated most traces of earlier
activity. Almost all the known copper deposits of the
Oman Mountains were worked at this time (Weisgerber
1980:115; Weisgerber 1980:68; Weisgerber 1983:270).
Production was found to have peaked in the ninth and
tenth centuries CE, based upon ceramic finds and
numerous radiocarbon analyses (Weisgerber
1991b:80-81), with quantities of slag of up to 100,000
tonnes reported from Lasail. Most important sites in
this period were located in the hinterland of Sohar,
which provided the trading outlet for the enormous sur-
plus of production (Whitehouse 1979:874-875; J.C.
Wilkinson 1979:892), and included Samdah (ca. 40,000
tonnes of slag), 'Arja and Bayda (Hauptmann
1985:116-117). Inland sites such as Raki and Wadi Salh
were also important copper sources (Hauptmann
1985:116-117).
Because of the large quantities of available archaeo-
logical evidence, a great deal is known about the tech-
nological aspects of copper production in this period
and, to a lesser extent, the organization of production
at the mining sites and the economic regulation of the
trade in this material through Sohar (J. C. Wilkinson
1979:892; Weisgerber 1987:144). Around 600,000
tonnes of early Islamic slag have been recorded in
Oman and calculations of production during this peri-
od, based upon a slag to copper ratio of between 12.5:l
and 10:1, suggest a total output of between 48,000 and
60,000 tonnes of copper (Hauptmann 1985:108-109).
 Figure 2.6. Evidence for Umm al-Nar Period mining at Maysar 2, Oman (from Weisgerber l98Ob: Abb.48).
There appears to be a hiatus between the large-
scale copper production of the early Islamic period in
southeastern Arabia and subsequent production, the
first evidence for which dates to the twelfth century CE
(Weisgerber l98Oc: 118-1 19; Weisgerber l 9 8 1:Table 2).
Copper extraction from the twelfth century onwards is
represented by much less archaeological evidence,
reflecting drastically reduced levels of production and
lower levels of technological understanding in compari-
son to earlier smelting operations (Hauptmann
1985:103-107). Approximately forty extraction sites
dating from the twelfth to nineteenth centuries CE are
known from German surveys and excavation in Oman,
some of the most important being Abu Zainah and
Tawi 'Arja (Hauptmann 1985:107, 116-117). Copper
production (whether continuous or not) over these
seven centuries produced a total of approximately
25,000 tonnes of slag which, at a ratio of slag to cop-
per of between 6.7:l and 8.3:1, represents a total pro-
duction of 3,000-3,700 tonnes of copper (Hauptmann
1985:109).
Mining
In the Umm al-Nar Period, evidence of techniques used
in the mining of copper ores comes primarily from sites
in the vicinity of the settlement of Maysar 1 (Weisgerber
1983:271). The nearest mining site, Maysar 2 (Figure
2.6), is less than 100 m from Maysar 1 and contains evi-
dence in the form of deep "surface scratches" for the
extraction of approximately 10,000 m3 of ore and
gangue through open cast mining (Weisgerber 1980a:77;
Weisgerber 1980b:89 and Abb. 28). Other mine sites of
this period, Maysar 16 and Maysar 49, exhibit evidence
for similar extraction techniques, although at Maysar 16
deeper mining is suggested by the presence of two in-
filled shafts (Hauptmann 1985:91).
In the vicinity of Maysar, the most frequently mined
copper deposits of the third millennium BCE were the
small, fault-controlled stock-work ores located in basic
and ultrabasic rocks of the ophiolitic upper mantle
sequence or the lower cumulate sequence of the ophiolite
crust (Weisgerber 198010389; Hauptmann 1985:Abb. 6).
These ores, although of a sulfide basis like all copper
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 27
ores in southeastern Arabia (Weisgerber 1983:270), had
intense areas of secondary mineralization, including such
species as malachite, chrysocolla, brochantite and
antlerite ( C U ~ S O ~ ( O HThe
) ~ )ores
. selected had low pro-
portions of iron sulfide (pyrite) and copper-iron sulfide
(chalcopyrite), and high copper contents of five to 56
percent (Hauptmann 1985:91), both of which are impor-
tant considerations for early smelting technology.
Significantly, copper ores from such deposits are likely to
have different mineralogical characteristics to massive
sulfide ores from the extrusive sequence. In particular,
nickel (Ni),arsenic (As)and cobalt (CO)levels are likely to
be higher in the types of deposit exploited at Maysar, as
mineral species containing these elements are often inter-
grown with the local copper ores (Hauptmann et al.
1988:35).
As noted above, very little is known about copper
mining in the following Wadi Suq Period. Mines dated to
ca. 1800 BCE by radiocarbon analysis have been record-
ed on Masirah Island (Weisgerber 1988:285), but no fur-
ther details of mining techniques or the ores extracted are
available. Similarly, although smelting remains of Iron
Age date are known from about 20 sites in Oman, little
has been written on mining techniques of this period. The
Iron Age is said to represent the first period in which the
ophiolitic massive sulfide deposits were exploited for
their copper content (Weisgerber l 9 8 8:286), and Iron
Age mining activities are likely to have been significantly
destroyed by early Islamic operations in the region (e.g.
Weisgerber 1987:148). Evidence from the site of Lasail
suggests that an enormous open cast mining area in the
deposit gossan, up to 30 m deep, may date to the first
millennium BCE (Weisgerber 1987:150).
The most extensive evidence for mining activities in
southeastern Arabia comes, unsurprisingly, from the
early Islamic period. As noted by Weisgerber
(1980c:115), mining techniques in Oman were shaped by
the geological nature of copper deposits in the ophiolite.
The most intensely mined deposits in Oman were those in
which significant amounts of copper remained in the gos-
San. In some cases, the gossan itself was nearly complete-
ly removed in a procedure whereby the "weathered and
concentrated ore-body was dug in front, the ore was
taken out at the spot, and the waste deposited behind"
(Weisgerber l98Oc:ll6). Sites such as Assayab, Mullaq
28 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
and Samdah show evidence for the removal through min-
ing of large amounts of the original gossan (Weisgerber
1980c:116).
For other deposits, underground mining using gal-
leries, shafts and pits is evidenced. Rectangular shafts of
ca. 80 X 60 cm (Weisgerber 198013366-67 and Abb. 6) are
typical of mining operations of this period at sites such as
Bayda, Tawi Ubaylah, Lasail and al-Sayab, and inclined
shafts and galleries have been found at depths of up to
87.5 m (Weisgerber 1987:150 and Figure 67).
Archaeological evidence indicates that these galleries
had roof supports of acacia wood and roofs of date palm
matting, lighting was provided by terracotta oil lamps,
and ore and gangue were removed through the use of lift-
ing devices such as windlasses as well as by hand
(Weisgerber 1987: 150-15 1, Figure 68). For all periods
of mining activity in southeastern Arabia, the discovery
of metallic extraction tools is unlikely because of the sul-
fidic nature of the ores, which generated an acidic envi-
ronment within the mine deposits that would have
destroyed any remaining metal artifacts. As for the Iron
Age, the most important ores sought by the early Islamic
miners were mixed iron and iron-copper sulfides
(Hauptmann 1985:95), as well as the extensive low-per-
centage copper mineralization in the gossans of the mas-
sive sulfide deposits (Hauptmann 1985:107-108, Abb.
85). Analyses of slags produced in this period indicate
that relatively little gangue material was included in the
furnace charge, suggesting that either the massive form
of the ore made sorting easy or that ore concentration
processes prior to smelting were more thorough in the
early Islamic period (Hauptmann 1985:95). The copper
content of the concentrated sulfidic ores used for smelt-
ing was in the range of 15-20 percent (Hauptmann
1985:95).
The mining of copper ore is not thought to have
taken place to any significant extent in the later Islamic
period in Oman (Hauptmann 1985:103). Copper pro-
duction in the twelfth to nineteenth centuries CE is
thought to have relied on the reworking of earlier
Islamic and perhaps pre-Islamic slag, as evidenced by the
pits dug into many slag heaps of these periods at sites
where later Islamic workings are known (Weisgerber
1978a:19; Weisgerber 1980b:73; Weisgerber
1987:160-161; Hauptmann 1985:103).
 Figure 2.7. Hammer and anvil stones from Maysar l , Oman (from Weisgerber 1978: PI. 1 1c).
Ore Concentration
In all periods of copper production in southeastern
Arabia, ore crushing and concentration was carried out
using hand held hammerstones and large stone anvils.
Numerous examples of such objects are known from
third millennium BCE levels at Maysar 1 (e.g.
Weisgerber 1978a:Pl. l l c ) as well as at sites of the
Islamic period such as Samdah and Tawi 'Arja (e.g.
Weisgerber 1978a:Figure 9, P1 15b, 21d; Weisgerber
1987:152-153).
Anvil stones are usually identified by the presence
of multiple concavities caused by repeated hammering
(e.g. Weisgerber 1978a:Pl. 21c), and smaller cubic ham-
merstones often show evidence for use of all six faces
during ore crushing and concentration activities (e.g.
Weisgerber 1978a:Figure 10). There is little or no vari-
ation through time in the typology of the hammer and
anvil stones used in southeastern Arabia, and such
items are thus chronologically non-diagnostic when
seen at smelting sites in the region. Maysar 1 examples
are illustrated in Figure 2.7.
Smelting
The evidence for copper smelting in southeastern Arabia
in the third millennium BCE comes primarily from the
Maysar 1 settlement site excavated by the German team.
The archaeological remains from this site have been well
documented in a number of publications (e.g. Hastings et
al. 1975; Weisgerber 1978a; 1980b; 1981), and are signif-
icant for the presence of large amounts of material such
as ore, slag, furnace fragments and bun-shaped copper
ingots which indicate the primary extraction of copper at
the site. This range of material, in addition to the evi-
dence from the nearby extraction site of Maysar 2, has
allowed a detailed reconstruction of the smelting tech-
nology used at Maysar 1 in the third millennium BCE
(Hauptmann 1985; Hauptmann et al. 1988).
The earliest copper production at Maysar 1 occurred
in the first half of the third millennium BCE, although the
archaeometallurgical evidence of these operations is
extremely limited. Very small smelting furnaces or cru-
cibles were used, although no evidence of their actual
form remains, and secondary oxides and sulphur-bearing
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 29
 Figure 2.8 Fragments of the base of a smelting furnace from Maysar 1, Oman
(from Weisgerber 1983: PI. 9).
copper minerals were processed (Hauptmann 1985:92).
Only moderate smelting temperatures were reached, the
reduction of copper ores to metal was incomplete and the
separation of copper from slag was poor, leading to slags
with very high copper contents of up to 30 percent
(Hauptmann 1985: 113). The nature of the analyzed slags
of this period from Maysar 1 strongly suggests that these
operations represent a "trial and error" phase of copper
production at the site
Later Umm al-Nar Period smelting at Maysar 1 uti-
lized a mixture of the secondary ores mined at sites such
as Maysar 2, Maysar 16 and Maysar 49, including mala-
chite and chrysocolla as well as sulfur-containing ores
such as brochantite (Hauptmann et al. 1988:36,71-72).
No roasting of the ores was undertaken prior to smelting
operations (Hauptmann et al. 1988:36, 71-72). These
ores were mixed with charcoal produced from local tree
and shrub species (e.g. acacia, prosopis and zizyphus),
and iron ores such as haematite (Fe203)and limonite
were used as fluxes (Hauptmann et al. 1988:37). The
iron-rich fluxes were necessary as the copper ores used
were intensively intergrown with siliceous country rock,
30 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
not all of which could be removed during ore concentra-
tion processes.
The surviving furnace fragments from Maysar 1 (see
Figure 2.8) indicate that the smelting furnaces in use at the
site were made of leaned clay, and had a diameter of
40-50 cm, a height of approximately 40 cm and a volume
of between 10 and 15 liters (Weisgerber 1983:274;
Hauptmann 1985:92). Exact details of the forced air sup-
ply to the furnaces are not known, although fragments of
tuygres have been recorded at the site and the use of bel-
lows is regarded as likely (Hauptmann 1985:92). The large
number of furnace fragments at Maysar 1 in comparison
to the quantity of slag has suggested to the German team
that smelting furnaces of the third millennium BCE at
Maysar 1 had a short lifespan, and were frequently rebuilt
(Hauptmann 1985 :92).
During the one-step smelting process, both copper and
relatively pure matte (mostly Cu2S, with low levels of iron)
were produced. Copper was precipitated within the fur-
nace by reduction of the ore in the presence of charcoal
and also by the principle of the "roast reaction", in which
matte is oxidized to cuprite (Cu20),which then reacts
with the remaining matte to produce metallic copper, as
follows (Hauptmann 1985:94):
I. 2Cu2S + 3 0 2 2Cu20 + 2S02+
2. Cu2S + 2Cu2O 3 6Cu + SO2+
The oxide-sulfide mineral interaction central to
Hauptmann's roast reaction is thus akin to the concept of
"CO-smelting"investigated by a number of archaeometal-
lurgists (e.g. Lechtman and Klein 1999; Rostoker and
Dvorak 1991; Rostoker et al. 1989), which will be dis-
cussed later in this volume with regard to the production
of arsenical copper alloys. Studies of the slag and furnace
fragments from Maysar indicate that temperatures in the
range 1,150-1,200 degrees C were achieved in the fur-
naces (Hauptmann et al. 1988:3640). However, the vis-
cosity of the resulting slag/matte/copper mix within the fur-
nace was relatively poor, meaning that separation of these
elements was sometimes less than ideal (Hauptmann et al.
1988:40). Slag was tapped from the smelting furnace in a
viscous state, and thus frequently contained high levels of
residual copper (see Hauptmann 1985:119-120). Examples
of the different types of slag found at Maysar 1 are illustrat-
ed in Figure 2.9.
At the end of the smelting process, the newly-won cop-
per and matte were separated by mechanical means
(Hauptmann 1985:1l4), although high levels of sulfur and
iron in analyzed copper samples from the region indicate
that significant amounts of matte can remain in copper pro-
duced by this process (Hauptmann et al. 1988:37; see also
Rostoker et al. 1989:Figures 6-7). Following mechanical
separation, the small copper lumps produced by the primary
smelting operation were remelted together in ceramic cru-
cibles and finally cast into planoconvex ingots in appropri-
ately-shaped cavities dug into the sandy floor of the copper
workshops at Maysar 1 (Weisgerber and Yule 2003:4849)
without being further refined (Hauptmann 1985:93-94).
There is no clear evidence from Maysar 1 to indicate that
the matte produced during primary smelting was further
processed into metallic copper, although this is envisaged
(Hauptmann 1985:Abb. 74; Hauptmann et al. 1988:37).
The total production of copper in the settlement at
Maysar 1 is thought to have been relatively small, and prob-
ably for domestic use (Hauptmann 1985:114). In compari-
son, much larger contemporary extraction and smelting
sites such as Wadi Salh 1and Tawi Ubaylah have been
recorded in Oman, suggesting that production on a larger
o Gasblasen
W Kupferstein
Kupfer
Figure 2.9. A slag typology for Umm al-Nar Period copper produc-
tion at Maysar l , showing (A) large tapslags, (B) plate-like tapslags
with negative impressions of mixed copper-matte concentrations
on the base, (C) thin tapslags or "plate-slagsyand (D) droplet-slags
(from Hauptmann 1985: Abb. 16).
scale may also have occurred in southeastern Arabia in the
Umm al-Nar Period (Hauptmann 1985:34,95,114). This
issue is further investigated below. Regardless of the scale of
production activities, copper extraction at all known sites
seems to reflect a similar technological basis to that seen in
the settlement metallurgy of Maysar 1 (Weisgerber
1981:210).
In contrast to the Umm al-Nar Period, very little is
known regarding Wadi Suq or Iron Age smelting technology
in southeastern Arabia. Slag or other extraction debris of
Wadi Suq date has not been recorded by the German mis-
sion. Although more than twenty sites with evidence for Iron
Age smelting have been recorded (see Figure 2.1 O), the
"blocky black slag with fragments of brick-red lining on the
outside" and the "silvery gray" tapslags (see Figure 2.11)
which are characteristic of Iron Age smelting operations
remain largely unanalyzed (Weisgerber 1987:148; Yule and
Weisgerber 1996:144; cf. Hauptmann 1985:123). Iron Age
smelting furnaces seem to have been excavated in areas of
soft ground, and used over more than one smelting opera-
tion, however very few other technical details have been
given (Weisgerber 1987:148). During the HellenisticISamad
period in southeastern Arabia, the possibility of small-scale
copper smelting in crucibles within settlements is suggested
by excavated material from Mleiha, in the U.A.E. (Ploquin
and Orzechowski 1994:30-32).
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 31
 Figure 2.10. lron Age smelting remains from Oman, including hammer stones and slag (from Costa and Wilkinson 1987: PI. 51).
Figure 2.1 1 lron Age copper slag fromlArja in
Oman (after Weisgerber 1978: PI. 16a).
32 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
The next major smelting operations in the region
are those undertaken in the early Islamic period, in the
9th and tenth centuries CE. These operations have left
vast quantities of archaeometallurgical remains at
extraction sites in southeastern Arabia, and as a result
are very well studied and characterized (Hauptmann
1985). As noted above, predominantly massive sulfide
ores were exploited at this time, and a complicated and
relatively advanced extraction technology was developed
to deal with the primary, unweathered ores of pyrite,
chalcopyrite and bornite (e.g. Hauptmann
1985:107-108, Abb. 79). The extraction process in the
early Islamic period is best conceived of as a complicat-
ed process involving repeated stages of alternating
roasting and smelting operations (Weisgerber 1987:153;
see also Rostoker et al. 1989:70-72 and Figure 1).
Poor quality ores would require more roasting stages
than better quality ones, and historical evidence from
sixteenth century CE Europe suggests that the total
roasting time for the ores could have approached one
month (Hauptmann 1985:96).
 The ores were roasted in a series of stone- and
mortar-lined pits, usually about l m in diameter, which
were dug into hill slopes at the production sites
(Weisgerber 1980b:Abb. 7). Subsequently, they were
smelted in shaft furnaces dug into rocky hill slopes,
often behind and above roasting installations, in the
vicinity of the mines themselves (Weisgerber 1987:154).
Early Islamic roasting ovens and smelting furnaces have
been excavated at a number of sites in Oman and the
U.A.E., such as Lasail, Bayda and 'Arja and Wadi
Madhab, and show a great degree of structural similari-
ty across the region.
Each smelting operation produced 20-50 kg of tap-
slag (e.g. Weisgerber 1978a:Figure 2) and 5-6 kg of cop-
per matte containing 50-60 percent copper, which
would have separated by density in the tapslag pit at the
front of the furnace (Hauptmann 1985:114; see also
Franklin et al. 1976). Following initial smelting, the
refined copper matte, separated mechanically from the
iron-rich slag, would have been roasted and re-smelted a
number of times before finally being reduced to metallic
copper (Hauptmann 1985:Abb. 79). The smelting fur-
naces used in southeastern Arabia in the early Islamic
period were relatively robust, as they were used for sig-
nificant periods of time and occasionally rebuilt
(Weisgerber l987:156). The location of the furnaces
seems to have been changed when too much slag built
up in the direct vicinity, and so individual slag heaps
from this period tend not to exceed 6,000 tonnes
(Weisgerber 1987:156).
Following the century or so of early Islamic smelting
in southeastern Arabia, there is a gap in archaeological
evidence for copper extraction (see above) followed by
the introduction of completely new and technologically
inferior smelting techniques in the twelfth to nineteenth
centuries CE. Indeed, slags of this period from such sites
as Tawi 'Arja and Abu Zainah were initially thought to
represent the remains of prehistoric smelting operations
due to their low technological standard (Weisgerber
1978b:29-30). Radiocarbon analyses of charcoal inclu-
sions on the slags soon indicated their relatively recent
age (Weisgerber l 9 8 1:Table 2).
As noted above, there seems to have been little min-
ing of copper ores at this time, and the basic smelter
feed consisted of recycled early Islamic slag with high
matte content and some iron oxides and secondary cop-
per minerals from early Islamic refuse piles (Hauptmann
1985: 103-1 04). The smelting furnaces used were bowl-
shaped and were partly dug into the ground
(Hauptmann 1985:Abb. 82). A small clay superstructure,
without a chimney shaft, extended above ground
(Hauptmann 1985:104). Slag and matte were not tapped
from these furnaces, but rather were allowed to solidify
after smelting. This resulted in a large slag cake with a
copper matte "ingot" at its base which was extracted by
destroying the furnace superstructure and digging the
remains from the ground (Weisgerber 1987: 159). Each
smelting operation therefore required the construction of
a completely new furnace, usually in the vicinity of pre-
vious examples, leading to the characteristic thin and
dispersed nature of the bowl-slag fields of this period
(Weisgerber 1987: 159). The slag and matte would have
been separated by mechanical means. No evidence
regarding the further treatment of the copper matte pro-
duced in twelfth to nineteenth century CE smelting oper-
ations has been recorded at any archaeological sites in
Oman, so the final stages in the production of metallic
copper at this time remain unknown (Hauptmann
1985:107).
Periodicity in Copper Production in Prehistoric
Southeastern Arabia
As described above, archaeometallurgical research
regarding the chronology of copper production in Oman
indicates that mining and extraction processes went
through a number of periods of low or negligible output.
An expression of this variability is given in Weisgerber's
(1981:Abb. 4 ) summary of early German work in the
region, which suggests a significant reduction in copper
production in the second millennium BCE, and a com-
plete lack of production between ca. 500 BCE and 800
CE, and ca. 1200-1800 CE. Although these exact ranges
are modified in more recent publications (cf. Weisgerber
l 9 8 8:285 on Wadi Suq mining; Weisgerber 1987:
148-149 on Sasanian workings; Hauptmann 1985:109
for twelfth to nineteenth century workings), copper pro-
duction in Oman still appears to exhibit a distinct perio-
dicity. The factors contributing to such variations in cop-
per production in the Bronze and Iron Ages are discussed
in this section.
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 33
 Figure 2.1 2 Periods of copper production in southeastern Arabia. Part a) after Hauptmann (1985: Abb. 1). Part b) show-
ing average copper production (tonneslyear)for the regions based upon the calculations of Hauptmann (1985: 115)
and data in Batchelor (1992:Table 1). Data: Umm al-Nar Period production = 4,000 tonnes, duration = 400(min.)-
700(max.) years. Iron Age production = 10,000 tonnes, duration = 500(min.)-1,00O(max.) years. Early Islamic production
= 60,000 tonnes, duration = 100 years.Twelfth-nineteenth century CE production = 3700 tonnes, duration = 700 years.
Modern production = 107,200 tonnes from 1983-1990.

The summary of periods of production given by
Hauptmann (1985:Abb. 1)is presented in Figure
2.12(a). The diagram is admittedly schematic, but never-
theless unintentionally suggests that copper production
occurred at similar levels in the Umm al-Nar Period, the
Iron Age, the early Islamic Period, and the modern peri-
od of the Oman Mining Company. More problematical-
ly, the diagram intentionally suggests that these levels of
production were much higher than those of the second
millennium BCE and the twelfth-nineteenth centuries
CE. A rough guide to the levels of copper production in
the region is provided by averaging estimations for total
production in each period over the duration of the peri-
od, as is presented in Figure 2.12(b). This is a graph of
the average copper production (tonneslyear) in each
period, based on the production volumes determined by
Hauptmann (1985:115) and data in Batchelor
(1992:Table 1).In contrast to Hauptmann's depiction,
Figure 2.12(b) suggests that copper production in the
Umm al-Nar and early Islamic periods, and the late-
twentieth century were different by orders of magnitude,
and that Umm al-Nar Period copper production was
probably of a scale much more comparable to the
twelfth-nineteenth century CE workings in the region
than to the industrial production of the early Islamic and
modern periods. This realization is critical in considering
the organization of copper production in prehistoric
southeastern Arabia, as discussed below. Likewise, the
continuation of copper production throughout the sec-
ond millennium BCE suggested by Hauptmann's diagram
is not currently supported by any more archaeological
evidence than is available for the Late Pre-Islamic Period
(see above), which is presented as a period of zero cop-
per production.

34 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

 In attempting to explain these variations in produc-
tion, the first question that arises is whether the pattern
is the result of incomplete or unrepresentative archaeo-
logical research. The position taken in the following dis-
cussion is that, given the extent and duration of
archaeometallurgical fieldwork in Oman, it is likely that
the observed variations in copper production are a rela-
tively accurate reflection of real phenomena, and require
archaeological explanation. The major caveat that must
be considered when evaluating this assumption is the
lack of detailed archaeological research on Masirah
Island. Given the lone radiocarbon date of ca. 1800 BCE
that has come from a copper mine on the island (see
above), this locality might contain evidence critical for
our understanding of Wadi Suq Period and Late Bronze
Age metallurgy. As noted above, there is also an element
of uncertainty regarding the absolute date of the
"Bronze Age" smelting remains recorded by the German
Mining Museum, and a continuation of copper produc-
tion into the Wadi Suq Period is possible.
To begin, there are a number of factors that likely
affected production levels at all periods in the history of
copper extraction in southeastern Arabia. The first of
these is the environmental cost of large-scale copper
smelting, especially in terms of the amount of wood and
wood-charcoal required for generating the high tempera-
tures and reducing atmospheres necessary for smelting.
A calculation of the wood requirements for the roasting
and smelting of 600,000 tonnes of slag in the early
Islamic Period, for example, suggests that perhaps 25
million acacia trees were harvested over a period of
approximately 100 years to produce the required
amounts of charcoal (cf. Weisgerber 1980a:75-76;
l98Oc:ll9; Hauptman 198S:ll4). It is thought that
such activities may have exhausted wood supplies, at
least within the region of the mines themselves, and led
to severe deforestation and desertification (Weisgerber
1991b:86). These figures, when applied to the
10-20,000 tonnes of slag produced in the Umm al-Nar
Period (see above), suggest that perhaps a million trees
were harvested for copper smelting in the second half of
the third millennium BCE. Likewise, the minimum
80,000 tonnes of recorded Iron Age slag might have
required the harvesting of several million trees.
Although the amount of fuel required in the prehistoric
period is much lower than for the complex Islamic roast-
ing and smelting operations, the reduced output of the
Wadi Suq Period also correlates with increasing aridity
in the region (e.g. Brunswig 1989; Carter 1997), which
may have exacerbated the effects of large-scale fuel gath-
ering. Thus, the enormous fuel requirements of Bronze
Age and Iron Age smelting operations may have ulti-
mately limited output, and may partially explain the
observed periodicity in Omani copper production.
The second factor to be considered for all prehis-
toric periods in southeastern Arabia is the prevalence of
copper procurement through grave robbing. For exam-
ple, although the evidence for primary copper produc-
tion diminishes in the early second millennium BCE, a
great number of copper-base objects are known from
Wadi Suq and Late Bronze age funerary contexts, and
secondary copper refining and casting are known from
Tell Abraq (Weeks 1997) and the Shimal settlement
(Vogt and Franke-Vogt 1987). Likewise, there is a sig-
nificant number of copper-base objects, and copper-
working areas, known from settlements and graves of
the later first millennium BCE and early centuries CE
(e.g. Ploquin and Orzechowski 1994; Haerinck 1994),
yet this is a period for which no evidence of primary
production has been recorded. It is likely that in these
periods, the recycling of copper objects through tomb
robbing was an important practice. Objects deposited in
graves represented a source of metal that required sim-
pler technology and fewer resources to exploit, and
whose distribution was significantly wider than that of
the copper ores themselves. Indeed, recycling must be
regarded as an economically-viable alternative to pri-
mary copper smelting for any period of Oman's metal-
using past, particularly from the late third millennium
BCE onwards. It is likely, however, that tomb-robbing
could have supplied only local needs, not foreign
demand, especially given the practice of depositing cop-
per-base objects in burials which continued into the
early first millennium CE.
In contrast to these factors which may have operat-
ed at all periods of local copper production, it is also
apparent that some of the variations in output broadly
coincide with economic and social changes in wider
western Asia: Umm al-Nar Period production with the
florescence of the Gulf trade (e.g. Edens 1992); Wadi
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 35
Suq recession with its collapse (e.g. Crawford 1998);
early Islamic Period "industrial" production with the
boom period of the Indian Ocean trade (e.g. Whitehouse
1979). That is, it seems clear that copper production in
southeastern Arabia also responded to historically con-
tingent events and processes. In the following discussion,
the socio-economic and technological factors which
interacted to affect copper production in southeastern
Arabia are discussed.
Origins and Growth of Production in the
Third Millennium BCE
As described later in this chapter, the first copper-base
objects appear in southeastern Arabia in the late fourth
to early third millennium BCE, in both settlement and
funerary contexts. Given the long history of metal use
in the neighboring regions of Baluchistan, Iran and
Mesopotamia prior to the third millennium, the origins
of metallurgy in southeastern Arabia have usually been
seen as external rather than indigenous. The origin of
the southeastern Arabian copper extraction technology
in southeastern Iran or Baluchistan is regarded by some
scholars as particularly likely, even "obvious"
(Cleuziou and M i r y 2002:304). These areas have a
long history of primary metal extraction, and demon-
strable technological parallels with the Oman Peninsula
in other crafts, such as ceramic production. In fact, the
stylistic and technological aspects of early pottery pro-
duction in southeastern Arabia bear such close resem-
blance to contemporary industries across the Straits of
Hormuz that a movement of people between the
regions has been hypothesized (Miry 1996: 168-1 69).
However, while the evidence for the origin of early
Omani pottery technology in Iran/Baluchistan is com-
pelling, the lack of information on the earliest copper
production in southeastern Arabia means that
hypotheses regarding the origins of smelting technolo-
gy remain conjectural. The little evidence that does
exist in Oman suggests a low level of technological
understanding characterizable as a "trial and error"
phase of production (Hauptmann 1985:92), which is
inconsistent with the direct adoption of a developed
extraction technology. Difficulties in assessing such
hypotheses are further exacerbated by our limited
understanding of earlier and contemporary metal
36 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
smelting in the putative "origin" zone, at sites such as
Tepe Ghabristan, Tal-i Iblis and Shahdad on the
Iranian Plateau (Pigott 1999a). Well-studied extrac-
tion procedures, such as those known from Bronze
Age site of Tepe Hissar, for example (Pigott et al.
1982; Pigott 1989), cannot be paralleled in Oman.
The evidence might therefore best be considered as
an example of "stimulus diffusion": the idea of metal
use may have originated elsewhere, for example with
the people who brought pottery technology to south-
eastern Arabia, but the smelting technology itself did
not, and was developed locally. A Mesopotamian
connection to early Omani copper extraction was
hypothesized in a number of early archaeological
studies, based upon the discovery of Jemdet Nasr
pottery vessels and beads in local Hafit graves along-
side the earliest copper-base objects (e.g. During
Caspers 1971:43; Frifelt 1980:278). However,
Mesopotamia was a center of metalworking and the
production of finished objects rather than of mining
and smelting, and the presence of Mesopotamian
prospectors in Oman (e.g. Orchard 1995:155; Frifelt
1980) seems a priori to be unlikely.
Mesopotamian influence on early copper produc-
tion in southeastern Arabia is much more likely to
have been in the economic sphere rather than the
technological. For example, the expansion in scale and
geographic scope of the Gulf trade from the third mil-
lennium has been related to an increasing
Mesopotamian demand for metals, woods, and luxury
goods that, with the collapse of the Uruk expansion,
could no longer be obtained from lands to the north
of Mesopotamia (e.g. Crawford 1998:34; Cleuziou
and Tosi 1989:30; Potts 1990a:92). Some scholars
regard the scale of Omani copper production as
reflecting this Mesopotamian demand quite directly.
C. Edens (1992:130-132), for example, hypothesizes a
dramatic increase in the demand for copper in the Old
Akkadian Period, as copper moved from a luxury
good to a necessity in Mesopotamian society. Copper
production in southeastern Arabia is thought to have
escalated in response to this changing demand, partly
as a result of the fact that participation in the Gulf
trade had become "deeply embedded" in local south-
eastern Arabian communities (Edens 1992:118).
 The theorized increase in Mesopotamian demand
and Omani copper production is contemporary with a
significant expansion in the number and size of southeast-
ern Arabian settlements, and the three developments have
therefore been regarded as causally linked (e.g. Berthoud
and Cleuziou l983:243-245; Cleuziou 2002: 199-200).
Costa and Wilkinson (1987:232), for example, suggest
that copper production was "the prime stimulus" behind
the expansion of settlement in the Umm al-Nar Period,
and it is not hard to find parallels with models relating
external demand to intensification of settlement in other
copper-producing regions of Bronze Age western Asia
(e.g. Knapp 1986:12). Omani participation in the long-
distance exchange network linking Mesopotamia and
Meluhha, grounded upon copper production, also intro-
duced a great variety of foreign goods of prestige nature
into the region. As discussed fully in Chapter Eight, the
exchange of these goods probably played a significant
role in the economic integration of southeastern Arabia.
The significance of this newly-emerged integration for
copper production is discussed below.
General studies of the cuneiform sources discussed
above also suggest that Magan's role in the Gulf trade
peaked in the later third millennium BCE, contemporary
with the increased Mesopotamian demand for copper
hypothesized by Edens. Unfortunately, although Umm al-
Nar Period copper production refuse can be clearly differ-
entiated from that of the Iron Age or the early Islamic
Period, there have been no systematic studies of variation
in the scale and technology of copper extraction within
the more than half a millennium span of the Umm al-Nar
Period itself. While the evidence from the site of Maysar 1
suggests a date in the last few centuries of the third mil-
lennium BCE, the date of other "Bronze Age" smelting
sites is far from certain. Thus, it is impossible from
archaeological evidence to support or deny hypotheses
like increased Omani copper production in the Akkadian
Period, much less causally link this increased production
to category shifts in Mesopotamian demand for raw
materials and the expansion of Omani settlement.
Regardless of the limitations of the available archaeologi-
cal evidence, there can be little doubt that external factors
such as those outlined above played a role in the develop-
ment and scale of Umm al-Nar Period copper production
in southeastern Arabia.
Having considered southeastern Iran and
Baluchistan in terms of the origins of Omani metallurgy,
and Mesopotamia in terms of increasing foreign demand
for the raw material, one could also consider the role of
other trading partners of Magan, notably Dilmun and
Meluhha, as important consumers of southeastern
Arabian copper. The evidence for copper use in both
these areas is significant, although reliable analytical
links to the use of Omani copper are scarce. The case for
the use of Omani copper in Dilmun seems simplest, as
Dilmun's role as middleman in the Bronze Age copper
trade through the Gulf is well established). Nevertheless,
the limited evidence that exists comes only from the ter-
minal third and early second millennia BCE (Prange et
al. 1999; Weeks forthcoming a), and while strongly
indicative of the use of Omani copper, may also support
the use of metal from other sources.
The case for the use of Omani copper in the Indus
region is less certain: the presence of planoconvex ingots
at Lothal has been regarded as evidence for the use of
southeastern Arabian copper, as has the trace element
composition of objects from the site and elsewhere in the
southern Harappan orbit (Rao 1979:233;
1985524-527). Needless to say, these arguments are of
limited strength, as planoconvex ingots occur widely
across western Asia and are unlikely to have been an
exclusive product of southeastern Arabia (Chakrabarti
l998:3 11; Weisgerber and Yule 2003:48), and trace ele-
ments can only rarely provide a conclusive guide to
metal provenance. Nevertheless, hypotheses suggesting
the use of Omani copper in the Indus are plausible, given
the archaeological evidence for exchange between the
two regions (Weisgerber 1984; Potts 1993c; Edens
1993), and the likelihood that a region as large as the
Indus must have been utilizing copper from multiple
sources (Kenoyer and Miller 1999: 117-1 18). Certainly,
such theories deserve to be assessed on their archaeologi-
cal merit, rather than dismissed as reflecting supposed
political biases or the desire to explain South Asian civi-
lization as non-indigenous (cf. Chakrabarti and Lahiri
1996:199).
Having discussed the external factors affecting cop-
per production in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia, it is
clear that the internal factors, including the demand for
copper from a growing Omani population increasingly
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 37
reliant on metals, must also have influenced produc-
tion. The scale of local consumption is reflected in
the large number of copper-base objects deposited in
the Umm al-Nar Period collective graves found across
the peninsula (e.g. Benton 1996; Potts 2000). These
funerary practices must have been supported by levels
of copper production much higher than seen in the
early third millennium, where comparatively few cop-
per-base objects are known from funerary contexts
(see below). A corresponding increase in metal use in
Umm al-Nar Period settlements is also seen, with
sites such as Umm an-Nar Island (Frifelt 1995), Tell
Abraq (Weeks 1997), Bat (Frifelt 1979:584), Ra's al-
Jinz RJ-2 (Cleuziou and Tosi 200057-59), and
Ghanadha 1 (A1 Tikriti 1985:15) containing relatively
large numbers of copper-base objects.
In examining the internal socio-economic factors
affecting copper production in southeastern Arabia,
the nature of local subsistence and exchange patterns
is of particular significance. The third millennium is
usually characterized as a period of increasing cultur-
al integration in the Oman Peninsula, directly related
to the expansion and consolidation of intra-regional
trade networks linking the complementary subsistence
regimes of coastal and inland settlements (Cleuziou
and Tosi 2000:26; Cleuziou and Tosi 1989:17;
Crawford 1998:120; Mkry 1997: 188; Charpentier
1996). There seems little doubt that copper produced
in the mountainous interior would have been a signif-
icant component of this internal exchange system,
along with agricultural and marine products, as
Figure 2.1 3 A slag-filled planoconvex copper ingot from AI-Aqir in
attested by the distribution of metal at Bronze Age Oman (Hauptmann 1987: Abb. 2).
sites across the peninsula. For example, the abun-
dance of copper objects in debris contexts from Ra's Cleuziou and Tosi (2000:71 n. 21) are no doubt cor-
al-Jinz RJ-2 suggests that copper was far from a rare rect in stating that local exchange networks were of
resource in this coastal area distant from inland pri- much greater importance than foreign exchange to the
mary production centers (Cleuziou and Tosi economic welfare of the Bronze Age inhabitants of the
2000:57-59), and this finding is supported by discov- Oman Peninsula. Parallels can be drawn with a
eries at other third millennium coastal sites listed in thought-provoking analysis of Bronze Age metal
the preceding paragraph. extraction in Europe by S. Shennan (1999), that
The increasing economic integration of the region examined the production of copper in the eastern Alps
may thus have played a role in the expansion of local in cost-benefit terms, based around Ricardo's "Law of
copper production. Although the power of long-dis- Comparative Advantage" and the notion that early
tance exchange to act as an agent of economic growth copper producers were rational economizers
has been emphasized by a number of scholars, (1999:353). Shennan's study was itself based upon

38 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

earlier ethnographic studies of pre-modern production
and inter-regional exchange systems in the Grassfields
region of Cameroon, undertaken by M. Rowlands and
J. Warnier (Shennan 1999:353). The model could be
reduced to the idea that "it is not worth producing
commodity X yourself if you're better off producing
commodity y and obtaining commodity X in exchange
for it, in other words, by specializing" (Shennan
1999:353). According to Ricardo's Law, specialization
is ultimately rooted not only in the localized distribu-
tion of necessary raw materials, but in regional vari-
ability in the costs of production caused by ecologi-
cal, technological and social determinants (Shennan
1999:354; see also Costin 2001:308).
Ricardo's Law represents an explicitly formalist
understanding of production and exchange systems,
which some scholars may regard as unjustified.
Nevertheless, the economic nature of the Gulf trade
is made eminently clear by the surviving cuneiform
evidence from Mesopotamia (see above). Although
often funded by large Mesopotamian institutions, the
copper trade was undertaken as a venture in which
the economic success or otherwise of the individual
merchant was calculable. Moreover, specific details of
the trade, especially the attempts to distribute raw
materials of questionable quality for which Ea-Nasir
was so strongly criticized by his partners, clearly
resemble aspects of modern entrepreneurial behavior.
The presence of a number of planoconvex copper
ingots from Bahla with deliberately-produced cores of
slag (see Figure 2.13) tallies well with the cuneiform
evidence for complaints about low quality copper
traded by Ea-Nasir. It has been suggested that these
ingots represented a votive deposit for a dam at Al-
Aqir, and that their slag cores reflect the production
of "cheaper" offerings to an unknown deity or
deities (Weisgerber and Yule 2003:SO-51). However,
such an interpretation is far from certain, and the
ingots might also indicate that the Omani producers
of the copper sought economic gain from their
activities, to the point of deception. Overall, the
"spirit of the gift" seems not to have influenced
exchange relationships to a significant extent, and a
formalist approach to Gulf copper production and
trade seems justified.
Similarities are immediately apparent between the
pre-modern Grasslands and Alpine Bronze Age eco-
nomic systems described by Shennan, and the south-
eastern Arabian Bronze Age production and exchange
network. For example, there is evidence for only a
limited number of production centers for Omani
black-on-red funerary pottery in the region in the
third millennium, whose wares were distributed on a
regional and sub-regional scale (M6ry 1996, 2000).
Similarly, there is evidence for localization of shell
ring production in the Ra's al-Jinz and Ra's al-Hadd
regions (Charpentier 1994; Cleuziou and Tosi
2000:35), soft-stone vessel manufacture at Maysar 1
and elsewhere (Weisgerber 1981; David 1996). In
each of these cases (pottery, shell rings, soft-stone
vessels), the geographical distribution of raw materi-
als would have allowed for production to take place
at a great many more locations than it actually
was. The fact the production loci are limited in
number suggests that some form of regional special-
ization existed in third millennium southeastern
Arabia, that might be understood as reflecting the
operation of Ricardo's Law. The variability and
complementarity of specialized subsistence and pro-
duction activities within southeastern Arabia, and
the regional exchange systems that developed in the
Umm al-Nar Period, have been commented upon by
numerous scholars.
Most importantly for our study, Shennan
(1999:362) noted that "one of the consequences of
large scale regional exchange systems that operate
on Ricardian principles ...is that they led to econom-
ic growth. That is to say, total regional production
is higher than it would have been if individual com-
munities had remained self-sufficient". Ricardo's Law
is significant in providing an economic underpinning
for the interdependence of specialization, exchange,
and economic growth in so-called "commercial"
models of the development of social complexity (e.g.
Brumfiel and Earle 1987:l). Such growth in the
Bronze Age exchange system of southeastern Arabia
has been commented upon specifically by Cleuziou
and Miry (2002:307, 310), who emphasize that
exchange is "the main concept which rules any suc-
cessful adaptation to an ecological milieu in Arabia".
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 39
Thus, the significance of intra-peninsular exchange
networks in the development of southeastern Arabian
copper production should not be underestimated.
When examining the apparent increase in social
complexity in the region in the later third millennium,
it is also useful to consider the nature of the exchange
systems which develop under Ricardian principles:
although all benefit from increased specialization and
economic integration, not all benefit to the same
degree (Shennan 1999:354). The inequalities inherent
in the developing regional exchange system, and the
competition between local and kinship groups that this
fostered, may have played a significant role in the
development of social complexity in southeastern
Arabia in the Umm al-Nar Period, as discussed more
fully below.
Possible Reduction in Copper Production in the
Second Millennium BCE
There is a dramatic reduction in the amount of evi-
dence for copper production in southeastern Arabia in
the early second millennium BCE. As discussed above, it
is difficult to know if this lack of evidence reflects an
actual reduction in production in the Wadi Suq Period,
or if it is merely a product of a biased archaeological
record or uncertainty in the interpretation of the evi-
dence. A number of scholars have argued, based upon
circumstantial evidence, that copper production in the
Wadi Suq period continued at levels similar to those
seen in the third millennium. However, there is little in
the way of conclusive evidence to support either posi-
tion, and it is worth considering some of the factors that
may have contributed to a decline in Wadi Suq Period
copper production, as hypothesized by Weisgerber
(1981) and Hauptmann (1985).
In particular, the apparent reduction in copper
extraction is contemporary with a decline in the number,
size, and complexity of settlements in southeastern
Arabia (Cleuziou 1981; Carter 1997; Magee 1999:51).
This change was initially regarded as a transition to an
archaeological "dark age", resulting from the domestica-
tion of the camel and a consequent move to full-time
camel nomadism (Cleuziou l 9 8 1).However, recent evi-
dence for the continued presence of sedentary communi-
ties throughout the second millennium has made it clear
40 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
that this period represents an evolution in the prehistory
of southeastern Arabia society (Potts 1997b:52), rather
than a revolution as initially characterized.
Nevertheless, while a transition to full-time nomadism
is no longer supported by the evidence (e.g. Carter
1997; Potts 1997b:52), an explanation of the develop-
ment of the Wadi Suq Period that incorporates at least
some movement away from sedentary life remains plau-
sible (contra Carter 1997:96). The transition from a
third millennium cultural milieu in which nomadic ele-
ments and seasonal sites played a significant role (e.g.
Cleuziou and Tosi 1989, 2000; Crawford 1998:140), to
one in which nomadism played a greater or dominant
role is not difficult to imagine. This view is compatible
with the archaeological evidence, which indicates that
very few large sites are occupied in the second millenni-
um BCE, that these few sites are all located in the
northern coastal region (Carter 1997:Figure 2), and
that they witness a strong (though not complete) re-ori-
entation of their economy away from agricultural pro-
duction to the exploitation of marine resources (Carter
1997:94; Potts 1997b352).
Significantly, an hypothesized move towards
nomadism cannot be used a priori t o explain a reduc-
tion in the amount of copper produced in southeastern
Arabia. The ability of nomadic groups to mine and
smelt large quantities of copper has been demonstrat-
ed in other Bronze Age archaeological contexts, most
notably on the Eurasian Steppe a t the site of Kargaly
(Chernykh 2002). Such evidence counters Carter's
(2001:196) claims that there was a lack of permanent
sedentary settlement in the copper-producing regions
of inland Oman "such as would underpin an export
trade in copper of the scale indicated by the
Mesopotamian texts". A better explanation of the sit-
uation perhaps lies in the decay of the integrated sys-
tem of exploitation of agricultural, marine and miner-
al resources that characterized the third millennium
BCE. As discussed earlier in this chapter, the economic
integration and regional specialization of production
within southeastern Arabia at that time no doubt led
to a growth in the scale of the local economy. In con-
trast, there is evidence to suggest that the Wadi Suq
Period witnessed an economic disintegration charac-
terized by significantly reduced regional interaction
(e.g. Magee 1999:51). In particular, the limited
importance of agricultural settlements in the interior
oases (Carter 1997) was almost certainly of great sig-
nificance, representing the disappearance of one of
the major nodal categories of the Bronze Age regional
exchange system. The consequent reduction in eco-
nomic integration is indicated archaeologically by the
proliferation of raw-material sources exploited for
pottery and stone vessel manufacture in the second
millennium, and the lower quality of the vessels pro-
duced, which suggests the existence of non-specialized
production at multiple locations (David l996:3 8-39;
MCry 2000), in addition to "new patterns of distribu-
tion and consumption" (Cleuziou and M i r y
2002:302). Reduced intra-regional integration, if
operating within the economic model discussed by
Shennan (1999), may have led to lower levels of cop-
per production.
Of course, it is also possible to relate the reduced
Wadi Suq Period copper production to broadly contempo-
rary external economic factors. These include, in particu-
lar, the reduction in the foreign demand for Omani copper
caused by political upheavals in Mesopotamia, the avail-
ability of Anatolian and Cypriot copper in Babylonia by
ca. 1750 BCE, and the end of the Mature Harappan
Period in the Indus region at ca. 1900 BCE.
The general importance of the Gulf trade for the
Mesopotamian political economy is indicated by a num-
ber of Mesopotamian cuneiform inscriptions in which the
rise to power of a leader is accompanied by claims allud-
ing to his newly-restored control of trade through the
Gulf. Examples include Ur-Nanshe's claims of wood
brought from Dilmun (Potts 1990a:88), Sargon's boast of
boats from Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha docking at the
quay of Agade, and the "restoration" of the Magan trade
into Nanna's hands achieved by Ur-Nammu (Potts
1990a:144). It is interesting that these declarations gener-
ally come from the formative periods of new political
entities in southern Mesopotamia, indicating that politi-
cal instability in southern Mesopotamia could have seri-
ously deleterious effects on the Gulf trade (e.g. Crawford
1996). Thus, the political and economic changes in
southern Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian Period
(Crawford 1996) almost certainly had a serious effect on
the demand for southeastern Arabian copper.
Looking to the east, the status of the Indus region as a
consumer of Omani copper is still disputed (e.g.
Weisgerber 1984; Rao l985:.S24; Cleuziou and Tosi
1989:42; Chakrabarti and Lahiri 1996:199). As has been
discussed above, the use of Omani copper in the Indus
region remains a very plausible hypothesis due to the geo-
graphical proximity of the two regions, the archaeologica
evidence for close exchange contacts between them, and
the likelihood that an area as large and densely occupied
as the Indus was utilizing copper from a multiplicity of
sources. Any reliable proof of this hypothesis, however,
will depend upon further programs of archaeometallurgi-
cal research. Even if copper was not exchanged between
the two regions, the demise of the Harappan civilization
may nevertheless have been important for copper produc-
tion in southeastern Arabia, as a factor in the general
decline in scale and geographic scope of the Gulf trade in
the early second millennium BCE.
Significantly, however, the cultural and economic
developments in the various regions discussed above are
not perfectly synchronized. The Wadi Suq Period in
southeastern Arabia, and the dramatic changes in settle-
ment size, frequency, location, and subsistence that char-
acterize it, is generally regarded as beginning between
2000-1900 BCE. This is broadly CO-incidentwith the
disappearance of Magan from Mesopotamian cuneiform
sources, and the end of the Indus civilization. However,
cuneiform evidence indicates that the first quarter of the
second millennium BCE witnessed a flourishing copper
trade between Dilmun and Mesopotamia. Thus, if the
meager evidence for primary copper production in the
Wadi Suq Period is regarded as an accurate reflection of
the situation, it is possible that "Dilmun" copper was
coming from a region other than southeastern Arabia by
this time, a possibility already suggested by R. Carter
(2001:196). As discussed in Chapter Seven, there is evi-
dence from archaeological lead isotope analyses which
may tentatively support the idea that some metal from
non-Omani sources was reaching Dilmun (Weeks, forth-
coming a). However, one other factor to consider, as
noted above, is the imprecise chronology for copper
extraction in the Oman Peninsula. "Bronze Age" smelt-
ing sites recorded by the German Mining Museum
Project, usually dated to the Umm al-Nar Period, could
feasibly represent the remains of copper production into
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 41
the Wadi Suq Period. Regardless, it is clear that explana-
tions for the changes in copper production in southeast-
ern Arabia in the early second millennium BCE must
allow for complex interactions between local and
regional economic systems, environmental considera-
tions, and the ways in which copper production was
articulated with broader subsistence practices.
Expansion and Contraction of Iron Age
Copper Production
Copper production in southeastern Arabia again attains
significant levels in the local Iron Age. The increase in
the quantity of smelting debris dating to the late second
or early first millennia BCE can be correlated with the
dramatic expansion of settlement in piedmont areas of
southeastern Arabia, probably related to the introduction
of falai irrigation technology in the local Iron I1 period
(Magee 1999). Internal factors seem to have played a
major role in the development of copper production at
this time, most notably the increase in demand generated
by a greatly expanded population. This hypothesis is
supported by numerous examples of large-scale local
consumption of copper-base objects (Weisgerber l 9 8 8).
These include unrobbed Iron Age tombs such as the col-
lective horseshoe-shaped grave from Qidfa in Fujairah
which contained hundreds of leaf-shaped arrowheads,
dozens of vessels, large braceletslbangles, axes, and more
than 10 hilted copper daggers (Corboud et al. 1988), the
purported tomb robber's hoard from IbriISelme with
more than 300 copper-base objects including vessels,
braceletslbangles, and hilted daggers (Yule and
Weisgerber 2001), and the graves and settlement occupa-
tion at A1 Qusais in Dubai which produced more than
800 copper-base arrowheads (Potts 199Oa:359-361).
Interestingly, the increase in copper production in
the Iron Age is contemporary with an increase in
regional economic integration, very similar in nature to
that seen in the Umm al-Nar Period. Although the
absolute scale of settlement and population in Oman in
the Iron Age was greater than in the third millennium, a
similar polycentric distribution of power is hypothe-
sized (Magee 199954-55), based upon the control of
regionally diverse and complementary resources. Magee
and Carter (1999:176) have proposed a model in which
coastal, desert, and inland settlements formed a
42 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
"regionally-specialized economy" that, following the
model discussed above, is likely to have generated an
increase in local copper production. P. Magee (personal
communication) sees greater local demand for copper as
related particularly to increasing conflict between Iron
Age polities (and the consequent need for weaponry),
and the role of copper implements in status display by
newly-emergent elites. There is some evidence that Iron
Age copperworking was practiced by "attached special-
ists", if the concentration of copperworking activities
within the unusual columned building at Muweilah is
any guide (Davis 1998). The role of attached specialists
in the generation and maintenance of social hierarchies
has been widely discussed (e.g. Earle 1994:426 ff.), and
indeed a similar situation in the Umm al-Nar Period
might be indicated by the location of copperworking
facilities directly adjacent to the main tower at Hili-8
(Cleuziou 1989).
The dearth of archaeometallurgical research on
Iron Age copper smelting means that is virtually
impossible to address the technological developments
which may have underlain this increase in copper pro-
duction in southeastern Arabia. It seems that the Iron
Age saw the first large-scale exploitation of the mas-
sive sulfide copper deposits (Weisgerber 198 8 :286 ) ,
incorporating the smelting of both oxide ores from the
gossan and unaltered sulfide ores. The massive sulfide
deposits at sites like Lasail, Bayda and 'Arja are the
largest copper ore-bodies in southeastern Arabia, and
the ability to exploit them would no doubt have
allowed a significant increase in copper production in
the region. However, certain technological advances
would have been required to effectively utilize the sul-
fidic ores, and intensive mining would have been nec-
essary to exploit the low-grade oxide mineralization of
the gossans. The lack of detailed archaeological evi-
dence for these mining and smelting technologies pre-
cludes the formation of a sound hypothesis regarding
their effect on Iron Age copper extraction.
Assessing the impact of foreign demand for Omani
copper in the Iron Age is also difficult. There is a
complete lack of textual evidence regarding southeast-
ern Arabia in the early first millennium BCE, and it is
not until the reign of Assurbanipal in 640 BCE that
Neo-Assyrian cuneiform sources mention a ruler of the
region, Pade king of Qade, who brought unspecified
(but rich) tribute to Assyria (Potts 1990a:393). Later
documents related to the Achaemenid administration
of southeastern Arabia (Potts 1990a:394-400) do not
mention the export of goods at all. It has been sug-
gested that Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian refer-
ences to obtaining bronze from Dilmun, sometimes in
quantities of hundreds of kilograms, reflects the use of
metal originally from southeastern Arabia (Potts
l99Oa:NO). This hypothesis remains uncertain, but is
certainly supported by the evidence for Iron Age cop-
per extraction in Oman. One need only examine the
meager historical evidence for copper export from
Oman in the early Islamic Period to understand that
large-scale copper production and trade can be seri-
ously under-represented in historical sources. Thus,
external markets for the copper produced in Iron Age
southeastern Arabia may have been important. In this
context, it is interesting to note the suggestion of
Magee and Carter (1999:175) that developments in
the early Iron Age in southeastern Arabia might be
related to a "revitalized exchange relationship with
Iran". This contact with the north is indicated by a
wide range of material goods recovered in southeast-
ern Arabian contexts, particularly ceramics (e.g. Magee
2002:Figure 2). Likewise, there is abundant archaeo-
logical evidence attesting to contact between southeast-
ern Arabia and the central Gulf in the Iron Age (e.g.
Potts 1990a:325-326), and Dilmun may have been an
important foreign consumer of Omani copper.
The factors underlying the apparent reduction in
copper smelting in the later stages of the Omani Iron
Age remain obscure. This is chiefly because there has
been so little analytical work on Iron Age smelting
sites in Oman, and the chronology and development
of copper extraction within the Iron Age are conse-
quently unknown. The only secure dates for Iron Age
smelting relate to the very large-scale extraction in
the Raki area, which is radiocarbon dated to ca.
1100-800 BCE (see above) and thus must be placed
early in the local Iron Age sequence. Evidence from
other elements of the archaeological record indicates
a significant contraction of Omani settlement begin-
ning in the Iron I11 Period, i.e. after about 600 BCE.
Explanations proposed for the reduction in settlement
largely revolve around access to water, and have
included the lowering of local water tables and the
silting up of the falaj irrigation systems that were crit-
ical for agricultural production in the preceding Iron
I1 Period (Magee 1999). As the florescence of Iron
Age copper production seems to be related predomi-
nantly to an increase in the internal demand from a
rapidly expanding Iron I1 population, lowered produc-
tion from the mid-first millennium BCE might like-
wise be due to the reduction in local settlement and
population.
The possible continued importance of Bahrain as a
consumer of Omani copper in the sixth to fourth cen-
turies BCE is indicated by the extent of metalworking
operations at Qala'at al-Bahrain City IVc-d (Harjlund
and Andersen 1997:165-1 74). The continued use of
copper for tools and weapons in the central Gulf in
the first millennium BCE is stressed by Harjlund and
Andersen (1997:210). Thus, external demand for cop-
per does not seem to have disappeared, but internal
variations in demand for copper remain the most likely
cause of falling production.
Organization of Early Copper Production
As outlined above, archaeological evidence and
Mesopotamian historical sources indicate that copper
production was a major productive activity in Bronze
Age southeastern Arabia, and that copper from Magan
was the most prominent material exchanged in the Gulf
and Indian Ocean trade network. It is of interest to
know both how Bronze Age metal mining and smelting
were organized to meet the large internal and external
demand for copper, and how the production of this cop-
per affected other areas of southeastern Arabian econo-
my and society.
Natural limitations on the distribution of raw mate-
rials and the complexity of extraction technology have
suggested to scholars that early metallurgy required
inherent specialization (e.g. Childe 1937:9; Kristiansen
1987:33; White and Pigott 1996:151; Ottaway 2001:95).
Moreover, examination of the archaeological record
from Bronze Age southeastern Arabia indicates that pri-
mary copper extraction was undertaken at a limited
number of sites, and thus must have been a specialized
activity. Archaeological discussions of the economic and
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 43
socio-political consequences of specialized metal pro-
duction on ancient societies can be traced back to the
writings of V. Gordon Childe and his contemporaries.
However, as noted by Clark (1995) and Wailes
(1996b:5), much early archaeological research on spe-
cialized production proceeded without an explicit under-
standing of what was in fact meant by the term "special-
ization". One result of this lack of definitional clarity
was that anachronistic analogies based upon modern
craft specialists and specialization were commonly
employed (e.g. Clark 1995; Budd and Taylor 1994),
with mining, smelting and smithing in particular regard-
ed by Childe (1937:40, 134-136) as demanding full-time
specialization. Such biases limited the ability of scholars
such as Childe to accurately characterize and compre-
hend the great variability of early specialized production
systems, and to assess their interaction with other social,
political, and economic factors.
These oversights have been remedied in the modern
literature on the topic, where explicit (if sometimes com-
peting) definitions of specialization can be found (esp.
Costin 2001, 1991; Clark 1995; Clark and Parry 1990).
Specialization can be defined in the simplest terms as the
degree to which there are fewer producers than con-
sumers of a particular object or material (Costin
2001:276), with the caveat that consumers are non-
dependents of the producer. Correspondingly, as distri-
bution is a necessary complement to specialization, it is
clear that specialized production was as widespread in
prehistory as exchange, and must have existed in one
form or another in most societies (Clark 1995:279).
Archaeological studies of specialization are abundant,
and have focused predominantly on identifying different
types of specialized production in past societies, and
determining the relationship between craft specialization
and social complexity (e.g. Costin 1991; Clark and
Parry 1990; Stein and Blackman 1993; Cross 1993;
Wailes 1996a; Brumfiel and Earle 1987; Peacock 1982;
Van Der Leeuw 1977).
The material correlates of particular specialized pro-
duction regimes have received particular attention. This
is because definitions of specialization in non-Capitalist
contexts have most commonly been extracted from his-
torical sources or ethnographic studies, in which the
type or degree of specialization is recognized by such
44 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
characteristics as the amount of time spent in a particular
activity, the proportion of subsistence needs obtained
from the activity, payments in goods or money received
for production, and the existence of a name for the spe-
cialist activity (Costin 1991:3). These characteristics have
few or no readily identifiable material correlates, and the
reconstruction of production systems in non-literate
ancient societies would be an impossible undertaking if
such variables were all that was available for investiga-
tion. However, it is obvious that ancient production
processes do leave behind material remains, and Costin
(1991:l) has suggested that production should be more
readily reconstructable from archaeological evidence than
a number of other economic processes (such as exchange)
that have received a great deal of archaeological atten-
tion. The material remains of production processes (e.g.
tools, raw materials, waste products, finished objects),
and their differential spatial distributions, have signifi-
cant potential to act as indices of both the type and
extent of specialization. They can provide a window into
specific craft production systems.
From the preceding paragraph, it can be seen that
accurate reconstructions of ancient production systems
are dependent upon two main factors. These relate to
our ability to:
1. Identify the material remains of specific produc-
tion technologies (i.e. tools, raw materials,
waste, finished products).
2. Recognize the material correlates of specialized
production, which might include variations in
the spatial distribution of production loci, as
well as evidence for the standardization, skill
and efficiency of manufacturing techniques.
Understanding of the first component derives largely
from detailed technical studies of archaeological materi-
als, informed by laboratory analyses, modern experimen-
tal reconstructions of ancient technologies, and by
ethnographic and historical accounts of non-industrial
production technologies. The second component is per-
haps more complex and frequently less certain in its out-
comes, requiring the development of ethnographically,
historically, or otherwise empirically-informed theories
(i.e. middle-range theories) relating artifact attributes
and the differential spatial distribution of production
indices to specific forms of specialized production.
 One of the most frequently cited methodologies for
investigating specialization and production in the
archaeological record is that developed by Costin
(1991). As noted by Clark (1995:288), this is partly
because Costin's discussion of the issue, like the impor-
tant work of Evans (1978) before it, focuses very close-
ly upon the identification of the archaeological corre-
lates of production behavior. To use Costin's (1991:43)
own words, her definition of specialization "is relative-
ly straightforward to operationalize archaeologically",
and focuses upon the four production variables of con-
text, concentration, scale, and intensity (Costin
1991:8-18, Figure 1.4). Context reflects the degree of
elite sponsorship of production, varying from attached
to independent production. Concentration represents
the spatial distribution of production loci, varying from
dispersed to nucleated. Scale is a measure of the size
and constitution of individual production units or
groups, varying from small and usually kin-based units
to larger groups of unrelated individuals. Intensity repre-
sents the amount of time spent doing the specialized task
in comparison to other activities, varying from part-time
to full-time. Based on the most common associations of
these four variables, Costin constructs a typology incor-
porating eight production types, e.g. "community spe-
cialization" and "nucleated workshops", which can be
compared to those found in earlier typologies of craft
production, including Peacock (1982) and Van Der
Leeuw (1977).
The clearest conclusion to be drawn from the
archaeological literature on craft production is that
"specialized" copper production in southeastern Arabia
could have taken a number of different forms: from
small scale, independent, part-time or seasonal produc-
tion by semi-specialists to full-time production with
very high output by specialists attached to large politi-
cal institutions. Given the emphasis that has been
placed upon certain types of craft specialization in the
development of political complexity (e.g. Wailes 1996a;
Clark and Parrty 1990; Brumfiel and Earle 1987), the
implications of these different production types for our
understanding of Bronze Age southeastern Arabia are
clear. Utilizing the categories discussed by Costin (1991)
allows us to move beyond the a priori and un-enlight-
ening understanding of metallurgy as a specialized
discipline, to examine in detail the economic, technologi-
cal and socio-political factors that contoured copper pro-
duction in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia. The evidence
for the mode(s) of copper production prevalent in
Bronze Age southeastern Arabia is addressed below.
Primary Copper Production in Bronze Age
Southeastern Arabia
The manufacture of any copper object incorporates a
number of discrete stages of production, from mining,
ore preparation, smelting, and refining, to object fabrica-
tion processes such as casting and hammering.
Significantly, there is clear potential for a geographical
separation of these productive activities: it is not only
theoretically possible for these processes to have taken
place in widely separated locations, it is clear from the
archaeological record of Bronze Age southeastern Arabia
that primary extraction was generally undertaken near to
copper ore sources, while newly-won (and probably
recycled) copper was utilized for object fabrication at
habitation sites distant from the loci of primary copper
extraction. Such a wide geographical focus (Omani cop-
per was used as far away as Mesopotamia and perhaps
the Indus Valley) introduces many difficulties in the
interpretation of production. In the following discussion,
therefore, the focus is upon the organization of primary
copper extraction only, i.e. mining, smelting, and the
production of ingots. Copper in ingot form is a widely-
exchanged category of material that moved both within
and beyond the boundaries of Bronze Age southeastern
Arabian society. Newly-won raw copper and semi-
processed copper ingots form a class of goods whose
production and trade can be studied, in many respects,
separately from the productive processes associated with
object fabrication in southeastern Arabian settlement
sites and across western Asia.
Even a study of production limited to primary cop-
per extraction is not without complications. Each of the
main activities of mining, ore processing, and smelting
has unique requirements in terms of technological and
ritual knowledge, tools, raw materials, physical strength,
etc., and each may have had distinctly constructed ide-
ologies delineating the status of the activity, rights of
participation, access to requisite knowledge (Ottaway
2001). Thus, there is no reason to assume that mining,
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 45
ore processing, and smelting were organized along simi-
lar lines, or that production groups for each of these
activities were constituted in the same way (i.e. of the
same or similarly related individuals).
In the case of southeastern Arabia, evidence for
early copper extraction of the standard required to ade-
quately reconstruct production systems is meager. For
example, the archaeological evidence available for
Bronze Age mining is almost non-existent. Where esti-
mations of the scale of orelgangue extraction are avail-
able, as at Maysar 2 (10,000 cubic meters of rock
mined using open-cast methods), no data regarding the
duration of exploitation, or the scale of production (i.e.
size of production units) is available. Archaeological
evidence of ore processing activities is available from
many sites, but again the lack of chronological and
spatial control at most Bronze Age sites severely limits
attempts at explanation. Furthermore, the archaeologi-
cal evidence for houses, storage areas, and other habi-
tation remains at copper extraction sites, which is cru-
cial for assessing the possible scale and intensity of pro-
duction, is extremely limited. Such information is avail-
able only from sites where primary extraction was
undertaken in sedentary habitation contexts, as at
Maysar 1 and Wadi Fizh 1, and only Maysar 1 has
been the subject of archaeological excavation
(Weisgerber 1980b, l 9 8 1; Hauptmann 1985).
As a result, reconstructions of copper production in
the region have utilized estimates of total output as a
proxy for the organization of extractive industries.
Hauptmann's estimates of total copper production in
Bronze Age southeastern Arabia are of the order of a
few thousand tonnes (see above), a value that indeed
seems very large when considered in terms of the num-
ber of individual smelting operations that it might rep-
resent. For example, if one smelting furnace produced
approximately five kg of copper per operation (see
above), then Bronze Age production in southeastern
Arabia represents hundreds of thousands of smelting
operations. These raw numbers suggest the possibility
of highly specialized, large-scale, intensive and closely
controlled copper production in the region. Based upon
such considerations, Hauptmann (1985: 114) regards
copper production at some sites in Bronze Age Oman
as having taken place "on an industrial scale".
46 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
However, the absolute level of output is not used
by Costin (1991) in her analyses of specialized produc-
tion, and she has outlined the weakness of such an
approach (Costin 2001:291):
"The use of 'output' as an indicator of the organi-
zation of production warrants greater caution, particu-
larly in the absence of detailed knowledge of technolo-
gy, intensity, and an approximation of the number of
sources or work groups and the time over which an
assemblage was produced and used ...There is, at best,
only a weak correlation between the quantity of an arti-
fact recovered, the output (or scale of production) of
the individual production units making those objects,
and the way production was organized."
Archaeological and ethnographic research has
repeatedly demonstrated that very high levels of output
can be achieved by groups operating under relatively
simple production regimes (White and Pigott 1996:169;
Shennan 1998:200-201). Thus, when the limitations of
the archaeological evidence from southeastern Arabia
regarding chronology, scale, and intensity are consid-
ered, industrial organization becomes only one possible
explanation for high total output, and is certainly no
more plausible than less intense production undertaken
over many generations or centuries. Given the chrono-
logical limitations of the evidence from Oman, large-
scale extraction (as seen in the open-cast mining opera-
tions at Maysar 2) cannot be linked with intensive
exploitation of the resource. Furthermore, the copper
deposits most frequently exploited in Bronze Age Oman
are relatively small, numerous, and found across a large
area, a factor that limited the ability to intensify mining
activities at individual large ore deposits.
On a smaller scale, estimates of total output at
Maysar 1 (Weisgerber 1980b, 1981; Hauptmann 1985)
in the Wadi Samad, Oman, have also been used as a
proxy for the way in which production was organized.
The relatively small amount of primary smelting slag
found at Maysar 1 (approximately 100 tonnes) is
regarded as evidence that copper production was a
"part-time activity, one that for most residents was sec-
ondary to agricultural and pastoral pursuits" (Edens
and Kohl 1993:26). It is doubtful whether it is correct
(or even useful) to classify copper production at Maysar
1 as "secondary" to agricultural production based upon
total output: a term such as complementary is perhaps
more appropriate. Nevertheless, the location of metal
extraction facilities within an agricultural village does
indeed suggest that metal production was integrated
with subsistence production, with resultant implication
for the intensity of production. It seems likely that pro-
duction in such a context was seasonal, if not in terms
of the total cessation of production, at least in terms of
changes in productive intensity. This is not a surprising
conclusion, for as noted by Costin (2001:280), the evi-
dence from ethnographic studies overwhelmingly indi-
cates that "for most nonindustrial artisans production
intensity varies throughout the year".
Seasonal production of copper in southeastern
Arabia is also thought to have been indicated by other
evidence, notably the location of sites in relation to
natural resources:
"It is interesting that the third millennium copper
smelting sites found in 1975 were all located near water
and arable land ...These settlements are not situated on
top of the ore deposits as became true later on. The dif-
ference between the third millennium smelting village in
its fertile surroundings compared with later Islamic
smelting villages in places where cultivation would be
very difficult, suggests that in early times copper produc-
tion was an integrated part of community life while later
on it became a specialized industry, possibly for export
at the behest of foreign authorities" (Hastings et al.
1975:12).
It is clear that characteristics other than "overall
output" must be studied in order to adequately under-
stand the organization of copper production, and the
investigation of the evidence from individual sites is an
obvious starting point. Examination of the distribution
of metal production refuse at Maysar 1 and other sites
in the Wadi Samad facilitates an investigation of the
context, concentration, scale and intensity of productive
activities.
At Maysar 1, pyrotechnological processes were dis-
tributed across a number of architectural units. House
1 has been described as a coppersmith's workplace for
purifying smelted copper and perhaps further reworking
it (Weisgerber 1981:192). It contained the base of a
smelting furnace, near which was an irregular pit partly
covered by an ashy layer, that contained small slag
Figure 2.14The hoard of planoconvex copper ingots found at
Maysar 1 in House 4 (from Hauptmann 1985:Abb.61).
droplets, lots of charcoal, and small fragments of fur-
nace, in addition to another pit filled with charcoal
(Weisgerber 198Ob:82). House 4 contained a fireplace, a
possible kiln (Weisgerber 198013:8 8), and a hoard of
plano-convex copper ingots weighing about six kg (see
Figure 2.14; Weisgerber l 9 8 1:192). Evidence for metal-
lurgical activities also came from one area of House 6,
separated from the rest of the house by a small wall.
The main installation was a large oval fireplace with
broken furnace fragments and copper slag and a great
deal of ash (Weisgerber 1981:193). Copper ingot frag-
ments were also recorded on the surface of House 31,
which displayed two phases of use. In the earliest
phase, a large storage vessel was dug into the ground,
filled in its upper levels with charcoal. Other small pits
were found nearby, one of which contained a large flat
copper axe (Wesigerber 1980b:Abb. 78.5). The fact that
these installations were related to copper smelting is
only demonstrated indirectly, by material incorporated
into the walls of the second phase of the house. These
walls contained furnace, slag, crucible and mould frag-
ments (Weisgerber 198013:8 8-89).
Based upon the above evidence, Hauptmann
(1985:114) has described copper production at Maysar
1 (see Figure 2.5) as being organized along "small
workshop" lines, probably for domestic use. Some con-
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 47
Figure 2.1 5 The third millennium BCE copper-smelting settlement of Zahra l , in the Wadi Bani 'Umar al-Gharbi,Oman. Crosses indicate con-
centrations of furnace fragments (after Costa and Wilkinson 1987: Figure 35).

fusion is introduced by the fact that, amongst archaeol-
ogists who have discussed the organization of produc-
tion, the term "workshop" has a number of incompati-
ble definitions. Clearly, the Maysar 1 "workshops" dis-
cussed by Hauptmann agree with the use of the term as
defined by Peacock (1982:9), but are better referred to
as simply "production loci" using Costin's (2001:296)
terminology. Regardless, surveys of third millennium
BCE sites in the Wadi Fizh and Wadi Bani 'Umar al-
Gharbi west of Sohar (see Figure 2.15) provide similar
examples of smelting installations within the bounds of
small sedentary agricultural villages (Costa and
Wilkinson 1987:223), although such sites unfortunately
remain unexcavated.
However, reconstructions of the organization of
copper production at Maysar 1 must account not only
for the existence of specialized production loci (e.g.
House l ) , but also for the agglomeration of a number of
such production loci within the one settlement (i.e.
Houses 1, 4, 6 and 31). Weisgerber, for example, has

48 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

contrasted the findings from Maysar 1 with those from
a small test trench at the site of Maysar 6, about one km
to the southwest. There, remains of smelting operations
or pyrotechnology were absent from surface collections
and excavated deposits, and animal bone was much
more abundant. Weisgerber (1981:205) thus regarded
Maysar 6 as a "Wohnsiedlung", in contrast to Maysar
1, which he characterized as a "Wirtschaftsiedlung". He
regarded the apparent concentration of production in
one site as a clear indication of the "social differentia-
tion" of the Bronze Age population of the Maysar area
(Weisgerber l 9 8 1:197). Although such conclusions
remain to be thoroughly evaluated (excavations at
Maysar 6 were very limited), the archaeological data
indicate a concentration of individual production loci in
the settlement at Maysar 1, which is suggestive of spe-
cialization at a level above the individual household or
workshop.
It is possible to summarize the situation, using the
variables proposed by Costin. Firstly, the context of cop-
per production at Maysar 1 seems to have been inde-
pendent of any elite control. There is no evidence at the
site for the existence of elites who could have controlled
the output of a group of attached specialists. Of course,
such elites could have lived in a different location, but,
as discussed more fully below, the evidence for elites
with coercive political, economic, or military powers in
third millennium southeastern Arabia is very limited.
Examining the concentration of production, it can be
seen that copper smelting refuse was concentrated with-
in a number of architectural units in both the northern
and southern areas of Maysar 1. Hauptmann has sug-
gested that each unit represented a "workshop", and it
is clear that a number of distinct production loci existed
at Maysar 1, each specifically oriented towards the
extraction of copper. Looking at a larger scale,
Weisgerber has contrasted the rich evidence for craft
production at Maysar 1 with the apparent absence of
such activities at the nearby contemporary site of
Maysar 6, as a demonstration that production was
nucleated in certain settlements. Regarding the scale of
production, it seems that the size of individual produc-
tion units was not particularly large, probably represent-
ing production by autonomous household units. It is,
therefore, highly unlikely that workgroups were com-
posed of unrelated individuals. Finally, the apparent inte-
gration of copper extraction with subsistence activities at
Maysar 1, although not conclusively demonstrated, does
suggest that the intensity of production changed on a
seasonal basis, indicating that copper extraction can
have been only a part-time specialization for the inhabi-
tants of the site.
Using the typology developed by Costin ( l 9 91:Table
1.1),we would describe copper extraction at Maysar 1
as representing "community-based production". This
category of specialized production is defined simply as
"autonomous individual or household-based production
units, aggregated within a single community, producing
for unrestricted regional consumption" (Costin 1991:8).
Such a reconstruction faces the problem that the intend-
ed market (local, regional, international) for the copper
ingots produced at Maysar 1 is unknown, but the gener-
al division of production into a number of individual
household units at Maysar 1 seems quite clear.
Production systems similar to that which characterized
primary copper extraction Maysar 1 have been described
in other archaeological production typologies: for exam-
ple, Van Der Leeuw's (1977:Table 1)category of "village
industry".
However, an adequate understanding of copper pro-
duction in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia is unlikely to
be achieved by examining only the evidence from
Maysar 1. Indeed, both ethnography and archaeology
have highlighted instances in which the production of a
particular good was organized in very different ways
within the one society. In the particular case of south-
eastern Arabia, field research has indicated that there
were a few Umm al-Nar Period copper extraction sites
much larger than Maysar 1 or sites in the Wadi Fizh.
These larger extraction sites have thousands of tonnes of
slag and, unlike Maysar 1 and Zahra 1, are not found
within or directly associated with sedentary agricultural
settlements. In fact, around 80 percent of the total
10,000 tonnes of Bronze Age slag recorded during
German fieldwork came from only two sites: Tawi
Ubaylah and Wadi Salh 1, each with approximately
4,000 tonnes of slag (Hauptmann 1985:95). The ques-
tion that immediately arises is whether such differences
in the amount of debris at extraction sites are indicative
of differences in the organization of production. For
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 49
example, Hauptmann (1985:95) regards such sites as
representing Bronze Age copper production at an
"industrial" scale, in contrast to production on a smaller
scale as typified by Maysar 1 and Zahra 1.
Of course, Hauptmann's claims are only for output
at an industrial scale, not for truly industrial production.
In a strict sense, industrial production requires "industri-
alization" of the manufacturing process as occurred in
eighteenth century Britain: the development of factories
which produced full-time utilizing full-time specialists,
and relied upon power other than that provided by
humans or animals, such as water mills and steam
engines (Peacock 1982:10). The requirement for non-
human or animal sources of power indicates clearly that
industrial copper production was not undertaken in
Bronze Age Oman, and even the requirement for full-
time production is far from demonstrated in the Omani
case, as has been shown above for Maysar 1. Costin's
(2001:280) discussion of the ethnographic data on pre-
modern production systems must once again be borne in
mind, particularly her conclusion that "it is well to more
seriously consider seasonality-and the ability to work
year-round-in studies that assert high intensitylfull-time
production." In assessing the evidence from Bronze Age
Oman, the realization that production without "industri-
al" organization can nevertheless lead to very high levels
of output (e.g. Burton 1984) is an important one.
The location of two very large extraction sites, ca.
250 km apart towards the northern and southern ends of
the copper-bearing Semail Ophiolite, is perhaps signifi-
cant. Tawi Ubaylah in the north represents the closest
copper source to the third millennium settlement agglom-
eration in the A1 AinIBuraimi oasis (Cleuziou 2003). One
obvious reconstruction of non-industrial production at
Tawi Ubaylah might see the site as representative of sea-
sonal (or more sporadic) operations over several cen-
turies, undertaken by household, kin or community
groups from the nearby oasis during lulls in the agricul-
tural cycle. Parallels for such a mode of production can be
drawn with the long-term, intensive, seasonal exploita-
tion of other localized resources in the Oman Peninsula,
such as the processing of marine resources at the Bronze
Age site of Ra's al-Jinz 2 (Cleuziou and Tosi 2000).
Looking further afield, V. Pigott's (1998)analysis of
Bronze Age copper production in Thailand has utilized
50 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
ethnographic studies of stone quarrying (Burton 1984) to
suggest that production at a very large scale could result
from repetitive exploitation (every few years) by coopera-
tive kin or residence-based groups within tribal societies.
Moreover, Muller's (1984)study of salt production in pre-
Colonial North America indicates that a large quantity of
production refuse can accumulate at a production site that
was probably exploited by non-specialist producers on a
seasonal basis, but over a very long period of time.
Muller's study demonstrates the crucial distinction
between site specialization and producer specialization
that must be made when investigating prehistoric produc-
tion systems.
Therefore, the much greater scale of production at
Tawi Ubaylah in comparison to a site like Maysar 1
could represent one or a combination of numerous fac-
tors. It may reflect a different mode of production, a
more intensive and larger-scale production made possi-
ble by the greater size of the workforce from the A1
AinIBuraimi oasis available for mining and smelting. It
has been ethnographically observed that increasing
community size not only provides the potential for
greater output, but also allows for more diversity in
the types of specialized production practiced by the
polity as a whole (Costin 2001:274). However, a simi-
lar agglomeration of Bronze Age population cannot
currently be documented for the Wadi Salh 1 region.
Alternatively, as basic questions regarding the duration
of smelting operations at Bronze Age sites remain
unanswered, the greater scale of smelting debris at
Tawi Ubaylah and Wadi Salh 1 might simply reflect
production over a longer period. These sites could rep-
resent examples of "site specialization" as defined by
Muller. Certainly, given the lack of published evidence
for habitation remains in the vicinity of Tawi Ubaylah,
its status as a specialized production site, or "limited
activity" area is clear. This is interesting, as sites such
as Maysar 1 and Wadi Fizh 1 have been regarded as
full-activity sites, where metal extraction was integrat-
ed with daily and seasonal subsistence activities (see
above). In general, the fact that some extraction sites
are associated with permanent settlements and others
are not suggests that there was more than one mode
of specialized copper production in Bronze Age
southeastern Arabia.
 In discussing this issue, an accurate understanding
of the socio-political organization of the region in the
third millennium BCE is critical, as indigenous social and
political formations no doubt influenced the nature of
primary extraction (e.g. O'Brien 1998; Pigott 1998).Of
course, the relationship between social organization and
production is not determinative, but "with increasing
social complexity the potential for complex procurement
systems is enhanced" (Pigott l998:215). More generally,
Costin (1991:2)has observed that a true understanding of
the organization of a production system requires an
understanding of both the natural and social contexts in
which it operates.
It is well established that the third millennium in
southeastern Arabia witnessed an increase in the level of
economic articulation and integration between local farm-
ing, fishing, and herding communities (e.g. Cleuziou and
Tosi 1989).Such integration is usually regarded as having
been strongly affected by prevailing environmental condi-
tions, particularly the intense localization of productive
natural resources in the Arabian peninsula that necessitat-
ed the development of connections between groups of spe-
cialized producers and the emergence of "trade as a subsis-
tence activity" (Afanas'ev et al. 1996; see also Cleuziou
and Tosi 1989; Cleuziou and Mkry 2002; Piesinger
1983:709).
Regardless of its underlying causes, it is clear from the
distribution and small size of known Umm al-Nar Period
settlements (contra Orchard 1995; Orchard and Stanger
1994),and the limited adoption of administrative tools
such as stamp seals (Cleuziou and Tosi 2000:59-63), that
economic integration was not accompanied by the devel-
opment of a state-like political structure (Crawford
l998:138; Cleuziou 2002:225). In fact, the socio-political
organization of southeastern Arabia in the third millenni-
um has most commonly been compared to that of the
ethnographically-documented, kin-based, tribal groups of
that inhabited the region into modern times (e.g. Cleuziou
and Tosi 1989:17; Cleuziou 2003:140; Cleuziou
l996:162; Crawford 1998:140). Following such a recon-
struction, the Umm al-Nar Period villages built around one
or a small number of stone and mudbrick towers are best
seen as the manifestation of a polycentric distribution of
power between numerous, competing petty sheikhs or
rulers (cf. Edens and Kohl 1993:25-26; Edens 1992:128).
Support for such a reconstruction is provided by the
analysis of funerary evidence from southeastern Arabia
and by Mesopotamian historical texts. In the cuneiform
sources, sporadic references to "kings" of Magan in the
third millennium (Potts 1990a:137, 144) suggest a higher
degree of social hierarchy in the southern Gulf region
than indicated by the material record. However, these
texts are probably best seen as resulting from either the
"inflationary" tendencies of Mesopotamian royal inscrip-
tions (distorting the standing of their eastern counterparts
in order to increase the prestige of military victories and
trade relationships, cf. Heimpel 1987:44; Kohl 2001:
228-229), or as reflections of short-lived military coali-
tions formed in response to Mesopotamian aggression
(Cleuziou 1996:161).
Regarding the funerary evidence, while the rich burial
goods found in Umm al-Nar Period graves such as at Tell
Abraq (Potts 2000) are suggestive of differences in wealth
or status amongst members of the community, the collec-
tive nature of burial may reflect strong ideological sanc-
tions operating against the formation of entrenched
political hierarchies. However, as stated by (Cleuziou
2003:141):
This strong manifestation of 'equality' inside
the community should not be taken as testimo-
ny of a strictly egalitarian society, but rather
as an ideological affirmation beyond diversity
and power amongst the living.
Tosi, Crawford (1998) and Cleuziou (2002,2003)
clearly regard Umm al-Nar Period burial practices as
emphasizing a social system based around membership of
kinship groups, or "corporate lineage groups of common
descent" (Tosi 1989:155). Leadership is conceived of as
proceeding by negotiation and the manipulation of "an
intricate web of matrimonial, economic and social rela-
tions" (Cleuziou 2003:145) rather than the possession of
significant coercive power.
The increasing complexity in Bronze Age southeast-
ern Arabia can thus be seen as having developed more
strongly along heterarchical rather than hierarchical lines.
Significantly, a number of scholars have stressed the
importance of interregional exchange and economic spe-
cialization in the horizontal integration of such competing
polities (e.g. White and Pigott 1996: 170). Production and
exchange of commodities in the region did indeed intensi-
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 51
fy in the Umm al-Nar Period (e.g. Afanas'ev et al. 1996;
Cleuziou and Tosi 2000:26), and there is evidence for
increasingly specialized production: pottery manufacture
in the Hili oasis and wider Oman (Miry 1996, 2000);
soft-stone vessel manufacture at Maysar 1 and elsewhere
(Weisgerber 1981; David 1996), and shell rings in the
Ra's al-Jinz and Ra's al-Hadd regions (Charpentier 1994;
Cleuziou and Tosi 2000:35). This aspect of regional spe-
cialization and inter-regional exchange has been
addressed above, where the discussion focused upon
Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage as the econom-
ic force underlying the development of specialized pro-
duction at the community and sub-regional levels.
Funerary pottery, soft-stone vessels and shell rings seem
to have been manufactured under household or commu-
nity-based modes of production. The evidence for copper
production at Maysar 1 fits comfortably within this
model of geographically-localized production for distri-
bution within southeastern Arabia, but the large sites of
Tawi Ubaylah and Wadi Salh 1 raise other possibilities.
Figure 2.16 An Iron Age slag heap at Raki 2, Oman (after Wesigerber and Yule 1999: PI.4).
52 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Finally, in comparing Bronze Age copper extraction
with the production of items such as pottery, shell rings,
and soft-stone vessels, we must remain cognizant of the
major differences between the scale of demand for
Omani copper and these other commodities. Although
some Omani pottery vessels and soft-stone vessels were
traded overseas, particularly to the central Gulf region
(Miry 2000; David 1996), pottery, soft-stone and shell
rings were produced predominantly for consumers with-
in southeastern Arabia. Copper, on the other hand,
although utilized locally in undoubtedly large quantities,
may at certain times or locations have been produced
predominantly for foreign markets. The great differ-
ences in scale of Omani smelting sites might therefore
be a reflection of production for different consumers,
with different scales of demand. A parallel for this situa-
tion can be drawn with archaeometallurgical reconstruc-
tions of Iron Age copper exploitation on Cyprus, where
very large copper extraction sites are also found to be
contemporary with extraction on a much smaller,
"workshop" scale. It has been hypothesized that the
large-scale extraction on Cyprus might be for export,
while workshop production is focused towards local
consumption (Kassianidou l998:23 8).
As can be seen from the above discussion, the
archaeological evidence for the organization of copper
extraction in Bronze Age Oman is so minimal as to
make hypothesizing over modes of production a rather
difficult undertaking. The evidence for copper produc-
tion at sites such as Maysar 1, Zahra 1, and Wadi Fizh 1
suggests household or workshop production loci
agglomerated at an extra-household level: a village or
community-based craft. The evidence from Tawi
Ubaylah and Wadi Salh 1 is equivocal, especially given
the complete lack of evidence regarding the duration of
operations at either site, and the number of production
units that may have simultaneously operated at each.
Nevertheless, the scale of production at Tawi Ubaylah
and Wadi Salh 1 suggests the possibility of copper
extraction at the extra-community level. There is no evi-
dence from the Umm al-Nar Period for any long-lived
political hierarchy that may have emerged to control
such a production system, although at least one ethno-
graphic study of stone quarrying (Burton 1984) has
demonstrated that such leadership is not essential to co-
ordinate production within a large, kin-based, tribal
groups. Clearly, more fieldwork will be required to elab-
orate our understanding of the organization of copper
production in third millennium southeastern Arabia.
Organization of Production in Later Periods
The same issues can be raised again in regard to copper
production in Iron Age southeastern Arabia, although
unfortunately at this time there is even less evidence
from archaeometallurgical studies to support the archae-
ological data. In contrast to what appears to have been
the predominant integration of third millennium copper
production within villages concerned with agricultural
and pastoral subsistence activities, surveys in Wadi Fizh
suggest that a different relationship may have existed in
the Iron Age (Costa and Wilkinson 1987:225, 232). Iron
Age settlements in the region show much less evidence
for primary copper extraction, whist the enormous size
of Iron Age slag heaps at sites such as Raki 2 (ca.
45,000 tonnes; see Figure 2.16) and Tawi Raki 2 (ca.
40,000 tonnes) indicates that production levels are per-
haps many times higher than in the Umm al-Nar Period
(see above). Furthermore, Iron Age mining and smelting
for the first time dealt with ores from the massive sulfide
deposits: both the low grade secondary mineralization of
the gossans and the sulfidic ores of the unweathered ore
body (Weisgerber 1987, 1988; Hauptmann 1985:Abb.
85). These deposits are much larger than those exploited
in the third millennium BCE, and fewer in number.
Thus, we have a situation whereby higher levels of
production were undertaken at a limited number of larg-
er copper ore bodies, and intensive, even full-time pro-
duction seems much more probable. The apparent func-
tional distinction of Iron Age settlements into agricultur-
al and smelting sites, which more closely parallels the sit-
uation of the early Islamic period, may reflect such a
mode of production, although further field research will
be required to adequately address this issue. Production
is certainly on a large scale, but whether it is organized
at a community or extra-community level is almost
impossible to determine given our limited information on
the scale of smelting operations at any one time, their
chronological duration within the Iron Age, and the pos-
sibility of seasonality in production. Interestingly,
although levels of copper production are significantly
higher in the Iron Age than in the third millennium, the
political organization of the region seems similar: there
is no evidence for development of a clear settlement hier-
archy, large public buildings, or a state-like level of com-
plexity. Despite rare references to "kings" of the region
in cuneiform sources, the distribution of power is still
generally characterized as polycentric (e.g. Magee 1999).
Clearly, the high output of copper in Iron Age southeast-
ern Arabia reflected the economic complexity of the
region rather than its political stratification.
As for most other categories of information related
to copper extraction in southeastern Arabia, the best evi-
dence for the organization of production comes from the
early Islamic Period. Reconstructions of output at this
time indicate clearly that copper was produced on an
industrial scale, although not classifiable as "industrial"
following the strict definitional requirements of the term
outlined above. Individual mining and extraction sites
such as Lasail have up to 100,000 tonnes of slag; the
total amount of early Islamic slag reported from Oman
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 53
is more than half a million tonnes; and the estimated
total copper production is 60,000 tonnes over a period
of only a century (see above). Our understanding of the
organization of this industrial-level production is
informed by a small number of historical sources, which
provide fragmentary evidence for trading, contractual
arrangements, taxes and administration
Archaeological survey and excavation have delineat-
ed the settlement structures associated with mining and
smelting sites, and indicated the physical mechanisms by
which copper production was organized and controlled
at the extraction sites themselves. Basic settlement struc-
tures with storage areas for crucial elements of produc-
tion and subsistence, such as water and charcoal, are
known from 'Arja, Lasail, Samdah, Mullaq, Wadi as-
Safafir and other sites (Weisgerber l98O:ll8; Ibrahim
and El Mahi 1998). Most houses seem to have been con-
centrated into residential areas or villages in the vicinity
of the mines themselves, however different arrangements
were also seen. For example, at 'Arja production seems
to have been organized into units, in which one house
seems to be related to one mine, smelting furnace and
slag heap, and there is no evidence for the existence of
an accumulation of dwellings in one area to form a "vil-
lage" (Weisgerber 1987:158). Utilizing the evidence from
early historical sources, these mining units are interpret-
ed as the remains of a production system in which each
miner (and perhaps additional kin) exploited his own
mine, essentially independently (Weisgerber 1987: 158).
Unfortunately, no historical texts survive which discuss
the organization of smelting, as opposed to mining.
Other aspects of settlement in the early Islamic mining
regions, such as mosques, graveyards and extensive
architectural features related to agricultural water man-
agement, have also been recovered archaeologically
(Weisgerber 1980:118; Ibrahim and ElMahi 1998:132).
Additionally, the presence of large, fortified buildings in
prominent and defensible locations (such as on hills,
high terraces, or at the entrance to the mining wadis) at
many early Islamic sites has been used to suggest the
presence of people who had some role in the control or
protection of the mining district (Weisgerber 1980:117).
The function of Sohar as the outlet for the majority
of copper produced in the Wadi al-Jizzi area is also sup-
ported by historical documentation (Whitehouse
54 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
1979:874; J. C. Wilkinson 1979:892), and by archaeo-
logical evidence from Sohar itself (Williamson 1973:16
and Figure 3a). A contextualization of the evidence for
early Islamic copper production with other archaeologi-
cal and historical evidence is far from complete,
although efforts at defining the inter-relationship of set-
tlement and copper exploitation in the hinterland of
Sohar have been undertaken (Costa and Wilkinson 1987;
Ibrahim and El Mahi 1998). It is clear that copper pro-
duction and agriculture were specialized activities carried
out in separate areas, leading to inter-dependence
between Sohar and its mining hinterland (Costa and
Wilkinson 1987:232).
Copper-Base Objects in Bronze Age
Southeastern Arabia
Having examined the evidence for primary copper
extraction, we turn now to the evidence of how such
metal was utilized locally in the production of finished
objects. This section will focus predominantly on the
types of finished objects that were produced, rather than
on the technology of their production, as evidence for
secondary refining and fabrication at Umm al-Nar
Period sites is slim and understudied. As summarized in
Weeks (1997:17-20), the most extensive evidence comes
from Umm an-Nar Island, where crucible and mould
fragments and numerous metallic refining and casting
residues attest to the melting and refining of raw copper
produced further inland. Metalworking areas have also
been recorded at Hili 8, in Periods IIe and IIf (ca.
2500-2000 BCE), and small quantities of refining and
casting debris are found as early as Phase Ib (ca. 2900
BCE) at the site (Cleuziou 1980, 1989). At Tell Abraq,
there is abundant evidence for metalworking in the sec-
ond and first millennia BCE, but Umm al-Nar Period
metalworking debris is limited to a single amorphous
metal lump dated to the terminal third millennium
(Weeks 1997:28). The evidence from sites such as Bat
(Frifelt l979:584) and Ghanadha (A1 Tikriti 1985:16),
where surface finds of copper-base scrap are said to be
numerous, remains unstudied.
The earliest copper-base objects in southeastern
Arabia appear in the late fourth and early third millen-
nia BCE, at middens and settlements such as Wadi Shab
GAS1, Ra's al-Hadd and Ra's a1 Hamra (Durante and
Tosi 1977; Uerpmann 1992:97; Cleuziou 1996:160; Tosi
and Usai 2003:20), at Hili-8 Period Ib, where copper
working debris is also recorded (Cleuziou 1989:Pl. 33),
and in contemporary beehive and Hafit-type burial
cairns (Frifelt 1971, 1975b; Benton and Potts, 1994).
Interestingly, the earliest use of copper-base objects at
Wadi Shab GAS1 and Ra's al-Hamra, although signifi-
cantly later than seen in the neighboring regions of
Mesopotamia, Iran, or Baluchistan, occurs in local mate-
rial assemblages which are still pre-ceramic. The objects
produced at this period are simple tools, such as small
blades, fish hooks and pinslawls, that occur in small
numbers on coastal sites with a strong orientation
towards seasonal exploitation of marine resources
(Cleuziou and Tosi 2000:26-27). The metal objects from
Hafit tombs include a number of copper-base items such
as blades, rivets, tweezers and long awls or "eye-pen-
cils" (Frifelt 1975b:61-67, Figures 3, 5; Frifelt
1971:Figure 12; Cleuziou and Tosi 2000:26) commonly
associated with bi-conical pottery of the Mesopotamian
Jemdet Nasr tradition. The technology of this copper
use remains uninvestigated, and it has not been demon-
strated whether these earliest metal objects were made
from local or imported copper. The considerable evi-
dence for later Urnm al-Nar Period copper production in
the region makes it likely that they represent the prod-
ucts of the earliest copper extraction in southeastern
Arabia. This theory is supported by Frifelt (1975b:69),
who suggests that by the early third millennium, "the
grave builders of BatIIbri and Buraimi were all engaged
in the copper trade from inner Oman with Buraimi as a
market place at the crossroads and Urnm an-Nar as one
of their shipping places".
Occupation on Urnm an-Nar Island is thought to
have begun at around 2700 BCE, and continued to as
late as 2200 BCE (Frifelt 1995:237-239). The inventory
of copper-base objects from the collective tombs on the
island is limited to simple tanged or riveted knives and
daggers, pinslawls and fish hooks (Frifelt 1991:98-103).
All the excavated pinslawls come from Grave V, regard-
ed as earlier in date than material from Graves I, I1 and
V1 (Frifelt 1991:125), although virtually identical objects
are recorded in later Urnm al-Nar Period tombs at A1
Sufouh (Benton 1996:Figure 192) and Hili North Tomb
A (Cleuziou and Vogt 1985:Pl. 28). Settlement contexts
on Urnm an-Nar Island produced a similar array of
objects to that found in the graves, including fish hooks,
knivesldaggers, pinslawls, chisels, "borers" (hollow
cone-shaped points), and a blade axe. In addition, there
is evidence for metalworking in the form of copper ingot
fragments, clay moulds, processing resides and crucible
fragments (Frifelt 1995:70, 188-191, Figures 108-118,
263-280). A very similar array of copper-base objects
has been recovered from the seasonal Urnm al-Nar
Period settlement of Ra's al-Jinz (RJ-2) in the Ja'alan,
which also has evidence for the secondary working of
copper (Cleuziou and Tosi 200054-57, Figures 12-14).
Copper fish hooks, in particular, seem to be ubiquitous
at coastal sites from the third millennium BCE onwards;
they are recorded in their hundreds at RJ-2 (Cleuziou
and Tosi 200054) and known from sites as distant as
Urnm an-Nar Island and SWY-3, located near Suwayh on
the Arabian Sea (Mery and Marquis 1998:220-223 and
Figure 10). Overall, fish hooks, pinslawls, and blades
typify the copper-base objects found in third millennium
settlement sites of southeastern Arabia, and indicate a
basic metalworking technology aimed at the production
of simple and functional tools necessary for everyday
subsistence activities. The practice of metalworking with-
in settlements at this time is attested by pieces of copper
scrap and working debris found at sites such as Hili-8,
RJ-2, Bat and Tell Abraq (Cleuziou 1989; Cleuziou and
Tosi 2000:54-59; Frifelt 1979584; Weeks 1997). As
noted above, these metalworking operations are largely
unstudied, but they likely included melting, casting, and
secondary refining to remove impurities from raw cop-
per, but not primary smelting.
A more diverse array of copper-base objects, in
terms of typology, size, and perhaps metalworking tech-
nology, is found in graves of the later Urnm al-Nar
Period. Finger, toe, and earrings become a particularly
common find category, for example at Hili North Tomb
A (Cleuziou and Vogt 1985:Pl. 28), Hili Tomb N (Al-
Tikriti and Mery 2000:213 and Figure 10), A1 Sufouh
(Benton 1996:Figures 194-195), Moweihat (Haerinck
1991) and Tell Abraq (Potts 2000:77). A number of
examples of flat "razors" are also known from Hili
Tomb N and Hili North Tomb A (Al-Tikriti and Mery
2000:Figure 10; Cleuziou and Vogt 1985:Pl. 28.1), Tell
Abraq (Potts 2000:76), and Ra's al-Jinz (Cleuziou and
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 55
Tosi 2000:Figure 15). The very end of the third millenni-
um witnesses the introduction of the socketed spear-
head, as found in the Asimah grave alignment (Vogt
1995) and in large numbers in the Tell Abraq tomb
(Potts 2000:68-69). This type continues in use into the
Wadi Suq Period, as seen by its occurrence in graves at
Shimal (Vogt and Franke-Vogt 1987:Figure 21), Al-
Wasit (Al-Shanfari and Weisgerber 19895'1. 5), Ghalilah
(Donaldson 1985:Figure 28), Bidyah (A1 Tikriti 198913:
PI. 73) and Ghanadha Island (Al-Tikriti 1985:Pl. 16).
While some continuity is thus seen between the
metal assemblages of the third and second millennia
BCE in southeastern Arabia, the Wadi Suq Period and
Late Bronze Age also witness the introduction of new
forms of weaponry. Examples include the long copper-
base swords found in collective burials at Al-Wasit,
Qattarah and Qarn Bint Saud (Cleuziou 1981:Figure 12;
Al-Shanfari and Weisgerber 1989:Pl. 5; Potts 1990a:252
and Figure 29), and tanged arrowheads, often with
incised decoration, which appear at sites across the
peninsula from the mid-second millennium onwards
(Magee 1998a). Additionally, copper- base vessels, which
are extremely rare in third millennium contexts in south-
eastern Arabia (e.g. Vogt 1995:Figure 55), appear more
frequently in tomb assemblages of the second millenni-
um BCE (e.g. A1 Tikriti 1989:Pl. 70-72).
A limited amount of compositional analysis of third
millennium BCE metalwork has been undertaken,
including fully-quantitative and semi-quantitative analy-
ses of objects from Umm an-Nar Island (Berthoud 1979;
Frifelt 1975, 1990; Craddock l 9 8 1; Hauptmann 1995;
Prange et al. 1999), sites in A1 Ain (Berthoud 1979) and
the Wadi Samad (Hauptmann et al. 1988), and Tell
Abraq (Weeks 1997; Pedersen and Buchwald 1991). The
great majority of analyses have indicated that tin-bronze
was very rarely used at Umm al-Nar Period sites in
southeastern Arabia. Objects were predominantly of
copper, with the elements arsenic and nickel occurring in
quantities of up to four percent or higher, a pattern of
impurities generally consistent with contemporary ingot
and raw copper fragments from Maysar 1, Wadi Bahla,
Umm an-Nar Island and Ra's al-Hamra (Hauptmann
1987, 1995; Hauptmann et al. 1988; Craddock 1981).
As has been noted previously, the Tell Abraq analyses
contrast strongly with this pattern; tin-bronze was used
56 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
for more than half of the 31 analyzed objects from Umm
al-Nar Period settlement and funerary contexts at this
site (Weeks 1997). The only other tin-bronzes reported
from this period are isolated examples from a tomb at
Hili (Berthoud 1979:Table 5), two objects from unspeci-
fied sites in the region (Prange et al. 1999:Figure 6), and
beads from Ra's al-Hadd (personal communication J.E.
Reade). Evidence for the local working of tin-bronze is
also provided by the analyses of a piece of metalworking
debris from Hili-8 Period IIf, which contained ca. 0.5
percent tin (Cleuziou 1989:74).
Nevertheless, the first significant appearance of tin-
bronze in southeastern Arabia is still sometimes claimed
to occur only in the second millennium BCE (e.g. Prange
et al. 1999), before it becomes the dominant alloy in the
local Iron Age, as represented by the analyses of objects
from the IbriISelme hoard (Prange and Hauptmann
2001). However, compositional variability between indi-
vidual assemblages seems to be a feature of southeastern
Arabian metallurgy, making chronological distinctions in
alloy use hard to support. For example, the analyses pre-
sented in this volume clearly support the findings of the
Tell Abraq study regarding the use of tin-bronze in the
third millennium BCE in the northern part of the Oman
Peninsula. Such results cannot be used to push back the
"introduction" or "origin" of tin-bronze in the region,
however, as later assemblages such as that from the early
second millennium Qattarah tomb contain no tin-bronze
objects (Cleuziou l 9 8 l:288). Likewise, the total domi-
nance of the tin-bronze alloy in the southeastern Arabian
Iron Age suggested by analyses of the IbriISelme hoard is
not evident at the Iron Age settlements of Tell Abraq and
Muweilah, where only one-quarter of finished objects
are of tin-bronze (Weeks, forthcoming b:Tables 3 and 4;
1997:Table 7). The adoption of tin-bronze technology in
southeastern Arabia is a complex issue which will be dis-
cussed at length in the following chapters.
Alloys other than tin-bronze and AsINi-copper are
extremely rare in southeastern Arabia before the end of
the Iron Age. The exception concerns a group of ten
objects from collective graves on Umm an-Nar Island,
analyzed by both X-ray diffraction and atomic absorp-
tion spectrometry (Frifelt 1991:lOO). Eight of the objects
contained significant amounts of zinc, in the two to 10
percent range, sometimes occurring in addition to other
elements such as nickel and arsenic (one to two percent),
and lead (up to 25 percent). The two remaining objects
also contained high lead concentrations, in the three to
11 percent range. While these objects are compositional
rarities in third millennium southeastern Arabia, and
generally in wider western Asia, they are paralleled in
compositional terms by a number of contemporary
shaft-hole axes from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, dated to
the ED 111-Early Akkadian Period (Miiller-Karpe
1989:Table 1 and Abb. 6). Additionally, broadly con-
temporary copper-base objects with significant zinc and
lead concentrations are reported from the Aegean site of
Thermi, on the island of Lesbos (Begemann et al. 1992,
1995; Stos-Gale 1992), and from the site of Ikiztepe on
the Black Sea coast of Turkey (Bilgi 1984).
The use of other metals is first documented in the
later Umm al-Nar Period, by the appearance of numer-
ous silver beads of various shapes from Tell Abraq, Hili
North Tomb A (Cleuziou and Vogt 1985:33), and
Moweihat (A1 Tikriti 1989a:95, PI. 56c), as well as gold
beads, a ring, and two gold animal pendants (one in the
form of a ram and the other depicting a pair of long-
horned caprids) from Tell Abraq (Potts 2000:54). There
is also a small gold object from Cairn X on Umm an-
Nar Island (Berthoud and Cleuziou 1983:243). The tra-
dition of animal-shaped pendants in precious metals
continues into the Wadi Suq Period, where similar exam-
ples in gold, electrum and silver are known from tombs
at Qattarah (Cleuziou 1981:Figure 13), Bidya (Al-Tikriti
1989b:Pl. 74a) and Dhayah (Kastner 1991). Iron objects
have not been found in the region before the middle of
the local Iron Age, and even then occur only rarely (Magee
1998b; 2002:Figure 2; Magee et al. 2002:Figure 30).
Summary
Archaeometallurgical work in southeastern Arabia has
been inspired predominantly by Mesopotamian histori-
cal accounts of trade and traders in the Persian Gulf.
One cannot but be impressed by the scale of the Dilmun
copper trade in the early second millennium BCE
recorded in cuneiform documents, or by references to
the "copper mountain" of Magan where the majority of
this metal seems to have been produced. Since the
1970s, geological and archaeological surveys in south-
eastern Arabia have recorded more than 150 copper
deposits mountainous regions of the interior, and have
demonstrated the importance of the region as a copper
producer in the ancient world. Omani copper deposits
are found principally in rocks of the Semail Ophiolite
complex, a piece of ancient oceanic crust that was
obducted onto the mainland Arabian Plate between
90-70 million years ago. The largest copper deposits in
the region are found in the upper extrusive sequence of
the Semail Ophiolite, at sites such as Bayda, Lasail, 'and
Raki, and consist of massive sulfide deposits with bright-
ly colored gossans containing low-grades of secondary
copper mineralization (oxides, carbonates and sulfur-
bearing species). The copper minerals found in the gos-
sans of these deposits could have been exploited in the
Bronze Age, although some evidence indicates that the
systematic exploitation of the gossan ores began at the
same time as the first large-scale exploitation of the
unaltered primary massive sulfides, i.e. in the Iron Age.
Many copper deposits with intensive areas of secondary
mineralization exist in the lower units of the Semail
Ophiolite, and these ores are regarded as being of para-
mount importance for Bronze Age smelting operations in
southeastern Arabia. Significantly, Bronze Age copper
mining is also known to have taken place in the Masirah
ophiolites, which are a geologically similar but unrelated
formation located on Masirah Island off the south coast
of the Sultanate of Oman. A number of small copper
deposits have also been recorded in rock units of the
mainland that are older than the Semail ophiolite.
Following from the results of geological survey in
southeastern Arabia, work by the German Mining
Museum in the Sultanate of Oman since 1977 has clearly
demonstrated that metallic copper was produced in large
quantities as early as the Umm al-Nar Period. The
German analyses strongly support the hypothesis sug-
gested on archaeometallurgical grounds as early as the
1920s by the Sumerian Copper Committee, and later
supported by the provenance analyses of the French
CNRS: the mountains of the northern Sultanate of
Oman and the U.A.E. are the source of the copper of
Magan. Production seems to have peaked in the later
third millennium, when a few thousand tonnes of copper
were produced for local use and foreign exchange.
Specialization in copper production is clearly observed at
this time, with a number of settlements providing evi-
Geology and Early Exploitation of Copper 57
dence for production units organized along household or from contemporary funerary contexts demonstrate a
"workshop" lines, nucleated within individual agricul- wider repertoire, including non-utilitarian objects such
tural villages. Two larger smelting sites suggest the pos- as rings and beads, in addition to weapons such as
sibility of more intensive copper extraction, but critical spearheads. Compositional analyses have indicated that,
archaeological evidence regarding the duration and in addition to local copper and copper alloys, foreign
intensity of production is absent, making conclusions metal was utilized in significant quantities at least one
regarding multiple modes of Bronze Age primary copper site (Tell Abraq) in the northern Oman Peninsula and
production impossible to verify. perhaps in more limited quantities at other Umm al-Nar
Bronze Age copper production in southeastern Period sites. The potential importance of this foreign
Arabia witnessed distinct periods of growth and decline, metal for the local Omani metalworking industry, its
which can be correlated with a number of technological, likely sources, and its use in southeastern Arabia outside
environmental, and socio-economic factors. While there the settlement of Tell Abraq, will be discussed at greater
is little evidence for the direct adoption of a developed depth in the later chapters of this volume.
smelting technology from Iran or Baluchistan, the possi-
bility that the idea of copper extraction arrived via stim-
ulus diffusion from the north is plausible. Local extrac-
tion appears to have begun in the late fourth or early
third millennium BCE and there was a significant
increase in output over the course of the third millenni-
um. Increased Umm al-Nar Period production is corre-
lated with a growth of local population and settlement,
greater economic integration within southeastern
Arabia, and increasing intensity in maritime exchanges
with polities in Mesopotamia, Iran, the central Gulf and
the Indus region. In a similar manner, the apparent
decline in copper production in the early second millen-
nium BCE is correlated with a decline in the internal
economic integration of southeastern Arabia, the col-
lapse of the Gulf trade, and perhaps environmental
degradation exacerbated by excessive wood harvesting
for smelting. While most studies of copper production in
the region have stressed the importance of foreign mar-
kets in determining copper production levels in south-
eastern Arabia, it is clear that the scale and integration
of the local southeastern Arabian economy was also crit-
ical in determining levels of copper extraction and
exchange in the Bronze Age.
In contrast to the large-scale primary extraction that
characterized the Umm al-Nar Period, the object analy-
ses and descriptions presented earlier in this chapter
demonstrate little in the way of elaborate metalworking
techniques. Local metalworking industries were charac-
terized by a relatively limited array of simple tools relat-
ed to everyday subsistence activities, such as fish hooks,
pinslawls, and basic blades. Assemblages of metalwork

58 Early Metallurgy of t h e Persian Gulf


3 Analyzed Artifacts:
Contexts and Chronology
This chapter presents background stratigraphic, chrono-
logical and contextual information on the metal samples
that are analyzed in this volume. A total of 83 copper-base
objects of Urnm al-Nar date were analyzed using PIXE, in
addition to the analysis of one tin ring by EDS. All objects
of Urnm al-Nar Period date analyzed compositionally
come from funerary contexts. Material was obtained from
four sites, including Urnm al-Nar-type tombs at A1 Sufouh
(Dubai Emirate) and Tell Abraq (Sharjah Emirate), and
two Urnm al-Nar tombs known as Unarl and Unar2 near
the village of Shimal (Ras al-Khaimah Emirate).
Approximately 20 copper-base objects have been analyzed
from each of the tombs, and efforts have been made to
analyze objects of varied typology from each assemblage.
The chronological ranges of the sites are shown in Figure
3.1, and are discussed more fully below.
AI Sufouh
The archaeological site of A1 Sufouh is located about one
km from the modern shore of the Gulf, on the southern out-
skirts of the city of Dubai. The site, discovered in 1988, con-
sists of a number of distinct, low mounds with evidence for
human occupation in the form of ash, shell, bone, pottery
and other artifacts (Benton 1996:20). Significant areas of
the site were destroyed during recent construction activi-
ties, however a number of occupation areas and a round,
stone-built, Urnm al-Nar-type tomb survived and were the
subject of rescue excavations in mid-l 994 (Dubai Museum)
and a thorough excavation in early 1995 (University of
Sydney, see Benton 1996).
Excavation of one occupation area (Area B) to the
north of the Urnm al-Nar tomb revealed the edge of
an extensive area of cooking hearths. Material from
excavated deposits consisted primarily of burnt marine
shell and fish bones, in addition to a number of
ceramic sherds datable typologically to the Urnm al-
Nar Period. The Urnm al-Nar ceramics suggest that
occupation in Area B was at least partly contemporary
with the construction and use of the tomb at A1
Sufouh, although two sherds of Barbar pottery discov-
ered during excavation indicate continued occupation
or re-occupation in the early second millennium BCE
(Weeks 1996). It has been suggested that the site rep-
resents a seasonal camping ground that must have
been utilized over a significant period of time. As
such, the site is comparable to other ephemeral third
millennium coastal settlements on the southern Gulf
shores, such as Ras Ghanadha (al-Tikriti 1985).
All the analyzed copper-base samples from A1
Sufouh come from the main Urnm al-Nar tomb at the
site (Tomb I), shown in Figure 3.2. The tomb is a
typical example of Urnm al-Nar Period funerary
architecture: it is circular, with a diameter of 6.5 m,
and divided into six internal chambers. Both the ring-
wall and the internal walls are made of unworked
stone blocks, although the ring-wall is faced with a
single layer of well-masoned ashlars (Benton
1996:Figures 21 and 23). A significant amount of
human skeletal material was excavated from within
the tomb itself and from three pits that were dug in
the vicinity of the tomb (Tombs 11-IV). The estimated
Tell Abraq
Unar2
-
-
-Illlllllllllllll
Unarl
AI Sufouh
I I 1 I I I I I
2700 2600 2500 2400 2300 2200 2100 2000 1900 1800
Years BCE
Figure 3.1 Chronology of the tombs from which the copper-base
objects analyzed in this volume were excavated.
number of individuals interred at the site is 121,
with a MNI of 1 3 people calculated for Tomb I
(Benton 1996:49).
Over 60 ceramic vessels have been recovered from
all burial contexts at A1 Sufouh, including at least 20
examples of black-on-red Umm al-Nar style pottery
and three Iranian black-on-gray vessels from Tomb I
(Benton 1996:Figure 129). Further examples of Iranian
gray-wares were found in Tomb 11. Nearly 14,000
beads were recovered from burial contexts at the site,
over 90 percent of which were of serpentinite or talcose
steatite (Benton 1996:Figures 133-1 35, Table 10).
However, other materials such as soft-stone, shell, rock
crystal and agate were also found, in addition to
approximately 300 carnelian beads (nine of which were
etched) and two lapis lazuli beads. Three lapis lazuli
pendants were also recovered (Benton 1996:Figure
198). Copper-base objects such as blades, rings and
pins or awls were also recovered (Benton 1996:Figures
183-195).
The excavated material from A1 Sufouh suggests
that the tomb was built and used in the middle of the
Umm al-Nar Period. In particular, the lack of se'rie
re'cente soft-stone vessels in the tomb assemblage sug-
gests that the tomb deposits pre-date the manufacture
of such objects in southeastern Arabia, which Benton
(1996:Table 17) places at ca. 2300-2000 BCE. The
black-on-red and grayware ceramics from the tomb
suggest deposition sometime shortly after the middle
Figure 3.2 AI Sufouh Tomb I after excavation, seen from the west (photo courtesy of Daniel Potts).
60 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
of the third millennium BCE, and Benton (1996:Figure
204) has proposed a chronological range for the use of
the tomb of ca. 2450-2300 BCE.
The copper-base objects from A1 Sufouh analyzed
in this volume are listed in Table 3.1 and some are
illustrated in Figure 3.3. As can be seen, only samples
from Tomb I were analyzed, all of which were found
in the western half of the tomb. Only material that
was already fragmentary was sampled, meaning that
daggers and blade fragments were analyzed but no
rings or pinslawls. The group of analyzed samples is
thus a biased one in terms of object types.
Additionally, there is the possibility that the 22 ana-
lyzed fragments may have come from less than 22
objects. A total of 35 copper-base finished objects
were recovered from the A1 Sufouh burials, including
22 from Tomb I, as well as numerous unidentifiable
metal fragments (Benton 1996: 145). Fourteen dagger
blades are recorded from all burial contexts at the
site, and it must be remembered that material found
in Tombs 11-IV could once have been interred in
Tomb I and have left fragmentary remains there
(although this view is contradictory to the chronologi-
cal associations proposed by Benton (1996), see
Kennet (1998) for an alternative view). Comparisons
of PIXE data (see Chapter 3) for the fragments indi-
cate groups of samples with very similar composition,
but these are as likely to reflect a common metal
source (whether ingot or mine) as a common object.
Unarl
The archaeological sites of Shimal lie about eight km
northeast of the modern city of Ras al-Khaimah, at
the foot of the limestone mountains which comprise
the Musandam Peninsula near the modern village of
Shimal (Vogt and Franke-Vogt 1987:Figure 2). The
Umm al-Nar Period tomb designated Unarl was exca-
vated by the German Mission to Ras al-Khaimah in
1988 (Kastner et al. 1988), and remains largely
unpublished. A preliminary report on the discovery
and excavation of the tomb (Sahm 1988) provides
basic information on the cultural and skeletal materi-
al found, and on architectural, taphonomic and
chronological issues.
The tomb is a relatively large example of typical
Umm al-Nar type: circular (with a diameter of 11.5
m), stone-built on a low plinth wall, and divided
internally into eight chambers by a north-south run-
ning dividing wall and three east-west cross walls
and two silver beads, as well as a number of small
fragments of copper-base objects such as rings and
pins or awls. Additionally, a broken socketed spear-
head was excavated from the tomb deposit (Sahm
1988:Figure 11.3). The majority of the excavated
material from Unarl suggests a date in the middle
Umm al-Nar Period, ca. 2400-2200 BCE (Blau
2001:Table l ) , however the possibility of re-use in
the late third or early second millennium cannot be
excluded because of the presence of the socketed cop-
per-base spearhead.
The analyzed copper-base objects from Unarl are
shown in Table 3.2 and examples are illustrated in
Figure 3.5. In addition to the rings and pinslawls men-
tioned by Sahm, there are a number of thin, flat metal
fragments from the tomb that may once have belonged
to vessels or blades, and some curved fragments that
Table 3.1

(Sahm 1988:2). It is illustrated in Figure 3.4. The Objects from AI Sufouh analyzed by PlXE
Reg. No. Context Object
tomb is badly disturbed, with architectural features
ALSUFOOH Tomb I: chambers 4,6 blade fragment
and archaeological material preserved more fully on
ALSUFOU Tomb I: chambers 4,6 blade fragment
its eastern side. The tomb was robbed in antiquity,
ASI-l Tomb I: chambers 4,6 flat fragment
and evidence exists to suggest that the robbery took
ASI-2 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 thick flat fragment
place only a short time after the construction and
ASI-3 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 thin flat fragment
use of the tomb (Sahm 1988:2), i.e. by the early sec-
ASI-4 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 blade edge fragment
ond millennium BCE.
ASI-5 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 blade edge fragment
The tomb is highly disturbed and only minor
ASTOMBI a Tomb I: chambers 4,6 blade fragment
areas of articulation are visible in the excavated
ASTOMBI b Tomb I: chambers 4,6 blade edge fragment
skeletal material, which is also largely burnt (Blau
ASTOMBI c Tomb 1:chambers 4,6 blade edge fragment
and Beech, 1999:34). Physical anthropological exami-
ASTOMB1d Tomb I: chambers 4,6 thin flat fragment
nation indicates that a minimum of 438 individuals
ASTOMBI e Tomb I: chambers 4,6 thin flat fragment
were buried in the tomb (Blau 2001:Table 1). Pottery
ASTOMBI f Tomb I: chambers 4,6 thin flat fragment
vessels and metal objects were found in small num-
ASTOMBI g Tomb I: chambers 4,6 thick flat fragment
bers inside the tomb, in addition to numerous beads
ASTOMBI h Tomb I: chambers 4,6 thin flat fragment
made of "steatite paste" and an etched carnelian
M10-15 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 blade edge fragment
bead. A few examples of se'rie re'cente soft-stone
M10-31 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 rivet
were recovered from immediately outside the tomb,
M 10-34 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 dagger-riveted-long
and it has been suggested that some of them may
M10-36 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 dagger-riveted-tang
post-date the third millennium BCE (Sahm 1988:3).
M10-30 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 blade edge fragment
The excavated ceramic vessels were mostly fine
M10-41 Tomb I: chambers 4,6 dagger-tanged
wares and predominantly local black-on-red examples
M 10-43 Tomb 1:chambers 4,6 thin flat fragment
but there were also three black-on-gray Iranian vessels
and one sherd of incised gray ware from Iran (Sahm Copper-base artifacts from the Umm al-Nar Period tomb at AI
1988:Figure 10). Metal finds include one gold bead Sufouh that are compositionally analyzed in this study.

Analyzed Artifacts: Contexts and Chronology 61

 gQ-
m . ..
. :v
-p- pJ-
m.* ...--
.
'

Figure 3.3 A selection of fragments of copper-base objects from AI Sufouh analyzed in this study.Top row, left to right: ASI-5, ASI-4, M10-30,
ASTOMB1 b, ASTOMB1c, ASTOMB1a. Middle row, left to right: ASTOMBlf, ASI-3, ASTOMB1d, ASTOMB1h, ASI-2, M10-42 (not analyzed).Bottom
row, left to right: ASI-1, M10-43, ASTOMBl g, M10-31.

Figure 3.4The Unarl Umm al-Nar Period tomb (photo courtesy and copyright C.Velde).

62 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

may have been tubes or spouts. Although the copper- Table 3.2
base objects remaining at Unarl are obviously only a Objects from Unarl analyzed by PlXE
small fraction of those which may once have been Reg. No. Context Object
interred there, enough typological diversity exists to L11D-PIN Unarl Tomb pinlawl fragment
suggest that the compositional variability of the original L14N-PIN Unarl Tomb pinlawl fragment
deposit may also be reasonably well represented. LlSRlNG Unarl Tomb ring fragment
M10-7 Unarl Tomb flat fragment
Unar2 M10-12 Unarl Tomb thin flat fragment
The Umm al-Nar tomb Unar2 (see Figure 3.6) is located M10-13V Unarl Tomb thin flat fragment
in the Shihu village of Shimal North, in the Emirate of M10-1 Unarl Tomb tubelspout fragment
Ras al-Khaimah, about 200 m south of the Unarl tomb M10-17 Unarl Tomb ring fragment
described in the previous section (Blau and Beech M10-18 Unarl Tomb ring fragment
1999:34). The site was excavated over two seasons in M10-19 Unarl Tomb ring fragment
1997 and 1998, revealing a round, stone-built tomb M10-20V Unarl Tomb thin flat fragment
with a diameter of approximately 14.5 m, making M10-21V Unarl Tomb tubelvessel fragment
Unar2 the largest Umm al-Nar funerary structure yet M10-22R Unarl Tomb ring fragment
discovered in southeastern Arabia. The interior of the M10-35 Unarl Tomb thin flat fragment
tomb was divided into 1 2 chambers forming three sepa- M10-38 Unarl Tomb tubelspout fragment
rate units, possibly related to familylkinship groups M10-39 Unarl Tomb thin flat fragment
(Velde 1999; see Blau 2001:Figure 3; Blau and Beech M10-44 Unarl Tomb pinlawl fragment
1999:Figure 2), although the original architectural fea- M10-46 Unarl Tomb ring fragment
tures of the tomb have been disturbed by tomb-robbing.
Copper-base artifacts from the Unarl Umm al-Nar Period tomb at
Evidence exists to suggest that the tomb may originally Shimal that are compositionally analyzed in this study.
have stood to a height of about three meters and includ-
ed an upper story (Velde 1999).
The tomb remains partially unpublished, although
notes on the ceramic assemblage (Carter 2002) and skele-
tal remains (Blau 2001; Blau and Beech 1999) have
appeared, and a brief site summary (Velde 1999) and
physical anthropology report (Blau 1999) have been post-
ed on the National Museum of Ras al-Khaimah website.
Anthropological studies by S. Blau (2001,1999) indicate
that at least 43 1individuals were interred in the Unar2
tomb. Articulated skeletons were rare, being found only
in chambers D and G, and more than 90 percent of the
disarticulated bone was burnt. As for most Umm al-Nar Figure 3.5 A selection of fragments of copper-base objects from
tomb skeletal assemblages, the bones were predominantly Unarl analyzed in this study.Top row, left to right: LISRING, M10-22R,
M10-46, M10-18. Bottom row, left to right: M10-44, L14N-PIN, L1 1D-
of adults, although fetal, infant, child and adolescent PIN, M10-16, M10-12.
bones were found in each chamber (Blau 1999).It is sug-
gested by Velde (1999)that bodies may first have been
interred on the chamber floors until no space remained in
the tomb, at which point the bones were removed for cre-
mation and later deposited in the upper story of the tomb
(see also Carter 20025). The period of use of the tomb is
regarded as lasting more than 100 years (Velde 1999).

Analyzed Artifacts: Contexts and Chronology 63

Figure 3.6 The Unar2 tomb after excavation, showing chamber designations, viewed from the north (photo courtesty of D. Kennet).
Pottery and stone vessels, metal objects and jewelry
remained in the tomb even after robbing, with the pot-
tery indicating contacts with Mesopotamia, Bahrain,
Iran and the Indus Valley (Carter 2002; Velde 1999).
Typical black-on-red indigenous funerary vessels com-
prise more than 80 percent of the ceramic assemblage,
while imported Iranian black-on-gray and incised gray-
wares represent just over 10 percent of the excavated pot-
tery (Carter 2002:7-10). A small number of sherds of so-
called "Kaftari ware" from Fars province in Iran has been
recovered, and Barbar, Mesopotamian and Indus wares
are similarly rare (Carter 2002:9-10). Assessment of the
material from the site was initially used to suggest a date of
ca. 2300-2100 BCE (Blau and Beech 1999:34). However,
ceramic parallels cited by Carter (2002:12-13) suggest a
foundation date perhaps 50-100 years later than this, and
abandonment some time in the last century of the third
millennium BCE, i.e. a construction and use spanning ca.
2200-2000 BCE. Thus, although earlier reports had
described the Unar2 tomb deposits as late Umm an-Nar
but not in the terminal phase, the new ceramic studies and
particularly the presence of a number of anomalous
ceramic forms led Carter (2002:13) to suggest that use of
Unar2 may have continued into the terminal Umm al-Nar
Period. Carter (2002:6) also observes that approximately
six percent of the analyzed ceramic assemblage from
Unar2 consists of later intrusive material from the second
millennium, Iron Age and more recent periods. The possi-
64 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
bility that any analyzed metal objects from Unar2 are
intrusive is small, but should not be forgotten.
The analyzed copper-base objects from Unar2 are
listed in Table 3.3 and illustrated in Figure 3.7, and con-
sist primarily of rings, pins or awls and thin flat frag-
ments. These are, in general, the largest metal objects
that remained in the tomb after it was plundered in
antiquity. It is likely that a much larger and more typo-
logically diverse group of copper-base objects was once
buried within the tomb.
Tell Abraq
The archaeological site of Tell Abraq is situated on the
border of the Emirates of Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain,
several kilometers south of the present shore of the Gulf.
The site has been systematically excavated for five sea-
sons, from 1989-1993 and in the winter of 1997-1998,
following test excavations at the site by an Iraqi team in
the 1970s (Potts 1990b). Material from the first four
seasons of excavation has been published and discussed
in a number of places (Potts 1990b, 1991, 1993a), and
some material from the most recent excavation season is
also published (Potts 1998, 2000, 2003b).
Tell Abraq is one of the largest sites on the south-
ern shores of the Gulf, and shows evidence for continu-
ous occupation from ca. 2300-300 BCE (i.e. Umm al-
Nar Period to Iron Age), with a later re-occupation in
the Ed Dur period (Potts 1993a). The chronology of
occupation at Tell Abraq, particularly in the third mil- Table 3.3
lennium BCE, is well established by both stratigraphic Objects from Unar2 analyzed by PlXE
and typological considerations and by radiocarbon Reg. No. Context Object
determinations (Potts 1997a:Table 3; Potts and Weeks
1999). The earliest occupation at the site is represented 1005.40 NW quadrant lump
by the construction of a large stone and mud brick 1007.41 outside tomb thin flat fragment
tower, approximately 40 m in diameter, which stood 1007.42 outside tomb, west side ring fragment
approximately eight m above the surrounding ground 1012.52 SE quadrant ring fragment
surface (Potts 1993a:118). Such towers are typical of 1014.1 58 SW quad, chamber JIK ring fragment
third millennium BCE settlements in southeastern 1014.76 SW quad, chamber JIK ring fragment
Arabia (Potts 1997b:47), although the Tell Abraq tower 1015.1 44 chamber H thin flat fragment
is the largest known example of its type. 1015.95 NW quad, chamber H thin flat fragment
Occupation of the tower continued in the second 1018-3.93 NE quad, chamber A pinlawl fragment
millennium BCE, and a settlement also spread out 1018-3.99 NE quad, chamber A thin flat fragment
around the fortified structure in the form of palm-frond 1019-3.1 04 NE quad, chamber A pinlawl fragment
houses, known locally as barasti or 'arish (Potts 1019-3.105 NE quad, chamber C thin flat fragment
1991:36-42; King 1997:87). By the end of the second 1019-3.1 24 NE quad, chamber C thin flat fragment
millennium, most of the large architectural structures at 1019-3.59 NE quad, chamber C thin flat fragment
the site seem to have been covered by earth and archae- 1019-3.60 NE quad, chamber C chisel (7)
ological deposits, forming a mound around which 1019-4.1 08 NE quad, chamber C pinlawl fragment
barasti occupation spread in the first millennium BCE 1019-4.1 13 NE quad, chamber C pinlawl (7)
(Potts 1993a:119). For most of the period of its occupa- 1019-5.71 NE quad, chamber C ring fragment
tion, Tell Abraq is likely to have been the largest settle- 1022-2.1 60 NW quad, chamber H pinlawl fragment
ment on the southern shores of the Gulf. The material 1023-2.1 10 no data lump
remains recovered during excavation (Potts 1990b; 1023-4.10 NE quad, chamber C ring fragment
1991; 1993a), and the reconstructions of past subsis- surf. 56 surface pinlawl fragment
tence practices (Willcox and Tengberg 1995), indicate
Copper-base artifacts from the Unar2 Umm al-Nar Period tomb at
that in most respects Tell Abraq fits comfortably within Shimal that are compositionally analyzed in this study.
the spectrum of local Bronze and Iron Age societies.
Towards the end of the third millennium BCE, an The western chamber of the tomb was excavated in
Umm al-Nar type tomb was constructed just 10 m to the 1993, revealing the disarticulated remains of at least 119
west of the fortification tower at Tell Abraq (Potts individuals, including all age groups from fetal to very
1993a). The circular tomb (see Figure 3.8) is built of old (>S0 years old) adults (Blau 1996:151; cf. Potts
rough stones with an external facing of finely fitted ash- 1993a:120-121, who suggests a MNI of 155). In addi-
lar masonry. The tomb diameter is approximately six m, tion to skeletal material, typical Umm al-Nar ceramic
it has one internal wall that divides the tomb into east- and soft-stone vessels were recovered from the western
ern and western chambers, and survives to a height of chamber, as well as copper and bronze objects (see
1.5 m in places. The tomb is unusual in southeastern Figure 3.9), carnelian and agate beads, linen (Reade and
Arabian archaeology as it has remained untouched by Potts 1993) and other items including an ivory comb
looters and largely undisturbed since its construction likely to be of Bactrian origin (Potts 1993d). Preliminary
and use (although the northwest corner of the tomb was typological comparisons suggested that the tomb deposits
destroyed in antiquity by later construction activities). could be dated to the very end of the third millennium
This is perhaps due to the fact that the tomb was covered BCE, the local pottery in particular showing form and
already by settlement deposits as early as the first half of technical detail more common in Wadi Suq ceramics
the second millennium BCE (Potts 1993a:119). (Potts 1993a:120). Additionally, two radiocarbon dates

Analyzed Artifacts: Contexts and Chronology 65

 Figure 3.7 A selection of fragments of copper-base objects from Unar2 analyzed in this study.Top row, left to right: 1019-
4.108,1018-3.93,1019-3.104,1019-4.113,surf.56.Second row, left to right: 1014.76,1014.158,1012.52,1023-4.10,1019-5.71.
Third row, left to right: 1019-3.60,1022-2.160,1015.95,1007.42,1005.40. Bottom row, left to right: 1023-2.110,101 9-3.59,
lOO7.41,lOl 5.1 44,101 9-3.1 24.

66 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

from a charcoal deposit running directly beneath the
tomb building surface show calibrated ranges in the last
third of the third millennium BCE (samples K-5574 and
K-5575, see Table 3.4 and Potts 1993a:Table l),provid-
ing a useful terminus post quem for the construction of
the tomb.
Due to a border dispute at the site, the eastern
chamber of the Umm al-Nar tomb was not excavated
until 1997-1998, and remains largely unpublished. As
for the western chamber, large amounts of disarticulat-
ed and partially articulated skeletal material were
recovered, and the MNI for the entire tomb is about
330 individuals (D. T. Potts, personal communication).
The cultural material from the eastern chamber repre-
sents the kind of extremely rich assemblage that may
Figure 3.8 The Tell Abraq tomb after excavation, looking from the
have characterized many Umm al-Nar tombs prior to
north (photo D. Potts).
robbery. In addition to numerous examples of local
Umm al-Nar ceramic and soft-stone vessels, pottery
from Mesopotamia, Bahrain, southwest and southeast
Iran was present in the tomb (Potts 1998:10, 28-29;
Potts 2000:l l 6 ff.; Potts 2003a). Additional finds
included: numerous copper-base objects; more than ten
ivory combs with Indus and central Asian parallels
(Potts 1998:28-29); at least four alabaster vessels
(Potts 2000:125); gold, lapis lazuli and carnelian beads
with parallels in the Indus Valley region; and gold and
silver animal pendants (Potts 2000:24, 54; see also
Potts 2003 b).
A series of five radiocarbon dates were run on wood
charcoal from various levels of the bone deposit in the Figure 3.9 Two copper-base rings from the Tell Abraq tomb, as exca-
vated in position on disarticulated human phalanges (photo D.
eastern chamber, the results of which are published in Potts).
Potts and Weeks (1999), listed in Table 3.4. They con-
firm the dating of the tomb to the final stages of the flat fragments. The total assemblage of copper-base
third millennium BCE, but show no stratigraphic objects from the eastern chamber of the tomb includes
dependence. In fact, the five dates from the eastern 2 1 socketed spearheads similar to Wadi Suq types, 10
chamber are statistically identical at a 95 percent confi- dagger blades of varying typology, and more than 120
dence level, and provide an average 2 0 calibrated range finger rings, toe rings and earrings.
of 2200-2040 BCE (Potts and Weeks 1999).
The analyzed metal objects from Tell Abraq are
listed in Tables 3.4 and 3.5 and illustrated in Figures
3.10-3.16. A total of 21 copper-base samples were
analyzed, representing 10 percent of the 202 copper-
base objects recovered from the eastern tomb chamber.
The analyzed samples show significant typological
diversity, including rings, daggers, spearheads and thin

Analyzed Artifacts: Contexts and Chronology 67

Table 3.4 Table 3.5
AMS radiocarbon dates associated with the Tell Abraq Tomb Objects from the Tell Abraq Tomb analyzed by PlXE
Calibrated Reg. No. Context Object
Sample I4cAge BP Age BCE
east chamber: layer 1 fragment
Code Context (Raw) (2 o range)
burnt layer east chamber: layer 2 dagger (tanged)

underlying tomb east chamber: layer 2 ring

east chamber: layer 3 lump
burnt layer east chamber: layer 1 dagger (rounded)
underlying tomb east chamber: layer 4 blade fragment (riveted)
east chamber: layer 3 spearhead (tanged)
east chamber east chamber: layer 5 dagger (tanged)
level 3(7.4-7.5 m) east chamber: layer 4 dagger (tanged)
east chamber: layer 3 dagger (tanged)
east chamber
east chamber: layer 3 ring (flat band)
level 4 (7.6-7.7 m)
east chamber: layer 4 ring (broad flat band)
east chamber: layer 6 dagger (tanged)
east chamber
level 6 (7.8-7.9 m) east chamber: layer 5 ring
east chamber: layer 5 ring fragment
east chamber east chamber: layer 5 ring
level 6 (7.8-7.9 m) east chamber: layer 5 ring
east chamber: layer 6 thin flat fragment
east chamber: layer 6 thin flat fragment
east chamber: layer 6 spearhead (socketed)
east chamber east chamber: layer 6 ring
level 6 (7.87 m)
Copper-base artifacts from the Umm al-Nar Period tomb at Tell
AMS radiocarbon dates from the eastern chamber of the Umm al- Abraq that are compositionally analyzed in this study.
Nar Period tomb at Tell Abraq. All dates are calibrated with CALlB
4.1.2 (Stuiver and Reimer 1993), using dataset 1 (decadal dataset t o
23,999 cal BP) and calculation method B (probabilities). Calibrated
ranges have been rounded t o nearest 10 years.

68 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

Figure 3.10 A selection of fragments of copper-base objects from Tell Abraq analyzed in this study.
Top row, left t o rig ht:TA2094,TA2679,TA281 6,TA233g1TA2677. Middle row, left t o right:TA2440 (tip),
TA291 8,TA243S1TA2678. Bottom row, left t o right:TA2733,TA2732,TAI 785,TA2135.

Analyzed Artifacts: Contexts and Chronology 69

 Figure 3.1 1 Spearhead TA2183 from the Tell Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb. Length ca. 26.7 cm.

Figure 3.12 Daggerlknife blade TA2268 from the Tell Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb. Length ca. 27.2 cm.

Figure 3.1 3 Dagger/knife bladeTA2270 from the Tell Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb.

Figure 3.1 4 Daggerlknife blade TA2315 from the Tell Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb. Length = 23.2.cm.

Figure 3.1 5 Daggerlknife blade TA2440 from the Tell Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb. Length ca. 19.5 cm.

Figure 3.1 6 Socketed spearhead TA2757 from the Tell Abraq Urnm al-Nar Period tomb. Length = 33.8 cm.

70 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

4 Results of
Compositional Analyses
Introduction
In this chapter, the results of the chemical analysis of
83 archaeological objects from A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2, and Tell Abraq are presented and discussed.
The data are the results of Proton-Induced X-ray
Emission (PIXE) analyses conducted at the Australian
Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO),
Lucas Heights, New South Wales. The PIXE composi-
tional data for all objects are presented in Tables
4.1-4.4, on a site-by-site basis.
Details of the analytical techniques used in this vol-
ume, including sample preparation, instrumental set-
tings, accuracy, precision and sensitivity can be found
below or in Appendix One. A brief introduction to the
analyses and a general description of data treatment
and presentation is given below, following which the
PIXE data are presented and discussed in a univariate
manner element by element. Subsequently, relationships
between elements and archaeological assemblages
are investigated through bivariate and multivariate
statistical techniques.
Sensitivity, Precision, and Accuracy of the MXE Data
PIXE data were collected and quantified for the elements
silicon (Si),phosphorus (P),sulfur (S),chlorine (Cl),potas-
sium (K), calcium (Ca),titanium (Ti),vanadium (V),man-
ganese (Mn), chromium (Cr),iron (Fe), cobalt (CO),nickel
(Ni),copper (Cu),zinc (Zn),arsenic (As),selenium (Se),
bromine (Br), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), silver (Ag),
tin (Sn), antimony (Sb), lead (Pb), gold (Au) and bismuth
(Bi). All measured phosphorus, rubidium, gold and bis-
muth concentrations were below levels required for
acceptable analytical precision, and are not discussed
further in this section. All chromium determinations
have been disregarded due to the possibility of spurious
Cr peaks in some samples due to occasional problems
with beam alignment (see Appendix One (Section 1.1.4).
All data have been normalized following procedure out-
lined in Appendix One (Section 1.2.1). PIXE data are
presented as either percentage or parts per million (ppm)
values, depending upon their concentration in the object.
The sensitivity of the PIXE technique is represented by a
quantity known as the minimum detectable level (MDL).
The MDL is the theoretical minimum amount of an element
that can be discerned by the PIXE analytical technique.
Factors governing the MDL are discussed in Appendix
One. MDLs are important in understanding the precision
of the compositional data generated by PIXE; the higher the
concentration of a particular element above the MDL, the
better the precision that can be associated with the meas-
urement. Values below the MDL, although frequently pro-
duced by the quantification software, are highly unreliable
and must be regarded as at best a rough guide to element
concentration (personal communication, Dr. G. Bailey,
ANSTO, 1997). Further, it can generally be taken that the
calculated concentration of an individual element is rela-
tively imprecise (220-40 percent) at levels of one to three
times the MDL. At concentrations of more than five times
the MDL, precision is better than f10 percent for most ele-
ments. In the statistical summaries presented below, data
tables for individual elements include a footnote contain-
ing numerical values for the MDL for each sample. The
MDL value presented for each element is the average of
the large amount of raw MDL data collected during PIXE
analyses.
The overall accuracy of the PIXE system at ANSTO
is approximately 210 percent (Dr. R. Siegele, ANSTO,
personal communication). However, the corroded nature
of the majority of analyzed samples renders the quest for
absolute accuracy of measurement somewhat futile. It
must be accepted that the composition of the archaeo-
logical samples may have changed significantly from
that of the objects during their original period of use
(Scott 1991).
Table 4.1
Compositionaldata for AI Sufouh objects
S Fe CO Ni Cu Zn As Se Ag Sb Sn Pb
Lab Code Object (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) ( P P ~ ) (pp4 (PP~) (96) (pprn)
ASI-l flat fragment
ASI-2 thick flat fragment
ASI-3 thin flat fragment
ASI-4 blade edge
ASI-5 blade edge
M10-15 blade edge
M10-31 rivet
M10-34 dagger-riveted-long
M10-36 dagger-riveted-tang
M10-30 blade edge
M10-41 dagger-tanged
M10-43 thin flat fragment
ALSUFOOH blade
ALSUFOU blade
ASTOMBI a blade fragment
ASTOMBI b blade edge
ASTOMBI c blade edge
ASTOMBI d thin flat fragment
ASTOMBI e thin flat fragment
ASTOMBI f thin flat fragment
ASTOMBl g thick flat fragment
ASTOMBl h thin flat fraqment
AVERAGE MDL 0.10 0.007 0.01 0.012 0.008 0.04 0.007 50 240 700 0.13 135

PIXE compositional data for copper-baseobjects from AI Sufouh. Note: blank cells indicate concentrations below the MDL; nm = not measured.

Presentation of the PIXE Data
As noted above, the normalized PIXE data is presented
in Tables 4.1-4.4. However, the discussion presented
below employs a number of statistical summaries of
the PIXE concentration data. When the data for indi-
vidual elements are discussed, they are summarized sta-
tistically (Table 4.5) by giving the median and the
tenth-ninetieth percentile range. Furthermore, the statis-
tical summaries for each site are presented in three
broad categories: a summary for all objects from the
site, a summary for the subset of tin-bronzes (i.e. sam-
ples containing more than two percent tin), and a sum-
mary for the samples with less than two percent tin
(designated "copper"). Details regarding the selection
and application of these statistical analyses are given in
Appendix One (Section 1.2.2).
In addition, summaries of previous analyses are pre-
sented for most elements (e.g.Table 4.6). These summaries
allow the composition of the Umm al-Nar Period materi-
al analyzed in this study to be compared with the
contemporary and later objects from southeastern Arabia
analyzed as a part of othek analytical programs.
Summaries of previous analyses are provided for the fol-
lowing categories: Umm al-Nar Period objects
(2700-2000 BCE); Umm al-Nar Period ingot and raw
copper fragments (2700-2000 BCE); Wadi SuqILate
Bronze Age objects (2000-1300 BCE); mixed Wadi
SuqIIron Age tomb groups (2000-300 BCE); and Iron
Age objects (1300-3 00 BCE). Geographic and biblio-
graphic details of the previously collected data summa-
rized in these tables is given in Appendix One (Section
1.2.3). Important information on arsenic, nickel and tin

72 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

Table 4.2
Compositional data for Unarl objects
S Fe CO Ni
Lab Code Object (%) (%) (%) (%l
M10-7 flat fragment
M10-12 thin flat fragment
M10-13V thin flat fragment
M10-16 tube/spout
M10-1 ring
M10-18 ring
M10-19 ring
M10-2OV thin flat fragment
M10-21V tube/vessel
M10-22R ring
M10-35 thin flat fragment
M10-38 tubelspout
M10-39 thin flat fragment
M10-44 pinlawl
M10-4 ring
L11D-PIN pinlawl
L14N-PIN pin/awl
LlSRlNG rinq
AVERAGE MDL 0.10 0.007 0.01 0.012 0.008 0.007 50 240 700 0.13 135

PIXE compositional data for copper-base objects from Unarl. Note: blank cells indicate concentrations below the MDL.

concentrations in Bronze Age and Iron Age objects has
also been presented in graphical form by Prange et al.
(1999), and semi-quantitative compositional data exist
for copper-base objects from the sites of Tell Abraq
(Weeks 1997) and Umm an-Nar Island (Craddock 1981).
Results of these studies are referred to in the text where
relevant, but are not presented with the statistical sum-
maries of previous analytical programs.
In most cases, statistically summarized data distri-
butions are accompanied by graphical presentation of
the data to aid interpretation (e.g. Figure 4.1). Data are
summarized graphically in the form of frequency his-
tograms. The histograms are presented in either per-
centage terms or ppm on a logarithmic scale, with each
order of magnitude divided into four geometric inter-
vals. On the histograms, the bar delineated by cross-
hatching represents the number of objects in which the
elemental concentration was below the MDL. Further
details of the construction of these histograms are pro-
vided in Appendix One (Section 1.2.4).
Elemental Concentrations
Sulfur (S)
A summary of the PIXE sulfur measurements from this
study is given in Table 4.5 and Figures 4.1-4.2. Ranges
reported are tenth to ninetieth percentile values. As shown,
sulfur concentrations are less than one percent in most of
the samples. Seven of the 83 analyzed samples contain S
concentrations of greater than one percent, with levels
reaching as high as 5.5 percent in a spearhead from Tell
Abraq (TA2183) and 3.7 percent in a riveted dagger from
A1 Sufouh (M10-34). Relatively high sulfur concentra-
tions appear in a thin flat fragment (TA2732,2.4 percent
S) and an unidentified fragment (TA1785, 1.5 percent S)
from Tell Abraq. Both Table 4.5 and Figure 4.2 indicate a
significant difference in the sulfur content of copper
objects and tin-bronzes, the latter containing lower median
sulfur concentrations and a significantly smaller tenth to
ninetieth percentile range. Further illustrating this point,
only one analyzed tin-bronze, from Unar2, contains in
excess of one percent sulfur (1015.144, 1.5 percent S).

Results of CompositionalAnalyses 73
Table 4.3
Compositional data for Unar2 objects
S Fe CO Ni Cu Zn As Se Ag Sb Sn Pb
Lab Code Object (%) (%) (%) (%) (%l (W ('W (wm) (pprn) (PP~) (%l (PP~)
lump 0.25
thin flat fragment 0.22
ring
ring
ring 0.45
thin flat fragment
ring
thin flat fragment 1.49
pinlawl
thin flat fragment 0.24
thin flat fragment
chisel?
ring 0.22
ring 0.53
pinlawl 0.20
thin flat fragment
thin flat fragment
pinlawl 0.09
pinlawl
pinlawl 0.37
lump
pinlawl 0.23
AVERAGE MDL 0.10

PIXE compositional data for copper-base objects from Unar2. Note: blank cells indicate concentrations below the MDL.

No consistent chronological variation in sulfur con-
centrations can be seen, although variation by site is
clear. Figure 4.1 documents objects from Unar2 that
have lower median S concentrations and ranges than
material from the other Umm al-Nar Period tomb assem-
blages. In particular, half of the analyzed objects from
Unar2 contain S concentrations of less than the minimum
detectable level (ca. 0.10 percent) of the PIXE technique.
Furthermore, only one object from Unar2, the previously
mentioned tin-bronze (1015.144) contains more than
approximately 0.5 percent S.
Only a small number of previous analyses of S con-
centrations in archaeological copper-base objects are
published, and these are summarized in Table 4.6. Fully
published analyses from the Umm and-Nar and Wadi
Suq Periods are all of copper objects, and have a much
lower median S concentration but a similar range of up to
ca. 0.8 percent. Contemporary samples analyzed in a previ-
ous study of the metallurgy at Tell Abraq (Weeks 1997:
Table 14) have median S concentrations of ca. 0.1-0.2 per-
cent, close to the detection limit of the EDS analytical tech-
nique used, and a maximum value of ca. one percent S.
Analyses of Bronze Age copper ingots and raw copper
fragments by Hauptmann (1985:Table 21) show high S con-
centrations of up to approximately five percent, with medi-
an concentrations of approximately one percent S. Analyses
of the same samples are given in Hauptmann et al. (1988),
but do not show S determinations. Similarly, high sulfur
concentrations of up to six percent were found in the copper
ingots from the slightly later Saar settlement on Bahrain
(Weeks, forthcoming a). The high sulfur concentrations in
these semi-processed objects suggest a relationship between
S content and the degree of metal refining which will be
addressed in the following chapter.

74 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

Table 4.4
Compositionaldata for Tell Abraq objects
S Fe CO Ni Cu Zn As Se Ag Sn Pb
Lab Code Object (%) (%) (%) (%l ('W (W (W (ppm) (PP~) (%l (PP~)
fragment 1.46
dagger-tanged 0.1 2
ring 0.3 1
lump 0.91
dagger-rounded 0.23
blade fragment (rivets) 0.31
spearhead-tanged
dagger-tanged
dagger-tanged
dagger-tanged
ring-flat
ring-broad flat
dagger-tanged
ring
ring fragment
ring
ring
thin flat fragment
thin flat fragment
spear-socketed
ring 0.02 58.7 0.40
AVERAGE MDL 0.10 0.007 0.01 0.012 0.008 0.04 0.007

PIXE compositional data for copper-base objects from Tell Abraq. Note: blank cells indicate concentrations below the MDL.

Table 4.5
Sulfur in Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this study
Median Median Median Range Range Range
Sulfur (%) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh 0.35 0.36 <0.10-0.98 <0.10-1 .O
Unarl 0.30 0.30 0.29 0.15-0.61 0.1 6-0.58 0.1 2-0.72
Unar2 <0.10 0.1 0 0.1 5 <0.10-0.44 <0.10-0.28 <0.10-0.51
Tell Abraq 0.29 0.45 0.23 <0.10-1.46 <0.10-2.67 <0.10-0.37
All Objects 0.24 0.3 1 0.22 <0.10-0.89 <0.10-1.0 <0.10-0.52

Sulfur concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh,

Unarl. Unar2. and Tell Abraa analvzed bv PIXE. Averaae MDL = 0.1 0 Percent S.

Results of Compositional Analyses 75

Table 4.6
Sulfur levels recorded in previous analytical studies
Archaeological No. of Median
Material Analyses Concentration %
Objects
(2700-2000BCE) 20 0.04
IngotdRaw Copper
(2700-2000BCE) 9 0.99
Objects
(2000-1300 BCE) 10 0.23
Objects
(2000-300BCE) 26 0.20
Objects
(I300-300 BCE) 51 0.1 7
Sulfur concentrations in copper-base objects from southeastern
Arabia analyzed in previous studies. Note: details of previous
analyses may be found in Appendix One, Section 1.2.3.
The analyses of material from Wadi Suq, Late
Bronze Age and Iron Age assemblages indicates sulfur
concentrations similar to those seen in the Umm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed in this volume, although a slight
reduction through time is indicated by the figures. Most
samples have less than approximately 0.8 percent S,
but a number of objects with sulfur concentrations in
excess of one percent are recorded at the Late Bronze
Age settlement of Shimal Area SX (Weeks 2000a), in
a mixed Wadi Suq-Iron Age tomb assemblage at
Sharm (Weeks 2000b), and in Iron Age tomb and
settlement contexts at Qidfa and Muweilah respec-
tively (Weeks 2000a; Weeks forthcoming b). In the
central Gulf, half of the analyzed objects from the
Saar settlement contained from 1.0-2.2 percent S,
and further support for a relationship between sulfur
levels in finished objects and degree of metal refining
was provided by the analyses of metallurgical waste
samples from the site, which showed median sulfur con-
centrations of 1.3 percent, ranging up to 12 percent S
(Weeks, forthcoming a).
The possibility that sulfur could be present in the
samples as a result of corrosion, in the form of sulfate
minerals such as brochantite ( C U ~ S O ~ ( O Hhas
) ~ )been
, 2.6 percent Fe) from A1 Sufouh contain in excess of two
suggested by R. G. Thomas (personal communication).
He states that "the chloride figures do not account for
76 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
all of the copper and so there must be another anion
and sulfate is the likely candidate". Sulfur, like chlo-
Range rine, could potentially have been derived from the
(%l groundwater (see e.g. Ullah 1931a:486; Caley
1971: 106). The sulfur concentrations recorded in this
0.01-0.81 study are, however, similar to the analyses that have been
carried out previously on un-corroded samples using dif-
0.58-4.38 ferent analytical techniques, as described above.
Furthermore, the metallographic analyses from the Gulf
sites of Tell Abraq (Weeks 1997), Saar (Weeks, forthcom-
0.09-1.l 7
ing a), IbriJSelme (Prange and Hauptmann 2001) and
Muweilah (Weeks, forthcoming b) demonstrate the
0.09-0.79
presence of numerous copper-sulfide inclusions in cop-
per-base objects of Bronze Age and Iron Age date.
0.04-0.71 These inclusions no doubt reflect the presence of cop-
per-sulfide inclusions in the Bronze Age copper ingots
used in the Gulf region (Weeks, forthcoming b), which
indicates the use of copper-sulfide ores in the produc-
tion of these objects. This evidence suggests that the
high sulfur concentrations of the early Gulf material
analyzed in this volume reflect the sulfur content of
the objects at their time of production, rather than
contributions from the process of contamination.
Iron (Fe)
Iron levels in the objects analyzed by PIXE can be rela-
tively high, reaching concentrations of greater than three
percent in some objects. The collected data are summa-
rized in Table 4.7 and Figures 4.3-4.4, where clear dif-
ferences by site and alloy type can be seen.
The highest iron concentrations are reported in
two amorphous "lumps" from the tombs at Unar2
(1005.40, 6.6 percent Fe) and Tell Abraq (TA2135, 32
percent Fe). These objects are typologically similar to
pieces of metalworking debris from settlement contexts
at Tell Abraq, Saar, and Muweilah (Weeks 1997; Weeks,
forthcoming a, b), and share the high iron concentra-
tions common to such material. The presence of metal-
working debris in a tomb deposit seems unusual, but it
may reflect the occupation of one of the people interred
within. A number of finished copper objects, such as a
blade (ALSUFOUH, 2.5 percent Fe) and rivet (M10-31,
percent iron, as does one thin flat fragment of tin-bronze
from Unarl (M10-39, 2.5 percent Fe).
 Figure 4.2 Sulfur concentrations in all Umm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE, showing copper objects
(top) and tin-bronzes (middle).

Figure 4.1 Sulfur concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,

Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects.

Results of Cornpositional Analyses 77

 Table 4.7
lron in Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this study
Median Median
Iron (%) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh 0.72 0.72
Unarl 1.04 1.OO
Tell Abraq 0.52 0.32
All Objects 0.70 0.68
lron concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE. Average. MDL = 0.007 percent Fe.
Figure 4.3 demonstrates that iron concentrations
are highest in the material from Unarl, with the most
common Fe concentrations in the 1.0-1.8 percent
range, and no objects with less than 0.4 percent Fe. The
assemblages from A1 Sufouh and Unar2 have modes in
the 0.56-1.0 percent Fe range, but exhibit numerous
objects with concentrations of 0.1-0.5 percent Fe or
less. The lowest mode for the analyzed assemblages is
for material from Tell Abraq, where most objects contain
approximately 0.32-0.56 percent Fe, and two have con-
centrations of approximately 0.03 percent Fe or less.
The differences between copper samples and tin-
bronzes are clearly illustrated in Figure 4.4 and summa-
rized in Table 4.7. While both alloy groups show distinct
modes in the 0.56-1.0 percent Fe range, the range of iron
concentrations in the copper samples is much higher than
in the tin-bronzes. Samples with less than 0.1 percent Fe
are not recorded in the analyzed tin-bronzes, whereas six
copper objects contain such low Fe concentrations. At the
higher end of the concentration range, only one tin-
bronze contains more than 1.5 percent Fe, whereas eight
copper objects contain from approximately 1.6-32 per-
cent Fe.
The data generated for iron concentrations in this
analytical program are significantly higher on average
than Fe levels measured in previous analytical studies,
which are summarized in Table 4.8. Most Umm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed in earlier studies contained less
than 0.5 percent Fe, although one object from Hili ana-
lyzed by Berthoud (1979:Table 5 ) contained four percent
Fe. The earlier analysis of Umm al-Nar Period material
from Tell Abraq using EDS (Weeks 1997:Table 14)
revealed median Fe concentrations of approximately 0.32
78 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Median Range Range Range
(all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
0.1 7-1.62 0.1 7-1.65
1.07 0.63-1.60 0.55-1.59 0.75-1.75
0.72 0.20-1.24 0.02-5.74 0.34-1.24
0.72 0.1 7-1.57 0.09-1.73 0.27-1.21
percent, with maximum concentrations in the one to two
percent range; very similar to the values for Tell Abraq
material found in this study using PIXE. Similarly high
iron values are reported in studies of late third millenni-
um BCE copper ingots and raw copper, commonly rang-
ing up to one percent Fe (Hauptmann 1987; Hauptmann
et al. 1988). Analyzed planoconvex copper ingots from
the Saar settlement contain approximately four to ten
percent Fe (Weeks, forthcoming a), amongst the highest
iron content of all the analyzed Gulf objects, and the
compositional data suggest a relationship between iron
content and degree of refining.
For material from later periods, iron concentrations
in excess of one percent have been recorded in Wadi
SuqILate Bronze Age material from Masirah site 38
(Hauptmann et al. 1988), Shimal settlement Area SX
and Shimal tomb SH102 (Weeks 2000a). High iron lev-
els were also recorded in an object from the mixed Wadi
Suq-Iron Age tomb deposits at Shimal tomb 2
(Craddock 1985), and in a number of samples from the
Sharm tomb (Weeks 2000b). Previously analyzed Iron
Age objects have the lowest median iron concentrations,
as can be seen in Table 4.8, but a small number of
objects with more than one percent Fe are recorded from
the Bithnah and Qidfa tombs (Corboud et al. 1996;
Weeks 2000a), from the IbriISelme hoard (Hauptmann et
al. 1988; Prange and Hauptmann 2001), and from the
Muweilah settlement (Weeks, forthcoming b).
It is likely that higher Fe concentrations in the PIXE
analyses in this study result, in part, from the introduc-
tion of iron with contaminating soil and rock particles
incorporated during corrosion. A correlation exists
between silicon and calcium contamination levels in
 Figure 4.4 lron concentrations in all Umm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE, showing copper objects (top)
and tin-bronzes (middle).

Figure 4.3 lron concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,

Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects.

Results of Compositional Analyses 79

analyzed samples and iron levels. The median Fe con- Cobalt (CO)
centration in low-contamination samples (i.e., those The cobalt concentrations of the analyzed objects are
with less than three percent Si+Ca) is approximately summarized in Table 4.9 and Figures 4.5 and 4.6, where
0.34 percent, whereas high-contamination samples have a clear and consistent chronological variation can be
a median concentration of 0.66 percent Fe. It should be observed. Median cobalt concentrations and absolute
noted, however, that the median Fe concentrations and ranges are significantly higher in the earlier Umm al-Nar
tenth to ninetieth percentile ranges are still higher in tomb assemblages from A1 Sufouh and Unarl than in the
PIXE samples with low contamination levels than in the later objects from Unar2 and Tell Abraq.
Umm al-Nar objects analyzed in previous studies. Thus, The objects from A1 Sufouh show a mode in the
contamination is not the sole factor leading to the dis- 0.06-0.1 percent CO range, although 13 further objects
crepancy noted above. from the site contain 0.1-0.5 percent CO, and one thin
flat fragment (ASI-3) contains 1.2 percent Co. Material
from Unarl shows a much stronger mode in the 0.06-0.1
percent CO range, with only three samples containing
Table 4.8 0.1-0.3 percent Co. The Unar2 material has a clear
Iron concentrations recorded in previous analytical studies mode in the range 0.03-0.06 percent CO, lower than any
Archaeological No. of Median Range samples from A1 Sufouh and Unarl, while the mode for
Material Analyses Concentration % ('W the Tell Abraq assemblage is even lower, at 0.02-0.03
Objects percent. Both Unar2 and Tell Abraq show rare objects
(2700-2000 BCE) 31 0.1 8 0,01-0.44 with approximately 0.1-0.2 percent CO, and one amor-
phous lump from Tell Abraq (TA2135) which has very
IngotsIRaw Copper
high iron levels also contains 1.3 percent Co.
(2700-2000 BCE) 27 0.24 0.01-1 .o
Figure 4.6 shows a difference between the cobalt
Objects concentrations of copper and tin-bronze objects, with a
(2000-1 300 BCE) 18 0.39 0.20-1.37 mode for copper objects in the 0.06-0.1 percent CO range
Objects compared to a mode for tin-bronzes in the 0.03-0.06 per-
(2000-300 BCE) 58 0.26 0.10-1.31
cent range. Additionally, many more copper objects than
tin-bronzes contain in excess of 0.1 percent Co. These
Objects
patterns, however, may reflect more the chronological
(1300-300 BCE) 154 0.17 0.05-0.69
variation in CO levels in the analyzed samples rather
lron concentrations in copper-base objects from southeastern than differences in alloy groups: within individual site
Arabia analyzed in previous studies. Note: details of previous assemblages, copper objects and tin-bronzes appear to
analyses may be found in Appendix One, Section 1.2.3. have similar CO concentrations summarized in Table 4.9.
Table 4.9
Cobalt in Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this study
Median Median Median Range Range Range
Cobalt (%) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh 0.14 0.1 4 0.08-0.41 0.08-0.41
Unarl 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07-0.1 4 0.07-0.1 1 0.07-0.1 4
Unar2 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.04-0.1 2 0.03-0.1 2 0.04-0.09
Tell Abraq 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.02-0.08 0.03-0.29 0.02-0.03
All Objects 0.07 0.09 0.05 0.03-0.22 0.03-0.35 0.02-0.10

Cobalt concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh,

Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE.Average MDL = 0.01 percent Co.

80 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

 AI Sufouh Copper Objects Only

Unarl
Tin-Bronze Objects Only

All Objects

CO ("h)

Tell Abraq

Figure 4.6 Cobalt concentrations in all Umm al-Nar

Period objects analyzed by PIXE, showing copper
objects (top) and tin-bronzes (middle).

Figure 4.5 Cobalt concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,

Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects.

Results of Compositional Analyses 81

 The summary of previously analyzed material present- of more than 150 analyses of Iron Age material, only one
ed in Table 4.10 indicates that, while previously analyzed tanged blade from the Qidfa grave contains more than
samples have lower median cobalt concentrations, samples 2,000 ppm, and only two objects contain more than
with significant COconcentrations are found. In particu- 1,000 pprn CO (Prange and Hauptmann 2001; Weeks
lar, analysis of Umm al-Nar material from Umm an-Nar forthcoming b, Weeks 2000a). In a number of cases, high
Island, Hili and Jebel Hafit by Berthoud (1979:Table 5) cobalt concentrations are associated with high iron levels,
indicates three objects with greater than 2,000 pprn CO, although this correlation is not exclusive. Examples
with a highest concentrations of more than 5,000 pprn Co. include two copper ingots from Saar (Weeks, forthcoming
Likewise, a number of samples with greater than 2,000 a), and a number of high-iron pieces of metallurgical
pprn COare recorded in Wadi Suq and Late Bronze age debris from Saar and Muweilah (Weeks, forthcoming a, b).
contexts at Masirah site 38 (Hauptmann et al. 1988) and
Shimal settlement Area SX (Weeks 2000a), and in mixed Nickel (Ni)
Wadi Suq-Iron Age tomb assemblages at Shimal tomb 2 The results of the PIXE compositional analyses for nick-
(Craddock 1985) and Sharm (Weeks 2000b). In contrast, el are summarized in Table 4.11 and Figures 4.7-4.8. As
can be seen, there are significant differences by site, and
Table 4.1 0 differences by alloy category.
Cobalt concentrations recorded in previous analytical studies Median nickel concentrations and absolute ranges
Archaeological No. of Median Range are highest in the objects from A1 Sufouh and, to a lesser
Material Analyses Concentration (ppm) (ppm) extent, Unar2. Seven copper objects from A1 Sufouh
Objects and three from Unar2 contain in excess of one percent
(2700-2000 BCE) 18 190 10-2,960 Ni, with the highest levels recorded in three thin flat
fragments from A1 Sufouh (ASI-3, 2.8 percent Ni;
IngotsIRaw Copper
ASTomble, 3.2 percent Ni; ASTomblf, 3.4 percent Ni),
(2700-2000 BCE) 27 360 80-1,600
and a pinlaw1 from Unar2 (10119-4.1 13, 2.1 percent
Objects Ni). The differences between copper objects and tin-
(2000-1 300 BCE) 18 680 240- 1,800 bronzes are illustrated by the fact that, while around
Objects one quarter of copper objects contain more than one
(2000-300 BCE) 45 860 170-2,340
percent Ni, only one tin-bronze object does: a low tin-
bronze thin flat fragment from A1 Sufouh (ASTombld,
Objects
2.3 percent Ni). While Figure 4.7 indicates that most
(1300-300 BCE) 153 170 30-700
sites show a mode in the 0.1-1.0 percent nickel range,
Cobalt concentrations in copper-base objects from southeastern Arabia it Can be seen that objects Unarl and
analyzed in previous studies. Note: details of previous analyses may Abraq show a mode in the 0.03-0.06 percent Ni range.
be found in Appendix One, Section 1.2.3.
Table 4.1 1
Nickel in Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this study
Median Median Median Range Range Range
Nickel ( %) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh 0.57 0.48 0.32-2.74 0.31 -2.79
Unarl 0.1 9 0.21 0.06 0.04-0.84 0.04-1.30 0.03-0.59
Unar2 0.25 0.50 0.25 0.02-1 .l
8 <0.012-1.74 0.05-0.86
Tell Abraq 0.1 0 0.07 0.1 1 <0.012-0.49 <0.012-0.54 0.03-0.28
All Objects 0.25 0.38 0.22 0.03-1.54 0.02-1.84 0.03-0.78

Nickel concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh,

Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE. Average MDL = 0.01 2 percent Ni.

82 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

 Figure 4.8 Nickel concentrations in all Umm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE, showing copper
objects (top) and tin-bronzes (middle).

Figure 4.7 Nickel concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,

Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects.

Results of Compositional Analyses 83

In particular, four rings from Unarl with tin-concentra-
tions in the 0.7-2.7 percent range (M10-17, M10-19,
M10-46, LISRING) fall into this range of Ni concentra-
tions. In the later assemblages from Unar2 and Tell
Abraq, six objects with Ni concentrations of less than the
MDL of approximately 100 ppm are also recorded,
including three tanged-daggers from Tell Abraq (TA2268,
TA2270, TA2315).
A summary of the data obtained for Ni concentra-
tions in previous analytical studies is shown in Table
4.12, and indicates the presence of objects with high
nickel concentrations at contemporary and later sites in
the region. Analyses by Berthoud (1979:Table S), Frifelt
(1975; 1991) and Hauptmann (1995) have indicated that
objects with two to four percent Ni are common on
Umm an-Nar Island in the third millennium BCE, and
one further object from the site with the extremely high
concentration of 21 percent Ni was recorded by
Berthoud (1979:Table 5). This object finds a parallel in
an Umm al-Nar Period object, from an unspecified site,
which contained 12 percent Ni (Prange at al. 1999:189).
Previous EDS analyses of Umm al-Nar material from Tell
Abraq (Weeks 1997:Table 14) indicate a median nickel
concentration of 0.3 percent, with a maximum concen-
tration of approximately three percent and a number of
Table 4.1 2
Nickel levels recorded i n previous analytical studies
Archaeological No. of Median Range
Material Analyses Concentration % (%l
Objects
(2700-2000 BCE)
IngotsIRaw Copper
(2700-2000 BCE)
Objects
(2000-1 300 BCE)
Objects
(2000-300 BCE)
Objects
(1300-300 BCE)
Nickel concentrations i n copper-base objects from southeastern
Arabia analyzed i n previous studies. Note: details o f previous
analyses may be found i n Appendix One, Section 1.2.3.
84 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
samples in the one to two percent Ni range. These values
are significantly higher than those recorded at Tell Abraq
using PIXE, but compare well with the PIXE analyses
from A1 Sufouh, Unarl and Unar2 presented in this
study. In contrast, the remaining Umm al-Nar Period
analyses presented in graphical form by Prange et al.
(1999:Figures 4-5) suggest the most common Ni concen-
tration is in the 0.2-0.5 percent range, with only one
sample containing in excess of one percent Ni.
Prange et al. (1999:Figure 5 ) trace an increase in
nickel concentrations in objects from Oman and Bahrain
dated to the second millennium BCE, which may be par-
tially reflected in the analyses of material from the Sharm
tomb, where nickel concentrations of three to five percent
are found in two rivets and a vessel rim fragment (Weeks
2000b). Objects with two to six percent Ni were also
found in the Late Bronze Age settlement at Shimal Area
SX and in the contemporary Shimal tomb SH102 (Weeks
2000a). Likewise, analyses of mixed Wadi SuqIIron Age
tomb assemblages from Shimal by Craddock (1985) indi-
cate a number of objects containing three to five percent
Ni. The pattern of increased Ni concentration in the sec-
ond millennium BC is not seen at the Saar settlement,
where PIXE and EDS analyses revealed concentrations of
one to two percent Ni in only one finished object and two
pieces of metallurgical debris (Weeks, forthcoming a).
Only one finished object analyzed thus far from an exclu-
sively Iron Age context contains in excess of one percent
Ni (Prange et al. 1999:Figure 5; Weeks 2000a; Prange and
Hauptmann 2001; Hauptmann et al. 1988), although two
pieces of metallurgical debris from Muweilah contain
nickel in the one to two percent range (Weeks, forthcom-
ing b). The differences in nickel content by alloy category
are clear: all finished objects with greater than one percent
Ni are of copper, with the exception of one fragment from
A1 Sufouh which is a low-tin bronze (ASTombld, approxi-
mately two percent Sn). A spearhead from Suweiq ana-
lyzed by Hauptmann et al. (1988) contains 1.2 percent Sn
in addition to 3.8 percent Ni.
As can be seen in Table 4.12, there is also a clear dif-
ference between Ni levels in finished Umm al-Nar Period
objects and those in contemporaneous copper ingots and
raw copper pieces. The ingots and raw copper pieces ana-
lyzed in previous studies (Hauptmann 1987; Hauptmann
et al. 1988) are datable to the late third millennium or
 Table 4.1 3
Zinc in Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this study
Median Median Median Range Range Range
Zinc (%) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh 0.1 1 0.1 1 0.09-0.1 1 0.09-0.1 1
Unarl nm nm nm nm nm nm
Unar2 0.1 0 0.1 0 0.1 0 0.09-0.1 2 0.09-0.1 1 0.09-0.1 2
Tell Abraq 0.1 0 0.1 0 0.1 1 0.09-0.1 3 0.09-0.1 4 0.09-0.1 2
All Objects 0.10 0.1 0 0.1 0 0.09-0.1 2 0.09-0.1 2 0.09-0.1 2

Zinc concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh,

Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE. Average MDL = 0.04 percent Zn. Note:
nm = not measured.

early second millennium, and yet almost all contain less Table 4.14
than 0.5 percent Ni at a time when finished objects with Zinc levels recorded in previous analytical studies
one to four percent Ni are commonplace. This discrep- Archaeological No. of Median Range
ancy has been mentioned in a number of places (e.g. Material Analyses Concentration (ppm) (ppm)
Prange et al. 1999:190; Hauptmann et al. 1988), and Objects
will be discussed further below. (2700-2000 BCE) 28 105 20-44,200
Ingots/Raw Copper
Zinc (Zn) (2700-2000 BCE) 28 230 60-600
Zinc concentrations measured by PIXE are summarized Objects
in Table 4.13. Zinc levels were not recorded for all (2000-1 300 BCE) 8 190 70-300
PIXE samples, given the problems created in X-ray- Objects
based analyses of copper alloys by the proximity of the (2000-300 BCE) 23 350 100- 1,960
copper and zinc a and P emission lines. The large Objects
amount of copper in most samples tends to obscure the (1300-300 BCE) 134 40 20-970
small amounts of zinc that are present, leading to a low
sensitivity for Zn. Given the virtually invariant values Zinc concentrations in copper-base objects from southeastern
Arabia analyzed in previous studies. Note: details of previous analy-
reported for the material analyzed in this study, and the
ses may be found in Appendix One, Section 1.U.
problems of spectral overlap mentioned above, it seems
likely that Zn concentrations below approximately
1,500 ppm are artifacts of sample matrix effects rather ppm. However, analyses of daggers and fragments from
than measures of concentration, and are thus unreliable. mid-third millennium BCE burials on Umm an-Nar
Previous analytical studies have used a wide variety Island have revealed eight samples with Zn levels of
of analytical techniques, some of which are more sensi- 2.3-10.0 percent (Frifelt 1975, 1990). The composition
tive to low zinc levels than PIXE. These studies (see of these objects is completely un-paralleled in southeast-
Table 4.14) suggest that median Zn values of 300-500 ern Arabia before the Ed Dur period (Weeks 2000a), and
ppm characterize pre-Iron Age finished copper objects will be discussed further below.
from the region, with tenth to ninetieth percentile ranges
commonly extending from ~100-2,000ppm. Zinc levels Arsenic (As)
recorded for late third or early second millennium BCE The compositional data for arsenic is summarized below
copper ingots and raw copper pieces from southeastern in Table 4.15 and Figures 4.9 and 4.10, where signifi-
Arabia show similarly low median values, and tenth t o cant variation between assemblages is observable. The
ninetieth percentile ranges of approximately 60-600 majority of objects from A1 Sufouh contain in excess

Results of Compositional Analyses 85

 Table 4.15
Arsenic i n Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed i n this study
Median Median
Arsenic (%) (all) (copper)
AI S U ~ O Uh 1.82 1.80
Unarl 0.1 3 0.1 1
Unar2 0.91 0.72
Tell Abraq 0.37 0.24
All Objects 0.70 1.OO
Arsenic concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh,
Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE. Average MDL = 0.007 percent As.
of one percent As, and seven objects contain more
than three percent As. The highest levels occur in a
thin flat fragment (ASI-3, 6.2 percent As) and a blade
edge fragment (ASTomblc, 4.2 percent As). Arsenic
levels are generally lower in material from the other
tomb assemblages, although half of the objects from
the Unar2 tomb contain more than one percent As,
with the highest levels recorded in a pinlawl fragment
(surf.56, 3.9 percent As) and two tin-bronze rings
(1007.42, 2.4 percent As; 1019-5.71, 2.2 percent As).
All tomb assemblages contain objects with more than
two percent As, even when, as at Unarl, many objects
have relatively low arsenic concentrations of less than
0.1 percent.
As illustrated in Figure 4.10, distinct differences in
arsenic content can be seen by alloy type, with a
greater range of arsenic compositions in copper sam-
ples than in tin-bronzes. Half of the analyzed copper
samples contain in excess of one percent As, whereas
only about one-quarter of the tin-bronzes contain this
much arsenic. At the lower end of the arsenic concen-
tration ranges, it can be seen that around one-quarter
of copper samples contain very low levels of arsenic,
less than 0.1 percent. In contrast, only 10 percent of
tin-bronzes contain such low arsenic concentrations.
The tin-bronzes are, as a group, more homogeneous
than the copper samples in terms of their arsenic con-
centrations. Other than for the ends of the arsenic con-
centration ranges, however, tin-bronzes show similar
median As levels to copper objects in most of the
assemblages.
Previous analyses of copper-base objects from
southeastern Arabia are summarized in Table 4.16.
86 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Median Range Range Range
(tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
0.24-3.64 0.20-3.65
0.14 0.03-1.78 0.05-2.30 0.03-0.42
0.91 0.03-2.20 0.01 -2.64 0.20-2.1 1
0.70 0.02-1.57 0.01 -2.75 0.34-0.94
0.44 0.03-2.97 0.03-3.46 0.1 1-1.83
The overall ranges of As concentrations reported in
previous studies are very similar to those measured in
this study using PIXE, excepting that fewer low arsenic
(less than 0.1 percent As) samples were found in the
earlier studies. Chronological variation is clear in the
results of previous analyses, in that there is a distinct
reduction in median arsenic concentrations and ranges
in the Iron Age. Previous analyses of Umm al-Nar
Period samples have revealed the regular presence of
objects with greater than one percent As. From Umm
an-Nar Island, seven objects are recorded with more
than two percent As, with concentrations reaching
approximately seven percent in two objects analyzed
by Berthoud (1979:Table 5). The objects thus appear
very similar in composition to the contemporary mate-
rial from A1 Sufouh. Such compositions were becoming
less frequent in analyses of Wadi Suq and Wadi
SuqIIron Age material, although nine objects with
1.0-2.0 percent As were recorded in contexts from
Oman and the U.A.E (Hauptmann et al. 1988;
Craddock 1985; Weeks 2000a) and two objects with
greater than two percent As were recorded from the
tomb at Sharm (Weeks 2000b). Similar results are pre-
sented in graphical form by Prange et al. (1999:Figure
5), although the proportion of Wadi Suq Period and
Late Bronze Age objects with one to two percent As is
slightly higher than found in the other studies discussed
here. In contrast, of the 154 Iron Age objects for which
As concentrations have been previously recorded, the
highest arsenic concentrations of 1.O-1.5 percent were
noted in only two objects from the Qidfa tomb (Weeks
2000a) and one from the settlement at Muweilah
(Weeks, forthcoming b).
 Figure 4.10 Arsenic concentrations in all Umm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE, showing copper objects
(top) and tin-bronzes (middle).

Figure 4.9 Arsenic concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,

Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects.

Results of Compositional Analyses 87

 Additionally, as noted above for nickel, there is a Selenium concentrations in the 50-300 pprn range are
discrepancy between the As concentrations recorded in most frequently found in the remaining objects,
previous analyses of copper ingots and raw copper although samples with 500 pprn Se or more are occa-
pieces and those found in finished objects. Only one sionally found. Examples include two tin-bronze rings
ingot fragment from Umm al-Nar Island and one raw from the Tell Abraq tomb (TA2677, approximately 800
copper piece from Maysar contain more than one per- pprn Se; TA2816, approximately 1,100 pprn Se), a cop-
cent As, while levels recorded in finished objects could per "lump" from Tell Abraq (TA2135, approximately
reach in excess of five percent As. 550 pprn Se), and a tin-bronze ring (1023-4.10, 500
pprn Se) and pinlaw1 fragment (surf.56, 500 pprn Se)
Selenium (Se) from Unar2. Variation by site is clear, with objects from
Selenium levels recorded in this study are summarized Unarl having generally lower levels of Se than material
below in Table 4.17 and Figures 4.11-4.12. A signifi- from the other tomb assemblages, especially Unar2 and
cant percentage of objects from the analyzed assem- A1 Sufouh.
blages contain less than the minimum detectable level of The statistical summary presented in Table 4.17
selenium for the PIXE system, of about 50 ppm. indicates very few differences in Se concentration
between alloy categories, and the general similarity of
Table 4.1 6
copper and tin-bronze samples is also illustrated in Figure
Arsenic levels recorded in previous analytical studies
Archaeological No. of Median Range
4.12. It can be seen that, although the highest Se levels
Material Analyses Concentration % (%) are recorded in tin-bronzes, the majority of copper and
tin-bronze samples have very similar Se concentrations.
Objects
The selenium concentrations recorded in previous
(2700-2000 BCE) 20 1.43 0.1 9-5.42
studies of Umm al-Nar Period material by Berthoud
IngotsIRaw Copper (1979:Table 5 ) are very similar to those recorded in this
(2700-2000 BCE) 28 0.41 0.08-0.87 study, with a median concentration of 150 pprn Se, and a
Objects maximum concentration of 600 pprn Se in 11 analyzed
(2000-1 300 BCE) 18 0.29 0.09-0.9 1
samples. Slightly higher median values of approximately
350 pprn Se are recorded in the finished objects from the
Objects
Saar settlement on Bahrain, although maximum values
(2000-300 BCE) 58 0.28 0.04-1.04 are still 600 ppm. Analyses of Wadi Suq, late Bronze Age
Objects and Iron Age material from the U.A.E. indicates a slight
(1300-300 BCE) 154 0.1 4 0.02-0.38 reduction in selenium levels over time, with median val-
ues for objects from these periods not exceeding 100
Arsenic concentrations in copper-base objects from southeastern
pprn Se, and maximum values not greater than approxi-
Arabia analyzed in previous studies. Note: details of previous
analyses may be found in Appendix One, Section 1.2.3. mately 400 pprn Se.

Table 4.1 7
Selenium in Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this study
Selenium Median Median Median Range Range Range
(PP~) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh 125 100 40-250 <50-250
Unarl <50 <50 <50 <50-100 <50-100 <50-100
Unar2 175 275 150 <50-445 <50-430 <50-375
Tell Abraq <50 280 <50 <50-550 <50-280 <50-800
All Objects 100 100 100 <50-400 <50-355 <50-450

Selenium concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh,

Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE. Average MDL = 50 pprn Se.

88 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

 Figure 4.1 2 Selenium concentrations in all Umm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE, showing copper
objects (top) and tin-bronzes (middle).

Figure 4.1 1 Selenium concentrations in AI Sufouh,

Unarl, Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects.

Results of Compositional Analyses 89

 Table 4.1 8
Silver i n Urnm al-Nar period objects analyzed i n this study
Silver Median Median Median Range Range Range
(PP~) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh <240 <240 <240-300 <240-300
Unarl <240 <240 <240 <240 <240 <240-420
Unar2 <240 c240 320 <240-960 <240-280 <240-1210
Tell Abraq <240 <240 <240 <240-1050 <240-280 <240-1500
All Objects <240 <240 <240 <240-690 <240-260 d40-1250

Silver concentrations i n Urnm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh,

Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE. Average MDL = 240 pprn Ag.

Table 4.1 9 300 ppm. Three objects contained in excess of 2,000

Silver levels recorded i n previous analytical studies pprn Ag, including a tanged copper dagger from A1
Archaeological No. of Median Range Sufouh (M10-41, approximately 2,100 pprn Ag), a tin-
Material Analyses Concentration (ppm) (ppm) bronze ring from Tell Abraq (TA2677, 5,250 pprn Ag),
Objects and a tin-bronze ring from the Unar2 tomb at Shimal
(2700-2000 BCE) 20 90 40-3,680 (1007.42, approximately 2.3 percent Ag). The statisti-
cal summary in Table 4.18 and Figure 4.13 indicate
IngotsIRaw Copper
that significant differences exist between the silver
(2700-2000 BCE) 4 60 10-21 0
contents of copper objects and tin-bronzes. Only three
Objects of 62 analyzed copper objects from Urnm al-NarISaar
(2000-1 300 BCE) 18 40 0-1 10 contexts contain 400 pprn Ag or more, whereas 1 3 of
Objects 33 tin-bronzes contain 400 pprn Ag or more.
(2000-300 BCE) 58 90 0-240
Previous analyses of copper-base objects from
southeastern Arabia have recorded silver concentra-
Objects
tions that are generally similar to those obtained in
(1300-300 BCE) 146 30 0-1 20
this study. The results of previous studies are sum-
Silver concentrations in copper-base objects from southeastern Arabia marized in Table 4.19, and indicate median silver
analyzed previously.Note:details of previous analyses in Appendix concentrations of less than 100 pprn for all chrono-
One (1.2.3). logical and compositional groups. However, relative-
ly high silver concentrations of 1,000-5,000 pprn
Silver (Ag) have been recorded in six copper objects from Urnm
Silver levels in the objects analyzed in this study are al-Nar Period contexts, mostly from Urnm an-Nar
summarized in Table 4.1 8 and Figure 4.13. As can be Island itself (Hauptmann 1995; Berthoud 1979:Table
seen, median silver concentrations for each chrono- S), so the association between silver concentrations
logical period and compositional group are less than and tin-bronzes might not be as strong as the PIXE
the MDL for silver of approximately 240 ppm. data alone would indicate. Of the six raw copper
Similarly, the tenth to ninetieth percentile silver and ingot fragments from Urnm an-Nar Island and
ranges are often below the three MDL concentration Saar whose silver concentrations have been meas-
levels required for acceptable analytical precision. ured, none contain more than 250 pprn Ag
However, some significant patterns can be reliably (Hauptmann 1995; Craddock 1981; Weeks, forth-
extracted from this otherwise imprecise data. coming a). The great majority of copper objects
Approximately 25 percent of analyzed objects from Oman, in all chronological periods, contain
contained silver in concentrations of greater than less than 200 pprn silver.

90 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

Antimony (Sb)
Median antimony concentrations for the assem-
blages analyzed by PIXE fall well below the MDL
of 700 ppm. Likewise, tenth t o ninetieth percentile
ranges rarely exceed the MDL for antimony, let
alone the 3MDL values necessary for acceptable
analytical precision. However, a number of samples
contain high levels of antimony which can be reli-
ably measured by PIXE, and some sites show larger
ranges of antimony concentrations which can also
been reliably characterized by this technique.
Nine of 2 2 samples from A1 Sufouh contain
more than 700 pprn Sb, with maximum values of
approximately 1,900 pprn Sb in two thin flat cop-
per fragments (ASTomble and ASTomblf). N o
other site has more than three objects with greater
than 700 pprn Sb. Other high-Sb samples from
Umm al-Nar contexts include a thin flat copper
fragment from the Unarl tomb (M10-20V, 5,250
pprn Sb) and a tin-bronze ring (1007.42, 1,850 pprn
Sb) and a thin flat tin-bronze fragment (1018-3.99,
2,300 pprn Sb) from the Unar2 tomb. N o objects
with more than the minimum detectable level of
antimony were recorded from Tell Abraq.
A summary of previous analyses using more sen-
sitive techniques is given in Table 4.20. These studies
concur with the PIXE analyses, in that very few sam-
ples with greater than 1,000 pprn antimony were
recorded. A copper chisel and a copper axe from
Maysar 1 contained 1,050 and 2,200 pprn Sb respec-
tively (Hauptmann et al. 1988), and analyses by
Berthoud (1979:Table 5) revealed one sample from
Umm an-Nar Island with 1,200 pprn Sb. Copper Figure 4.1 3 Silver concentrations in all Umm al-Nar
ingots and fragments of raw copper generally con- Period objects analyzed by PIXE, showing copper
objects (top) and tin-bronzes (middle).
tained levels of less than 200 pprn Sb, with the
exception of a raw copper fragment from Maysar 1
that contained approximately 3,300 pprn Sb
(Hauptmann 1987). A copper arrowhead from the
Wadi SuqIIron Age deposit of Shimal tomb 2 con-
tained approximately 1,700 pprn Sb, while a copper
rivet and a tin-bronze vessel fragment from the mixed
Wadi SuqIIron Age tomb deposit at Sharm were also
found to contain relatively high concentrations of
more than 1,500 pprn Sb (Weeks 2000b). Samples
with more than 1,000 pprn antimony are not recorded

Results of Compositional Analyses 91

in the previously analyzed Iron Age objects from the fragment from Unarl (M10-20V, 1.45 percent Pb), a
region (Prange and Hauptmann 2001; Weeks, forthcom- copper pinlaw1 fragment from Unar2 (surf.56, 5,250
ing b; Weeks 2000a). pprn Pb), and a tin-bronze ring from Tell Abraq
(TA2679, 1.3 percent Pb). Samples with lead concentra-
Lead (Pb) tions of less than the minimum detectable level of
The lead concentrations recorded in objects analyzed for approximately 135 pprn Pb comprise approximately 15
this study are summarized in Table 4.21 and Figures percent of the analyzed objects, and occur with similar
4.14 and 4.15. Median lead concentrations are around frequency in each of the four tomb assemblages.
500 ppm, and the majority of samples contain less than There does not appear to be a distinct difference in
1,000 pprn Pb, although individual sites show variation lead concentration ranges between alloy groups, as illus-
in Pb concentrations. For example, more than 33 per- trated in Figure 4.15. High lead levels (greater than 1,000
cent of analyzed objects from Unar2 contains in excess pprn Pb) occur with greater frequency in tin-bronzes than
of 1,000 pprn Pb. Four samples contain greater than in copper samples (30 percent of tin-bronzes contain
3,000 pprn Pb, including a copper blade edge fragment more than 1,000 pprn Pb, while only 18 percent of copper
from A1 Sufouh (ASI-5, 6,600 pprn Pb), a thin flat copper samples do) but when the analyses are examined on a site-
by-site basis (see Table 4.21) it can be seen that in one
Table 4.20
case (Tell Abraq) tin-bronzes have a greater range of lead
Antimony levels recorded i n previous analytical studies
Archaeological No. of Median Range
concentrations than copper samples, in another case
(Unar2)the ranges are the same, and in the third case
Material Analyses Concentration (ppm) (ppm)
(Unarl)copper-- objects have a greater range of Pb concen-
Objects
trations than tin-bronzes. Figure
- 4.15 does indicate a differ-
(2700-2000 BCE) 16 550 40-1 ,l20
ent distribution pattern for lead concentrations in copper
Ingots/Raw Copper objects and tin-bronzes. While both groups exhibit a strong
(2700-2000 BCE) 26 50 20-200 fall off at the 1,000 ppm Pb level, tin-bronzes show a distinct
Objects bi-modal pattern in the 0.01-0.1 percent Pb range, with the
(2000-1 300 BCE) 15 5 0-340 strongest mode in the 560-1,000 ppm bracket, whereas the
Objects distribution pattern for copper objects is invariant in the
(2000-300 BCE) 53 150 0-660
0.01-0.1 percent range.
Lead levels recorded in previous analytical studies
Objects
of material from southeastern Arabia are summarized
(1300-300 BCE) 149 70 0-31 0
in Table 4.22. The results are, in general, similar to
Antimony concentrations in copper-base objects from southeastern those obtained by PIXE. For all periods, the majority
Arabia analyzed previously. Note: details of previous analyses i n of samples contain less than approximately 500 ppm
Appendix One (1.2.3).

Table 4.21
Lead i n Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed i n this study
Lead Median Median Median Range Range Range
(PPm) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh 380 350 <135-1180 <135-950
Unarl 550 600 250 < l 35-2830 200-2900 < l 35-1,600
Unar2 780 550 780 < l 35-2330 150-2280 < l 35-2,290
Tell Abraq 450 140 500 < l 35-1 700 < l 35-790 250-1,700
All Objects 500 400 700 <135-2130 <135-1560 <135-2,310

Lead concentrations i n Umm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh,

Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE. Average MDL = 135 ppm.

92 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

 Figure4.15 Lead concentrations in all Umm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE, showing copper
objects (top) and tin-bronzes (middle).

Figure 4.14 Lead concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,

Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects.

Results of Compositional Analyses 93

Pb, although objects with 1,000-5,000 ppm Pb are IbriISelme hoard (with up to 6.35 percent Pb; Prange
sometimes found at Bronze Age sites like Umm an- and Hauptmann 2001) and a late pre-Islamic, leaded
Nar Island (Berthoud 1979:Table 5), Maysar 1, and brass ring from the tomb at Bithnah (5.6 percent Pb;
Masirah Site 38 (Hauptmann et al. 1988), in mixed Corboud et al. 1996).
Bronze and Iron Age tomb assemblages, for example Very high lead concentrations, and unusual alloy
at Sharm (Weeks 2000b), and in Iron Age objects types, were also found in three objects from Umm an-
from the IbriISelme hoard (Prange and Hauptmann Nar Island datable to the mid-third millennium BCE
2001) and the Qidfa tomb (Weeks 2000a). A small (Frifelt 1975a, 1990). Two daggers and one unidentified
number of objects with more than one percent lead fragment were found to contain from 3.7-25.0 percent
were also recorded in previous studies, including Pb. One of the daggers, in addition to 25 percent Pb,
leaded tin-bronze arrowheads from Wadi Suq-Iron contained approximately 2.3 percent zinc. Such lead con-
Age burials at Shimal Tomb 1 (3.5 percent Pb; centrations are uncommon in southeastern Arabia and
Craddock 1985) and Sharm (1.2 percent Pb; Weeks western Asia generally in this period, although they are
2000b), three leaded tin-bronze bracelets from the known (see e.g. Malfoy and Menu 1987; Philip 1991).
Table 4.22
Tin (Sn)
Lead levels recorded i n previous analytical studies
Archaeological No. of Median Range
Tin concentrations measured for the Urnm al-Nar Period
Material Analyses Concentration (ppm) (ppm)
tomb assemblages are summarized in Table 4.23 and
illustrated in Figures 4.16 and 4.17. It is clear that cop-
Objects
per with significant levels of tin, much higher than
(2700-2000 BCE) 29 140
would have been naturally present in locally-produced
IngotsIRaw Copper Omani copper, was present already in the region in the
(2700-2000 BCE) 28 10-260 mid-third millennium BCE, as indicated by the analyzed
Objects material from A1 Sufouh. Although only one object from
this site contained more than two percent tin (the defini-
(2000-1 300 BCE) 18 250 40-740
tion of a tin-bronze for the purposes of this study), six
Objects
remaining objects from the site contained between 0.5
(2000-300 BCE) 41 150 30-500 and two percent Sn (see Figure 4.16). Such low-tin
Objects objects might indicate the practice of recycling imported
(1300-300 BCE) 152 100 0-1,820 tin-bronze objects in this period, involving the mixing of
imported tin or tin-bronze with local copper, but this
Lead concentrations i n copper-base objects from southeastern issue will be discussed in more detail in the following
Arabia previously analyzed. Note: details of previous analyses may
be found i n Appendix One, Section 1.2.3. chapters. In total, 33 of the 83 Urnm al-Nar Period

Table 4.23
Tin i n Urnm al-Nar Period objects analyzed i n this study
Median Median Median Range Range Range
Tin (%) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze) (all) (copper) (tin-bronze)
AI Sufouh 0.1 6 0.1 6 <0.13-1 .56 <0.13-1.27
Unarl 1.03 0.20 7.7 <0.13-10.3 <0.13-1.04 2.2-1 3.9
Unar2 8.81 <0.13 21.4 <0.13-23.9 <0.13-0.47 5.1 -24.3
Tell Abraq 3.99 <0.13 27.8 <0.13-38.8 <0.13-1.30 5.0-46.2
All Objects 1.04 <0.13 19.8 <0.13-24.6 <0.13-1.25 2.4-36.0

Tin concentrations i n Urnm al-Nar Period copper-base objects from AI Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2, and Tell Abraq analyzed by PIXE. Average MDL = 0.1 3 percent Sn.

94 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf


Figure 4.16 Tin concentrations in AI Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq objects.
Figure 4.17 Tin concentrations in all Umm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE.
objects analyzed in this study contain more than two
percent Sn, and are thus classified as tin-bronzes. This
represents about 40 percent of the assemblage, although
distinct differences by site can be seen in that only one
tin-bronze is found at A1 Sufouh, roughly one-third of
the Unarl objects are of tin-bronze, while 50-60 percent
of objects from Unar2 and Tell Abraq are of tin-bronze.
Furthermore, the amount of tin in the tin-bronzes
increases from the earliest material at A1 Sufouh to the
latest material from Unar2 and Tell Abraq. As noted
above, numerous objects from A1 Sufouh contain
approximately 0.5-2.0 percent Sn. This pattern is repeat-
ed at Unarl, although tin-bronzes with tin concentra-
tions or more than five percent begin to be seen at this
time (see Figure 4.16). Examination of the Unar2 and
Tell Abraq material reveals a few low-tin bronzes with
tin concentrations of less than three percent, but a dra-
matic increase in the number of tin-bronzes with more
than 10 percent Sn, with a distinct mode in the 18-32
percent range. The overall distribution pattern for tin,
shown in Figure 4.17, is tri-modal; most samples contain
less than the MDL for tin on the PIXE system of approx-
imately 0.13 percent, however there is a strong mode in
the one and two percent Sn range, and an even clearer
peak in the 18-32 percent Sn range. The various alloying
practices and exchange mechanisms that may have led to
this pattern will be discussed in the following chapter.
Tin levels in the tin-bronzes are diverse, reaching
levels of greater than 40 percent Sn in two objects from
Tell Abraq (TA2435, approximately 52 percent Sn;
TA2677, approximately 46 percent Sn). The very high tin
concentrations reported are almost certainly a reflection
Results of Compositional Analyses 95
of sample corrosion, which commonly involves the
leaching of copper (but not tin) from the object
matrix, leading to an increase in the proportion of tin
remaining in the corroded object (Scott 1991). The
effect of corrosion on the analyzed PIXE samples is sug-
gested by the fact that measured tin levels in objects
which were uncorroded or contained significant remain-
ing metal were in all cases less than 20 percent Sn
(although uncorroded objects with approximately
15-20 percent Sn were relatively common). Analyses
returning concentrations of greater than 20 percent tin
were exclusively of corroded material.
The analyses of the objects from the Umm al-Nar
tomb assemblages presented here contrast strongly with
the results of previous studies of contemporary materi-
al. Only three tin-bronzes were recorded in the analyses
of more than 80 Umm al-Nar Period objects published
in full or in part from Umm an-Nar Island and the Hili
Oasis in the U.A.E and other locations in Oman (Frifelt
1975a, 1991; Craddock 1981; Berthoud 1979;
Hauptmann et al. 1988; Hauptmann 1995; Prange et
al. 1999:Figure 6). These three objects include a dagger
with six percent Sn from a tomb on Umm an-Nar
Island (Berthoud 1979:Table 5) and two objects with
more than approximately five percent Sn from unspeci-
fied locations in southeastern Arabia (Prange et al.
1999:Figure 6). The new data from PIXE analyses are,
however, in accord with the semi-quantitative EDS
analyses of material from settlement and burial con-
texts at Tell Abraq (Weeks 1997), which indicated sig-
nificant tin-bronze use at the site already by the third
millennium BCE.
Tin-bronze continues to comprise around one-
third of analyzed copper-base objects from second mil-
lennium BCE contexts and mixed Wadi Suq-Iron Age
tomb assemblages (Craddock 1985; Hauptmann et al.
1988; Prange et al. 1999:Figure 6; Weeks 2000a,
2000b), before becoming the dominant alloy used in
the region in the Iron Age. Analyses of more than 150
Iron Age objects presented by Prange and Hauptmann
(2001), Pedersen and Buchwald (1991), Im-Obersteg
(1987) and Weeks (Forthcoming b, 2000a) indicate
that tin-bronzes account for approximately 80 percent
of analyzed copper-base objects from this period,
although there is strong variation by site.
96 Early Metallurgy of t h e Persian Gulf
Elemental Relationships:
Rank-CorrelationAnalyses
In the previous sections of this chapter, variation in the
composition of objects has been summarized using a
univariate, element-by-element approach. A first step
towards the examination of correlations between ele-
ments was provided by the separation of objects into
"copper" and "tin-bronze" compositional groups, and
these beginnings are taken further in the final part of
this chapter. The investigation of elemental relation-
ships is important in understanding aspects of the ore
sources used to produce the objects and the processes
of alloy production and selection that affected their
manufacture.
Introduction and Description of Statistical Techniques
In this section, bivariate relationships between ele-
ments are investigated, in an attempt t o outline
latent structure in what is a large and complex data
set. This section begins with an examination of the
bivariate correlations between elements for ana-
lyzed samples from different sites. Such relation-
ships have been investigated in a number of previ-
ous analytical studies from southeastern Arabia.
For example, high levels of arsenic are frequently
associated with high levels of nickel in copper
objects from third and second millennium BCE sites
(Hauptmann et al. 1988; Hauptmann 19951;
Prange et al. 1999).
Elemental associations have been investigated in the
PIXE data using the statistical measure of association
known as the correlation coefficient (denoted here as
"r"; Freedman et al. 1991:118). Values for the correla-
tion coefficient range from -1 to +l,with -1 indicating
perfect negative correlation and + l indicating perfect
positive correlation. Values at or around zero indicate
very little or no correlation between the two variables.
However, r is a measure of linear association, and can be a
poor descriptor for non-linear relationships between
variables, and in situations where outliers occur
(Freedman et al. 1991: 139-40). To overcome these prob-
lems, the PIXE compositional data in percentageslppm
have been converted to rank order, and the correlation
coefficient calculated on the ranked values. This is
similar to the Spearman's rank-correlation coefficient
described in Freund et al. (1988:499), and provides a
"simple and theoretically sound cure" to the problems
of statistically describing non-linear elemental relation-
ships (Wright 1992:38).
Using the rank-correlation coefficient, matrices of
elemental correlations have been constructed on a site-
by-site basis. The strongest positive correlations are
between arsenic, nickel, and cobalt, and perhaps anti-
mony. Lead is correlated with arsenic and nickel in
some assemblages, but also with silver and tin. Negative
correlations are seen at most sites, particularly between
copper and a series of alloying elements, including tin,
arsenic, and nickel, as well as iron. There is also a nega-
tive correlation observable between tin and cobalt in
some assemblages, and particularly in the analyses of
the assemblage as a whole. The correlation matrix for
all Urnm al-Nar Period objects as a group is presented
in Table 4.24.
Negative Correlations
A number of the negative correlations found in the
PIXE data can be explained as a result of the replace-
ment of one alloy constituent by another, given the
restrictions placed on concentration by the constant
sum of the normalized compositional data. For exam-
ple, copper and tin show large and statistically signifi-
cant negative r values (-0.73 on Table 4.24) for finished
objects from all sites. This strong negative correlation
can be simply explained by the fact that tin is the major
alloying component for copper-base objects in the
Bronze Age, and tin-bronzes will obviously have lower
copper levels than un-alloyed objects.
Similar reasoning can be used to explain the nega-
tive correlations between copper and arsenic at A1
Sufouh and Tell Abraq, and in the group of Urnm al-
Nar objects as a whole: arsenic also replaces copper in
alloys, whether these are intentionally produced or not.
In general, As concentrations are lower than Sn con-
centrations in tin-bronzes, so the negative correlation is
not as strong as for copper and tin.
The negative correlation between tin and cobalt sug-
gested by the rank-correlation analyses of the entire
Urnm al-Nar assemblage and the material from Tell
Abraq is illustrated in Figure 4.18. It can be seen that
only three tin bronzes contain in excess of 1,100 ppm
CO (ASTombld, 1023-4.10, M10-22R), whereas more
than 40 percent of copper objects contain more than
1,100 ppm Co. The result of the relationship between
Sn and CO is that a high positive correlation between
copper and cobalt is also reported by a rank-correlation
analysis of the tin-bronzes.
Arsenic, Nickel, Cobalt and Antimony
Correlations significant at the 99 percent confidence
level were found between arsenic and nickel for all
Urnm al-Nar sites. In the correlation analysis of all

Table 4.24
Elemental relationshipsin Urnm al-Nar Period copper-base objects
S Fe CO Ni Cu As Se Ag Sb Sn Pb
S 1.OO 0.20 0.1 6 -0.07 0.05 -0.06 -0.08 -0.1 1 -0.1 1 -0.19 -0.02
Fe 1.00 0.33 0.19 -0.30 0.08 0.02 -0.02 0.14 0.07 -0.05
CO 1.00 0.61 0.10 0.47 0.24 -0.09 0.44 -0.46 0.06
Ni 1.OO -0.30 0.82 0.47 0.1 7 0.57 -0.18 0.38
CU 1.00 -0.46 -0.37 -0.36 -0.09 -0.73 -0.32
AS 1.OO 0.51 0.29 0.59 -0.04 0.46
Se 1.OO 0.42 0.22 -0.01 0.27

Ag 1.00 0.08 0.26 0.41

Sb 1.00 -0.16 0.22
SnL 1.00 0.19
PbL 1.oo

Rank-correlation coefficients for all Urnm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this study. Statistically significant values are
shown in bold.

Results of Compositional Analyses 97

 Tin vs. Cobalt
Urnm al-Nar samples as a group, the positive As:Ni
correlation was clearly the strongest elemental relation-

l00 ship (Table 4.24). The correlation between As and Ni is

Figure 4.18 The negative correlation between tin and cobalt
in the Urnm al-Nar objects analyzed by PIXE.
Arsenic vs. Nickel
Figure 4.19 Arsenic and nickel in Urnm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed by PIXE.
Nickel vs. Cobalt
illustrated in Figure 4.19. It can also be seen that
arsenic and nickel are correlated in tin-bronzes as well
as in copper objects, although absolute As and Ni con-
centrations are lower in the tin-bronzes (Figure 4.19).
The correlations between nickel and cobalt and arsenic
and cobalt are illustrated in Figures 4.20 and 4.21
respectively. In both cases, the correlations are much
stronger in copper objects than in tin-bronzes. It is like-
ly that these correlations reflect the mineralogy of the
copper deposits that were the source for the analyzed
objects, and this issue will be discussed in detail in the
following chapter.
Antimony and arsenic are correlated in material
from A1 Sufouh and Unar2. However, the strength of
the correlation is significantly less than that between
As and Ni seen in all Urnm al-Nar Period material, and
investigation of the relationship is hampered by the
low sensitivity of the PIXE technique in the determina-
tion of Sb concentration. A correlation between As and
Sb might be expected on a mineralogical basis, given
their common occurrence in sulfidic copper ore bodies
as species of the tennantite (Cu12As4S13)-tetrahedrite
(CuI2Sb4Sl3)series. Nickel and antimony are also cor-
related in the Urnm al-Nar objects as a group (see
Table 4.24). As for the correlation between As and Sb,
however, assessing the relationship between Ni and Sb
is complicated by the low sensitivity of the PIXE Sb
measurements.

1 o tin-bronze I W
Tin and Silver
- 1 H
As noted above, silver concentrations seem to be higher
in tin-bronzes than in copper objects from Urnm al-Nar
Period contexts. However, tin and silver show signifi-
cant rank-correlation coefficients (at the 99 percent
level) only in material from Tell Abraq. At the 95 per-
cent confidence level, correlations are also seen at
Unar2 and in the assemblage as a whole. The relation-
ship between Sn and Ag concentrations in late third
Figure 4.20 Nickel and cobalt in the Urnm al-Nar Period objects millennium BCE material is illustrated in Figure 4.22.
analyzed by PIXE. It is clear that Ag concentrations in excess of approxi-
mately 400 ppm occur much more frequently in tin-
bronzes than in contemporary copper objects.

98 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

Principal Components Analyses (PCA)
This section presents the results of principal components
analyses (PCA)of the collected PIXE data, which were
conducted in order to further investigate elemental cor-
relations, and to characterize the compositional variabil-
ity within and between metal objects from individual
tomb assemblages. PCA is a widely used multivariate
tool useful in reducing large, multi-dimensional data sets
to limited numbers of components (usually six or less),
which describe significant amounts of the latent struc-
ture in the data and can be easily conceived of and repre-
sented graphically (Wright 1992:34-63; Magee et al.
1998:239). The technique is conceptually simple
because, as noted by Wright (1992:60), "it is nothing
more than the extension, into hyperspace, of the simple
concept of lines of best fit through a system of points".
Thus, PCA is a linear technique, and works best when
the relationships between variables and between the
components and the variables are linear also. In order to
avoid the possibility of overlooking non-linear correla-
tions within the collected PIXE data, the concentrations
in percentage and ppm form have been converted to
rank-order, as suggested by Wright (1992:38). This
transformation provides the equivalent of a PCA of the
rank-correlation coefficient (Wright l992:3 8).
The PCAs presented in this section were carried out
using the program MV-Nutshell (R.V.S. Wright 1994). A
standard correlation PCA was used, as it is widely consid-
ered to be the most appropriate multivariate descriptive
technique for quantitative compositional data (e.g.
Magee et al. 1998:239).
Correlations Between Elements
Correlations between different element concentrations
in analyzed metal samples can be investigated using
PCA, as above using the rank-correlation coefficient.
The results of the PCA of the ranked compositional
data are best illustrated graphically in one, or a series
of, bivariate scattergrams. In the following scatter-
grams, the proximity of elements reflects the correla-
tion between them. Elements that plot very closely
together on a PCA scattergram are positively correlat-
ed, whereas elements that plot widely apart are nega-
tively correlated. The results are discussed below, and
their implications are addressed in Chapter Five.
Arsenic vs. Cobalt
10 I
W copper
0 tin-bronze
Figure 4.21 Arsenic and cobalt in the Umm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE.
Tin vs. Silver
10000
0.1 1 10 100
Sn (%)
Figure4.22Tin and silver in the Umm al-Nar Period
objects analyzed by PIXE. One high-silver outlier i s not
shown.
As illustrated in Figure 4.23, the elemental corre-
lations found by the PCA of the compositional data
and the ranked data show similar patterns to those
presented in the previous section. The relative prox-
imity of arsenic, nickel, cobalt and antimony on both
scattergrams in Figure 4.23 indicates a strong correla-
tion between these elements. This correlation is likely
to reflect mineralogical issues related to the ores used
to produce the copper in the objects, an issue that
will be discussed in detail in the following chapter.
The strong negative correlations between copper, tin,
and nickellarsenic are indicated by the large distances
between these elements on the PCA scattergrams in
Figure 4.23. These elements form the points of a tri-
angle on the PCA plots, representing the three most
common alloy types found within the assemblage;
Results of Compositional Analyses 99
 Element Loadings pure copper, copper with significant amounts of
(concentrations)
arsenic andlor nickel (AsINi-copper), and copper with
significant amounts of tin (tin-bronze). The object dis-
tributions on the PCA scattergrams reflect these ele-
ment relationships, as shown in Figure 4.24; A1 Sufouh
objects are distributed along the horizontal axis (PC1)
from relatively pure copper samples to high arsenic and
nickel alloys (ASI-3), while objects from Tell Abraq are
largely arrayed along the vertical axis (PC2) from rela-
-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 tively pure copper objects to tin-bronzes with high tin
PC1
contents (TA2435, TA2816, TA2677). This pattern is
Element Loadings
(ranked data) replicated in the PCA of ranked data from A1 Sufouh
0.8 1 I
and Tell Abraq (see below, Figure 4.25B).

Relationships Between Archaeological Assemblages

In addition to the investigation of relationships between
elements in a compositional dataset, PCA can also be
used to investigate the similarities and differences in the
compositional properties of assemblages of metal objects.
For each of the PCAs conducted in the previous section, a
specific location in multivariate space was calculated for
Figure4.23 Element Correlations as found in a PCA of the every analyzed object, as it was for every element.
unmodified PlXE compositional data (top) and of the PlXE Plotting individual objects in terms of pairs of principal
data converted t o rank-order (bottom). components can provide a "map" of the multivariate dis-
0.7 tribution of groups. Direct comparison can be made
0.6 A TA2677
A TA28 16 ATell Abraq between group locations and compositional characteris-
0.5 TA2435A
0.4 tics, if element scores are plotted on the same chart or an
immediately adjacent one (e.g. Benton 1996:Figures 111,
113). This allows similarity or divergence in the multi-
variate distribution of assemblages to be assessed in terms
of the presence or absence of specific elements.
The multivariate distribution of the analyzed Umm
al-Nar Period objects is illustrated in Figure 4.25. The
elemental distribution is presented in Figure 4.25A7 with
Figure 4.24 PCA scattergram of untransformed PlXE data for the location of each object in this multi-dimensional
objects from Tell Abraq and AI Sufouh.The distribution of tin- space indicated by a gray circle. In Figure 4.25 (B and
bronzes and AsINi-copper objects corresponds to the element
loadings illustrated in Figure 4.23 (top).
C), the objects from each site are presented (note the dif-
ferent scale of these plots). The scattergrams indicate
that the metal objects from Tell Abraq and A1 Sufouh
are relatively distinct in terms of their overall composi-
tion. By comparison with Figure 4.25A, these differ-
ences in composition revolve largely around the concen-
trations of CO, Sb, Ni, and As, which are found in high-
er concentrations in the A1 Sufouh material, and tin and
silver, and found in much higher concentrations in the

100 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

Tell Abraq objects (see above, Tables 4.5-4.23). An
exception to this difference is TA2135, a high As/Ni/Fe
"lump" which plots with the A1 Sufouh objects in Figure
4.25B. It is possible that the chronological separation of
the two assemblages may explain their compositional
divergence: A1 Sufouh is the earliest tomb assemblage
analyzed, while Tell Abraq is the latest.
While the objects from A1 Sufouh and Tell Abraq
appear to have quite different compositions, the material
from the Unarl and Unar2 tomb assemblages is much
more difficult to separate compositionally, and also shares
compositional similarities with Tell Abraq and A1 Sufouh
objects (see Figure 4.25C). It is notable, however, that a
high proportion of objects from Unar2 fall into the bot-
tom right quadrant of the PCA plots in Figure 4.25, along
with five objects from Tell Abraq and only one each from
Unarl and A1 Sufouh. These objects are generally tin-
bronzes, characterized by relatively high lead and arsenic
concentrations, and occasionally high silver levels. As the
PCA plots suggest, this kind of bronze is found with par-
ticular frequency at Unar2.
Separate PCAs performed on the subsets of copper
objects and tin-bronze objects were also undertaken. As
can be seen in Figure 4.26, very few consistent composi-
tional differences can be seen between copper objects
from each of the four tomb assemblages, although as
noted above, Tell Abraq and A1 Sufouh objects show rela-
tively distinct minor and trace element patterns. In con-
trast, it appears that tin-bronzes from Unarl, Unar2, and
Tell Abraq are made from compositionally distinct mate-
rial. As illustrated in Figure 4.27, Unarl tin-bronzes are
quite distinct from those of Tell Abraq, and examination
of the element loadings for this PCA would suggest that Figure 4.25 PCA scattergrams of ranked PlXE data for all
Umm al-Nar Period objects, showing element and object
sulfur, iron and cobalt are present in higher concentra- loadings (A), and objects loadings by site (B, C). Note the
tions in the Unarl tin-bronzes, whereas tin and silver are different scales of plots A, B and C.
found in higher quantities in the Tell Abraq tin-bronzes.
These conclusions are verified by the compositional sum-
maries presented in Tables 4.5-4.23 above. While some of
the tin-bronzes from Unar2 have compositions similar to
those from Tell Abraq or Unarl, most have a different
distribution in multi-dimensional space which correlates
with relatively high levels of nickel, arsenic and lead in
these tin-bronzes. Again, these conclusions are supported
by the previously presented compositional data summaries
(Tables 4.5-4.23).

Results o f Compositional Analyses 10 1


Figure 4.26 PCA scattergrams of Umm al-Nar
Period copper objects only, showing element and
object loadings (top) and object loadings by site
(bottom).Note the different scales of the upper
and lower plots.
Figure 4.27 PCA scattergrams of Umm al-Nar
Period tin-bronzes only, showing element and
object loadings (top) and object loadings by site
(bottom).
102 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Summary
An overview of the analyses of the A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq assemblages highlights a number
of chronological andlor site-specific variations in metal-
lurgical technology and alloy use. As illustrated in
Figure 4.28, objects of unalloyed copper, occasionally
containing significant amounts of iron and sulfur as
impurities, are used throughout the archaeological
sequence covered, approximately 2450-2000 BCE.
The dominant alloys utilized include copper with one
to six percent arsenic andlor one to 3.5 percent nickel
(AsINi-copper), and copper with more than two per-
cent tin (tin-bronze). AsINi-copper is particularly
prominent in the earlier Umm al-Nar objects from A1
Sufouh, but appears in all four tomb assemblages
studied. Of the 26 AsINi-copper objects recorded dur-
ing analysis ( 3 1 percent of the total assemblage), 11
contained both arsenic and nickel in quantities of
greater than one percent, 15 contained copper with
only arsenic in excess of one percent, and one object
contained only nickel in excess of one percent.
Statistical analyses of bivariate and multivariate ele-
mental associations indicate that arsenic and nickel
are highly correlated in the analyzed objects, suggest-
ing a mineralogical association which will be dis-
cussed further in the following chapter. Additionally,
mineralogical factors probably underlie the relation-
ships between arseniclnickel and the trace elements
cobalt and antimony, which were clearly observed in
the statistical analyses.
Tin-bronze objects were also found in all tomb
assemblages, although in contrast to AsINi-copper, tin-
bronze appears gradually over the course of the later
third millennium BCE (see Figure 4.28). A few tin-
bronzes with low tin concentrations are recorded at A1
Sufouh and Unarl, whereas very high frequencies of tin-
bronze use (50-60 percent of objects) are observed in the
latest Umm al-Nar assemblages from Unar2 and Tell
Abraq. The increase in the frequency of tin-bronze use
in the tomb assemblages was accompanied by an
increase in the concentration of tin in the bronzes them-
selves. The tin-bronzes are also characterized by higher
levels of silver than contemporary copper and AsINi-
copper samples, and by higher lead concentrations in
the case of Unar2 tin-bronzes.
 A number of objects, particularly from the Unar2 to southeastern Arabia, an area totally devoid of tin
tomb, are ternary alloys with significant concentrations deposits. In addition, alloy use in different object cate-
of both tin and arsenic. Interestingly, given the high cor- gories is investigated, as a guide to the metallic proper-
relation between arsenic and nickel in the analyzed ties which were most crucial to the adoption of new
objects, a nickel concentration of more than one percent alloys, especially tin-bronze, in later third millennium
was reported in only one tin-bronze object, from the A1 BCE southeastern Arabia.
Sufouh tomb. Other complex alloys are rare, but include
two objects with one to two percent lead (a thin arseni-
cal copper fragment and a tin-bronze ring) and a tin-
bronze ring from Unar2 with 2.4 percent arsenic and 2.3
percent silver.
Principal components analyses of the collected PIXE
compositional data indicate that the strongest composi-
tional differences between individual tomb assemblages
are between material from A1 Sufouh (very few tin-
bronzes and relatively high concentrations of arsenic,
nickel, cobalt and antimony) and Tell Abraq (numerous
tin-bronzes, relatively high silver concentrations, and
low concentrations of As, Ni, CO and Sb). Given that
these are, respectively, the earliest and latest Umm al-
Nar tomb assemblages analyzed, a chronological factor
might explain the observed compositional diversity.
Material from the chronologically intermediate tomb
assemblages of Unarl and Unar2 has characteristics sim-
ilar to material from both A1 Sufouh and Tell Abraq,
although compositional idiosyncrasies in the objects
from each site are also observable.
PCA of the copper objects and tin-bronzes as sepa-
rate groups indicates that the copper objects from each
of the tomb assemblages were relatively similar in terms
of their minor and trace element compositions. In con-
trast, the tin-bronzes from Unarl, Unar2 and Tell Abraq
were relatively distinct in terms of their overall composi-
tion, with Unarl tin-bronzes higher in sulfur and iron,
Unar2 tin-bronzes higher in arsenic and lead, and Tell
Abraq tin-bronzes distinguished by higher levels of silver
and low cobalt concentrations.
In the following chapter, the various metallurgical
practices and exchange patterns that have shaped the
compositional data presented here are discussed.
Attention is paid particularly to the mining, smelting
and alloying processes which may have facilitated the
production of the AsINi-copper so prominent in the
early Umm al-Nar Period objects from A1 Sufouh, and to
the exchange systems which brought tin and tin-bronze

Results of Compositional Analyses 103

 A1 Sufouh Unar l

Unar2 Tell Abraq

Figure 4.28 Alloy use in the four Umm al-Nar Period tomb assemblages.

104 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf


5 Discussion of Compositional
Results
Introduction
This chapter addresses the PIXE compositional data
summarized in Chapter Four. Mineralogical and techno-
logical perspectives are examined to determine the nature
of the ore sources that may have been exploited, and to
review processes of alloy selection and manufacture.
Discussion of alloying practices in the metal assemblages
is relevant to elements such as tin, arsenic, and nickel
that are present in amounts greater than one to two per-
cent, although these same elements are commonly pres-
ent in quantities of less than one percent and the bound-
ary between "alloying element" and "impurity" is in
some cases unclear (cf. Wertirne 1973:882). A detailed
discussion of different approaches to the question of
"intentionality" in alloy production is presented.
Furthermore, compositional analyses of copper-base
artifacts have frequently been used as the basis for dis-
cussions of provenance and reconstructions of trade pat-
terns (e.g. Berthoud et al. 1980; Malfoy and Menu 1987).
The feasibility of using "diagnostic" trace element con-
centrations alone to outline ore sources has been serious-
ly questioned over the last twenty years and more (e.g.
Craddock 1976:94; Gale and Stos-Gale 1982: 11; Budd
et al. 1992:678; Craddock and Giumlia-Mair 1988),
although elements which are more likely to be represen-
tative of provenanceasopposed to extraction o r alloying
processes have been delineated by Pernicka (1999).
However, as has been noted by Moorey (1982:82), "once
industries had developed to the point.. .when a variety of
ores were being used under different conditions, with or
without fluxes, alloys were commonplace, and the recy-
cling of copperwork was normal practice, provenience
studies depending on elemental analysis are as likely to
confuse as they are to clarify the relationships of source
areas and distant production centres". When the multiple
factors potentially contributing to the final composition
of a metal object are considered, the difficulties involved
in determining provenance based purely upon composi-
tional analysis are clear.
However, compositional studies can play an impor-
tant role in discussions of trade, if interpreted within a
framework that allows for the complexity involved in
metal extraction and object fabrication and the composi-
tional heterogeneity of many ore sources (e.g. Budd et al.
1996). For example, basic geological considerations limit
the areas in which tin deposits are likely to occur
(McGeehan-Liritzis and Taylor 1987): the geology of
southeastern Arabia precludes the formation of such
deposits, and the use of tin in copper-base objects from
this region is therefore important information for delineat-
ing the movement of tin or tin-bronze into this area.
In the sections below, a number of different aspects
of the PIXE data are discussed. Firstly, the significance of
the iron and sulfur levels found in the samples is
addressed. Subsequently, the compositional data for the
two major alloy categories (arseniclnickel-copper and tin-
bronze) are investigated, with particular emphasis on pos-
sible techniques of production, aspects of alloy selection,
and the trade in metals.
Iron and Sulfur
Iron and sulfur are addressed here together because they
frequently appear combined in non-metallic inclusions in
copper objects as a result of the exploitation of Cu-Fe
sulfides (Hauptmann et al. 1988:37; Weeks, forthcoming a),
and are both impurities that are generally removed during
the refining process to improve the quality of the finished
object. As outlined in Chapter Four, iron concentrations
in the Umm al-Nar Period objects were commonly on the
order of 0.2-2.0 percent, with a mode in the 0.56-1.0
percent Fe range. Objects generally contained less than
one percent sulfur, with one mode in the 0.18-0.32 per-
cent S range and another for samples with S concentra-
tions less than the MDL of approximately 0.1 percent S.
 The iron and sulfur concentrations recorded in the
PIXE samples are sometimes as high as elements like
arsenic, nickel, and tin, which are treated as alloying
components. However, the presence of sulfur and iron in
the Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this volume
are likely to reflect processes other than intentional alloy-
ing. For example, Fe and S have been regarded as indica-
tive of the ores selected (e.g. Friedman et al. 1966; Rapp
1988), the smelting technology used (Tylecote et al. 1977;
CraddockandMeeks 1987; Craddockl995: 137-140) or
the refining practices employed (Tylecote and Boydell
1978), and the possibility of their presence through con-
tamination must also be considered (Craddock 1976:96).
To discuss the final possibility first, it has already
been clearly shown in the Chapter Four that part of the
iron content in the analyzed PIXE samples probably
reflects contamination after deposition. However, the
amount of iron possibly contributed by contamination is
unlikely to have dramatically altered the basic pattern of
the iron concentrations of the analyzed samples. Both
high- and low-contamination samples show iron concen-
trations frequently approaching one percent, with occa-
sional objects containing significantly higher amounts. It
is also unlikely that the sulfur concentrations recorded
by PIXE are the result of contamination, as discussed in
Chapter Four. Sulfur concentrations recorded in this
study compare closely with previous studies of uncor-
roded metal objects from the Gulf region and can be
related to the presence of numerous copper sulfide
(matte) inclusions in finished objects and ingots from
Bronze Age and Iron Age contexts in the Gulf (Weeks
1997; Weeks, forthcoming a, b; Prange and Hauptmann
2001; Pedersen and Buchwald 1991).
Thus, although the possibility of the inclusion of con-
taminant iron and sulfur in the PIXE samples exists, most
indicators would suggest that contamination levels were
relatively low in comparison to the original Fe and S con-
centrations of the objects. However, such considerations
create uncertainty over the reliability of the PIXE data for
iron and sulfur, and the following discussion should be
read with such a caveat in mind. The data for iron and
sulfur are important in reconstructing a number of aspects
of ancient metal use in the region, but the problems asso-
ciated with their measurement in corroded samples have
permitted me only a conservative interpretation.
1 06 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Iron
As noted by Craddock and Meeks (1987:189), "of all
the minor and trace elements regularly found in early
copper, iron is the most dependent on the smelting
process". Iron is frequently included in furnace charges,
either as a component of the ore being smelted (e.g. chal-
copyrite, bornite, or arsenopyrite) or as a flux used to
aid the separation of copper from siliceous gangue (e.g.
hematite). The transfer of significant amounts of this
iron to the raw copper produced at the end of the smelt
is controlled in part by the extraction process that is
used (Craddock and Meeks 1987; Lechtman and Klein
l999:5 17). Copper smelted using a slagging process
(often incorporating iron-bearing fluxes), is likely to con-
tain significant amounts of iron (experimental recon-
structions have produced raw copper with from 10-50
percent Fe; see Merkel 1983, 1986). This is because iron
is soluble in copper, and dissolves readily into the newly-
formed copper droplets as they drain to the bottom of
the furnace through the iron-rich slag (Craddock and
Gale 1988:179; Craddock 1995:Figure 4.6). In contrast,
"primitive" smelting procedures such as reconstructed
for the Early Bronze Age of western Europe and the
British Isles (Budd et al. 1992), which involved only the
smelting of high-grade copper ores at lower temperatures
and in a less reducing atmosphere, are likely to result in
the production of copper with much lower levels of iron
(Craddock and Meeks 1987:Table 1; see also Cowell
1987:99). Average iron concentrations of around 0.05
percent are characteristic of copper produced using such
non-slagging extraction techniques, whereas a slagging
process commonly produces iron concentrations an
order of magnitude higher (Craddock 1995:139).
Experiments undertaken by Lechtman and Klein
(l999:5 15-5 16) also demonstrated the strong uptake of
iron in smelting operations with mixed oxide, carbonate
and sulfidic ores (known as "CO-smelting"),with concen-
trations approaching 8 percent Fe in some cases.
It is an interesting feature of early metal use and
trade that raw copper in ingot form frequently contained
significant amounts of impurities such as iron and sulfur.
The purity or otherwise of a shipment of copper was
obviously of concern to those involved in the movement
of this material in Bronze Age western Asia, as a number
of textual references testify (Leemans 1960:36-54).
However, the refining and purification of raw copper
seems generally to have been the responsibility of the
metalworker who received the material at its destina-
tion, rather than the producer of the metal at its
source (Moorey 1994:243, 249; Moorey et al. 1988:47;
Craddock and Giumlia-Mair l988:318). Although the
tendency to trade copper of highly variable quality
was no doubt a problem for merchants in the late
third and early second millennia in southern
Mesopotamia (Oppenheim 1954; Leemans 1960:19-54),
and may even have led to an occasional attempt at
deception (Hauptmann 1987:Abb. 2; Weisgerber and
Yule 2003), it was probably undertaken to avoid the
further use of fuel in source areas with limited wood
supplies, and facilitated by the ease of purification of
the metal at its destination. Iron concentrations could
easily be reduced to approximately 0.5 percent by the
refining of the raw copper in a crucible (Craddock
and Meeks 1987:192). With the addition of sand or
crushed quartz to the molten metal, an iron-rich cru-
cible slag would form and float to the surface of the
metal, where it could be removed by skimming
(Tylecote and Boydell 1978).
Iron concentrations in copper ingots and raw cop-
per pieces analyzed in previous studies of Gulf metal-
lurgy are occasionally very high; in the one to four
percent Fe range in Umm al-Nar Period ingots from
Oman (Hauptmann 1987) and up to 10 percent Fe in
ingots from the early second millennium BCE settle-
ment of Saar on Bahrain (Weeks, forthcoming a). Such
high iron levels match those of raw copper produced
by extraction processes involving slag production at
other sites in western Asia such as Timna (see
Craddock and Giumlia-Mair l 9 8 8:Figure 182), and
would have had a strongly deleterious effect on the
working properties of the metal. In southeastern
Arabia, a number of forms of evidence suggest that
such raw copper was regularly refined prior to object
fabrication. Firstly, the widespread presence of metal-
lurgical refining debris on settlements in southeastern
Arabia and on Bahrain suggests that copper refining
away from areas of primary production was common-
place. For example, at the Bronze Age sites of Ra's al-
Jinz (Cleuziou and Tosi 2000:57), Tell Abraq (Weeks
1997), Qala'at al-Bahrain (e.g. Harjlund and Andersen
1994:378) and Saar (Weeks, forthcoming a), and the
Iron Age settlement of Muweilah (Weeks, forthcoming
b), many hundreds of fragments of metallurgical refin-
ing waste have been recovered. The compositional data
for metallurgical waste samples from these sites (Weeks
1997; Weeks, forthcoming a, b) indicate that refining
was carried out primarily to remove impurities of iron
and sulfur from the raw copper (see Figure 5.1).
Secondly, the relatively low iron concentrations of
most finished objects analyzed in this volume in com-
parison to data for raw copper ingots are suggestive of
a refining stage between smelting and object fabrica-
tion. However, the presence of relatively high iron con-
centrations (in excess of approximately one percent Fe)
in more than one-quarter of the analyzed objects indi-
cates that refining may not have been rigorously prac-
ticed in the production of objects at settlements in
southeastern Arabia.
The experimental smelting studies of Tylecote et al.
(1977) indicated that iron levels in raw copper pro-
duced from roasted sulfidic ores are much lower than
in copper objects produced by direct reduction from
oxide ores. The commonly posited beginning of the
exploitation of massive sulfide deposits in southeastern
Arabia in the Iron Age (Weisgerber 1987:145;
Weisgerber 198 8:286), which probably required the
introduction of the roasting techniques necessary to
exclusively exploit such ores, may be reflected in the
lower Fe concentrations in Iron Age samples analyzed
in previous studies.
Figure 5.1 Iron and sulfur levels in finished objects from AI Sufouh,
Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq, in comparison to secondary refining
waste from the later settlements of Saar (Bahrain) and Muweilah
(U.A.E.).
Discussion of Compositional Results 107
Sulfur
As for iron, sulfur can be introduced to the furnace
charge as a component of the copper ore, or through the
slagging and fluxing components (Rapp 1989: 107; cf.
Tylecote 1977:Table 5). A study by Rapp (1989) has sug-
gested that the sulfur concentrations of finished objects
may be a good discriminator of smelted copper as
opposed to native copper, as well as potentially indicate
the type of ore that was used. Rapp's research indicates
that S concentrations in native copper are generally very
low (on average <400 ppm), with slightly higher values
recorded in oxidized copper ores like malachite and azu-
rite (on average <1,000 ppm S), while copper smelted
from sulfur-bearing ores is likely to have significantly
higher S concentrations. However, other studies have sug-
gested that the discrimination of ore type based on sulfur
and other trace elements is not possible (Ericson et al.
1982). For example, Tylecote's (1977:Table 5) study of
the sulfur concentrations of oxide and roasted sulfide
ores show no significant differences between the two ore
types, and a study of the compositional groupings observ-
able in Early Bronze Age metal objects in the British Isles
ignores sulfur and iron concentrations as "not significant
for classification purposes" (Northover l977:69). In
other instances, the use of sulfidic ores is thought to have
been demonstrated by the presence of copper sulfide
(matte) inclusions in copper objects, although the reliabil-
ity of such a conclusion has been brought into question
by the observation of matte inclusions in copper objects
produced from relatively pure oxidized copper ores (Gale
et al. 1985: 91-92; Charles 1980:164).
Thus, the issue of determining ore types utilized in
antiquity by examining the sulfur composition of contem-
porary finished objects is a complex one. In addition to
the requirement for distinct differences in the sulfur con-
centrations of oxide and sulfide ores, correct attributions
to ore types must also account for the effects of the:
1. Possible roasting of sulfidic ores prior to smelt-
ing to remove sulfur.
2. Sulfur content of the fluxes used during smelting.
3. Refining processes undertaken after the initial
smelting.
4. Contribution of sulfur by alloying and recycling
additions.
5. Possible presence of sulfur as a contaminant.
108 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Obviously, roasting processes which are designed
either to concentrate copper-sulfides and oxidize iron-
sulfides (partial roasting), or to convert copper-sulfides
to oxides (dead-roasting) will affect the amount of sulfur
in the final metal. Significant contributions of sulfur by
fluxing agents have been noted in the smelting and trace
element partitioning studies undertaken by Tylecote
(1977:Table 5; Tylecote et al. 1977), while almost all
newly-smelted copper produced from a slagging process
is likely to have required refining to reduce its iron con-
tent (see above). These refining operations will also have
significantly reduced the sulfur concentration of the fin-
ished metal object (Tylecote et al. 1977:330). When
added to the further unknown sulfur contribution of
alloying components (e.g. Charles 1980:164) and the
possible inclusion of recycled material of uncertain com-
position, attempts to determine ore type based on sulfur
levels can be seen to face the same problems which have
confounded metal provenance studies based only on
compositional data.
In a southeastern Arabian context, determining
whether the sulfur concentrations in the analyzed PIXE
samples represent the use of oxide or sulfide ores is an
issue of little concern. The high sulfur levels (from
approximately 0.2-1.2 percent) in copper ingots from
Maysar 1 result from the presence of matte inclusions
(consisting of nearly pure Cu2S) in the objects, which are
demonstrated to have resulted from the use of sulfur-
bearing ores as well as oxide ores in the smelting charge
(i.e. CO-smelting)already by the third millennium BCE
(Hauptmann et al. 1988:36-37). The composition of the
matte in the Maysar 1 ingots probably indicates that sul-
fur-bearing ores with a low iron concentration (chiefly
brochantite) were selected for use (however, see
Lechtman and Klein 1999, for smelting experiments with
high-Fe charges that produced copper with no iron-bear-
ing matte inclusions). Very large matte inclusions of rela-
tively pure copper sulfide have also been observed in
copper ingots from the Early Dilmun settlement of Saar
(Weeks, forthcoming a:Figure 3). The occasional occur-
rence of copper ingots with high levels of iron and sulfur
is thought to reflect instances where ores with higher
iron contents have been smelted, with both the iron and
sulfur present in the metal as matte inclusions
(Hauptmann et al. 1988:36-37).
 Matte inclusions have been observed in finished
objects from the region, particularly at Tell Abraq
(Pedersen and Buchwald 1991:7; Weeks 1997:Figures
34-36), and are likely to account for the majority of the
sulfur and at least part of the iron present in the finished
objects analyzed by PIXE. The high sulfur content of the
Umm al-Nar Period objects thus results from the smelt-
ing of mixed oxide and sulfur-bearing copper ores, and
the incomplete separation of metallic copper from the
matte which was also produced during the one-step
smelting process employed in southeastern Arabia in the
Bronze Age (Hauptmann 1985). A comparison of Fe and
S concentrations in finished objects and secondary refin-
ing waste is illustrated in Figure 5.1, and suggests raw
copper produced in southeastern Arabia was refined
prior to object fabrication principally to remove such
iron and sulfur impurities. The high levels of iron seen in
many of the analyzed samples cannot be accounted for
purely by the presence of iron-rich matte inclusions (as
proposed by Hauptmann et al. 1988:37). As described
above, iron-bearing fluxes can contribute a significant
amount of metallic iron to the raw copper produced
during a smelt.
Arsenic, Nickel and Cobalt
As noted in the previous chapter, nickel and arsenic
occur frequently in the copper-base objects analyzed in
this volume at concentrations of approximately one to
five percent, and occasionally higher. Cobalt levels in
finished objects are commonly in the range of 0-0.3 per-
cent, with a few objects containing more than 0.5 per-
cent Co. The results of the PIXE analyses concur with
previous analyses of material from southeastern Arabia,
and more generally with analyses of early metal objects
from both the Old and New Worlds. Enormous numbers
of analyses of copper-base objects have clearly indicated
that in many areas of Europe, Asia and the Americas
copper objects with significant levels of arsenic and
other elements such as antimony and nickel were a fea-
ture of early metallurgy (as even a cursory glance at the
literature will reveal, e.g. Cheng and Schwitter 1957;
Charles 1967, 1980; Junghans et al. 1968; Branigan
1974:71-76; Eaton and McKerrell 1976:Figure 9; Eaton
1977; Heskel and Lamberg-Karlovsky 1980; Moorey
1982:87, 1994:250-251; Agrawal 1984; Cowell 1987;
Malfoy and Menu 1987; Hosler 1988, 1995; Lechtman
1988, 1996; Lechtman and Klein 1999; Chernykh 1992;
Riederer 1994; Lahiri 1995:Figure 2; Tadmor et al.
1995; Hauptmann 1995; Montero Fenoll6s 1997:13-15).
In the following sections, the data for As, Ni and
CO concentrations in the objects analyzed in this volume
are discussed in relation to data from southeastern
Arabia and elsewhere. The possible mineralogical and
technological reasons for the production and use of
high-AsINi objects are investigated, in addition to expla-
nations for the chronological variation in As, Ni and CO
concentrations.
Mineralogy: Associations of Arsenic, Nickel,
Cobalt and Copper in Ore Deposits
"In both the Old World.. .and the Americas, copper-
arsenic alloys were produced over a vast area, from
Russia to Great Britain and from Chile to Mexico. This
production was made possible by the relatively large
number of metallic mineral species that contain arsenic,
by their geological CO-occurrencewith ores of copper,
and by the widespread association of these ores in the
earth's crust" (Lechtman 1996:477).
As the passage above suggests, the widespread pro-
duction and use of copper with As concentrations of
greater than approximately one percent is at least partly
related to the mineralogy of the copper deposits which
were exploited in antiquity. A similar explanation is like-
ly to be an important factor in the appearance of high
levels of elements such as antimony, nickel and cobalt in
some early copper-base objects. Ores containing arsenic,
antimony, nickel and cobalt can be found associated
with copper in the oxidized, enriched and primary ore
zones of many weathered ore deposits (Charles 1985:25;
Pigott 1999a, 1999b). For example, arsenopyrite (FeAsS)
is virtually ubiquitous in the primary unweathered zone
of many copper deposits (Rutley 1988:250), including
those in Peru used by the early metal producers of the
Andean culture area (Lechtman 1988:356; 1996:478).
Antimony and arsenic are often concentrated in the sec-
ondary enriched zone of copper deposits as copper sul-
farsenides, where they form a mineralogical series from
tennantite (Cul2As4SI3)to tetrahedrite (Cu12Sb4S13)
(Dana 1958:454; Tadmor et al. 1995; Shalev et al. 1992;
Lechtman 1988, 1996), as found in a number of copper
Discussion of Compositional Results 109
mines in eastern Turkey and Iran (e.g. Zwicker
1977:106; 1989). Such ores are likely to weather to
malachite and azurite and other complex oxides of cop-
per, arsenic and antimony that are present in the upper
oxidized zone of many copper deposits (Lechtman
1996:477; Rapp 1988:25; Budd et al. 1992:680; Charles
1985:25).
To give a relevant example of the mineralogical
association of copper with elements such as As, Sb, Ni
and CO, the Talmessi mine in the Anarak region of Iran
has been described as follows:
An extraordinary assemblage of primary and
secondary minerals has been identified at the
Talmessi mine, including primary copper,
nickel and cobalt arsenides (algonodite,
domeykite, nickeline, rammelsbergite, saf-
flonite, skutterudite), native copper, chal-
cocite, and concretionary pitchblende. In
more or less intimate association are the less
abundant sulfides (pyrite, galena, sphalerite,
bornite, covellite, chalcopyrite) and cuprite"
(Bariand et al. 1993:464).
In addition to this collection of minerals, native copper,
nickel and cobalt have been recorded at Talmessi, and
the nearby Meskani mine has similar mineralization
(Bariand et al. 1993:464; see also Heskel and Lamberg-
Karlovsky 1980; Pigott 1999a, 1999b).
Studies of early metallurgy have attempted to out-
line which kinds of ores were the most likely to have
been exploited to produce copper with significant quan-
tities of As, Sb, Ni or other elements. For objects from
the Chalcolithic Nahal Mishmar hoard, for example,
high As and Sb concentrations, correlations between As,
Sb, Ag and Bi concentrations, and the presence of Cu-
Sb-As-sulfide inclusions in the objects are clear evidence
for the use of sulfidic ores of the fahlerz type in their
production (Tadmor et al. 1995:131-132; Shalev et al.
1992:69). Other scholars have stressed the technological
complexity of extracting copper from sulfidic ores, and
proposed that arsenates from the oxidized zone of ore
deposits are more likely to have been the basis of early
arsenical coppers. Rapp (1988:25) l'ists numerous arsenates
which occur with copper in Europe, Russia, western Asia
and elsewhere, including erythrite ( C O ~ ( A S O ~ ) ~ . ~ H ~ Oper-bearing
and annabergite (Ni3(As04)2.8H20).According to
110 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Rapp, these last two minerals could account for the occa-
sional high Ni or CO concentrations of arsenical copper.
Moreover, Budd et al. (1992:680; also Budd 1993:36)
note the visual similarity of copper arsenates (including
nickel-bearing species) and more common copper miner-
als such as malachite, and suggest that such minerals are
likely to have been inadvertently incorporated into the
smelting charge (see also Charles 1980:168-1 69).
Thus, an understanding of the mineralogy of the
copper deposits of southeastern Arabia is of crucial
importance in determining the metal products that might
be extracted from them. Predictably, most modern geo-
logical research has focused upon the geochemistry and
mineralogy of the massive sulfide copper deposits in the
Sultanate of Oman. In contrast, archaeometallurgical
research has highlighted the importance of copper
deposits from lower in the ophiolitic sequence and the
mineralogical differences between these ores and the
massive sulfide deposits.
Although there is significant mineralogical variation
between each of the major massive sulfide copper
deposits in southeastern Arabia (i.e. Lasail, Bayda, 'Arja
and Raki), the levels of As, Sb and Ni in these deposits
are generally very low. The 'Arja deposit has higher rela-
tive As concentrations than either Lasail or Bayda (Ixer
et al. 1984:B122), and contains minor concentrations of
tennantite with compositions very close to the tennantite
end-member of the tennantite-tetrahedrite series (Ixer et
al. 1986:42). While Ni and As levels are lower at Lasail
and Bayda (c250 ppm), these deposits have higher CO
concentrations of up to approximately 550 ppm (Ixer et
al. 1984:B118; cf. Goettler et al. 1976:49 for similar pat-
terns; Batchelor 1992:B116). At Lasail, CO, Ni and As
occur within the minor quantities of carrolite that are
found in the chalcopyrite and within zoned pyrite (Ixer
et al. l984:Bll8). Arsenopyrite and enargite (Cu3AsS4)
are present in trace quantities at Raki, but not at Lasail,
Bayda and 'Arja (Lescuyer et al. 1988:499 and Table 1).
The use of rich fahlerz ores for copper production in
southeastern Arabia is extremely unlikely, as zones of
secondary enrichment are not reported from any of the
major massive sulfide deposits (Hauptmann 1985:25).
Nickel is present in minor amounts in all iron- and cop-
) phases in all the massive sulfide deposits
(Ixer et al. 1986:43).
 In contrast, the oxidized copper deposits of the
lower crustal and mantle sequences of the Semail ophio-
lite, which are exceptionally abundant in comparison to
other ophiolites (Lorand l 9 8 8:68), show much higher
concentrations of Ni, As and Co. As noted by
Hauptmann et al. ( l 9 88:35), nickel "is clearly concen-
trated with cobalt and arsenic in veins situated in peri-
dotitic rocks (Ni up to 0.6 percent, CO up to 0.12 per-
cent, As up to 0.2 percent)". The much higher nickel
concentration of copper deposits in mantle-level rocks is
indicated by the studies of Goettler et al. (197650) and
Hauptmann (1985:32 and Table 2), who notes that in
mantle-hosted deposits, chalcopyrite is intergrown with
small amounts of cobaltite (CoAsS), loellingite (FeAs2),
and other Fe-CO-Ni-As minerals and nickel silicates
(Hauptmann et al. 1988:35; Hauptmann 1985:32;
Prange et al. 1999:188).
Hauptmann (1995:246-248) further notes that nick-
eline (or kupfernickel NiAs) is one of the most frequent
nickel ores associated with copper ores in basic and
ultrabasic plutonic rocks such as those found in south-
eastern Arabia, and suggests that metal produced from
such deposits is likely to contain As and Ni as natural
impurities (Hauptmann 1995:246-248). Furthermore,
Hauptmann and Weisgerber (1980:135-1 37) note the
presence of one piece of arsenic speiss at the Bronze Age
site of Maysar, the composition of which suggested the
exploitation of arsenic minerals such as domeykite
(Cu3As), as yet undiscovered, which are nevertheless
likely to have occurred in the region. This position is
supported by the CO-smeltingstudies of Rostoker and
Dvorak (1991), which indicate that the direct dissolution
in molten copper of soluble minerals such as nickeline
and dome~kiteis a feasible process for the production of
nickel and arsenic alloys (cf. Heskel and Lamberg-
Karlovsky 1980).
This archaeometallurgical research is supported by
general geological studies, and by specific
geological/mineralogical studies of ophiolite-hosted ores
in southeastern Arabia and Cyprus. General studies indi-
cate the occurrence of Ni-CO-Cu sulfides in ophiolitic
serpentinites (Jankovic 1986:26) and, as noted by R. G.
Thomas (personal communication 1999) "associations
of As, CO, Cu and Ni are exactly what one would expect
from ultramafic deposits.. .There are numerous Co-As-
sulfides and Ni-As-sulfides that oxidize to a solid solu-
tion series from erythrite to annabergite". Geological
research in the Sultanate of Oman has recorded the pres-
ence of Fe-Ni-Cu sulfides in upper mantle tectonite peri-
dotites in the Semail Ophiolite, while both primary and
secondary Cu-Fe-Ni-S mineral assemblages have been
found in Semail upper mantle rocks affected by serpen-
tinization (Lorand l 9 8 8:62). These secondary Cu-Fe-Ni
minerals occur only within intergranular sulfides in con-
tact with serpentine veinlets, and include awaruite
(Ni3Fe),native copper, native iron and traces of millerite
(NiS) and heazlewoodite (Ni3S) (Lorand l988:62). The
Ni and As-rich peridotite-hosted deposits of the Semail
Ophiolite are very similar to those recorded in the
Limassol Forest Plutonic Complex of the Troodos
Ophiolite on Cyprus, which were probably exploited as
early as the Classical or Roman periods. The Cu-Ni-Co-
Fe sulfide mineralization of the Limassol Forest is in the
form of lenses, veins and disseminations of sulfides and
minor (nickel) arsenides in highly deformed and serpen-
tinized peridotites or dunites (Panayiotou 1980: 102).
Overall, it is clear that the significant quantities of
As, Ni, and CO in the objects from Umm al-Nar Period
tomb assemblages, and in particular the correlations
between these elements, are compatible with the geologi-
cal milieu of copper deposits in southeastern Arabia.
However, as noted above, the potential of the PIXE
analyses to confidently suggest a local provenance for
the objects is limited by both archaeological and geologi-
cal factors. Processes of refining, alloying, recycling, and
corrosion have no doubt affected the composition of the
copper-base objects since the initial extraction of their
metal. Moreover, copper ores with significant As, Ni and
CO concentrations are also to be found in geological
contexts outside southeastern Arabia, most significantly
in some of the copper deposits of the Iranian Plateau.
The discussion of provenance will be resumed in Chapter
Seven, where the evidence from lead isotope analyses
will be introduced alongside the compositional data.
Metallurgy: Properties of Copper Alloys
with Arsenic and Nickel
The discussion above serves to indicate that copper with
relatively high levels of As, Ni and CO could have been
produced (inadvertently or otherwise) from copper ores
Discussion of Compositional Results 1 11
available locally in southeastern Arabia, or from more
distant sources. In discussing the alloying practices of
the region, it is important to understand the properties
that such copper alloys would have possessed. A signifi-
cant amount of information on the properties of arseni-
cal copper has appeared in archaeometallurgical litera-
ture over the last twenty years, and the understanding of
the mechanical properties of this alloy is well advanced.
The effects of other alloying elements occasionally pres-
ent in quantities of approximately one to 10 percent,
such as antimony and nickel, have been less thoroughly
investigated. As has been noted by Lechtman (1998:84),
the lack of modern industrial uses for the copper-
arsenic-nickel alloy has meant that metallurgists have
not characterized the physical properties of this ternary
alloy. The discussion of the properties of AsINi-copper
is, as a result of this lacuna in research, somewhat spec-
ulative in nature.
The addition of arsenic to copper in quantities of up
to seven or eight weight percent allows for large
improvements in ductility, and produces and alloy which
can be both hot and cold worked to a significant degree
without breakage (Charles 1967:24, 1985; Coghlan
1972; Northover 1989: 112). Furthermore, Charles
(1967:24) notes that the improvements in workability
offered by arsenical copper are most apparent in sam-
ples with high oxygen levels, similar to those which
might be produced by primitive casting processes.
Arsenic in concentrations of greater than one percent is
also likely to improve the casting properties of the
metal, by lowering the melting point of the alloy and
acting as a deoxidant (Craddock 1995:291).
The majority of studies examining the mechanical
properties of arsenical copper have been interested in
assessing the performance of the alloy against that of
tin-bronze. Charles (1967:24) has stated that alloys with
up to 8 percent As "can give strength and hardness
equivalent to tin bronze", a conclusion supported by a
number of subsequent studies (Ravich and Ryndina
1995:6; Lechtman 1996506). Within this range,
Northover (1989:113) argues that arsenic concentrations
of approximately two percent or less offer very little
improvement over pure copper, and only alloys contain-
ing approximately four percent As or more have the sig-
nificantly improved strength, toughness and casting
112 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
properties typical of medium tin-bronzes. It is generally
acknowledged that while tin-bronze can be work hard-
ened to a greater extent that arsenical copper (Lechtman
1996:506), arsenical copper has greater ductility and can
be worked hot or cold, whereas tin-bronze is hot-short.
However, determining the exact properties of an
arsenical copper alloy based upon compositional analysis
is potentially complicated by a number of factors. Bulk
chemical analysis cannot always be directly related to
mechanical properties because the amount of arsenic in
solid solution (and thus able to affect the properties of
the metal) is indeterminate: up to 25 percent of the As in
an object might be isolated as arsenious oxide (As2O3)
(Northover 1989: 111-1 12). Additionally, mechanical
and other properties of the metal, such as its physical
appearance, can also be difficult determine due to the
process of inverse segregation which is seen in many
copper-arsenic alloys. As described by Eaton (1977: 164):
"A high arsenic content imports to copper a bright
silver colour, a 'silver' which indeed tarnished less readi-
ly than silver per se. On casting even a relatively low
arsenic content in the copper exhibits the phenomenon
of inverse segregation. In this phenomenon, a small
quantity of high arsenic content copper (approximately
15-20 percent As) is forced to the surface to form a com-
plete outer 'skin' of silvery metal".
For example, analyses of surface and core samples of
arsenical copper objects from the Bronze Age Levant
revealed arsenic concentrations of approximately 28 per-
cent at the surface of objects with core levels of only 4.5-
6 percent As (Shalev 1988:Table 2). Due to the non-equi-
librium conditions in which most pre-Industrial metal-
working operations were undertaken, segregation
begins to be a feature of cast alloys with as little as
two percent As, with the resulting silver surface tar-
nishing to a golden colour (Northover l 9 8 9 : l l S ) .
Numerous Old World examples of silvered surfaces
produced by manipulating the arsenic content of
objects and its tendency to segregate have been listed
by Eaton and McKerrell (1976:175-177; see also Smith
1973; Craddock 1995:290-292), and comparable exam-
ples from the New World are not difficult to come by
(e.g. Hosler 1995:lOO-101). In a number of cases,
archaeometallurgists regard the use of silver-colored
arsenical coppers as evidence for traditions in which
maximum mechanical efficiency is not the only aim of
alloy production (e.g. Philip 1991:lOl). The primary
archaeological examples of the effects of arsenic (and
antimony) on the appearance of copper alloys are the
objects from the Chalcolithic Nahal Mishmar hoard
(Tadmor et al. 1995) and a number of figurines from
Bronze Age Anatolian sites such as Horoztepe (Smith
1973). The effect of significant arsenic concentrations
on the colour of copper is also demonstrated by a
piece of metallurgical debris, perhaps a casting spill,
from the Saar settlement on Bahrain, which contained
approximately 20 percent As and had a very bright sil-
ver-white appearance (Weeks, forthcoming a).
Nickel is likely to produce some effects in copper
alloys similar to those produced by quantities of As in
the one to five percent range (cf. Lechtman 1998:84),
and the common association of elevated nickel levels
with elevated As concentrations is highlighted by
Riederer (1994:89). Cheng and Schwitter (1957:351)
state that the effect of nickel as an alloying element
becomes noticeable at concentrations in excess of one
percent, and suggest that a copper-nickel alloy would
have "proved more effective for implements and
weapons than ordinary copper or bronze". From such
a statement, it can be concluded that Ni could improve
the strength and hardness of copper. Additionally, the
common designation of Chinese and western nickel-
copper alloys with approximately five to 1 5 percent Ni
as "white copper" or "white metal" (Cheng and
Schwitter 1957:354-358) suggests that nickel could
change the appearance of copper metal, to the light or
silvery colour described above for some arsenical cop-
per samples. Modern metallographic studies of copper
nickel alloys containing from two to 30 percent Ni
report segregation between the alloying elements, and
complete homogenization is not achievable even
through repeated mechanical and thermal treatments
(Copper Development Association 2003). One Umm al-
Nar Period object from southeastern Arabia analyzed
by Prange et al. (1999:189) contained 1 2 percent nick-
el, and was said to possess a distinctive "pale golden
colour", and Lechtman (1998:84) reports that
"depending upon the relative amounts of arsenic and
nickel present, the alloy colour can range from pale yel-
low to silver".
Thus, copper-base objects from the U.A.E and the
Sultanate of Oman which contain in excess of approxi-
mately one to two percent of arsenic andlor nickel are
likely to have had physical properties distinctly different
to those of pure copper. These properties are hard to
quantify, but it is clear that As-Ni-copper would have
provided a significantly better material for casting than
pure copper, particularly as concentrations reached two
percent A s N i or higher. Numerous studies have attested
to the great ductility and workability of arsenical copper,
and increases in alloy hardness are likely to be signifi-
cant in the three to seven percent A s N i range. A final
factor that must be considered is the appearance of these
alloys. In a number of ancient production centers, alloys
of copper with arsenic and nickel are known to have
been used because of the changes in surface appearance
that they display. The property of inverse segregation
possessed by arsenical copper alloys means that objects
with bulk compositions of as low as two to three percent
As can have arsenic-enriched surfaces with a bright, sil-
very appearance. The similar manipulation of alloy
colour through the addition of nickel has also been doc-
umented, although concentrations are generally in the
five to 15 percent Ni range. It is likely that copper-base
objects from southeastern Arabia with arsenic and nickel
concentrations in excess of three to four percent were of
significantly different appearance to other copper
objects. Fifteen of the 50 copper objects from Umm al-
Nar tomb contexts analyzed in this study contain more
than 3 percent of combined As and Ni, with nine of
these from A1 Sufouh. The special and advantageous
physical properties of these objects are likely to have dis-
tinguished them from contemporary copper-base objects.
Technology: Production of As-Ni-copper Alloys
Two basic mechanisms for producing arsenical copper
can be envisaged: the addition of arsenic or arsenic-bear-
ing minerals to molten copper at a relatively late stage in
the production process, or the smelting of a mixed fur-
nace charge bearing both copper and arsenic minerals
(or combined copper-arsenic ores such as enargite and
tennantite). The first practice would suggest the inten-
tional production of a copper-arsenic alloy, whereas
smelting of mixed copper and arsenic minerals could fea-
sibly have resulted from either the accidental or inten-
Discussionof Compositional Results 1 13
tional mixture of such ores (see Rostoker and Dvorak
1991:S, for a discussion of potential processes).
Lechtman (1996:481) has stated that the production
of arsenical copper in South America "was inescapable,
once arsenic-bearing ores were included in the furnace
or crucible charge, as they often were". However, the
types of ores exploited to produce such alloys in many
prehistoric metallurgical systems remain a matter of
debate (Budd et al. 1992:679-680). As noted above,
arsenic ores are associated with copper in both the oxi-
dized and primary unweathered zones of many base
metal deposits, and secondary enriched ores of the
fahlerz type include mineral species such as enargite and
tennantite which contain both copper and arsenic.
The most basic reconstruction is given by Budd et
al. (1992), who propose the utilization of oxidized
arsenic-bearing copper ores (copper arsenates) as the
basis of the production of arsenical copper in Early
Bronze Age Britain, in which objects never contained
more than approximately five percent As. They argue
that smelting operations must have been conducted at
relatively low temperatures (approximately 900 degrees
C) in order to avoid the occasional production of high-
As alloys. At low temperatures, As uptake is controlled
by kinetic considerations rather than Cu:As ratios in the
furnace charge, meaning that alloys with approximately
one to five percent As will be produced (Budd et al.
1992:680). They state that "suites of arsenic and anti-
mony-bearing oxide zone copper (11) minerals can be
simply smelted, with or without common secondary
copper ores such as azurite and malachite and at tem-
peratures obtainable in the most basic furnace structures
(or with no structures at all), to form copper alloys of
the compositions reported for Copper and early Bronze
Age metalwork from the British Isles" (Budd et al.
1992:683). A similar process is thought to explain the
incorporation of Ni into copper, although the tempera-
tures required are slightly higher (approximately 1000
degrees C) (Budd 1993:36-37). The studies by Budd et
al. (1992, 1993b; see also Budd 1993:34) challenge evo-
lutionary models of the development of metal technolo-
gy and alloying practices (e.g. Wertime 1973), by explic-
itly claiming that early copper alloys such as arsenical
copper and nickel-copper were the product of smelting
methods too primitive to produce pure copper.
1 14 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Of course, scholars working on the Early Bronze
Age metallurgy of the British Isles have a particular
archaeological problem to address in their reconstruc-
tions: until recently archaeological research had failed to
recover any copper smelting furnaces or slag dating to
this period (Craddock and Meeks 1987; Budd et al.
l993b:l.S5; Craddock 1995:141-142; Northover
1999:211; O'Brien 1999a). This situation necessitated
reconstructions of early metal production based on the
use of very pure oxide ores of copper, which would have
produced little waste material during copper extraction
(Craddock and Meeks 1987: 193; Craddock l989:202).
However, the recent discovery of third millennium BCE
mining and extraction operations at Ross Island, south-
western Ireland, suggest that the earliest arsenical copper
in Britain may have resulted from the use of exclusively
sulfidic ores, although the technology of ore extraction
and the possible production of slag and matte has not
been investigated (O'Brien 1999a, 1999b).
In contrast to Bronze Age Britain, even the earliest
copper production in the third millennium BCE in south-
eastern Arabia produced slag (Hauptmann 1985: 113).
The well documented slagging technology used at this
time, and the mixtures of oxide, sulfur-containing and
partly sulfidic ores that are known to have been exploit-
ed (Hauptmann 1985:ll3-114; Hauptmann et a1
1988:36), allow alternative explanations for the genera-
tion of arsenical-nickel copper alloys to be proposed.
The exploitation of copper and arsenic-bearing sul-
fide ores (copper sulfarsenides) is generally thought to
have required either:
1. The roasting of the ores, in order to convert the
majority of sulfides to oxides, followed by
reduction smelting, or
2. The direct smelting of the sulfide ores to matte,
followed by further roasting, before a final
reduction smelting.
Both of these approaches would have led to a significant
reduction in the amount of volatile elements (such as
arsenic) which remained in the final metal product
(Tylecote 19775-7; Tylecote et al. l977:33O). Thus,
many scholars argue that arsenical copper is unlikely to
have been produced by any smelting operation based
upon sulfidic ores, as the processes of matte production
and roasting would have removed most of the arsenic in
the ore prior to smelting (Tylecote et al. 1977; Budd et
a1 1993b:155). Other archaeometallurgists have pointed
out that slow, careful roasting of copper sulfide ores
can leave up to half of the original arsenic content
(Eaton 1977:164), and Lechtman and Klein
(1999:498-499) report the production of an arsenical
copper alloy with seven percent As through the smelting
of a rich enargite ore which had been dead roasted. A
further consideration with the direct smelting of sulfidic
ores to matte is that almost all nickel present is lost to
components which are slagged, producing a raw metal
product with very low nickel concentrations (Tylecote et
al. 1977).
However, a number of archaeometallurgists (e.g.
Lechtman and Klein 1999:499) regard the roastinglmat-
ting process as a relatively modern technique for copper
extraction that is unlikely to have been used in prehis-
toric contexts (cf. Tylecote 19775-7; Craddock and
Gale 1988:181). They state that "there is no archaeo-
logical evidence to support the suggestion that early
metalworkers produced arsenic bronze by roasting sul-
pharsenide ores, then direct smelting the oxide products
of the roast" (1999:499). Certainly, there was no roast-
ing of the mixed oxide and sulfur-bearing ores utilized
for Bronze Age copper extraction in southeastern
Arabia (see Chapter 2).
As an alternative, Lechtman and Klein (1999) have
investigated the possibility of producing copper-arsenic
alloys by CO-smelting,i.e. smelting mixtures of copper
"oxide" ores (including also the carbonate, sulfate and
chloride ores of copper) and arsenic-bearing sulfide ores
(sulfarsenides) of iron (e.g. arsenopyrite) and copper
(e.g. enargite) (cf. Rostoker and Dvorak 1991; Rostoker
et al. 1989). A mixture of oxide and sulfide ores allows
sulfur, rather than carbon monoxide, to act as the
reducing agent. Additionally, eliminating the roasting
step dramatically reduces the opportunity for the loss of
arsenic as As2O3 (Lechtman and Klein 1999:499). Their
experiments produced metallic arsenical-copper ingots
over a wide range of oxide-sulfarsenide ratios without
the use of added fluxes or the prior roasting of the sul-
fide ores. Lechtman and Klein (1999:497) conclude that
"the copper-arsenic alloys found in ancient artifacts
could have been made easily, deliberately or accidental-
ly, by CO-smeltingprocedures".
Lechtman and Klein stress that the required mixture
of oxide and sulfide ores need not have been deliberate.
As miners approach the primary ore body, "they fre-
quently encounter ore that is partly weathered, contain-
ing mixtures of primary sulfides and oxide alteration
products. Such ore constitutes a natural CO-smelting
charge and would yield metallic copper or a copper-
arsenic alloy upon smelting" (Lechtman and Klein
1999:499-500). Indeed, unless miners deliberately dis-
carded the darker-colored sulfides, such a mixture would
have been natural (Lechtman and Klein 1999522; see
also Charles 1980; Taylor 1999:25). This factor is also
emphasized by Rostoker et al. (1989:85), who regard co-
smelting as a critical step in the transition from the
exploitation of oxide ores to sulfide ores.
However, Lechtman and Klein do not only state
that CO-smeltingis possible; they also suggest that the
length of time over which arsenical copper was pro-
duced in the Old World indicates that CO-smeltingnatu-
rally mixed charges must have accounted for a signifi-
cant amount of total production (1999522).
Furthermore, they regard their reconstruction of metal-
lurgical practice as more feasible, archaeologically, than
the use of the roasting andlor matting approach. Their
study is said to demonstrate "that CO-smeltingis a
straightforward and simple technology, relying on a set
of procedures that departs only slightly, if at all, from
those metalworkers had developed for the direct reduc-
tion smelting of oxide ores" (1999522). As these con-
clusions deal almost exclusively with the production of
arsenical copper (and to a lesser extent antimony-cop-
per), the observations of Cheng and Schwitter
(1957:361) regarding high-nickel copper must be added:
in the second millennium CE, Chinese metalworkers
apparently "experienced no great difficulty in smelting a
nickel-copper sulfide ore to obtain a reasonably refined,
malleable, natural alloy" of nickel and copper. The
process was envisioned as one of roasting followed by
reduction-smelting, but there is no specific evidence to
support such an assumption. Rostoker and Dvorak
(1991:6) note a historical example of the successful
smelting of mixed copper and nickel oxides and they
suggest, based on theoretical considerations, that co-
smelting of nickel-bearing oxide and sulfide ores to pro-
duce a natural Cu-Ni alloy is also feasible.
Discussion of Compositional Results 115
 However, the possibility must also be considered
that arsenic, nickel or AsINi-bearing minerals or alloys
were added to copper at a late stage of the production
process intentionally to produce As-Ni-copper alloys.
Native arsenic and nickel are very rare, and objects of
metallic nickel or arsenic are not known from any pre-
historic archaeological context (Muhly 1993a:119-120).
Furthermore, there are no words for arsenic or nickel in
Bronze Age written sources from western Asia, suggest-
ing that it was unknown to the metalworkers of this
period (Muhly 1993:119-120; cf. Montero Fenoll6s
1997:14 who suggests that the Sumerian term SU.GAN
might refer to arsenic). Thus, the addition of metallic
arsenic or nickel to molten copper, in the manner of the
production of tin-bronze from metallic copper and tin, is
extremely unlikely (Rapp l 9 8 8:X). Charles (1985:25)
states that arsenical copper could have been produced
by the addition of arsenic minerals to molten copper
under charcoal, in a manner similar to the production of
tin-bronze by the addition of cassiterite or stannite to
molten copper (see also Charles 1978), and a similar
approach using nickel minerals is feasible. Arsenic- and
antimony-bearing minerals have occasionally been found
on archaeological sites in the Old World, for example
loellingite (FeAs2)has been recorded at an Indus Valley
site (Ullah 1931b; this mineral often contains significant
amounts of nickel and cobalt) and As/Sb-rich copper
ores have been recorded at Norsun Tepe in eastern
Anatolia (Zwicker 1977). Intentional production of
arsenical copper from metallic copper and arsenic-rich
minerals is hypothesized for the third millennium BCE
sites of Ikiztepe on the Anatolian Black Sea coast (Gedik
et al. 2002) and Poros on Crete (Doonan et al. 2002),
amongst others.
In Iran, the earliest arsenical copper objects have
been linked with the use of two copper arsenides,
algonodite ( C U ~ - ~ Aand
S ) domeykite (Cu3As), which
occur in copper-bearing gossans in the Talmessi and
Meskani mines in the Anarak district (Pigott
l999a:ll2). Heskel and Lamberg-Karlovsky
(1980:258-259) have argued that simple melting togeth-
er of native copper and these copper arsenides in a cru-
cible would have led to the production of arsenical
copper, and they suggest that this is indeed the process
that was used to produce the arsenical copper objects
1 16 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
used throughout the occupation sequence at Tepe
Yahya, and perhaps at Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites
across the Iranian Plateau generally (see also Pigott
l999a: 112-1 13). Alternatively, it has been suggested
that a form of CO-smelting,as described above, may
have been important for the production of arsenical
copper at Bronze Age Iranian sites such as Shahdad,
Shahr-i Sokhta and Tepe Hissar, where significant
amounts of slag are recorded (Pigott 1999a:114-116;
199913384-86; Hauptmann et al. 1988:46).
A different mechanism is proposed by Eaton and
McKerrell (1976:178; cf. Eaton 1977:164), who suggest
that it would have been tiresome and unnecessary to
produce a batch of arsenical copper whenever required.
Rather, they posit the alloying (melting together) of
copper and high-arsenic metal (up to 15 percent As)
under charcoal. In support of this theory, they note the
appearance high As/Sb beads and ingots from the
Caucasus and Europe which could have been used for
this purpose, and enter a debate on the translation of
three terms from ancient texts: the Sumerian AN.NA
(Akkadian: annakum, generally translated as "tin
metal"); the Egyptian "d(mm(thought to denote a pre-
cious metal, perhaps electrum); and the Greek term ore-
ichalkos (which undoubtedly means brass in Roman
contexts) (Eaton and McKerrell 1976: 179-18 8). In each
of these cases, Eaton and McKerrell regard the term as
signifying, instead, a high-arsenic copper alloy of silvery
appearance.
These interpretations have been criticized on a
number of points (e.g. Craddock 1978; Muhly 1978:47;
1985:279-280; Waetzoldt l 9 8 l:378; Van Lerberghe and
Maes 1984). Chiefly, however, the theory fails due to
the lack of archaeological evidence for the postulated
high-As "master alloys" suggested by Eaton and
McKerrell. They are able to list fewer examples of high
As/Sb objects than even the known Bronze Age occur-
rences of metallic tin, and the example of the material
from the Nahal Mishmar hoard which can now be
added fails to support their case. The high As/Sb mate-
rial found at this site was clearly worked and used sep-
arately from objects of pure local copper (Tadmor et al.
1995). Furthermore, different cuneiform terms have
been suggested to refer to non-tin-bronze copper alloys
(Zaccagnini 198 8).
 Clearly, copper rich in arsenic andlor nickel could
have been produced using a wide variety of As- and
Ni-bearing ores under a range of smelting conditions.
Once arsenic or nickel were included in a furnace
charge, it seems likely that AsINi-copper would have
been produced at some stage. One point which must
be remembered is that the technology involved in
producing such alloys was often unknown to the very
metalworkers who were utilizing the material in con-
temporary metalworking centers away from areas of
primary production (e.g. Healy 1978). Furthermore,
the production process at the primary smelting site
may also have been poorly understood (at least from
a modern mineralogical perspective) and regulated by
its practitioners.
Intentionality? As-Ni-Copper in Southeastern Arabia
Earlier in this chapter, it was shown that ores of cop-
per, arsenic, nickel (and cobalt) are associated in min-
eral deposits from many parts of the world. In south-
eastern Arabia, ores containing arsenic and nickel
seem to be particularly concentrated in the high-grade
copper deposits associated with ultrabasic rocks in the
mantle sequence of the Semail Ophiolite, whereas the
larger massive sulfide copper deposits situated in the
upper extrusive sequence of the ophiolite contain
much lower concentrations of these elements.
Furthermore, it was established that arsenic and nickel
in concentrations of greater than approximately two
percent in copper alloys would have caused significant
improvements in the casting and working characteris-
tics of copper, and that the colour of the metal would
have changed from the reddish appearance of copper
to a paler, silvery or golden colour as combined As
and Ni concentrations reached three to four percent
or higher. Various studies of early copper extraction
procedures from both the Old and New Worlds have
also demonstrated that arsenical copper, and very
probably nickel and antimony-rich copper, could have
been produced by smelting oxide ores, by smelting
carefully roasted sulfidic ores, or by CO-smeltingmix-
tures of oxide and sulfide ores. It remains now to
determine the importance of each of these factors for
the development of metallurgy and alloying practices
in southeastern Arabia.
From the beginning of archaeological investigation
of early copper metallurgy, the question has been raised
as to whether the alloys uncovered, such as arsenical
copper or tin-bronze, were intentionally produced. As
phrased by Northover (1989:111):
There are several routes by which such compo-
sitions might have been reached, some deliber-
ate, some more or less accidental and a conse-
quence of the ores being used. The questions
we should be asking are: were the producers
and users of these coppers sufficiently aware
of the properties of their metals to select par-
ticular compositions for particular tasks?
Furthermore, did their metallurgical capabili-
ties extend to the deliberate manufacture or
control of those compositions?
Archaeologists and scholars of ancient metallurgy
have gradually discovered that alloy composition could
have been determined at a number of stages in the pro-
duction of an object, as outlined above. Determining the
intentional production of an alloy has become a compli-
cated issue in which the definition of "intentional" is as
crucial to the answer as any properties of the objects
being studied. The mixing of two metallic components
to form an alloy is an example of an unambiguously
intentional alloying process analogous to modern prac-
tice, providing a technique against which other pro-
posed procedures can be assessed. Mixing molten metal
with other ores under charcoal also seems a clear exam-
ple of intentional alloying, but how should the mixing
of ores in a smelting furnace (e.g. Lechtman 1996:506)
be regarded? What about the mining and collection of
specific ores (e.g. Rapp 1988), or the manipulation of
smelting conditions (e.g. Budd et al. 1992:680)?
Additionally, metal of particular composition could
have been selected after its production by examining its
appearance or comparing its working properties with
other alloys (Northover 1989: 115). Approaches which
seek to understand prehistoric alloying processes must,
therefore, account for the geological milieu from which
the metals were formed, the mechanical treatment which
was given to objects of particular composition, and the
functional uses to which metal of that composition was
put (Craddock 1995:287) in order to arrive at a sensible
conclusion on the "intentionality" issue.
Discussion of Compositional Results 1 17
 As an example, the occasional appearance of high-
nickel and high-arsenic objects in the Bronze Age
Aegean has been convincingly linked by Gale et al.
(1985:89-92) to the ores that were being exploited at
the time. Evidence from the analysis of copper inclusions
in slag samples pointed to the accidental smelting of
objects with up to five percent of Ni and As. Although
probably an unintentional result of ore selection
processes, Gale et al. (1985:90) allowed that the proper-
ties of this accidentally-produced metal "no doubt
resulted in their being selected as an especially good sort
of copper for casting and cold-working to produce a
tougher metal". Analyses of Bronze Age daggers from
Palestine indicate the intentional manipulation of the
properties of inverse segregation exhibited by arsenical
copper alloys, in order to produce objects with distinc-
tive appearances (Philip 1991).Similarly, the Nahal
Mishmar hoard showed the use of unusual high-
arseniclantimony alloys for the production of particular
object categories alongside the use of more common
pure copper for other object types (Tadmor et al. 1995).
In these cases, however, it remains unclear as to whether
alloy selection was based upon intentional control of
ores and smelting techniques, or upon the appearance
and working characteristics of the metal once it had
been produced.
The summary of the mineralogy of southeastern
Arabian copper deposits presented above suggests the
possibility of arsenical-nickel copper objects being a nat-
ural product of the smelting of local ores. The PIXE
analyses of objects from the U.A.E, when compared to
the geological data on southeastern Arabia, suggest an
extraction of the AslNi-copper from Bronze Age con-
texts from copper deposits in mantle-level or lower-
crustal rocks of the Semail Ophiolite rather than from
the large copper deposits located at the top of the ophi-
olitic sequence. Furthermore, the common association of
As, Ni and CO ores in mantle-hosted copper deposits is
mirrored in the correlations between these elements seen
in the analyzed finished objects described in Chapter
Four.
This conclusion is completely in accord with the
suggestions of Hauptmann et al. (1988:35), although it
must be noted that some of the early data from Oman
showed significantly higher As and Ni concentrations in
1 18 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
finished objects than in copper ingots, suggesting some
form of intentional alloying (e.g. Hauptmann 1995:
Abb. 1).These differences have been largely explained
as resulting from either an enrichment of arsenic during
later stages of object production, the lack of a database
of ore and object analyses large enough to reflect the
true variability of the ancient metal products of the
region (Hauptmann et al. 1988: 42-46), or preferential
separation of high-AsINi copper from the slag during
smelting (Prange et al. 1999:190). Other possible
explanations for the appearance of high As levels in
southeastern Arabian copper objects, such as the use of
fahlerz ores of the tennantite-tetrahedrite series, can be
ruled out by the lack of such ores in southeastern
Arabia, and by the very low Sb, Ag and Bi levels in the
majority of samples (even those with high As levels).
Of course, there are a large number of objects
from the Bronze Age, in addition to the great majority
of Iron Age objects (Weeks 2000a; Prange and
Hauptmann 2001), which contain less than one percent
of both As and Ni. The question must be asked as to
whether these were produced from copper ores located
in massive sulfide deposits (either primary sulfidic ores
or oxidized ores from the gossan) or from copper
deposits of the lower-crustal or mantle sequence which
did not have high concentrations of nickel and arsenic.
It seems likely that, in Bronze Age smelting operations,
the use of ores with variable quantities of arsenic, nick-
el and cobalt could explain the appearance of copper
objects containing any concentration between approxi-
mately 0.1-5.0 percent As or Ni. The As and Ni con-
centrations in the Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed
in this study seem to show a relatively consistent distri-
bution across the one percent boundary (see Chapter 4,
Figures 4.8 and 4.10). In contrast, it is tempting to cor-
relate the low Fe, S, As, Ni and CO concentrations seen
in the Iron Age with the first exploitation of the pri-
mary ores from the massive sulfide deposits.
This chronology for the exploitation of the copper
deposits of the region has already been suggested by the
work of the German Mining Museum in the Sultanate of
Oman (Weisgerber 1987:145; Weisgerber 1988:286),
and is strongly supported by the surviving evidence for
Iron Age extraction sites which are frequently found in
the vicinity of massive sulfide deposits (see also
Hauptmann 1985: 116-1 17). However, new techniques
of metal extraction which included one or more roasting
stages could also have led to significant reduction in the
arsenic content of finished objects (Tylecote et al. 1977;
Budd et al. 1993b) without the utilization of new ore
sources. This picture of prehistoric mining in southeast-
ern Arabia has also been challenged by new analyses of
finished objects from the region undertaken by Prange
et al. (1999). These analyses indicate that arsenic and
nickel concentrations were actually higher in Wadi Suq
Period objects than in Umm al-Nar Period objects, and
it is suggested that mining may have concentrated on
massive sulfide ores in the third millennium BCE and
then moved to smaller stock-work mineralizations lower
in the Ophiolitic series in the first half of the second
millennium BCE (Prange et al. 1999:190). However, the
significant number of third millennium As/Ni-copper
objects recorded in previous analytical studies from
southeastern Arabia (see Chapter 4 ) indicate that such a
reconstruction is not accurate.
In considering this issue, it may be useful to exam-
ine the C O N ratios of the copper-base objects as
determined by PIXE. Hauptmann (1985:30) has noted
that CoINi ratios vary widely between the different
types of copper deposits in southeastern Arabia while
remaining relatively constant in both the primary and
secondary minerals of a single deposit (see also Wagner
et al. 1989:303). It is clear that C O N ratios are much
higher in massive sulfide deposits such as Lasail and
'Arja (generally greater than 100) than in mineralized
fracture zones in banded gabbros and peridotites (gen-
erally less than 1) (Hauptmann 1985:Table2).
Examination of the CoINi ratios of finished copper
objects can, theoretically, allow us to determine the
types of local ore-bodies from which they may have
been produced. The Co/Ni ratio has been used by a
number of investigators to examine compositional
groups, as CO and Ni are siderophile elements that are
similarly partitioned in copper extraction (Seeliger et al.
1986; Hauptmann et al. 1988; Wagner et al. 1989;
Pernicka 1999). However, direct comparison between
artifact and ore may not be possible, as C O N ratios
appear to change during the processes of alloying and
corrosion (Hauptmann et al. 1988; Tylecote et al.
1977), although not necessarily during smelting.
Taking these factors into consideration, an examina-
tion of the C O I N ratios of the analyzed copper objects
still produces some interesting patterns. The data are
presented graphically in Weeks (2003:Figure 6), and
indicate that Bronze Age copper objects exhibit a fall-off
curve, with very few objects showing Co/Ni ratios of
greater than one. In contrast, most copper objects from
the Iron Age show much higher Co/Ni ratios, with
modes in the three to five percent range and very few
samples with ratios of less than two. The PIXE data cer-
tainly suggest compositional differences between copper
objects from Bronze Age and Iron Age contexts, which
might reflect a change in the ore bodies which were
exploited in the region in the Iron Age. Previous analyses
of Umm al-Nar Period material (Berthoud 1979;
Hauptmann et al. 1988; Hauptmann 1995) indicate a
similar concentration of copper objects with C O N
ratios of less than one, which supports the hypothesis.
However, it must also be noted that copper objects from
Iron Age contexts, such as those from the T-shaped tomb
at Bithnah (Corboud et al. 1996), have Co/Ni ratios of
less than one.
Thus, the conclusions to be drawn from a study of
Co/Ni ratios in finished objects from southeastern
Arabia are somewhat equivocal with regard to the types
of ore sources that were being exploited in the Bronze
and Iron Ages. It is also clear from the detailed analyses
of metal extraction at Maysar 1 that copper from differ-
ent types of deposits could have been collected and
smelted together. For example, oxide ores, sulfur-bearing
ores and sulfidic ores were available from mantle-level
deposits near Maysar, in addition to copper from stock-
work zones in rocks of the upper gabbroic sequence of
the ophiolite which would have been mineralogically
quite distinct (Hauptmann 1985:Abb. 6). In other areas
with evidence for Bronze Age copper extraction, such as
at Raki (Hauptmann 1985: 116), oxidized copper ores
were available from the gossans of massive sulfide
deposits. Hauptmann and other scholars have stated
their belief that, during the Bronze Age, most of the 150
copper deposits in southeastern Arabia were being
exploited (Hauptmann 1985:95; Weisgerber 1984: 198).
This means that copper with widely varying composi-
tions (and C O N ratios) should have been produced. If
such is the case, the few Bronze Age copper objects with
Discussionof Compositional Results 1 19
high C O N ratios found during the PIXE analyses may
represent objects manufactured using copper from the
upper zones of massive sulfide deposits. However, such
arguments cannot be taken too far.
Regardless, it seems likely that the arsenical-nickel-
copper objects produced in the Bronze Age in southeast-
ern Arabia resulted from the use of oxide and sulfide
copper ores that were frequently arsenic and nickel rich.
The absolute levels of As and Ni reported by the PIXE
analyses of samples support such a hypothesis, as do the
lack of strong distinctions in arsenic content between
AslNi-copper and unalloyed metal (cf. Balthazar
1986:62). The question remains, however, as to whether
Tin vs. Nickel
Tin vs. Arsenic
r .V
6.0 A 0 UnaR
Figure 5.2 Nickel and tin (top),andarsenic and tin (bottom)con-
centrations in Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed by PIXE.
120 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
the ores likely to produce such copper were deliberately
worked in preference to others, and whether the proper-
ties of the As-Ni-copper alloy they generated were recog-
nized and exploited after its production. To describe
alloys of this sort as "accidentally produced" may be
underestimating the knowledge and intelligence of the
Bronze Age metal producers of the region.
A number of scholars have attempted to address the
question of intentionality by examining the use of differ-
ent alloy types within one metal assemblage. In particu-
lar, the use of arsenical copper and tin-bronze has been
compared, and in a number of cases inverse relationships
have been found (e.g. McKerrell 1978:Figure 13;
Mangou and Ioannou 1997:64). In one of the early stud-
ies of the properties of these alloys, Charles (1967) con-
cluded that high arsenic copper was intentionally pro-
duced, based in part upon strict compositional differenti-
ation between arsenical copper and tin-bronzes, whereby
tin-bronzes rarely contained significant arsenic concen-
trations and vice versa. Such relationships suggest that
either the metalworker involved in fabricating the
objects was able to recognize and separate alloys of the
two kinds, or that they were created by adding arsenic
or tin to relatively pure copper.
An examination of the presence of arsenic and nickel
in the objects analyzed in this volume presents some
interesting patterns. The relationship between nickel and
tin concentrations in Umm al-Nar Period objects is illus-
trated in Figure 5.2 (top), while the relationship between
arsenic and tin concentrations is shown in Figure 5.2
(bottom). As can be seen, there is quite a strong negative
relationship between tin and nickel concentrations.
Objects with greater than approximately two percent tin
never contain more than approximately one percent nick-
el, and it could be argued that these limits represent the
minimum amount of tin and nickel which could be detect-
ed in a piece of metallic copper. In contrast, around one-
fifth of tin-bronzes contain significant amounts of arsenic
(from 1-2.5 percent), with the great majority of these
objects coming from the Unar2 assemblage.
As it is likely that the AsN-copper used in Bronze
Age southeastern Arabia was produced as a result of the
ores exploited, the inverse relationship between tin and
arseniclnickel concentrations suggests that some form of
selection process was undertaken after the production of
the metal. Alternatively, all tin-bronze used in the region was added to molten copper to produce the alloy. From
may have been obtained in its alloyed form. The trace the perspective of archaeological trade studies, it would
and minor element patterns in the analyzed tin-bronzes be interesting to know how tin was reaching southeast-
are crucial in the investigation of this question, and they ern Arabia: as metallic tin (to be alloyed with local cop-
are discussed in the following section. per), or as pre-alloyed bronze objects or ingots, and
what the original source of the tin may have been.
Tin-bronze Furthermore, the reasons for the adoption of tin-bronze
For the purposes of this volume, a tin-bronze has been in the region and the factors, which governed its selec-
defined as a copper alloy containing more than two per- tion, and use for particular object categories are impor-
cent tin. Following this definition, 40 percent of objects tant to comprehend. These issues are discussed below, in
from Umm al-Nar Period contexts analyzed in this vol- light of evidence from the compositional analyses pre-
ume are tin-bronze. Tin deposits are not known and are sented in Chapter Four.
unlikely to occur in the basic and ultrabasic rocks which
comprise the majority of the northern Oman mountains, Evidence for Alloy Production Techniques:
where geological studies report tin concentrations in Tin Concentrations in Copper and Tin-bronze
local rocks of the order of approximately 10 ppm or less The tin concentrations of copper objects and tin-bronzes
(Hauptmann et al. l 9 8 8:3S; Cleuziou and Berthoud show very different patterns in Bronze Age and Iron Age
1982:18). Thus, objects from southeastern Arabia with objects from southeastern Arabia. As illustrated in
more than approximately 0.5 percent tin almost certain- Figure 5.3, the Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed by
ly include foreign metal, and the high frequency of tin- PIXE show a broad range of tin concentrations, with
bronze in the Bronze Age metal assemblages from this modes at approximately one percent Sn and approxi-
region represents a considerable usage of a non-local mately 20 percent Sn (see also Chapter 4, Figure 4.17).
resource. In the Umm al-Nar Period material, a further
Umm al-Nar Period Objects (PIXE)
18 percent of objects contain between 0.5-2.0 percent
Sn, and must therefore have included some foreign mate-
rial, perhaps as part of recycling processes. Overall, per-
haps 60 percent of the third millennium BCE objects
analyzed in this study are likely, based on their tin con-
centrations, to include some foreign metal. However, the
changes in object composition introduced by corrosion
(see Chapter Four) make any statements regarding origi-
nal tin levels in the objects uncertain. While the presence
lron Age Objects
of tin-bronzes can be clearly established, and alloying
practices can be tentatively reconstructed, determining
the incorporation of foreign metal into locally made
objects based upon the measurement of very low tin
concentrations in corroded samples is not possible in
this study.
Archaeometallurgists and archaeologists are interest-
ed in answering a number of questions regarding the use
of tin-bronze in southeastern Arabia. From a metallurgi-
cal point of view, it would be useful to know how this Figure 5.3 Tin concentrations in Umm al-Nar
Period objects analyzed by PIXE (top), and previ-
tin-bronze was being manufactured: whether it was a ously-analyzed lron Age objects from southeast-
product of an alloying process using metallic copper and ern Arabia (bottom). Only objects containing
tin, or whether it was the product of smelting a mixed more than 0.1 percent tin are shown.
furnace charge of copper and tin ores, or whether tin ore

Discussion of Compositional Results

In contrast, the Iron Age analyses reveal a very distinct
mode at around 10 percent Sn, and a strong distinction
between tin levels in copper objects and tin-bronzes (only
six Iron Age objects contain tin in the 0.5-2.0 percent
range). The technological significance of this clear differ-
ence is uncertain, but it likely reflects processes of alloy
production.
The control of alloy composition suggested by the
Iron Age data may have been intended to impart specific
physical properties to the metal, or following certain tech-
nological or cultural traditions (e.g. Lechtman 1988:346).
The Iron Age compositional data further suggest that con-
centrations of alloying elements could be controlled, and
that tin or tin ore was probably added separately to cop-
per objects in these periods in a process of deliberate
alloying. When linked with the data on the discontinuity
of tin concentrations between copper and tin-bronze
objects illustrated in Figure 5.3, it would seem clear that
the great majority of tin-bronzes found in the northern
Oman Peninsula in Iron Age contexts were intentional
alloys. Furthermore, the low tin content of the Iron Age
copper objects and the high tin content of contemporary
tin-bronzes suggest that tin-bronze could be clearly distin-
guished from unalloyed copper or As/Ni-copper, and that
the different types of metal were rarely mixed. Tin-bronze
could have been distinguished from unalloyed copper by its
working characteristics or by its appearance, which would
have been more golden than raw copper, which is reddish
(Swiny 1982:75; Moorey 1994:252-253; Hosler 1995). It is
also likely that tin-bronze could have been distinguished
from As/Ni-copper by appearance, as As/Ni-copper is likely
to have been a silvery color.
In contrast, the wide range of tin concentrations
found in Umm al-Nar Period objects suggests less control
over object composition. The common presence of tin at
trace levels, at low alloying concentrations, and at very
high concentrations, can be explained in a number of
ways: through the smelting of mixed furnace charges with
varying amounts of copper and tin minerals, through
indiscriminate mixing and recycling of copper objects and
tin-bronzes (attested in contemporary Mesopotamia: see
Zettler 1990:Table l),or as the result of a period of exper-
iment with the properties of tin-bronzes of varying tin con-
centration. Discrimination between these possibilities is
not possible based purely on the evidence presented thus far.
12 2 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
The pattern of increasing differentiation in alloy
compositions through time is visible on a smaller scale
within the Umm al-Nar Period objects themselves (see
Chapter Four, Figure 4.16). Only one object from A1
Sufouh can be classed as tin-bronze, however roughly
one third of the objects contain 0.5-2.0 percent Sn, indi-
cating the admixture or use of foreign tin or tin-bearing
metal at some point. The A1 Sufouh data suggest the
availability in the region of tin-bronzes, a theory that is
supported by analyses of material from the partly con-
temporary site of Unarl. At this site, seven objects of 18
analyzed are classified as tin-bronzes, however tin con-
centrations in tin-bronzes are relatively low (five of
seven bronzes contain less than 1 0 percent Sn), and a
further five "copper" samples contain 0.5-2.0 percent
Sn. At the latest Umm al-Nar Period sites of Unar2 and
Tell Abraq, tin-bronze is more common than at A1
Sufouh or Unarl, tin concentrations in samples are much
higher, and there is a greater distinction between the tin
content of copper and tin-bronze objects (although the
distinction is not as great as in the Iron Age). Such a pat-
tern might indicate that changes occurred in the way tin
and tin-bronze was reaching southeastern Arabia within
the Umm al-Nar Period, an issue that is addressed more
fully in Chapter Seven.
Minor and Trace Element Patterns:
Guides to Alloy Production Techniques
For the Iron Age, Weisgerber (1988:292) has claimed
that minorltrace element patterns, specifically of nickel
and arsenic, indicate that tin-bronze was being produced
in southeastern Arabia by the alloying of local copper
with imported tin. This is because compositional differ-
ences between Iron Age copper objects and tin-bronzes
are minimal, suggesting that local copper was alloyed
with relatively pure imported tin (Prange and
Hauptmann 2001; Corboud et al. 1996; Weeks 2000a).
As further evidence for the local production of tin-
bronzes in southeastern Arabia, a close link between the
composition of tin-bronze and copper objects can be
established by examining the chronological changes in
composition in the two groups. A distinct decrease in
arsenic and nickel concentrations through time is seen in
copper-base objects (see Chapter Four, Tables 4.12 and
4.16), which has been explained above as probably
resulting from the exploitation of different ore deposits
in southeastern Arabia. This pattern is seen for the sub-
groups of both tin-bronzes and copper objects, suggest-
ing a link between the copper used to produce each of
the two groups and perhaps indicating the alloying of
foreign tin with local copper in the Bronze and Iron
Ages. The tin ring from the Tell Abraq tomb is impor-
tant within the context of this argument, as it provides
clear evidence for at least some metallic tin reaching the
region in the third millennium BCE. However, there is a
general decrease in the amount of arsenical copper in
western Asia in the second millennium BCE (Eaton and
McKerrell 1976), and foreign material may be inadver-
tently matching compositional changes observable in
local southeastern Arabian metallurgy.
However, in contrast to the Iron Age analyses,
there are trace and minor element differences between
contemporary tin-bronzes and copper objects from the
Umm al-Nar Period. Silver and perhaps lead concentra-
tions are frequently higher in tin-bronzes than in cop-
per objects in Umm al-Nar Period material (see Chapter
Four, Figures 4.13 and 4.15), while cobalt levels are
higher in copper than in tin-bronze (see Chapter Four,
Figure 4.6). As discussed above, the range of arsenic
and nickel concentrations in copper objects is usually
higher than in tin-bronzes.
Elements such as As, Ni and CO which frequently
have smaller concentration ranges in tin-bronzes may
reflect processes of metal selection prior to alloying, as
outlined above. Arsenic, nickel and cobalt tend to be
correlated in copper produced in southeastern Arabia
(see Chapter Four), and the practice of alloying tin with
only low AsINi local copper may be reflected also in the
low CO concentration of most tin-bronzes. Alternatively,
pre-alloyed tin-bronze reaching southeastern Arabia may
have had naturally lower levels of As, Ni and CO than
the local copper. Again, evidence from LIA will be used
to address these issues in Chapter Seven.
It is possible that elements that are found in higher
quantities in tin-bronzes (silver and perhaps lead), were
introduced with the tin during the process of alloying.
The EDS analysis of the tin ring from the Tell Abraq
tomb indicates more than 1.5 percent arsenic and 0.5
percent silver and copper. Cassiterite (Sn02) is associat-
ed with silver mineralization in some tin deposits (Craig
and Vaughan 1994:241), for example those of Bolivia
where the tin-silver veins are associated with porphyries
of hypabyssal or volcanic origin (Rutley 1988:271).
Rapp (197859) also notes that silver may be a diagnos-
tic trace element in subvolcanic tin veins related to fine-
grained silicic volcanic rocks, where sulfides and sulfos-
alts of tin and silver may be common. Higher lead and
silver concentrations have also been observed in a low-
tin bronze from a prehistoric copper hoard from India
(Hauptmann 1989:264), with the explanation that the
pattern of impurities may have resulted from the use of
stannite, which sometimes occurs with galena and silver
ores in hydro-thermal veins. Analyses of late Bronze Age
ingots from the Mediterranean region indicate very low
( 4 0 ppm) silver concentrations (Begemann et al.
1999:Table A-l).
With regard to lead, concentrations of less than
100 ppm Pb in tin ores are commonly reported
(Pernicka 1995b:106), as are analyses of ancient tin
ingots and objects which show no sign of lead
(Maddin 1989:102; Selimkhanov 1978:Table 1;
Moorey 1994:301). However, small amounts of lead
are associated with tin ores in a number of geological
situations (Rapp 1978; Tylecote 1978:Table 4; Gale and
Stos-Gale 1985:87-88), and of the tin ingots analyzed
from the Late Bronze Age shipwrecks of Ulu Burun,
Hishuley Carmel and Kefar Shamir, one has 630 ppm
Pb and another 220 ppm Pb (Begemann et a1
1999:Table A-l). Other analyses of tin objects from
Bronze and Iron Age archaeological contexts have also
revealed the occasional presence of significant amounts
of lead in tin objects (Selimkhanov 1978; Muhly
1985a:279; Gale and Stos-Gale 1985:88; Yener and
Ozbal 1987:220; Thornton et al. 2002a). An association
between tin and lead levels in archaeological bronzes is
not unique, as archaeometallurgists have also noted
such a relationship in late third millennium BCE materi-
al from Daghestan (Gadzhiev and Korenevskii 1984).
Thus, it would seem possible that the higher silver
and lead concentrations of some of the tin-bronzes ana-
lyzed in this volume could reflect the alloying of local
copper with tin containing these impurities. However,
the compositional differences between copper objects
and tin-bronzes offer no conclusive proof as to the tech-
niques of alloy production used in their manufacture, as
Discussion of Compositional Results 123
compositional differences could also have resulted from
the use of tin-bronze imported into southeastern Arabia
in pre-alloyed form. Such pre-alloyed bronze could
have arrived as finished objects or tin-bronze ingots.
One example of such an ingot comes from a mid-third
millennium context in Mesopotamia, probably from
Tell al-Ubaid, and contains approximately nine percent
Sn (Moorey 1994:252), while another tin-bronze ingot
is said to come from Chanhu-Daro in the Indus Valley,
although this compositional attribution is based upon
surface appearance rather than laboratory analysis
(Mackay 1943:187).
If tin-bronze reached southeastern Arabia in the
form of finished objects, it may be possible to trace the
use of imported tin-bronze objects using typological
studies. However, many of the tin-bronze objects ana-
lyzed in this volume are either small fragments con-
taining no typological information or fragments of
typologically non-diagnostic objects such as simple
rings (see Chapter Three). Furthermore, foreign tin-
bronzes can be easily melted down to produce tin-
bronzes of distinctively local form, making typological
studies redundant.
In fact, it is likely that trade in both pre-alloyed
bronze (objects or ingots) and in metallic tin was
occurring. There is archaeological evidence from the
very end of the third millennium BCE that metallic tin
was reaching southeastern Arabia, as the tin ring from
Tell Abraq testifies. However, the quantity of this
material available to local metalworkers is unknown.
The scarcity of metallic tin finds from the region is no
indicator, as tin finds are scarce in all areas of west-
ern Asia in the Bronze and Iron Ages (Maddin et al.
1977:44-45; Charles 1978:25-26; Muhly 1985a;
Moorey 1994:301; Lerberghe 1988:254-255), even in
regions with documented imports of many tonnes of
the material. A number of Mesopotamian textual
sources from the third and early second millennia BCE
indicate the movement of tin through the Gulf, and
mention tin from Meluhha, Magan, and Dilmun (see
Chapter Eight). Furthermore, there are textual refer-
ences to the trade of finished tin-bronze items from
Magan (Limet l972:14-17). These references suggest
that the "tin trade" involved the trade of both metallic
tin itself and finished tin-bronze objects.
124 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Alloy Use in Different Object Categories
A number of studies have demonstrated that, in particu-
lar metalworking traditions, certain types of alloys were
used for specific object categories. For example, studies
of alloy use in ancient west Mexico have determined
that utilitarian objects such as axes, needles and awls
were made of copper containing tin and arsenic in con-
centrations of between two and five percent, which
would have significantly increased the strength and
castability of the resulting alloy (Hosler 1995:101). At
the same time, high-arsenic and high-tin copper alloys
(containing five to 23 percent Sn or As) were used in
the production of bells (Hosler 1988, 1995). The analy-
ses indicated that the properties of colour and sound
were more important in alloy selection for bells than
mechanical properties such as hardness, as the concen-
trations of alloying elements were much higher than
required purely to optimise mechanical properties
(Hosler 1995:lOl). Similar findings with regard to the
use of arsenical copper objects with silver surfaces due
to inverse segregation are discussed above, and empha-
size the many factors which can be involved in alloy
production and selection (see also Wheeler and Maddin
1980:99-100; Swiny 1982:75).
In a number of works discussing the development
of metallurgy, the change from the use of arsenical cop-
per to tin-bronze has usually been seen as resulting
from either:
The superior mechanical properties of tin-
bronzes in comparison to arsenical copper
(Lechtman 1996).
Attempts to recreate the advantageous mechan-
ical properties of arsenical copper once the ore
bodies which had led to the inadvertent pro-
duction of such alloys had been worked out
(Muhly 1988; Charles 1980:176).
The ability to closely control alloying propor-
tions in tin-bronzes as opposed to the rather
haphazard control envisaged for the manufac-
ture of arsenical copper (Charles 1980:
176-177; Lechtman 1996:478).
The poisonous nature of arsenic fumes that can
be generated by the production and use of
arsenical copper alloys (Charles 1967, 198 0,
1985).
Most of these explanations focus upon the mechanical
properties of arsenical copper as opposed to tin-bronze,
such as strength and toughness. However the preceding
examples from west Mexico should indicate that other
physical properties of metals can be important in deter-
mining the introduction and use of specific alloys.
Furthermore, the use of particular types of metal can be
related to economic or ideological issues as closely as to
the physical properties of the metal. For example, metal
production, trade, and use have been linked by a number
of scholars to the display of wealth in societies with nas-
cent stratification (e.g. Stech and Pigott 1986:41), and
the widespread use of tin-bronze in the Late Horizon
Inka settlements of the Andes has been associated with
political processes which saw tin-bronze adopted as "the
imperial alloy par excellence" (Lechtman 1996:478).
The uses to which most early tin-bronze alloys were
put have suggested that improved mechanical proper-
ties or ease of alloying and casting were not necessarily
the most important factors in the introduction and
early use of tin-bronze in western Asia (Moorey
1994:252-253; Montero Fenoll6s 1997:17). The exam-
ination of alloy use in different object categories, and
metallographic evidence regarding the mechanical
treatment of different kinds of alloys, are important in
arriving at such conclusions regarding early alloy selec-
tion and use. In order to address similar questions in a
southeastern Arabian context, where relatively pure
copper, AsINi-copper and tin-bronze are used simulta-
neously, the data on the copper alloys used for different
object categories are presented below.
For the Umm al-Nar objects, alloy use in the object
categories of "blades" (21 objects), "pinslawls" (nine
objects), "flat fragments" (24 objects), "rings" (20
objects), and "other objects" (nine objects) are given.
The category of blades includes fragments of knives, dag-
gers and spearheads such as those found at A1 Sufouh
(Benton 1996:Figures 173-186) and Tell Abraq (Chapter
Three). Flat fragments could belong to knife or dagger
blades, as well as to vessels or other object types. The
category of "other objects" includes a number of uniden-
tified fragments or amorphous copper-base lumps, in
addition to one possible chisel from Unar2, a rivet from
A1 Sufouh, and three fragments from Unarl designated
as "tubes" or the like.
As can be seen in Figure 5.4, patterns of alloy use
vary greatly in the different object categories analyzed.
For the categories of blades and pinslawls, approxi-
mately 30 percent of objects are made of relatively pure
copper, with a further 50-60 percent of AsINi-copper.
Between 1 0 and 20 percent of blades and pinslawls con-
tain significant amounts (more than two percent) of tin.
Previous analyses of contemporary blades and blade
fragments from Umm an-Nar Island, Hili, Jebel Hafit
and Qarn Bint Saud show a similar prominence of
AsINi-copper, and only one blade with more than two
percent tin (Berthoud 1979; Frifelt 1975a, 1991;
Hauptmann 1995). The presence of significant concen-
trations of zinc and lead must also be noted in some of
the Umm an-Nar Island blades (Frifelt 1991:100). The
three previously analyzed "needles" from Maysar and
Ras al-Harnra (Hauptmann et al. 1988) are of relatively
pure copper, showing a lack of tin use similar to the
analyses of pinslawls undertaken in this study.
In contrast, much more consistent use of tin-bronze
is seen in the object categories of rings and flat frag-
ments. Rings, in particular, are most frequently of tin-
bronze, sometimes containing significant levels of
arsenic, lead or silver. Furthermore, four of the six rings
categorized as "copper" in fact contain one to two per-
cent tin, and may perhaps be regarded as low-tin
bronzes. Tin levels in excess of one percent are thus
recorded in 90 percent of analyzed rings. Interestingly,
no rings are made of AslNi-copper, while about half of
the tin-bronze rings contain arsenic. Previous semi-quan-
titative analyses of rings from third millennium BCE
contexts at Tell Abraq (Weeks 1997) indicated that eight
of the 14 objects contained significant amounts of tin
(two containing As andlor Ni), while six were of rela-
tively pure copper (none containing in excess of one
percent As or Ni).
Some of these apparent alloy choices are seen to
continue into later periods. For example, tin-bronze con-
tinues to be consistently utilized to produce rings and
flat fragments in the second millennium; 10 of the 1 4
analyzed Wadi Suq PeriodILate Bronze Age rings from
Tell Abraq, Shimal settlement area SX, and Shimal tomb
SH102 are composed of tin-bronze, as are 1 2 of 1 5 ana-
lyzed flat fragments from contemporary contexts at Tell
Abraq and SH102 (Weeks 1997; Weeks 2000a).
Discussionof Compositional Results 125
 Figure 5.4. Alloy use in different object categories.
Furthermore, as tin-bronze was rarely utilized to pro-
duce pinslawls in the third millennium BCE, so the pat-
tern continues in the second millennium: of the 12
pinslawls from Wadi SuqILate Bronze Age contexts at
Tell Abraq, Shimal settlement area SX, and Masirah Site
38, only two contain significant amounts of tin (Weeks
1997,2000a; Hauptmann et al. 1988).
In the Iron Age, with tin-bronze use increasing to
incorporate approximately three-quarters of analyzed
copper-base objects, these distinctions by artifact type
are consequently diminished. Blades, arrowheads and
126 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
heavy braceletslbangles from the IbriISelme hoard
(Prange and Hauptmann 2001) and the Qidfa tomb (Im-
Obersteg 1987; Weeks 2000a) are made almost exclu-
sively of tin-bronze. Differences at this time seem more
related to the individual site: IbriISelme and Qidfa exhib-
it the predominant use of tin-bronze in all object cate-
gories, whereas settlements such as Muweilah and Tell
Abraq (Weeks forthcoming b; Weeks 1997) and the col-
lective tomb assemblage from Bithnah (Corboud et al.
1996:Figure 59) show much lower frequencies of tin-
bronze use.
 Thus, the analyses of objects from A1 Sufouh,
Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq suggest that tin-bronze
may have been selectively used for particular object cat-
egories, reinforcing the results of previous studies of
material from Tell Abraq (Weeks 1997). Furthermore,
the objects most commonly of tin-bronze are rings,
which have a decorative rather than utilitarian function.
This may suggest that factors other than the mechanical
advantages of the tin-bronze alloy were important in its
selection. One such property is the surface appearance
of tin-bronze, which is more golden than pure copper
or As/Ni-copper. In general, the use of precious or dec-
orative metals such as silver and tin in the manufacture
of rings and bracelets in Bronze Age southeastern
Arabia (Weeks 1997; Weeks 2000a), is further evidence
of the association of these object categories with metals
of attractive or unusual physical appearance. Additional
evidence for the importance of the appearance of the tin-
bronze alloy is provided by the use of tin-bronze in the
production of beads at the third millennium BCE site of
Ra's al-Hadd in Oman (J. E. Reade, personal communi-
cation). Copper beads are not known from southeastern
Arabia in the Urnm al-Nar Period, but beads of gold and
silver are. Alternatively, as jewelry can act as a means of
both displaying and storing wealth, the economic value
of tin-bronze in comparison to copper, resulting from
its scarcity and the distances over which it was
obtained, may have been important in its selection for
use in rings and bracelets rather than more utilitarian
objects (cf. Montero Fenoll6s 1997:17).
Summary
The discussion presented in this chapter focused on the
impurities of iron and sulfur found in the Urnm al-Nar
Period objects, and the concentrations of the potential
alloying elements arsenic, nickel, and tin. The presence
of sulfur and iron in the Urnm al-Nar Period objects
reflects the ores that were used to produce them, the
smelting technology employed, and the degree of sec-
ondary refining that the raw copper received prior to
object fabrication. High sulfur concentrations in the
finished objects (see Table 4.5) reflect the presence of
copper sulfide (matte) inclusions in the objects. These
matte inclusions resulted from the CO-smelting of oxide
and sulfur-bearing ores, and the incomplete separation
of metallic copper from the matte that was produced
during the typical smelting process employed in Bronze
Age southeastern Arabia. The high Fe concentrations
of the Urnm al-Nar Period objects (see Table 4.7) can
be related in part to the sporadic inclusion of iron-
bearing sulfide ores in smelting charges, which would
have led to the presence of Cu-Fe-S matte inclusions in
the finished objects. Additionally, iron-bearing fluxes
could have contributed a significant amount of metallic
iron to the raw copper produced during a smelt.
Such high iron and sulfur concentrations would
have had a deleterious effect on the working properties
of the raw copper, and a refining stage prior to fabri-
cation (i.e. secondary refining) would have been neces-
sary to produce satisfactory objects. A comparison of
the elemental compositions of finished objects and sec-
ondary refining waste from archaeological contexts in
the Gulf suggests that raw copper produced in south-
eastern Arabia was indeed refined prior to object fabri-
cation principally to remove impurities of Fe and S.
Arsenic and nickel are frequently found in the
Urnm al-Nar Period copper-base objects analyzed in
this volume at concentrations of one to five percent
and occasionally higher. A review of the mineralogical,
metallurgical, and technological aspects of As/Ni-cop-
per objects in southeastern Arabia suggests that they
are most likely to have been natural alloys inadvertent-
ly produced as a result of the types of ores exploited.
and the smelting technology employed. Although As
and Ni concentrations in the largest copper deposits in
Oman, the massive sulfide deposits, are generally very
low, the oxidized copper deposits of the lower crustal
and mantle sequences of the Semail ophiolite show
much higher concentrations of Ni and As. Copper
smelted from such deposits would have contained As
and Ni as natural impurities. Thus, the significant
quantities of As and Ni in the Urnm al-Nar objects are
compatible with a southeastern Arabian origin.
However, copper ores with significant As and Ni con-
centrations are also found in geological contexts out-
side southeastern Arabia, most significantly in some of
the copper deposits of the Iranian Plateau. It is there-
fore clear that reliable conclusions regarding absolute
provenance cannot be drawn from the compositional
data alone.
Discussionof Compositional Results 127
 These "accidental" alloys may have had some physi- and textual evidence indicates that, in this period, both
cal properties (such as hardness, colour, and ease of cast- metallic tin and pre-alloyed tin-bronze were being traded
ing) which allowed them to be distinguished from unal- through the Gulf.
loyed copper after they were produced in the primary The delineation of alloying practices is complicated
smelt. In particular, the inverse segregation exhibited by by the finding that there are no strict correlations
arsenical (and perhaps nickel) copper alloys suggests that between tin content and the concentrations of other
objects from A1 Sufouh with more than approximately minor and trace elements. For example, tin-bronzes tend
three to four percent of combined As and Ni are likely to to have higher silver and lead levels, but the relationship
have had a different surface appearance than most unal- is not constant, and tin-bronzes can have very low silver
loyed copper objects. The evidence for alloy use in differ- and lead concentrations. Indeed, it is unlikely that com-
ent object categories indicates that AsNi-copper was positional analyses alone will allow for questions of
rarely used for decorative objects such as rings, but was alloying practice to be solved, as tin and copper of vary-
commonly found in more utilitarian objects such as ing composition from multiple sources might be involved,
pinslawls and blades. Such a differentiation may be and there was simultaneous trade in both metallic tin and
indicative of the use of AsINi-copper for its mechanical pre-alloyed tin-bronze objects.
advantage of hardness, but could also reflect factors such Regardless of how tin-bronze was actually produced,
as the relative worth of other alloys like tin-bronze. examination of alloy use in different object categories
The examination of the evidence for tin-bronze use indicates that tin-bronze was selectively used for objects
in Umm al-Nar Period southeastern Arabia suggests dif- which had a decorative rather than utilitarian function.
ferent patterns of alloy production, exchange, and use. In particular, copper-base rings were almost exclusively
Previous analyses are suggestive of the trade in metallic made of tin-bronze. This suggests that factors such as the
tin to southeastern Arabia by the Iron Age. This is surface appearance of tin-bronze, or its greater economic
because there are few minorltrace element differences value, dictated how this alloy was used in Bronze Age
between copper objects and tin-bronzes at this time; southeastern Arabia.
there are clear distinctions between the tin content of
copper objects and tin-bronzes; and tin concentrations
show a normal distribution suggestive of controlled and
intentional alloying.
The situation for tin-bronzes from the Umm al-Nar
Period is not so clear. There are significant minor and
trace element differences between copper objects and tin-
bronzes of this period which could reflect either the
alloying of local copper with imported tin or the impor-
tation of pre-alloyed bronze objects or ingots.
Furthermore, there is no strong distinction between the
tin content of copper and tin-bronze objects from the
Umm al-Nar Period, particularly in the earlier objects
from A1 Sufouh and Unarl. This may suggest that con-
trol over alloy composition was minimal, that recycling
did not discriminate between alloy types, or that a wide
range of tin-bronze alloys were produced for varying rea-
sons. The latter possibility is certainly supported by
"recipes" for the production of tin-bronze found in sur-
viving cuneiform documents, which suggest great compo-
sitional variability (see Chapter Eight). Archaeological

128 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf


6 Lead lsotope Analysis in
Archaeology
In Chapter Seven, results of the lead isotope analysis
(LIA) of more than 40 objects from Umm al-Nar Period
tombs in the U.A.E. is presented and discussed. As a
background to that discussion, the technique of LIA and
its application to archaeological provenance studies is
discussed in this chapter. The theoretical basis of LIA
and its application to geological studies is addressed
first, followed by a detailed discussion of the application
of LIA to archaeological questions. Issues addressed in
the latter section include the potential complicating fac-
tors of isotopic variation within ore deposits, accounting
for the presence of lead in bronzes and in tin and cassi-
terite, and the mixing and recycling of metals from more
than one source. The potential significance of these fac-
tors for the LIA of material from southeastern Arabia
and the Gulf is addressed.
The introduction of LIA in archaeology in the 1970s
was characterized by initial enthusiasm regarding the
potential for addressing outstanding archaeological
issues (Gale 1978; Gale and Stos-Gale 1982). This early
phase was soon followed by an extended period of
robust debate over problems of the interpretation of LIA
data, which lasted through most of the 1980s and
1990s. The debate generated a greater degree of clarity
regarding the usefulness and limitations of the technique
(e.g. Budd et al. 1996; Tite 1996; Scaife et al. 1999), but
its acrimonious nature had the unfortunate side effect of
generating uncertainty within the broader archaeological
community as to the reliability of the technique (e.g.
Chippindale 1994). Comparisons to this debate have
been drawn with the first applications of radiocarbon
dating in archaeology, where discussions regarding basic
issues of approach, interpretation and usefulness of the
new technique continued over a number of decades
(Muhly 1995a:54), before widespread understanding of
its practical and logical limitations was achieved. Over
that time, and partly as a result of the rigorous examina-
tion of its strengths and weaknesses, radiocarbon dating
became a cornerstone of archaeological research, and as
such it offers a hopeful parallel for the sometimes hotly
debated field of archaeological LIA.
Theoretical Basis o f the Lead lsotope Technique
The scientific basis of the lead isotope technique has
been discussed fully by a number of scholars (see Doe
1970; Gulson 1986; Pollard and Heron 1996 for sum-
maries). Lead isotope analysis involves the measurement
and interpretation of differences in the relative abun-
dance of the four stable isotopes of lead in a geological
or archaeological sample (Gulson 1986:13). Many met-
als exist naturally as different isotopes, but lead is
uniquely useful for geological and archaeological purpos-
es because it has a relatively large range of natural iso-
topic compositions which can vary greatly from place to
place across the surface of the Earth (Pollard and Herron
1996:302).
The four isotopes of lead are referred to by their
atomic mass number, and are known as 204Pb, 206Pb,
207Pb and 208Pb. Three of the isotopes of lead (206Pb,
207Pb and 208Pb) are the stable end products of long
radioactive decay chains. In contrast, 204Pb is not gener-
ated by radioactive decay, and all the 204Pb which is
found on Earth was present at the time of its formation
(204Pb is actually radioactively unstable, but has an
extremely long half-life of 1.4 X 1017 years and is treated
as a stable reference isotope, see Faure 1977:202).
The radioactive decay schemes for lead involve the
elements uranium (U) and thorium (Th). In one series,
238U decays through a number of intermediaries before
producing the isotope 206Pb. In a similar manner, the iso-
tope 235U decays radioactively to form 207Pb and 232Th
decays to form 208Pb (Faure 1977:Figures 12.1-3). All
three isotopes of lead formed in this manner are radioac-
tively stable, i.e. they will undergo no further decay and
thus represent the end of the radioactive decay chain.
The lead generated by such decay schemes is known
generally as radiogenic, to distinguish it from the 204Pb,
206Pb, 207Pb and 208Pb which was already present at the
time of the formation of the earth, known as primeval
or primordial lead. All lead on earth is thus a mixture of
lead originally present when the earth was formed
approximately 4.5 million years ago (primeval lead) and
lead subsequently generated by radioactive decay (radi-
ogenic lead) (Gulson 1986:13). In addition, the stable
lead isotopes generated from the decay of uranium
(206Pb and 207Pb) are often referred to as uranium-
derived or uranogenic and the lead produced by the
decay of thorium (208Pb) is called thorium-derived or
thorogenic (Gulson 1986:25).
The usefulness of lead isotope analysis for geologi-
cal dating is a result of the half-lives of the three
radioactive decay schemes, shown below (from Pollard
and Herron 1996:312).
238U decays to 206Pb, half life = 4.468 X 109 years
235U decays to 207Pb, half life = 0.7038 X 109 years
232Th decays to 208l?b, half life = 14.01 X 109 years
The half lives of the uranogenic and thorogenic lead
systems are of the order of billions of years, and are
thus ideal for study of rock and ore formation on a geo-
logical timescale.
The lead isotope composition of rocks and ores
varies on a world-wide scale, as the result of a number
of processes. Differences in the concentrations of urani-
um, thorium and lead across the surface of the Earth
occurred during its formation and cooling (Pollard and
Herron 1996:313) and during the differentiation of the
Earth into core, mantle and crustal components
(Gariipy and Dupri 1991). Differing ratios of U/Pb and
Th/Pb in different parts of the world led to differences in
the production of the radiogenic isotopes of lead and
hence further differentiation in lead isotope values
across the planet (Gulson 1986:Ch. 2). Further differen-
tiation has been caused by processes of ore formation, in
which common lead minerals (galena) are separated
from uranium and thorium, after which point the iso-
topic composition of the ore does not change (Pollard
and Herron 1996:3 13). Lead isotope compositions of
ore deposits are therefore primarily determined by the
age of the deposit and the sources of the lead that they
incorporate.
130 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
This geological and geographical differentiation of
lead isotope compositions forms the basis of the lead iso-
tope technique as applied to archaeological provenance
studies. Theoretically, different ore deposits should be
characterized by distinct lead isotope ratios, as a result
of their different ages and histories of formation.
Significantly, these isotopic characteristics should be car-
ried through to any archaeological artifacts that were
produced from the ores. This means that ore deposits
can be isotopically "fingerprinted", and archaeological
objects with matching isotopic characteristics can be
related to these specific ore bodies. The simplest case is
for objects made of lead, whose isotopic signatures
should be very similar to the lead ores from which they
were made. However, metals such as copper also com-
monly contain small amounts of lead (usually less than
ca. one percent), as a result of its inclusion in the copper
ores from which they were made. The isotopic composi-
tion of the lead in the copper objects should also match
that of the deposit from which the copper ore was
mined, meaning that copper-base objects can also theo-
retically be provenanced using LIA. Of course, there are
many examples of ore deposits that cannot be differenti-
ated isotopically, and many factors like alloying and
recycling that make the use of LIA for the purposes of
archaeological provenance studies problematic.
Nevertheless, the theoretical bases and assumptions of
the method have proven robust, and the specifics of its
application in archaeology are discussed in the remain-
der of the chapter.
Lead isotope data are usually measured and reported
as ratios rather than abundance levels, due to the nature
of the measurement technique. Modern samples, (includ-
ing the Tell Abraq samples analyzed in this volume), are
generally measured using a technique known as thermal
ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). A description of
the technique is given in Stos-Gale and Gale
(1994:99-100). In the measurement of lead isotope com-
position using TIMS, the greatest experimental precision
is achieved by measuring all the individual abundances
simultaneously as ratios (Gulson 1986:15; Stos-Gale and
Gale 1994:99-lOO). Abundances of individual isotopes
can be calculated from the ratios, but the associated
error will be greater (Pernicka 1992; Budd et al. 1993a).
The samples from A1 Sufouh, Unarl and Unar2 in this
LIA study were analyzed by multi-collector inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS), for
which details are found in Collerson et al. (2002).
In geological situations, ratios are most commonly
measured in regard to the non-radiogenic isotope 204Pb
(e.g. Chen and Pallister 1981; Spooner and Gale 1981;
Briqueu et al. 1991; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991). In such a
situation, values will be reported for the ratios 206Pb/z@Pb,
207PbI204Pb and 208PbI204Pb. These ratios are used by
geologists because they relate to theoretical lead evolu-
tion curves used in the calculation of model lead isotope
ages for analyzed samples (e.g. Stacey and Kramers 1975;
Faure 1977:Chapters 13-14; Koppel and Griinenfelder
1979). In most laboratories around the world, however,
the actual ratios measured are 208Pb/206Pb, 207Pb1206Pb
and 206Pb1204Pb (Gulson 1986:15 and Appendix One). For
archaeological examples, where the geochronological
implications of lead isotope data are generally of less sig-
nificance, the latter ratios are commonly used (e.g. Stos-
Gale et al. 1997; Stos-Gale and Gale 1994; Begemann et
al. 1989). For examples, see Chapter Seven, Table 7.1.
For a visual representation of the data, isotope ratios
are commonly plotted on bivariate graphs. The three-
dimensional nature of the data requires that two bivariate
plots are produced to adequately assess the true distribu-
tion of a group of samples (e.g. Gale 1999:Figure 2; Budd
et al. 1996:169-170). An example can be seen in Chapter 7,
Figure 7.1.
LIA in Archaeology
The use of LIA in archaeological research has its origins
primarily in the context of provenance analysis (Brill and
Wampler 1967; Grogler et al. 1966), although the possi-
bility of authentication studies using LIA has also been
raised (Gale 1978530). Geological studies of the tech-
nique had demonstrated that a large range of potential
lead isotope "fingerprints" could be expected from differ-
ent types of mineralization formed at different periods in
the Earth's history (Gulson 1986:Figure 1.2). The exis-
tence of isotopically discrete ore fields from particular
regions lead to the speculation that isotope ratios of
archaeological objects could be related to these discrete
fields, thus providing a provenance for the analyzed
object. The transfer of the technique from geology to
archaeology required a number of extra assumptions, as
the technique was to be used on objects created by
humans rather than naturally produced ores. The primary
assumptions were:
1. Isotope ratios remain unaffected by anthro-
pogenic processes.
2. There was no mixing or recycling of metal from
different sources.
The first assumption has held up well under scientific
scrutiny. While fractionation is theoretically possible
(Budd et al. 1995c), experimental work indicates that in
practical situations fractionation does not introduce
errors of greater magnitude than the analytical precision
commonly attainable in most laboratories (Barnes et al.
1978:274; Gale and Stos-Gale 1982; Pollard and Heron
1996:324-326; Oxford University Committee for
Archaeology 1997). Hence, fractionation seems unlikely to
be a significant confounding factor in archaeological LIA.
The second assumption listed above is essentially
unprovable in archaeological contexts, although a variety
of circumstantial evidence has been used to justify models
hypothesizing limited metal mixing and recycling in par-
ticular archaeological contexts (contrast Muhly
1985b:80-81 with Gale and Stos-Gale 1985:88-90). This
issue is discussed in detail below, and its significance for
isotopic studies of Bronze Age metallurgy in southeastern
Arabia is specifically addressed.
Archaeological LIA incorporating these two assump-
tions developed in a number of discrete stages. The initial
research was undertaken by R. Brill and J. Wampler in the
early 1960s (Wampler and Brill 1964; Brill and Wampler
1967). Their work was inspired by geological LIA, a field
that had by that time a history of roughly 30 years. Early
archaeological applications were limited to the study of
objects that were made of lead or included large amounts
of lead (such as lead glazes and glass). The results of this
research were encouraging, in that lead ores from
England, Greece and Spain could be isotopically differen-
tiated, and archaeological objects known to have been
produced from a particular ore body had isotopic charac-
teristics closely matching those of their parent ores. A
similar approach to the isotopic analysis of Roman lead
pipes and ingots was undertaken contemporaneously by a
number of Swiss scholars, who stressed the potential of
the technique when combined with trace-element analy-
ses (Grogler et al. 1966:1168).
Lead Isotope Analysis in Archaeology 13 1
 Following the first application of LIA to the analysis
of lead objects and lead-containing glasses and glazes,
archaeological LIA programs were soon broadened to
include silver ores and objects. Silver objects in the
ancient world were commonly produced by cupellation
from argentiferous galena (PbS), and thus retained a sig-
nificant percentage of lead (Craddock 1995). This small
amount of lead, a result of the composition of the ore
body and simple refining procedures, would have the
same isotopic characteristics as the galena ore from
which the silver was extracted.
A large project on Athenian silver sources was
organized by scholars from the Max Planck Institut fiir
Kernphysik at Heidelberg University and the
Department of Geology and Mineralogy at Oxford
University, and a significant number of publications on
this topic appeared from the late 1970s onwards (e.g.
Gale 1978, 1980; Gale et al. 1980; Gentner et al. 1978,
1979180). The analyses were able to demonstrate the
importance of Laurion as a silver source for Athens, in
addition to the use of a wide variety of silver sources for
coinage from Aegina (Gentner et al. 1978:284). It was
clear that LIA, when used as one component of a
detailed research program incorporating all relevant
archaeological, geological and historical evidence, could
be an extremely useful technique in provenance studies.
LIA of silver sources soon expanded to include material
from the Bronze Age (e.g. Stos-Gale and Gale 1982),
and from regions other than Attica and Siphnos (Gale
and Stos-Gale 1981).
The third and most important stage in the develop-
ment of archaeological LIA was the realization that iso-
topic analyses could be used to determine the source of
the copper used in copper-base objects. Attempts to ana-
lyze the variation in isotopes of copper and tin, which
seem a priori more appropriate to the study of the
provenance of archaeological bronzes, are either in their
infancy (Woodhead et al. 1999) or have foundered on
the lack of natural heterogeneity within mineral assem-
blages and the difficulty of differentiating natural and
anthropogenic fractionation (McGill et al. 1999;
Begemann et al. 1999; Yi et al. 1999). In contrast, the
possibility of using LIA to study the provenance of cop-
per and tin-bronze objects was noted from the earliest
applications of the technique in archaeology (e.g. Gale
1 32 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
1978:Table 2). This possibility arose from the fact that
small amounts of lead remained in copper and tin-
bronze objects as a result of the primitive smelting and
refining processes that were used to create them (Gale
1978:34; Barnes et al. 1978:274). As this remaining lead
was from the copper ore itself, LIA of copper-base
objects that had not been intentionally leaded could the-
oretically indicate the source of the copper in the object.
The first paper to present data explicitly on the applica-
tion of LIA to the provenance of archaeological copper-
base objects appeared in 1982 (Gale and Stos-Gale
1982), and marked the beginning of a rapid expansion
of the use of LIA in Old World archaeology, particularly
in the eastern Mediterranean region.
The importance of LIA of ancient copper-base
objects arose from the fact that lead and silver occurred
infrequently in most archaeological assemblages, and
archaeological thought allocated less socio-economic sig-
nificance to the extraction, exchange and use of these
materials. In contrast, the copper trade was thought to
have been "a vital factor in the socio-politico-economic
organization of every Bronze Age polity" (Muhly
1995a:56; see also Renfrew 1967; Gale 1978; Sherratt
1993, 1994; Tadmor et al. 1995:145), and was regarded
as worthy of intensive archaeological research. It is
unsurprising that LIA of copper-base material from this
region eventually came to focus upon the archaeological
leit motif of this trade, the copper ox-hide ingots of the
Late Bronze Age (see Stos-Gale 1989:290-292; Stos-Gale
et al. 1997; Gale 1991; Budd et al. 1995a, 1995b). The
complicated and sometimes heated discussion which sur-
rounded the LIA of this category of object within the last
decade (see Budd et al. 1995a, 199513; Gale and Stos-
Gale 1995; Hall 1995; Sayre et al. 1995; Muhly 1995a;
Pernicka 1995a; Stos-Gale et al. 1997) reflected a grow-
ing concern with various aspects of the interpretation of
lead isotope data within archaeology.
This concern regarding the application of LIA in
provenance studies of copper-base objects was reflected
in at least two periods of intense academic debate. The
first period is represented by articles from Gale and
Stos-Gale (1982, 1985) and Muhly (1983, 1985b), to
which can be added the work of German research
teams presented by Pernicka et al. (1984), Seeliger et
al. (1985), and Wagner et al. (1986). The discussion in
these articles investigated such basic issues as mixing
and remelting of copper supplies, the production of
intentionally leaded bronzes, the possible contribution
of lead to a bronze by the addition of tin or cassiterite,
and the possible role of polymetallic ore bodies as sup-
pliers of different types of metal.
The second major debate is represented by a series
of articles and comments in the journal Archaeometry
(Sayre et al. 1992; Gale and Stos-Gale 1992; Leese
1992; Pernicka 1992, 1993; Reedy and Reedy 1992;
Budd et al. 1993a; Sayre et al. 1993; Gale and Stos-
Gale 1993). Issues discussed in this debate reflected the
greater maturity of the field, particularly the develop-
ment of large databases of isotopic analyses. The
debate thus covered the nature of samples used to
define ore fields, the statistical treatment of lead iso-
topic data in the removal of outliers and the delin-
eation of ore fields, and the reliability of laboratory
measurements of lead isotope ratios.
Over the course of the development of LIA in
archaeology, a more general discussion has also arisen
regarding the legitimate aims and theoretical limitations
of such research, particularly an aspect dubbed the
"provenance paradigm" (Budd et al. 1996). Although
the earliest lead isotope research in archaeology was
conducted with the aim of determining absolute prove-
nance for the analyzed objects, it was also realized that
outlining isotopic similarities and divergences within an
archaeological assemblage, without any assignation of
absolute provenance, could be important in the forma-
tion of archaeological theories (Brill and Wampler
1967:72). As LIA in archaeology developed, the deter-
mination of absolute provenance for archaeological
objects was embraced as the logical function of the tech-
nique, as examination of any of the analytical reports of
the 1970s and 1980s will attest. This was partly a result
of the optimism that surrounded the technique in the
early stages of its application to archaeological prob-
lems, when the possibility of frequent and significant
overlaps in ore-fields seemed minimal.
However, as the body of available lead isotope
data grew, the number of overlaps between ore-fields
increased significantly (Pernicka et al. 1990:278), and
the potential of the technique to delineate exclusively
the sources of the copper used in archaeological
objects seemed to dwindle. Pernicka et al. (1990:278)
went so far as to state that "we are in the very
ungratifying situation that more measurements lead to
more ambiguity!" The emerging difficulties and debates
surrounding LIA in archaeology are a result of the
growing body of data and the resultant ore-field over-
laps: the search for absolute provenance has led schol-
ars to utilize analytical techniques which contain inap-
propriate geological and statistical assumptions, in an
effort to limit the lead isotope fields characterizing the
compositional variability within ore bodies.
Furthermore, the basic notion that lead isotope data
allow strong negative conclusions but only weak posi-
tive assignations of source has often been overlooked.
Budd et al. (1996:169) suggest that "the interpretation
of lead isotope data has not taken place within a
framework which reflects the true complexity either of
ore deposits, or-perhaps more importantly-of metal
supply and circulation in the ancient world".
In proposing to move "beyond the tired old idea
of provenance", Budd et al. (1996:172-173) note
instances in which "detecting change in the pattern of
metal procurement and use is more useful than assign-
ing provenance". For example, studies of material
from the Bronze Age Aegean sites of Poliochni and
Thermi have demonstrated the potential of lead iso-
tope studies to provide information on trade and
exchange based on the diversity of lead isotope com-
positions found at a site (Pernicka et al. 1990:263), to
posit changes in trade patterns rather than technology
as explanation for changes in overall metal composi-
tion at a site (Begemann et al. 1995:123), and to sug-
gest chronological inter-relationships between sites
based upon isotopic evidence (Begemann et al.
1992:219). The power of lead isotope studies to con-
clusively exclude possible ore sources has been used to
great (and surprising) effect in studies of early metal
use in the Balkans (Pernicka et al. 1993) and south-
eastern Anatolia (Schmitt-Strecker et al. 1992), where
presumed early use of metal from the famous mine
sites of Rudna Glava and Ergani Maden respectively
has been proven at least partially incorrect. The possi-
bility for isotopic analyses to suggest similarly novel
hypotheses in the context of Gulf archaeology would
seem to be correspondingly high.
Lead Isotope Analysis in Archaeology 133
Issues for Archaeological LIA in the Gulf Region
In the following section, the results of geological lead iso-
tope studies in southeastern Arabia are discussed, as they
are an important resource for archaeological LIA in the
region. Subsequently, general issues important in the inter-
pretation of LIA in archaeological contexts are discussed.
These include the isotopic variability of individual ore
bodies and the samples used to define them, problems of
mixing and recycling, the intentional addition of lead to
copper-base objects, the possible contribution of lead
by the tin or cassiterite used to manufacture a tin-
bronze, and the various approaches to displaying and
summarizing isotopic data. In all cases, the specific
implications of these issues for our understanding of
archaeological LIA in southeastern Arabia and the
Gulf are discussed.
Geological Lead Isotopic Studies of the Semail Ophiolite
The lead isotope characteristics of an ore deposit depend
entirely upon the geological context in which that ore was
formed. For this reason, a great deal of lead isotope analy-
sis has been carried out by geologists interested in estab-
lishing the processes involved in the formation of specific
ore bodies and in particular classes of ore bodies (e.g.
Gulson 1986; Garikpy and Dupr6 1991).Geological
research has determined many of the parameters that
affect the lead isotope values for specimens from specific
geological contexts. These parameters are often the basis
for archaeological discussions of lead isotope data, and so
the geological use and interpretation of such data is an
important issue.
Lead isotopic studies in the Oman Mountains have
been carried out since the early 1980s and are presented
and discussed in numerous papers (Tilton et al. l 9 8 1; Chen
and Pallister l 9 8 1;Gale et al. l 9 8 1;Thorpe 1982; Doe
1982; Gale and Spooner 1982; Hamelin et al. 1984; 1988;
Lippard et al. 1986: 134-135; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991;
Briqueau et al. 1991; Stos-Gale et al. 1997; 103-105). In
Oman, analyses have included rock and mineral samples
from all the major strata of the Semail Ophiolite, as well as
from copper-bearing massive sulfides in the upper volcanic
sequence at such important ancient mining sites as Lasail,
Bayda and 'Arja.
The conclusions drawn from this collected data
relate to the mechanisms by which the Semail Ophiolite
134 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
was formed, and the geological time and context of its
formation. The early uranium-lead isotopic study by
Tilton et al. (1981) established an age for the ophiolite
of approximately 95 million years, while Chen and
Pallister (1981:2699) concluded, based on comparisons
with LIA of samples from mid-ocean ridge basalts
(MORB), that the ophiolite was formed from oceanic
mantle magma at an oceanic spreading center.
Furthermore, lead isotope data for Fe-Cu sulfides from
Lasail, Bayda and 'Arja suggested that sulfide ore for-
mation in the upper levels of the ophiolite occurred near
the paleo-spreading axis, and involved hydrothermal
activity only within the oceanic crust (Chen and
Pallister l 9 8 1:27O7). That is, there was no incorpora-
tion of radiogenic lead from continental crust sediments
during ore genesis. In contrast, the lead isotope analysis
of serpentinized peridotite from the mantle sequence of
the ophiolite and a galena sample from below the ophi-
olite nappe suggested that radiogenic lead (from either a
continental area or oceanic sediments) could have been
incorporated into samples as part of serpentinization or
galena-forming processes (Chen and Pallister 1981:2707
'These early lead isotope studies consistently indi-
cated a difference between the isotopic characteristics of
the Semail Ophiolite and the Troodos Ophiolite of
Cyprus (Hamelin et al. 1984, 1988). In the Semail
Ophiolite, there was significant homogeneity in the lead
isotope characteristics of sulfides, rocks and sediments,
whereas Troodos isotopic compositions were heteroge-
nous and included more radiogenic lead (Hamelin et al.
l 9 8 8:229). Differing geodynamic processes were sug-
gested to explain this discrepancy (Hamelin et al.
1988:229).
However, more recent lead isotope programs in the
Oman Peninsula have changed this picture (Figure 6.1).
Analysis of ore samples from sulfide deposits and pelag-
ic sediments associated with two distinct volcanic
episodes (V1 and V2) has suggested that "the overall
interpretation of the isotopic compositions of the sul-
phides of the Samail nappe mineralization as being
restricted to typical MORB values ...needs to be revised,
as does the accepted isotopic distinction between the
Samail and Troodos ophiolites and the geodynamic
inferences that this implied" (Calvez and Lescuyer
1991:396).
 The isotopic data have obvious significance for
archaeological studies, even though most of the geologi-
cal samples analyzed were not copper ores, and some
came from different parts of the deposit than those
which host the copper. Research has demonstrated that
there is no systematic difference between the lead iso-
tope composition of various parts of an ore body (e.g.
the gossan, oxidized zone, secondary-enrichment zone
or unweathered zone) or between particular minerals in
a deposit (Begemann et al. 1989:273-274; Gale and
Stos-Gale 1993:256; Pernicka 1993:260; although see
Ixer 1999 for a rare, but archaeologically-relevant
example of mineral paragenesis at the Great Orme mine
in Wales). It follows that the isotopic analyses of pyrite
or galena samples from Oman are quite acceptable in
the definition of a lead isotope ore-field to examine
copper production, as long as they are from the same
ore deposit.
Based on the geological studies, the range of lead
isotopic compositions that might have been expected to
characterize copper produced from the massive-sulfide
deposits of the A1 Hajjar Mountains has been increased
to include more radiogenic values. Secondly, the new
data from Oman significantly overlap isotopic data for
the copper ore deposits of Cyprus (contra Stos-Gale et
al. 1997) and the Taurus Mountains (Yener et al. 1991).
While this overlap is of limited significance for archaeo-
logical LIA in the Gulf, the discrimination of the use of
Omani, Cypriot and Anatolian copper in areas such as
Mesopotamia may be compromised. The archaeological
significance of the geological LIA from Oman is dis-
cussed further in the following sections.
Isotopic Variability in Omani Ore Deposits
Early archaeological studies incorporating LIA suggest-
ed that individual ore deposits should have either a
small linearly-related isotopic distribution, representing
a "secondary isochron" on an isotopic plot (Gale
1978:537), or a very limited isotopic range (Barnes et
al. 1974:6; Gale 1978540). The latter ore bodies are
the so-called "conformable deposits" (Faure
1977:235-237; Gulson 1986:30), i.e. ore deposits
which were formed at the same time as their host rocks,
and which have an isotopic variation of only 0.3-0.5
percent (e.g. Begemann et a1 1989:273-275; Pernicka et
al. 1993:29; Stos-Gale and Gale 1994: 100). Linear
arrays in lead isotope data for ore deposits represent
"anomalous" or "multi-stage" leads, which have more
complicated formation histories (Faure 1977:Chapter
14).
A belief in the general conformity of Cypriot copper
ore deposits underlies recent efforts to determine the
isotopic fingerprint of individual Cypriot mines as
opposed to a general "Cypriot field" (Gale 1999; Stos-
Gale et al. 1997; Gale and Stos-Gale 1992:314). As stat-
ed by Gale ( l 9 9 9 : l l l ) , "the concept of a lead isotope
field for a single deposit is useful for the majority of
uranium-poor deposits in the Mediterranean
region ...the extension of the concept to an island, or a
geographical region, is fraught with difficulties". The
isotopic spread of the combined Cypriot lead isotope
data (approximately two percent) is too large to repre-
sent a single conformable deposit, and conceals a more
detailed isotopic structure defined by individual mines
with very restricted isotopic compositions probably
reflecting their conformable nature (Stos-Gale et al.
1997:86). This realization is significant for archaeologi-
cal LIA in Oman, where copper deposits occur in a virtu-
ally identical geological context to those of Cyprus.
Figure 6.1 Lead isotope data for massive sulfide deposits from
Oman, in comparison to mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB).Coastal V1
sites: Lasail, Bayda,'Arja, Daris 1 and Zuha. InlandV1 sites: Raki and
Hayl as-SafiLV2 sites: Daris 2 and Maqa'il. MORB boundaries after
Hamelin et al. (1988).
Lead Isotope Analysis in Archaeology 13 5
 As illustrated in Figure 6.1, the accumulated body
of geological lead isotope data from southeastern Arabia
indicates a relatively broad range of lead isotope compo-
sitions for the copper-bearing massive sulfide deposits of
the Semail Ophiolite, with at least two distinct fields
(Calvez and Lescuyer 1991). Clearly, the isotopic varia-
tion in the Omani ores is the result of numerous con-
formable deposits, andlor the existence of deposits with
anomalous lead isotope characteristics. An examination
of the isotopic variability of individual ore deposits from
Oman (see Figure 6.2) indicates that ores from the 'Arja
mine show a very limited isotopic variation, compatible
with a conformable deposit, while the Raki mine has a
slightly larger variation which might indicate anomalous
leads, and the A1 Ajal deposit has a clearly anomalous
linear isotopic signature. Although only a few analyses
of material from Daris 1 and Daris 2 have been under-
taken (two samples each), they show limited isotopic
variability compatible with conformable deposits,
whereas ores from Bayda, Lasail and Hay1 as-Safil (two
samples each) show anomalous lead isotope characteris-
tics (Calvez and Lescuyer 1991; Stos-Gale et al. 1997).
The geological lead isotope studies of ores from the
Semail Ophiolite discussed above have recently been
supplemented by LIA of ores, processing debris, and
artifacts from the Sultanate of Oman undertaken
Figure 6.2 The isotopic variability of copper ores from individual ore
deposits in Oman. An ellipse showing isotopic variation of approxi-
mately 0.5 percent, the theoretical limit of a conformable deposit, is
illustrated in the top left corner.
1 36 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
e x p licit l y for the purposes of archaeological research.
The analyses conducted by Prange et al. (1999:191 and
Figure 7) are not fully published, but present data in
graphical form on the isotopic characteristics of 16 ore
samples from copper deposits in the Semail Ophiolite.
The data are reproduced in Figure 6.3, along with the
geological isotope data for massive sulfide deposits from
the Semail Ophiolite and the A1 Ajal copper-gold
deposit. The latter ore deposit is geologically distinct
from the Semail Ophiolite, being hosted by significantly
older Late Permian rocks of the Hawasina series. The
new ore analyses are significant in that they provide a
second demonstration (after Calvez and Lescuyer 1991)
of "a more complicated formation of ore deposits in the
Oman mountain range than previously estimated"
(Prange et al. 1999:191). The range of isotopic composi-
tions which characterize copper ores from Oman, and
which could potentially characterize Bronze Age copper
produced in the region, has been expanded significantly
by this research.
However, the lead isotope database for Omani cop-
per ores is, as it stands, far from complete. Small
deposits from mantle and lower crustal formations of the
Semail Ophiolite (see Chapter Two) are poorly charac-
terized, even allowing for the fact that some of the ore
analyses presented by Prange et al. 1999 may be from
such contexts. Although non-economic in modern terms,
such ores were vital to early copper production in south-
eastern Arabia (see Chapters Two and Five).
Additionally, there are no lead isotope analyses of cop-
per ores from Masirah Island, off the southeastern coast
of Oman, which are known to have been exploited from
at least the early second millennium BCE (Weisgerber
1988, 1991a; Hauptmann 1985:Abb 3). These ores are
ophiolite-hosted, and were originally thought to repre-
sent a part of the Semail Ophiolite. However, recent geo-
logical research has determined that the Masirah
Ophiolite is genetically unrelated to the mainland ophio-
lite (see Chapter Two), and copper from the Masirah
Ophiolite is likely to have a different range of lead iso-
tope ratios than that seen for the Semail Ophiolite
(Nagler and Frei 1994). Finally, very small copper
deposits located within a number of geological units that
underlie the Semail Ophiolite (see Chapter Two) remain
largely unanalyzed.
 The potential importance of these smaller southeast
Arabian copper deposits is clear from previous LIA of
Bronze Age copper objects from Oman (Prange et al.
1999:Figure 7), the U.A.E (Weeks 1999) and Bahrain
(Weeks, forthcoming a), as illustrated in Figure 6.4.
While copper objects from late third and early second
millennium BCE contexts display a relatively limited
range of isotopic compositions (represented by the
ellipse drawn on Figure 6.4), contemporary copper
ingots from Tell Abraq, Saar and Oman show a much
greater isotopic variation and a different distribution.
Furthermore, the isotopic composition of at least half of
the ingots is incompatible with any of the ores currently
analyzed (Prange et al. 1999; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991; Figure 6.3 LIA data for copper ores from Oman. An ellipse showing
Stos-Gale et al. 1997). Comparisons can be drawn with isotopic variation of approximately0.5 percent, the theoretical limit
a group of metal samples from Sardinia analyzed by of a conformable deposit, is illustrated in the top left corner.
Begemann et al. (2001:Figures 11-13). Like a number of
the Gulf ingots, Sardinian objects from the Nuraghe copper
2.11
C] on
Albuccio hoard show depleted levels of thorogenic
20*Pb, inconsistent with known local or nearby ore a
sources. Begemann et al. (2001:73) have suggested that Q
P
such isotopic characteristics are a feature of lead "from g 2.07 -
0
a magma source with the lower-than-average U Ores
thorium/uranium ratio typical of deep-seated magmas".
As noted by Prange et al. (1999:191), at the moment it
is impossible to determine whether the discrepancies in
the isotopic characteristics of ores, ingots and objects
reflect the incomplete sampling of Omani ore deposits, Figure 6.4 Isotopic composition of Omani ores, in comparison to
copper ingots and finished objects from southeastern Arabia and
or the importation into the Gulf of copper from foreign Bahrain.
sources such as Iran or the sub-continent. Needless to
say, the presence of foreign copper ingots in southeastern
Arabia, the putative "copper mountain of Magan",
would be a very surprising discovery with significant
archaeological implications.

Sources of Lead in Copper-base Objects

from Southeastern Arabia
In the initial stages of LIA of copper-base objects, ques-
tions were raised as to the possible intentional addition
of lead to copper alloys in the Bronze Age. Lead was
argued to be a ubiquitous occurrence in early copper
objects, frequently occurring at levels of up to two per-
cent and possibly as high as five to six percent purely as
a result of the type of ore smelted and the refining tech-
nology used (Gale and Stos-Gale 1985:97). However, an

Lead Isotope Analysis in Archaeology 137

intentional addition of lead would undermine one of the
basic assumptions of the LIA approach to copper prove-
nance, as the lead in the objects would be sourced rather
than the copper.
The vast majority of Bronze Age copper-base arti-
facts from the eastern Mediterranean analyzed isotopi-
cally by Gale and Stos-Gale contained less than one per-
cent lead, and were considered extremely unlikely to
have been intentionally leaded (Gale and Stos-Gale
1982:12-3; 1985:85-87). Likewise, leaded copper and
bronze objects are infrequent in most areas of western
Asia in the Bronze Age: very few are found in Egypt
until the first millennium BCE (e.g. Cowell 1987;
Mommsen et al. 1979), although they appear sporadi-
cally in the Levant, Mesopotamia and Iran as early as
the fourth millennium BCE (Philip 1991:98-101; Malfoy
and Menu 1987; Tallon et al. 1989:142-144; Miiller-
Karpe 1989:182). The determination of intentionality
for leaded bronzes is a complicated question, with many
parallels to the problem of defining an "intentional" tin-
bronze or arsenical copper alloy (see Chapter Five).
Significant lead contents may be a result of ore selection
and refining technology, but the possibility of deliberate
addition and control of very low lead levels (e.g. Hughes
et al. 1988:312-313 and Figure 174) or the effects of
scrap recycling cannot be ruled out in many cases. It is
generally accepted, however, that in contrast to areas
such as Atlantic Europe or China, the use of leaded
bronze in the ancient Near East and eastern
Mediterranean was not important until the first millen-
nium BCE (e.g. Northover 1997:328).
None of the objects from A1 Sufouh, Unarl or
Unar2 analyzed isotopically in this study contain in
excess of one percent Pb, and median lead concentra-
tions are less than 0.1 percent. Lead levels in the 1 7
objects from Tell Abraq analyzed by LIA are also low,
even though inaccurately high Pb concentrations for
some samples were reported by EDS analysis (Weeks
1997:Appendix A). Corroborative evidence comes from
previous analyses of prehistoric copper-base objects
from Oman and the U.A.E., which indicate only a hand-
ful of objects with more than 1 % lead before the end of
the Iron Age (Craddock 1985; Corboud et al.
1996:Figure 59; Weeks 2000a, 2000b; Prange and
Hauptmann 2001). Thus, the objects analyzed in this
138 Early Metallurgy of t h e Persian Gulf
study are extremely unlikely to have been intentionally
leaded, and those produced of un-alloyed copper should
have lead isotopic signatures closely matching those of
the copper ores from which they were produced. An
exception to this general picture is a group of three cop-
per-base objects from collective graves on Umm an-Nar
Island (Frifelt 1975a; Frifelt 1991), which contain both
elevated lead and zinc levels.
The low lead concentrations seen in the PIXE-ana-
lyzed Umm al-Nar Period objects, nearly 80 percent of
which contain less than 1,000 ppm Pb, are significant
for this study for another reason. These objects are rela-
tively "lead-poor" (as classified by Gale and Stos-Gale
1985), and are highly susceptible to contamination by
lead of different isotopic composition coming from
alloying components such as tin. The potential contribu-
tion of lead from the tin or cassiterite used in producing
a tin-bronze object was first discussed by Gale and Stos-
Gale (1982:13), who suggested that tin deposits rarely
contained any lead. This conclusion was subsequently
questioned by Muhly (1983:216), although he was later
"prepared to concede that lead is not normally to be
found in cassiterite" (Muhly 1985b:80). In general, lead
isotope studies in archaeology have sought to demon-
strate that there is no significant contribution of lead
from the tin in a tin-bronze object (e.g. Pernicka et al.
1990; Stos-Gale 1989). In support of this premise, lead
concentrations in tin ores of generally less than 100 ppm
are reported, as are analyses of ancient tin ingots and
objects which show no sign of lead (see Chapter Five).
The analyzed tin objects from early second millennium
BCE contexts at Tell ed-Der show no detectable lead,
although the analytical technique employed had relative-
ly low sensitivity and results are only qualitative (Van
Lerberghe and Maes 1984).
However, very little analytical work has been carried
out on tin objects from Bronze Age contexts in western
Asia (partially because so few are known), so the full
range of expected lead values for tin ingots or objects
remains uncertain. Some analyses of tin objects from
Bronze and Iron Age archaeological contexts have
revealed the occasional presence of significant amounts
of lead in tin objects (see Chapter Five). In the case of an
early tin object from Egypt (Eighteenth Dynasty), the
lead concentration (ca. six percent) is high enough to
raise the possibility of a tin-lead alloy (Van Lerberghe
and Maes 1984:103), while a bangle from Tepe Yahya
Period IVA (ca. 2000-1400 BCE) is of "proto-pewter"
comprising 75 percent Pb and 25 percent Sn (Thornton
et al. 2002a). Furthermore, small amounts of lead are
associated with tin ores in a number of geological situa-
tions and potentially significant trace amounts of lead
might therefore be expected in some tin objects.
Attempts to demonstrate that tin does not con-
tribute to the lead isotope signature of tin-bronzes (e.g.
Begemann et al. 1989; Pernicka et al. 1990) have failed
to account for the great variability of lead concentra-
tions in copper and tin objects (see Stos-Gale and Gale
1994:104). With highly variable lead levels in copper,
and almost certainly in tin also, no strict relationship
would necessarily exist between tin levels and isotopic
composition. Thus, the demonstrated lack of a relation-
ship does not mean that lead was only coming from the
copper and not the tin. In at least one instance, exami-
nation of tin and lead levels versus isotopic composition
has suggested a contribution of lead from the tin, partic-
ularly in bronzes with less than 0.1 percent (1,000 ppm)
lead (Gale and Stos-Gale 1985:88). More recent LIA of
material from Nuragic Sardinia has also suggested the
possibility of lead from tin or cassiterite affecting the
isotopic composition of a tin-bronze alloy, although the
lack of known tin ingots with lead concentrations high
enough to cause such changes is noted (Begemann et al.
2001:66-68). This issue will be addressed in more detail
in the following chapter, where the lead isotope data for
material from A1 Sufouh, Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq
is presented and discussed.
Mixing of Metal from Different Sources
As noted above, one of the primary assumptions of LIA
in archaeology is that metals from different sources have
not been mixed together to produce an object. One
exception to this rule is the alloying of tin and copper to
produce bronze, where it is generally (although not
always) thought that insignificant amounts of lead are
contributed by the tin and LIA of such objects still indi-
cates the source of the copper in the object (see above).
The possibility of intentional production of arsenical
copper through admixture of copper with arsenic-bear-
ing ores has also been raised as a problem for LIA (Gale
and Stos-Gale 1982:13; McGeehan-Liritzis l996:162).
Although the production of arsenical copper is still a
debated issue, there is growing evidence to suggest that
most early arsenical copper was produced (intentionally
or otherwise) as a result of the admixture of copper and
arsenic-bearing ores which occurred together in an ore
body, andlor the primitive technology employed in
extraction operations (Budd 1993). Arsenic is a common
component of metal objects from Bronze Age southeast-
ern Arabia and is found in objects from A1 Sufouh,
Unarl, Unar2 and Tell Abraq in concentrations from
trace levels to as high as 6 percent (see Chapter Four).
Arsenic-bearing ores occur frequently in the copper
deposits of the Oman Peninsula and it seems likely that,
whether locally made arsenical copper was intentionally
produced or not (see Chapter Five), it is unlikely to have
differed in its lead isotope composition from locally pro-
duced pure copper.
It has also been questioned whether ores or metal
from geologically distinct sources might have been com-
bined to produce copper ingots. This has been a signifi-
cant issue for archaeological LIA in the eastern
Mediterranean, as the size of the Late Bronze Age ox-
hide ingots (which weigh ca. 25-28 kg each), has sug-
gested to some authors that they are too large to have
been the product of one smelting operation (Budd et al.
199Sa:21).
As described in Chapter Two, copper deposits exist
in a number of different geological contexts within the
Oman Peninsula, and a range of different ores seem to
have been exploited from the third millennium BCE
onwards. This can be clearly seen in the vicinity of the
Umm al-Nar Period settlement at Maysar 1, where cop-
per ores hosted in both mantle and crustal rocks can be
found within walking distance of the site (Hauptmann
1985:Abb. 6). Copper from each of these deposits may
have distinct lead isotope compositions. Furthermore,
we know that the copper ingots produced in the settle-
ment at Maysar are secondary products, involving the
agglomeration of smaller pieces raw copper from near-
by smelters (Hauptmann 1985:93). It is possible, and
indeed likely, that copper mined in the neighborhood of
Maysar from geologically-distinct copper ores was
brought together at the settlement, smelted to produce
raw copper, and subsequently remelted and refined to
Lead Isotope Analysis in Archaeology 139
produce ingots and objects. In such a case, the lead iso-
tope signature of the resulting ingot will be intermedi-
ate between those of its various components, and it
could be difficult to relate the copper in an ingot to the
ore bodies from which it was produced using LIA. This
potential complication will not necessarily occur at all
or even many smelting sites in southeastern Arabia, but
will be difficult to isolate without further isotopic stud-
ies of mantle-level copper deposits in the region.
Mixing also presents itself as a problem if a region
or settlement was obtaining its metal from more than
one source. For example, LIA of Greek silver coins in
the eastern Mediterranean indicated that two sources
(Laurion and Siphnos) were prominent, although it has
been suggested that mixing of silver to produce the
coinage was minimal. This position was also taken in
regard to copper use in the region prior to the Iron
Age. Gale and Stos-Gale (1982:17) stated:
Even in the Late Bronze Age there is likely to
have been a tendency to exploit to the limit
the few known extensive and accessible
sources of rich ores, and while they still yield-
ed rich ore there would have been little incen-
tive to invest time and labour in searching out
other sources. The mixing problem may have
been overemphasised. In reality it may reduce
to the possibility of mixing of metal from
only a few sources.
Stos-Gale and Gale (1994:lOS) admit that "the
possibility of mixing metal used in the production of
ancient artifacts is a real one, and should always be
taken into account when interpreting lead isotope
data", but claim "strong economic and social argu-
ments" in favor of their minimalist position (Gale and
Stos-Gale 1985:90; cf. Pernicka l995a:63). Techniques
for outlining mixing in lead isotope data have been
applied to provenance studies in the eastern
Mediterranean and Anatolia (Pernicka et al. 1984;
592-596), although their ability to actually detect
instances of mixing has been questioned (Budd et al.
1995a:22).
It is clear that a significant number of copper
sources were simultaneously exploited in the Oman
Mountains from the mid-third millennium BCE onwards
(Hauptmann 1985). The geological and archaeological
140 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
isotope studies discussed above indicate that the copper
produced at these sites could have been isotopically dis-
tinct. The trade routes that allowed the distribution of
this material within the Oman Peninsula are poorly
known, and it is difficult to reconstruct how many dif-
ferent local copper sources may have been supplying
northern coastal sites such as Tell Abraq, A1 Sufouh, and
Shimal. Tell Abraq, for example, was very likely acting
as a collection point for copper to be traded further
north up the Gulf, as suggested by the large pyramidal
ingot found in an early Wadi Suq context at the site, and
by the role that Umm an-Nar Island filled in this capaci-
ty before the foundation of the settlement at Tell Abraq
(Frifelt 1995). When the location of Tell Abraq on an
important long-distance Bronze Age maritime trade-
route is also taken into consideration, the possibility of
metal reaching such a site from a plurality of indigenous
and foreign sources, each with unknown and potentially
distinct isotopic characteristics, would seem to be high.
Metal Recycling
Many mixing situations are likely to have arisen not
from the combining of raw copper from two or more
sources, but from the recycling of scrap metal at settle-
ments distant from primary smelting centers. This issue
was discussed in the series of papers by Gale and Stos-
Gale (1985) and Muhly (1983, 1985b), and continues to
be relevant to archaeological LIA (Budd et al. 1995d;
Gale 1995; McGill et al. 1999; Begemann et al. 1999; Yi
et al. 1999).
Muhly (1983:216) discussed the existence of large
"founder's hoards" of scrap metal from Late Bronze Age
contexts throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and
noted that the potential for significant recycling and
mixing of disparate metal sources represented by these
hoards required investigation. In response, a number of
lines of archaeological reasoning have been used to sug-
gest that metal recycling before the Late Bronze Age was
either minimal, or would not have unduly affected the
isotopic characteristics of the objects involved. It was
suggested that, in Mediterranean contexts:
1. There was little recycling of metal prior to the
Late Bronze Age as there are no founder's
hoards known from this period (Gale and
Stos-Gale 1985:90).
 A number of the so-called founder's hoards
were sets of possessions "overtaken by catas-
trophe and never subsequently salvaged"
which were never intended for recycling (Gale
and Stos-Gale 1985:90).
Metal was removed from circulation by inter-
ment in burials rather than being recycled
(Gale and Stos-Gale 1989:171).
Metalwork was preferentially repaired rather
than recast as this was a simpler procedure
(Gale and Stos-Gale 1989:171).
Even if remelting was commonplace, it was
argued that it may not have introduced metal
from different sources (Gale and Stos-Gale
1985:90) or else it involved the complete
recycling of an individual object to produce
one object of a similar size (in which case the
isotopic integrity of the object would be
maintained) (Stos-Gale and Gale 1994:105).
While such hypotheses may have validity in certain
contexts, it is difficult to overcome the simple argu-
ments posited by Muhly (1985b:80) in support of
recycling. Metal was expensive, largely because compli-
cated technology was required to extract it from its
ores and because it was commonly traded over long
distances. Hence, metal was not readily discarded.
When objects broke or were no longer functional, they
were collected as scrap for later re-use, as relatively
simple pyrotechnological processes (Tylecote 1980)
allowed them to be remelted and re-cast.
The recycling of metals in ancient western Asia is
regarded as commonplace and unquestionable by most
scholars studying the region (e.g. Moorey 1994:254 for
Mesopotamia), and significant archaeological and textu-
al evidence exists to support such beliefs (Knapp 2000:
43-45; Reiter 1999:169; Muhly 1985b:81; Zettler 1990,
1992:227-230; Chakrabarti and Lahiri 1996:157-159).
The great advantage of metal over stone was that, once
extracted, it could be formed and re-formed any num-
ber of times without a great loss of mass. This funda-
mental property existed independently of factors such
as the ready availability of metal in particular archaeo-
logical contexts (cf. Gale and Stos-Gale 1985:89-90),
and is likely to have transcended such economic consid-
erations in most cases. Significantly, the reasons used
by Gale and Stos-Gale (1982:l.S-17) to suggest that
copper from only a few major sources would have
been used at any one site at one time (i.e. the techno-
logical complexity of smelting copper ores and the
large fuel requirements) also suggest that metal recy-
cling (with its relatively simple technology and smaller
fuel requirements) would have been an economically
favorable practice.
Recycling is not as significant an issue in regions
where metal from only one source is used over a long
period of time: in such a situation, the isotopic compo-
sition of the copper-base objects will not be changed by
recycling. However, as has been clearly documented in
the preceding paragraphs, multiple, isotopically-hetero-
geneous copper sources may have supplied the Bronze
Age settlements of southeastern Arabia. In such a situa-
tion, recycling can significantly complicate the interpre-
tation of lead isotope data for archaeological objects.
Quantifying the extent of recycling in the early
metal industries of southeastern Arabia is as difficult
as for the eastern Mediterranean example given above.
The Oman Peninsula witnessed the widespread deposi-
tion of large amounts of metalwork in collective graves
of Bronze Age, Iron Age and late Pre-Islamic date (Potts
1990a). The consumption of metals in this way, their
removal from circulation, is in itself an argument for
limited recycling, and the necessity for continued acqui-
sition of newly-won metal. However, the need for new
metal may have been ameliorated by grave robbing: it is
clear that prehistoric graves in the region were frequent-
ly robbed in antiquity for the metal objects they con-
tained, as can be seen on the rare occasions when
unrobbed tombs are discovered (e.g. Potts 1990a:
383-386; Potts 2000). The so-called IbriISelme hoard,
containing more than 500 copper-base and soft-stone
artifacts, is interpreted as the collected plunder of an
Iron Age tomb robber, and was almost certainly des-
tined for re-melting (Weisgerber l 9 8 1:232; Hauptmann
1987:214; Yule and Weisgerber 2001). It is difficult to
determine at what period after their construction the
plundering of these graves may have begun.
Furthermore, many excavated tombs in the region
appear to have been re-used in periods much more
recent than their initial construction, at which time any
remaining metal artifacts were removed and presumably
Lead Isotope Analysis in Archaeology 141
re-melted. Thus, metal recycling may have resulted from
both tomb robbing and tomb re-use. Most tomb re-use in
southeastern Arabia seems to have occurred in the Iron
Age or more recently. There is very little evidence for re-
use of Hafit or Umm al-Nar tombs in the second millenni-
um BCE (J. Benton, personal communication), but good
evidence for Iron Age re-use of collective burial cairns
from all preceding periods (e.g. Bibby 1970; Barker 2002;
Benton and Potts n.d.). Of course, re-use and robbing can
be entirely unrelated events, and assessing periods of
tomb plundering based upon re-use is by no means
straightforward. Yule and Weisgerber (2001:39), for
example, envisage long-term and continuous tomb-rob-
bing activities in the region, noting that "the graves of
each successive Pre-Islamic period are better preserved
than those of the preceding one [which] may be taken as
evidence for the cumulative effects of grave robbing from
early times onward".
If one was to posit a general theory for the frequency
of tomb-robbing for metals in the region then, for a num-
ber of reasons, the Umm al-Nar Period is likely to have
witnessed considerably less than subsequent millennia.
Firstly, there was very little metal to rob in tombs of the
preceding Hafit Period. This does not, of course, mean
that earlier or contemporary Umm al-Nar Period tombs,
richer in metal grave goods, were not robbed. Secondly, a
large quantity of newly-won local metal was in circula-
tion in the later third millennium BCE, perhaps as much
as a few thousand tonnes (Hauptmann 1985), which may
have reduced the need for recycling. Finally, as noted
above, there is very little evidence from the Umm al-Nar
Period for the re-use (with associated metal acquisition) of
tombs from earlier periods.
In contrast, if we look at the second millennium BCE,
there is very limited evidence for primary metal production
in the region (see Chapter Two), even though the deposi-
tion of copper-base objects in graves continues in signifi-
cant quantities. It is at least as probable that the continued
use of metal for grave goods reflects a rise in tomb-robbing
activities, rather than evidence of continued primary cop-
per smelting, as is sometimes suggested (e.g. Weisgerber
1988:285). When the evidence from the Iron Age is exam-
ined, although high levels of primary copper smelting are
once again documented, recycling seems very likely
because of the practice of tomb re-use discussed above.
142 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Thus, a number of archaeological indices suggest that
the amount of recycling undertaken in southeastern
Arabia was relatively limited prior to the second millenni-
um BCE. Nevertheless, all isotopic data must be evaluated
within a framework that recognizes the basic technologi-
cal and economic advantages of metal recycling over the
winning of new metal.
Statistical Treatment and Presentation
of Lead Isotope Data
Discussion has arisen on a number of issues relating to
the statistical treatment of lead isotope data. In particular,
concern has been expressed over the statistical determina-
tion of the extent of ore-fields, the treatment of outliers to
a main isotopic distribution, and the use of multivariate
statistics to further delineate ore sources with slightly
overlapping isotopic composition. Essentially, the debate
was divided into those research groups who favored the
use of statistical analyses in the interpretation of isotopic
data (e.g. Sayre et al. 1992, 1993; Stos-Gale 1989:279;
Stos-Gale and Gale 1994:101), and those who argued
that multivariate analyses were either unnecessary (e.g.
Pernicka 1993:259) or statistically unjustified (Baxter
1999; Leese 1992:319; Cherry and Knapp 1991:lOO).
The debate surrounding the statistical treatment of
lead isotope data has clearly changed attitudes to the use
of multivariate techniques within the field. For example,
recent archaeological publications on the lead isotope
characteristics of the Cypriot copper ore deposits have
relied on relatively simple interpretation of bivariate scat-
terplots, noting that statistical approaches "may well
obscure rather than help the discussion" (Stos-Gale et a
1997:9 1).A similar reliance on bivariate scatterplots is
suggested by Scaife et al. (1999:127), as their proposed
kernel density estimations make comparisons between
data groups difficult, and are best regarded as a supple-
ment to the simple scatterplot approach, rather than an
alternative to it. In general, Scaife et a1 (1999:132) argue
that complex statistical approaches in the interpretation
of LIA do a disservice to both the data and the perception
of LIA within the wider archaeological community: they
have failed to clarify archaeological reconstructions of
ancient exchange systems and have led t o a general
"mystification" of the LIA technique for the general
archaeological audience.
 In summary, it seems clear that a basic approach Thirdly, as with archaeological LIA in all prehistoric
in which artifacts can be assigned to ore fields visually contexts, the extent of mixing and recycling within a
using "nearest neighbor" procedures (Cherry and metallurgical tradition is almost impossible to quantify.
Knapp 1991:100), is the most appropriate for archaeo- Some circumstantial evidence indicates that recycling of
logical LIA. Such a minimal approach, whereby ore- scrap metal may not have occurred on a significant scale
field boundaries are delineated by enveloping lines in southeastern Arabia until the Wadi Suq Period or the
around the outer error bars for the data, will be used Iron Age. However, given the broad range of geological
in this volume for its simplicity and in order to avoid contexts which were exploited for copper in the ancient
the over-interpretation predicted by some researchers Oman Peninsula, the collection and mixing of ores
(Pernicka 1993; see also Gale 2001:118). A recent iso- andlor raw copper from isotopically distinct local
topic study of copper and lead ores from the British sources is a definite possibility. When the location of
Isles has used just such an approach, by delineating an archaeological sites such as Tell Abraq on prominent
"England and Wales Lead Isotope Outline (EWLIO)", long-distance maritime trading routes is considered, the
which proved useful for the description of patterns in utilization at these sites of metal from many sources
isotopic data (Rohl and Needham 1998). It should becomes highly probable.
also be noted that multivariate analysis is not used in Although the potential of LIA to provide informa-
geological applications of LIA, where simple bivariate tion on the absolute provenance of the copper and
plots are considered adequate for data representation bronze used at these sites is limited by the above consid-
and interpretation. erations, its ability to generate useful and interesting
archaeological hypotheses is not. A number of studies
Summary have demonstrated the potential of LIA to provide
The preceding discussion of LIA and its use in archae- important information for reconstructing trade patterns,
ology has served to highlight a number of points technological changes and even chronological relation-
important to the interpretation of lead isotope data in ships between neighboring sites, and it is clear that the
southeastern Arabian and Gulf contexts. Firstly, conclu- Bronze Age Gulf data could support similar inferences. It
sions from LIA of Bronze Age material from the Gulf is to these data that we will now turn.
will be limited by the incomplete isotopic characteriza-
tion of all the important classes of copper deposit in
the Oman Peninsula. Although the lead isotope charac-
teristics of the massive sulfide deposits at such sites as
Lasail, Bayda and 'Arja are well known, important
deposits in lower levels of the Semail Ophiolite and in
the Masirah Ophiolite which are known to have been
worked in antiquity remain poorly characterized.
Secondly, while previous compositional analyses
suggest that the intentional addition of lead to copper
and tin-bronze objects did not occur with any great fre-
quency in the Gulf region until the final centuries of the
first millennium BCE or later, the possible effect of lead
from tin or cassiterite used to produce a tin-bronze must
be considered. The lead content of copper produced in
southeastern Arabia is often exceedingly low, suggesting
that even small amounts of lead in tin or cassiterite
could significantly perturb the lead isotope composition
of a tin-bronze produced from local copper.

Lead Isotope Analysis in Archaeology 14 3

This page intentionally left blank

7 Lead Isotope Data from
the Gulf
L. R. Weeks
K. D. Collerson
Introduction
The objects from A1 Sufouh, Unarl and Unar2 in this
LIA study were analyzed by multi-collector inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) at the
Advanced Centre for Queensland University Isotope
Research Excellence (ACQUIRE), Department of Earth
Sciences, Queensland University, Australia. Objects from
Tell Abraq were analyzed in the same laboratory, but by
thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Details of
analytical techniques for MC-ICP-MS, which involve the
use of thallium to correct for mass fractionation, can be
found in Collerson et al. (2002), while analytical tech-
niques for the earlier TIMS analyses can be found in
Appendix One (Section 1.1.5).
In the following sections, the isotopic characteristics
of the objects listed in Table 7.1 are discussed according
to their archaeological and chronological contexts, in
addition to being divided into three broad compositional
groups. The LIA discussion utilizes different alloy cate-
gories than were used for the discussion of composition-
a1 results in Chapters Four and Five, where considera-
tions were based on the likely physical properties of the
alloys. Geological studies have demonstrated that tin
deposits do not occur in the Oman Mountains, where
tin concentrations in ore and rock samples are generally
less than 10 ppm (see Chapter Five). These considera-
tions suggest that all the tin used in southeastern Arabia
must have been imported-either as metallic tin or
alloyed with copper as tin-bronze, and that any object
with more than a small amount of tin therefore contains
a significant proportion of imported metal. The broad
compositional groups used in the discussion of the LIA
data are therefore determined by the concentration of tin
found in the objects. Objects are divided into "copper"
(less than 0.5 percent Sn), "copper-low tin" (0.5-5.0 per-
cent Sn), and "tin-bronze" (more than 5.0 percent Sn).
These divisions correspond to the three peaks in the tin
concentrations of the analyzed Umm al-Nar Period
objects illustrated in Figure 4.17. The groups represent
metal categories which, in a southeastern Arabian con-
text, have different a priori possibilities of representing
the isotopic characteristics of local deposits.
Radiogenic Outliers in the Analyzed
Umm al-Nar Period Objects
The isotopic data from Table 7.1 is illustrated in Figure
7.1. It includes all Umm al-Nar Period objects from the
tombs of A1 Sufouh, Unarl, Unar2, and from settlement
and funerary contexts at Tell Abraq. The figure shows a
relatively limited linear array of objects with 207PbI
206Pb ratios of 0.800-0.900, with two highly divergent
outliers. These outliers, TA699 and TA1614, are tin-
bronzes from the Tell Abraq tomb, and possess very low
207Pb1206Pb ratios of 0.600-0.700, low 208Pb1206Pb ratios
of 1.750-1.850, and very high 206Pb1204Pb ratios of
24.00-26.00. Objects with such lead isotope ratios are
generally described as "radiogenic", referring to the fact
that their lead isotope compositions have been affected
by high levels of uranium andlor thorium in the ores
from which they were smelted. Examples of the isotopic
systematics of radiogenic deposits are provided by the
sediment-hosted lead-zinc ores of the Mississippi Valley
(Gulson 1986), while radiogenic copper deposits are
found in modern Serbia (Pernicka et al. 1993:Figure 19)
and north Wales (Rohl and Needham 1998:176, Pls.
14B, 15B) among other places.
Two other objects illustrated in Figure 7.1 can be
regarded as outliers to the main distribution. Objects
M10-17 (a copper-low tin ring from Unarl) and TA107
(a tin-bronze ring from Tell Abraq) also have relatively
radiogenic isotopic compositions, with 207Pb1206Pb
ratios of 0.810-0.820. The fact that all of the four out-
hers are tin-bronze or copper-low tin is significant, as
we know from geological studies that they must have
Table 7.1
Lead isotope data for objects from AI Sufouh, Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq
Major 207~bl 2 o abs. 208~b/ 2 o abs. 206~bl 2 o abs.
Sample Site Object Elements 206~b error 206~b error 204~b error
ASI-2 AI Sufouh flat fragment Cu-As-%(low)
ASI-3 AI Sufouh flat fragment Cu-As-Ni-CO-%(low)
ASI-5 AI Sufouh blade edge CU-AS
M10-41 AI Sufouh dagger-tanged Cu
ASTombl d AI Sufouh flat fragment Cu-%(low)-As-Ni
M10-7 Unarl flat fragment Cu-Sn(low)
M10-12 Unarl flat fragment Cu-As-Ni-Fe
M10-13~ Unarl flat fragment Cu-Sn
M10-17 Avg. Unarl ring Cu-%(low)
M10-19 Unarl ring Cu-%(low)
M10-22r Unarl ring Cu-Sn-Fe
M 10-38 Unarl tu belspout Cu
M 10-39 Unarl flat fragment Cu-Sn-Fe
L14N-PIN Unarl pinlawl Cu-As-Ni-Fe
1014.76 Unar2 ring Cu-Sn-As
1014.1 58 Unar2 ring Cu-Sn-As
1018-3.93 Unar2 pinlawl Cu-As-Fe
1018-3.99 Unar2 flat fragment Cu-Sn-As-(Ni)
1019-3.59 Unar2 flat fragment Cu
1019-5.71 Unar2 ring Cu-Sn-As
1023-4.10 Unar2 ring Cu-%-(Fe)
1019-3.105 Unar2 flat fragment Cu-Sn-As-Fe
1019-4.1 08 Unar2 pinlawl Cu-As-Ni
1023-2.110 Unar2 lump Cu-Sn(low)-Fe
TA107 Avg. Tell Abraq ring Cu-Sn-As-Ni
TA699 Avg. Tell Abraq flat fragment Cu-Sn
TA1217 Tell Abraq flat fragment Cu-Sn
TA1227 Tell Abraq flat fragment Cu
TA1231 Tell Abraq spearhead Cu-Sn(low)
TA1286 Tell Abraq flat fragment Cu-Sn
TA 1306 Tell Abraq flat fragment Cu-Sn
TA1310 Tell Abraq ring Cu
TA1389 Tell Abraq pinlawl Cu-Ni-S
TA1426 Tell Abraq flat fragment Cu-S
TA 1428 Tell Abraq pinlawl Cu-Sn(low)-Fe
TA1459 Tell Abraq pinlawl Cu-Sn
TA1461 Tell Abraq ring Cu
TA 1467 Tell Abraq ring Cu-S-Fe
TA1612 Tell Abraq pinlawl Cu-As-Ni-S
TA1614 Avg. Tell Abraq ring Cu-Sn-Fe
TA1648 Tell Abraq spearhead Cu-Sn
TA2918 Tell Abraq ring Sn-As ring

"Major Elementfare those present in concentrations of greater than one percent, with the exception of tin, which is denoted byUSn"(>5.0
percent tin) and "Sn (low)" (0.5-5.0 percent tin).

146 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

incorporated at least some foreign metal. The isotopic
characteristics of the objects TA107, TA699, TA1614
and M10-17 make the use of this foreign metal abun-
dantly clear, as ores with such lead isotope characteris-
tics are not known from southeastern Arabia (see
Chapter Six, Figure 6.3). Although the original prove-
nance of these outlying objects remains uncertain,
based upon the isotopic evidence it seems clear that at
least some of the tin-bronze reaching Arabia in the
third millennium BCE was imported as finished
objects, or locally made from imported metal arriving
pre-alloyed as tin-bronze.
It is interesting to note that three of the outlying
objects are rings, given the preponderance of tin-
bronze usage in this object category in the Bronze Age
(see Chapter Five, Figure 5.3). This data may indicate
that small, decorative objects such as rings may have
been important in the distribution of tin-bronze in the
Gulf in the third millennium BCE. Unfortunately, the
relative simplicity of these pieces precludes a typologi- 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95
cal investigation into their point of origin. Of course, 207 Pbl206Pb
such objects may also have been locally manufactured Figure 7.1 LIA data for all Umm al-Nar Period objects from the U.A.E.
from imported metal. The remainder of the discussion analyzed in this study.
addresses only the objects with 207Pb1206Pb ratios of
greater than 0.800, 208Pb1206Pb ratios of greater than The earliest objects analyzed in this study come
1.990, and 206Pb1204Pb ratios of less than 20.00. from AI Sufouh, and fall into roughly the third quar-
ter of the third millennium BCE. The five objects
Isotopic Differences by Site from this site include dagger and blade fragments and
The isotopic data for Umm al-Nar Period samples from unidentified flat fragments. They are made of copper
the U.A.E. are illustrated on a site-by-site basis in Figure and As/Ni-copper, and three of the five objects con-
7.2. Most objects fall on a linear array with 207PbI206Pb tain from approximately 0.66-2.0 percent Sn, qualify-
ratios of approximately 0.835-0.895, 208Pb1206Pb ratios ing them as copper-low tin objects. The LIA of these
of approximately 2.070-2.150, and 206Pb1204Pb ratios objects reveals a linear distribution with 207Pb1206Pb
of approximately 17.50-1 8.80. Possible exceptions can ratios of approximately 0.846-0.885, a spread of
be seen in the copper ring TA1310 from Tell Abraq more than four percent. This is clearly far too large to
(located in cluster 1 on Figure 7.2), and flat frag- represent metal from one conformable deposit, and it
ments 1019-3.59 and 1019-3.105 from Unar2, that indicates the use of metal from multiple sources, or
are made of copper and tin-bronze, respectively. All possibly the exploitation of one source with a hetero-
of these objects fall below the main trend line on the geneous isotopic signature. There are no consistent
207Pb1206Pb versus 208Pb1206Pb plot, indicating that they differences between the categories of copper objects
are slightly depleted in thorogenic lead in comparison to and copper-low tin objects, although the least radi-
the remaining objects. The outlying sample M10-17 ogenic value is for the copper-low tin flat fragment
from Unarl shows more significant depletion of the ASI-2 (207Pb1206Pb = 0.88469), and the most radi-
thorogenic lead component in comparison to the other ogenic is for the tanged copper dagger M10-41
analyzed Urnm al-Nar Period objects. (207Pb1206Pb = 0.84658).

Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 14 7


Figure 7.2 LIA data (207Pb/206Pband 2 0 8 ~ b / 2 0 6ratios
~ b only) for all
Umm al-Nar Period objects, arranged by site (outliers TA699,TA1614
not shown).white squares show isotopic data for the site of inter-
est, gray circles show data for the other three sites.
148 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Nine objects have been analyzed from the roughly
contemporary tomb assemblage at Unarl. These include
predominantly flat fragments and rings, in addition to
fragments of a pinlawl and a spout. Compositionally, the
group includes three copper samples, some with significant
concentrations of arsenic and nickel, in addition to three
copper-low tin objects and three others of tin-bronze. In
contrast to A1 Sufouh, a significant clustering of the isotopic
data from Unarl is seen, although there are a number of
outlying objects. The major cluster occurs at 207Pb1206Pb
approximately 0.85O7208J?b/206Pbapproximately 2.10,
206Pb1204Pb approximately 18.4, and comprises three tin-
bronzes (M10-13V, M10-22R, M10-39), one copper-low
tin object (M10-7),and two copper objects (M10-12, M10-
38). Of the three remaining samples, the copper-low tin ring
M 1 0-19 has a slightly less radiogenic isotopic signature
than the remaining Unarl objects (207Pb1206Pb = 0.85542),
while the AsINi-copper pin (L14N-PIN)has a more radi-
ogenic signature (207Pb1206Pb = 0.83885), and the most
radiogenic characteristics were seen in the copper-low tin
ring M10-17 mentioned above. The isotopic spread of the
clustered objects at Unarl is just under 0.5 percent, the
theoretical limit of a conformable ore deposit, and may
represent the concentration in the tomb of metal predomi-
nantly from one source. Nevertheless, the isotopic analy-
ses of the remaining objects (M10-17, L14N-PIN, M 10-
19) suggest the use of multiple metal sources in the cre-
ation of the tomb assemblage.
A total of ten objects have been analyzed from the
Unar2 tomb assemblage, which is dated to the last two cen-
turies of the third millennium BCE. These include four
rings, three flat fragments, two pinlawl fragments, and one
unidentified lump. Alloy compositions vary from relatively
pure copper, to As/Ni-copper, copper-low tin, and tin-
bronze (often with significant concentrations of arsenic). In
contrast to the Unarl assemblage, the Unar2 metal objects
show very little evidence of clustering in their isotopic char-
acteristics, displaying rather a linear array. The most radi-
ogenic isotopic values are seen in the two analyzed As/Ni-
copper pinlawl fragments (1018-3.93,1019-4.108), which
show very similar isotopic characteristics (207Pb1206Pb
approximately 0.839). These samples are also very similar
c o m p o s ~ t ~ o n acontaining
~~y, significant concentrations of
arsenic and The remaining the
site (flat fragment 1019-33 9 ) is of extremely pure copper,
and has a much less radiogenic signature (207Pb1206Pb=
0.87285). This sample has an almost identical isotopic
composition to a flat arsenical tin-bronze fragment from
the site (1019-3.105),showing that isotopic homogeneity
can occur in compositionally diverse samples. These two
flat fragments stand out isotopically from the remainder of
the Unar2 assemblage in being relatively deficient in thoro-
genic lead (208Pb1206Pbapproximately 2.11 0).
The remaining objects from Unar2 are all tin-bearing,
and form a linear array from the most radiogenic values of
207Pb1206Pb approximately 0.843 (arsenical tin- bronze ring
l957l), to the least radiogenic value of any object analyzed
in this study, the copper-low tin lump (1023-2.11 0) with a
207Pb1206Pb ratio of 0.89320. No clear evidence for iso-
topic clustering can be seen in this group of objects,
although the tin- bronze ring 1019-5.71 and the tin-bronze
flat fragment 1018-3.99 have similar isotopic characteris-
tics. As for the objects from A1 Sufouh and Unarl, the large
spread of isotopic ratios of the assemblage from Unar2
(approximately six percent) suggests that multiple sources
of metal were used to create the objects found in the tomb.
A total of 10 objects from the Umm al-Nar Period
tomb at Tell Abraq, and eight from near-contemporary set-
tlement contexts at the site, underwent LIA and this data
has been published (Weeks 1999).The objects analyzed
include predominantly rings and flat fragments (six of
each), in addition to four pinlawl fragments and two spear-
heads. Alloy compositions include pure copper, AsINi-cop-
per, copper-low tin, tin-bronze, and one tin object. The
objects are not those for which compositional data are pre-
sented above in Chapter Four, as they come from settlement
contexts and the western chamber of the tomb, rather than
the eastern tomb chamber. The objects were analyzed com-
positionally by SEM rather than PIXE, and the results are
reported elsewhere (Weeks 1997:Table 14).
The Tell Abraq isotopic data show the largest spread of
any Umm al-Nar Period site analyzed in this study. As dis-
cussed above, this is primarily due to the two highly-radi-
ogenic tin-bronzes from settlement and burial contexts at
the site (TA699,TA1614), and another tin-bronze (TA107)
that has a significantly more radiogenic signature than the
majority of Tell Abraq objects. However, theremaining
objects from the site still showsignificant isotopic diversity,
with 207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately 0.834-0.874, a
spread of more than four percent.
Within this range, there appear to be three clusters of
objects. The first is comprised of four objects with
207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately O.835,208Pb/206Pb
ratios of approximately 2.075, and 206Pb1204Pb ratios of
approximately 18.80. Three of the objects (TA1217,
TA1286, TA1306) show very similar isotopic composi-
tions, and all are flat tin-bronze fragments from the
tomb. The fourth possible member of the cluster
(TA1310) is a ring of pure copper (>99percent Cu) from
the settlement, however it is lower in thorogenic lead
than the tin-bronzes and thus slightly isotopically dis-
tinct. The second cluster is composed of four objects
(TA1227, TA1426, TA1461, TA1612) from tomb and
settlement contexts at the site. All are of copper, although
TA1612 contains some arsenic and significant amounts
of nickel. The cluster is centered on 207Pb1206Pb ratios of
approximately 0.840,208Pb/206Pb ratios of 2.080-2.090,
and 206Pb1204Pb ratios of 18.60-1 8.80, and has a spread
of approximately 0.2 percent. The third cluster is formed
by a group of five objects from tomb and settlement con-
texts, and various alloys including copper (TA1467), Ni-
copper (TA1389), copper-low tin (TA1428), tin-bronze
(TA1459), and a tin ring (TA2918). The cluster is cen-
tered on a 207Pb1206Pb ratio of approximately 0.847, and
as for the previous group shows a very limited isotopic
spread (approximately 0.4 percent). The remaining two
objects from Tell Abraq are a copper-low tin spearhead
(TA1231) from the settlement and a tin-bronze spear-
head (TA1648) from the tomb (for an illustration, see
Weeks 1997:Figure 8), both of which have the least radi-
ogenic isotopic characteristics of the analyzed Tell Abraq
material (207Pb1206Pb >0.870,208Pb/206Pb >2.120,
206Pb1204Pb ~ 1 8 . 1 0 ) .
The large isotopic spread of the Tell Abraq objects
suggests that multiple sources were used in the produc-
tion of the copper-base objects used at the site, and the
clustering of the objects into a few isotopically homoge-
neous groups may reflect the use of metal from a number
of conformable deposits. Two of the isotopic groups
show a significant degree of compositional homogene-
ity-one consisting predominantly of copper objects and
the other of tin-bronzes (a group that also shows typo-
logical homogeneity). The third cluster shows great com-
positional diversity, with the five objects representing five
different alloy types.
Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 149
 The major isotopic characteristics of copper-base
objects from the four sites can be summarized as follows:
Linear arrays due to the mixing of lead from dif-
ferent sources are common in each site's isotopic
data, in the 207PbI206Pb range of 0.800-0.900. In
general, the isotopic data suggest the use at each
site of metal from multiple sources, rather than
solely one isotopically homogeneous source. An
exception might be Unarl, where most objects
fall into a relatively limited isotopic range.
Highly radiogenic samples are found only at Tell
Abraq (TA699, TA1614), although radiogenic
outliers are reported from both Tell Abraq
(TA107) and Unarl (M10-17).
A1 Sufouh and Unarl samples mostly show
207PbI206Pb ratios of greater than 0.845. While
Tell Abraq and Unar2 have also produced sam-
ples in this range, these sites have also produced
numerous objects with more radiogenic 207PbI
206Pb ratios of 0.834-0.845. This may reflect
chronological differences in metal supply.
Figure 7.3 LIA data for all Umm aCNar Period objects by alloy cate-
gory (outliersTA699,TA1614 not shown).
15 0 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Differences by Composition (Alloy Group)
Although the coastal location of U.A.E. tombs and the
strong trade connections found in the excavated material
suggest that foreign copper could have been exploited at
A1 Sufouh, Unarl, Unar2 and Tell Abraq, the possible use
of foreign metal is most clearly an issue in the discussion
of the tin-bronzes. In such a situation, it is possible for the
isotopic differences between copper objects and tin-bear-
ing objects to provide a useful indicator of the mecha-
nisms by which tin and tin-bearing alloys were traded in
the early periods of their use. The LIA data for Umm al-
Nar Period objects analyzed in this thesis is illustrated in
Figure 7.3, based upon the compositional groups (copper,
copper-low tin, tin-bronze). Some clear differences can be
seen, and become more apparent when histograms of the
isotopic data are examined (Figures 7.4 and 7.5).
Objects of copper, copper-low tin, and tin-bronze all
seem to fall upon the same isotopic trend line in Figure 7.3.
The majority of objects, including examples from all alloy
groups, have 207Pb/206Pb ratios in the 0.834-0.856 range.
However, within this range the overlap of objects from dif-
ferent alloy groups is not consistent. As can be seen in
Figure 7.4, copper objects (including AsN-copper) show
two isotopic clusters: one at 207Pb1206Pb ratios of
0.836-0.842, the other at 207Pb/206Pb ratios of 0.846-
0.850. Of these two ranges, tin-bronzes and copper-low tin
objects are found only in the second, that with less radi-
ogenic characteristics (see Figure 7.5). Only three of 15
analyzed copper objects have 207PbI206Pb ratios higher
than 0.850, two of which are AsJNi-copper (ASI-5, M10-
12), and one of which is of very pure copper (1019-3.59).
No copper objects have been analyzed with 207Pb1206Pb
ratios of less than 0.836. In contrast, many tin-bearing
objects have isotopic compositions outside the 207PbI206Pb
range of 0.836-0.850. More than one-quarter of the ana-
lyzed tin-bearing objects have 207Pb/206Pb ratios of less
than 0.836, including the radiogenic tin-bronzes from Tell
Abraq (TA107, TA699, TA1614) and the copper-low tin
ring from Unarl (M10-17). Furthermore, half of the tin-
bearing copper-base objects have 207Pb1206Pb ratios of
greater than 0.850, including copper-low tin objects from
all sites (ASI-2, ASI-3, ASTombld, M10-7, M10-19, 1023-
2.110, TA123 l),and tin-bronzes from Unarl (M10-22R),
Unar2 (1014.76, 1014.158, 1023-4.10, 1019-3.105) and
Tell Abraq (TA1648).
 Thus, although there is isotopic similarity between a
small proportion of copper objects, tin-bronzes, and cop-
per-low tin objects, the significant isotopic variation
between the alloy groups suggests that different sources
of metal were used to produce them. Of course, the inclu-
sion of foreign metal in tin-bearing objects in the U.A.E.
is indicated by the presence of the tin itself. The LIA indi-
cates that some of this imported metal, whether tin or
pre-alloyed tin-bronze, was isotopically distinct from the
majority of the copper used in the region. There is clear
archaeological evidence, in the form of the tin ring from
the Tell Abraq tomb (TA2918), that metallic tin was
available in the southern Gulf in the late third millennium Figure 7.4 207Pb/206Pb isotopic composition of Umm al-Nar Period
copper objects (including AsINi-copper)from the U.A.E.analyzed in
BCE. Interestingly, the isotopic composition of this entire- this study (outliersASI-5,1019-3.59not shown).
ly foreign metal is very similar to a number of the copper
objects analyzed in this study. If we assume that this cop-
per was locally produced in southeastern Arabia, the pos-
sibility arises that even entirely foreign tin-bronzes, arriv-
ing pre-alloyed as ingots or objects, may be difficult to
discern isotopically from local copper. These issues will be
addressed in the following sections.
Materials that potentially contributed lead to the tin-
bearing and copper objects are important to assess. Lead
levels in the analyzed Umm al-Nar Period objects are gen-
erally low, commonly less than 2,000 ppm and frequently
much lower (see Chapter Four; EDS analyses of the Tell
Abraq material report higher Pb values, but are unreliable,
see Weeks 1997:Appendix A). Such low lead levels are
unlikely to represent the intentional alloying of lead with
copper or tin-bronze, so the lead in the objects is likely
derived from the lead in their parent ores (cf. Gale and Stos-
Gale 1982:12-13), Thus, objects of unalloyed copper
Figure 7.5 207Pb/206~b Isotopic ranges for Umm al-Nar Period
(includingAsINi-copper) analyzed in this study should have
objects analyzed in this study, showing copper objects (lower chart),
lead isotopic signatures closely matching those of the copper copper-low tin objects, and tin-bronzes (upper chart).
ores from which they were produced. In contrast, as tin-
bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, there is obvious potential Two major explanations exist for the isotopic dis-
for the mixture of metal (or ores) from entirely different crepancy between tin-bearing objects and copper samples
sources. In such a case, the lead isotope signature of the result- from the Umm al-Nar Period in southeastern Arabia:
ing tin-bronze may differ from the copper from which it was 1. The isotopic distribution of the tin-bronzes was
produced. It is therefore important to assess the amount of affected by lead from the tin, or alternatively
lead that might have come from the tin or the copper. As dis- 2. The imported tin contributed little or no lead to
cussed in Chapter Six, the very low lead concentrations of the tin-bronzes, and the isotopic disparities
the majority of copper ores and archaeological objects from between the tin-bearing and copper objects indi-
southeastern Arabia make them extremely liable to con- cate that different copper sources were used in
tamination by lead-bearing cassiterite, tin or tin-bronze. their production.

Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 15 1

If the first alternative was the case, we would expect to
see the distribution of tin-bearing objects spread away
from the field for local copper in the direction of the iso-
topic signature of the lead in the tin, although there
would be some degree of overlap (reflecting instances in
which lead levels in the copper have overwhelmed the
lead contribution of the tin). There is certainly no direct
relationship between tin concentrations and lead isotope
characteristics, as some of the most outlying samples con-
tain only low tin levels. However, as outlined in Chapter
Six, there is no reason to expect a predictable relationship
between tin concentrations and isotopic characteristics,
due to the likelihood of highly variable lead levels in tin
and copper. The second alternative listed above would
suggest that at least some of the tin-bronze was being
traded to southeastern Arabia in its alloyed form, either
as ingots or as finished objects. In this case, the clear iso-
topic overlap between the copper and tin-bronze objects
could result from the use of foreign metal with a similar
isotopic signature to local copper (we have seen already
that this is possible, as in the case of the Tell Abraq tin
ring TA291 8). Alternatively, the overlap might indicate
instances where lead-free metallic tin was alloyed with
local copper.
Unfortunately, the EDS analyses of the tin ring from
Tell Abraq are not of sufficient sensitivity to allow for the
accurate determination of the lead concentration of the
object. This important information is a priority of future
research. The isotopic composition of the Tell Abraq tin
ring is similar to that of many objects from the site, sug-
gesting that the effect of the addition of lead from the tin
might be minimal in isotopic terms, and also that entirely
foreign metal may be indistinguishable from local copper.
The tin ring has isotopic characteristics common to a
group of Bronze Age samples from A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Tell Abraq and Saar (see Figure 7.3 and below), suggest-
ing a similar origin. As the tin was certainly imported
into the region, it may suggest that the isotopically-simi-
lar tin-bronzes were also.
It must be emphasized that the hypothesized trade
mechanisms are not mutually exclusive. It is highly likely
that tin was reaching Tell Abraq in a number of forms-
as the pure metal and as alloyed tin-bronze ingots or
objects. Just such a situation seems to have existed in the
Bronze Age Aegean and northwestern Anatolia, (see
152 Early Metallurgy of t h e Persian Gulf
below), where items of both exotic alloys and metallic tin
were traded. In such a case, it is possible for the typologi-
cal affinities of the tin-bearing objects from the U.A.E. to
be of importance in delineating traded objects. However,
the majority of analyzed bronzes are typologically simple
(e.g. rings) and provide limited evidence for such pursuits.
Isotopic Comparisons with Bronze Age
Objects from the Gulf
The isotopic investigation for this study can be compared
with the results of a number of other studies of Bronze
Age copper-base objects from the Persian Gulf region.
These isotopic studies include material from third millen-
nium BCE Oman, the City I1 Period on Bahrain, and the
Wadi Suq Period and Late Bronze Age levels at Tell Abraq.
The first possible comparison is with the isotopic char-
acteristics of copper ingots from the Gulf region. Eight
planoconvex ingots from third millennium BCE contexts
in Oman were analyzed by Prange et al. (1999: Figure 7 ) ,
while three slightly later but typologically similar ingots
from Saar on Bahrain have been analyzed by Weeks and
Collerson (forthcoming).In addition, an early second mil-
lennium BCE pyramidal ingot from Tell Abraq was ana-
lyzed by Weeks (1999; see Weeks 1997:Figures 5-6). It has
generally been assumed that bun-shaped ingots found in the
Gulf region are the product of copper smelting operations
in southeastern Arabia, as represented by finds at Maysar 1
and Wadi Bahla, for example (see Chapter Two).
The isotopic data for the Umm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed in this study are presented in Figure 7.6, along
with data for the 12 late-thirdlearly-second millennium
BCE copper ingots from the Gulf region. As is immediately
apparent, there is very limited isotopic overlap between the
two groups. Seven of the 12 copper ingots show major iso-
topic differences with Umm al-Nar Period objects from the
U.A.E. In particular, many of the copper ingots are depleted
in thorogenic lead in comparison to the analyzed copper-
base objects. As discussed more fully in the following sec-
tion, these ingots are currently without any isotopic match-
es among the analyzed ore deposits from southeastern
Arabia (Prange et al. 1999: 191; Weeks and Collerson,
forthcoming). It must be stressed, however, that archaeo-
logical LIA in southeastern Arabia is in its infancy, and fur-
ther analyses may indeed recover matching ore bodies for
these ingots.
 Of the five ingots which more closely match the ana-
lyzed copper-base objects, three are from early second mil-
lennium BCE contexts at Saar and Tell Abraq, and two are
from Oman. Unfortunately, the isotopic data for the
Omani ingots are not fully published, so the isotopic simi-
larity of Umm al-Nar Period ingots and objects cannot be
confidently assessed. Nevertheless, the two ingots from
Oman show their closest isotopic parallels with a cluster
of copper objects with 207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately
0.840, and with one tin-bronze object from Unar2 (1019-
5.71). Of the four second millennium BCE ingots for
which full data is available (Figure 7.6) there is one clear
isotopic match-between an ingot from Saar and the flat
copper fragment TA1426 from Tell Abraq.
Such results are extremely surprising, given the wide-
spread assumption of the Omani origin of such ingots. Of
course, both ingots and objects can be traded over large
distances: there is no reason to assume that copper-base
objects from Umm al-Nar Period sites in the U.A.E. were
made of southeastern Arabian copper, nor indeed to
assume that planoconvex copper ingots found in Bronze
Age Oman are products of local extractive metallurgy.
Such reconstructions have, until now, provided the best Figure 7.6 LIA data for Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this
explanations of the archaeological evidence. However, the study, and Gulf copper ingots analyzed previously (Prange et al.
1999; Weeks and Collerson, forthcoming). A restricted isotopic range
isotopic evidence discussed above casts doubt upon these
is shown, corresponding to the isotopic spread of the copper ingots.
widely held beliefs.
A better match is seen between the Umm al-Nar
Period copper-base objects from the U.A.E. and contem- objects and prills analyzed by Prange et al. (1999) have
porary finished objects and processing residue from isotopic characteristics different from the objects ana-
southeastern Arabia, analyzed by Prange et al. lyzed in this study. The LIA data therefore indicate that,
(1999:Figure 7). These analyses are illustrated in Figure although multiple metal sources were exploited, settle-
7.7 (copper objects) and Figure 7.8 (tin-bronzes and ments across third millennium southeastern Arabia had
copper-low tin objects). Again, the data are not fully access to copper with specific isotopic characteristics
published by Prange et al. (1999), so Figures 7.7-7.8 (207PbI206Pb approximately 0.837-0.842; 208Pb1206Pb
display only the 207Pb1206Pb and 208Pb1206Pb ratios. A approximately 2.075-2.085; 206Pb1204Pb approximately
number of the analyzed objects and prills analyzed by 18.70). This may represent metal from one or a small
Prange et al. (1999), none of which contain significant number of sources, the possible locations of which are
amounts of tin, form a cluster in the 207Pb1206Pb range discussed below.
approximately 0.8 3 7-0.842, coinciding relatively closely In contrast, there are no exact isotopic matches
with one group of copper objects analyzed in the present between the tin-bearing objects presented in this study
study, centered upon a 207Pb1206Pb ratio of approximately and the copper objects and prills analyzed by Prange et
0.840. One other copper prill with less radiogenic iso- al. (1999), as illustrated in Figure 7.8. One tin-bronze
topic ratios (207PbI206Pb approximately 0.853, 208Pbl ring from Unar2 (1019-5.71) is isotopically similar to
206Pb approximately 2.098) also matches a flat AsINi- cluster of objects and prills at 207Pb1206Pb approximately
copper fragment from Unar l (M10-12). Other copper 0.837-0.842, and one tin-bronze ring from Unarl (M10-

Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 15 3


Figure 7.7 LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period copper objects analyzed
in this study,and copper-base artifacts and prills analyzed by
Prange et al. (1 999: Figure 7). A restricted isotopic range is shown.
Figure 7.8 LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period copper-low tin and tin-
bronze objects analyzed in this study, and copper-base artifacts and
prills analyzed by Prange et al. (1999: Figure 7).A restricted isotopic
range is shown.
22R) has similar isotopic characteristics to a prill from
Oman (207PbI206Pb approximately 0.853; 208PbI206Pb
approximately 2.09 8). This overall discrepancy may
reflect the fact that the analyses of Prange et al. (1999)
do not seem to have included objects with significant tin
concentrations, highlighting the varying sources of metal
used to produce these different alloy categories in south-
eastern Arabia.
A comparison of the Urnm al-Nar Period objects
analyzed in this study with objects from Saar on Bahrain
is given in Figure 7.9. Two of the copper objects from
Saar have isotopic compositions matching copper
objects from the U.A.E. tombs, again focused upon
207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately 0.840. Tin-bronzes
from Saar, which are quite distinct isotopically from the
copper objects used at the site, show similar isotopic
154 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
characteristics to a cluster of Urnm al-Nar Period objects
from the U.A.E. (207Pb1206Pb ratios approximately
0.850). These include two copper-low tin objects
(ASTombld, M 10-7), two copper objects (M10-12,
M10-38), two tin-bronzes from (M10-13V, M10-39),
and the Tell Abraq tin ring (TA2918), and indicate the
particular isotopic similarity of Saar tin-bronzes and
metal from the Unarl tomb. The Saar analyses are also
significant for demonstrating the presence in the central
Gulf of metal objects and ingots with depleted thoro-
genic lead isotope compositions (i.e. low 208PbI206Pb
ratios), which also characterize copper ingots from
southeastern Arabia (see above).
Finally, a comparison can be drawn between the
analyzed Urnm al-Nar Period objects from the U.A.E.
and the later material from Wadi Suq and Late Bronze
Age (LBA) contexts at Tell Abraq (Weeks 1999:Table 1).
As illustrated in Figure 7.10, the third millennium BCE
copper objects from the U.A.E. and the Wadi Suq
PeriodILBA copper objects from Tell Abraq show many
isotopic similarities. Although a number of the Wadi
SuqILBA copper objects from Tell Abraq have no exact
matches with the earlier copper, most copper objects
from both groups fall into the 207PbI206Pb range of
0.836-0.853. The Wadi Suq Period objects form a num-
ber of clusters, including three objects from the Wadi
Suq I11 Period (TA468, TA1041, TA402) with
207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately 0.837, three objects
from the Wadi Suq I1 Period (TA1038, TA1637,
TA1359) with 207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately
0.844, and seven objects from Wadi Suq 11-IV
Periods with 207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately
0.847-0.852. A small number of copper objects
with 207PbI206Pb ratios of greater than 0.853 are
seen in both Urnm al-Nar Period and Wadi SuqILBA
contexts, however their isotopic properties are very
different: Wadi SuqILBA objects from Abraq (TA738,
TA892) have significantly depleted 206Pb1204Pb ratios in
comparison to the non-radiogenic copper objects from
A1 Sufouh (ASI-5) and Unar2 (1019-3.59) analyzed in
this study. The depleted 206PbI204Pb ratios of the Wadi
SuqILBA copper objects from Tell Abraq are much closer
to those seen in massive sulfide copper ores from south-
eastern Arabia, as will be discussed further in the follow-
ing section on absolute provenance.
 The tin-bearing objects from the Urnm al-Nar Period
and from Wadi SuqILBA contexts at Tell Abraq are illus-
trated in Figure 7.1 1. Again, the second millennium BCE
objects show some evidence for clustering, notably at
207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately 0.840 (TA340,
TA378, TA994), and at 207Pb1206Pb approximately
0.847-0.850 (TA1194, TA1633, TA896, TA1127,
TA1 184, TA1 185). The second isotopic cluster is very
similar to that for a number of tin-bronzes and copper-
low tin objects from Urnm al-Nar Period Tell Abraq,
Unarl, and A1 Sufouh, including the Tell Abraq tin ring
(TA2918). As for the copper objects discussed in the pre-
ceding paragraph, two Wadi SuqILBA tin-bronzes from
Tell Abraq have high 207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximate-
ly 0.860 or higher. However, these objects (TA715,
TA1043) are very similar isotopically to tin-bearing
objects from the Urnm al-Nar Period, and not depleted
in 206Pb1204Pb as seen for the non-radiogenic Wadi
SuqILBA copper objects.
Figure 7.9 LIA data for Urnm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this
study, and copper-base artifacts and prills from Saar, Bahrain (Weeks
and Collerson, forthcoming). A restricted isotopic range is shown.
Absolute Provenance
Comparisons to Omani Copper Ores
In Figures 7.12-7.15, the isotopic data for objects from
Urnm al-Nar Period tombs in the U.A.E. are compared to
the previously existing isotopic data for copper ore deposits
in southeastern Arabia (Chen and Pallister 1981; Gale et al.
1981; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991; Stos-Gale et al.
1997:1O3-105), and partially published data on Omani
copper ores presented by Prange et al. (1999:Figure 7). As
shown in Figure 7.12, there is very limited overlap between
the analyzed Urnm al-Nar Period copper objects from the
U.A.E. and copper ores from massive sulfide deposits in
Oman particularly for the copper mines of Lasail, Bayda
and 'Arja in the hinterland of Sohar, which were so impor-
tant for early Islamic copper extraction (see Chapter Six,
Figure 6.1, for the isotopic differences between massive
sulfide copper deposits in Oman). Some of the objects
show greater isotopic similarity with analyzed ores from
the so-called "inland-V1 " massive sulfide deposits (Calvez
Figure 7.10 LIA data for Umm al-Nar Period copper objects analyzed
in this studyland copper artifacts and prills from Wadi SuqILate
Bronze Age contexts at Tell Abraq (Weeks 1999).
Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 15 5
and Lescuyer 1991), such as those at Raki, although exact
matches are absent. This finding is surprising, given the
significance that was attached to this type of deposit as
the largest in the region, and the evidence for Bronze Age
smelting activities found at 'Arja (Hauptmann 1985:116).
However, research suggests that smaller deposits from
lower levels in the Semail ophiolite rather than the massive
sulfide deposits were probably more important for early
metallurgy in the region (see Chapter Two). It is likely that
such deposits have isotopic characteristics different from
the massive sulfide deposits, and the analyses of Prange et
al. (1999:Figure 7) have indeed demonstrated the pres-
ence of copper ores in Oman with 207Pb1206Pb ratios of
approximately 0.840, similar to some of the copper
objects analyzed in this study. Unfortunately, the geology
of these ores is lacking, so it is difficult to assess the
importance of particular ore types or specific ore bodies
for Umm al-Nar Period copper extraction in the region.
Copper objects with 207Pb1206Pb ratios of greater than
approximately 0.850 do not match any currently ana-
lyzed ores from the Semail Ophiolite, and are also dis-
Figure 7.1 1 LIA data for Umm al-Nar Period tin-bearing objects ana-
lyzed in this study, and tin-bronze artifacts and prills from Wadi
SuqILate Bronze Age contexts at Tell Abraq (Weeks 1999).
156 Early Metallurgy of t h e Persian Gulf
tinct from ores of the A1 Ajal copper deposit, in rocks of
the Hawasina formation. However, some of the less
radiogenic ores summarized by Prange et al.
(1999:Figure 7) are likely to be of significance for
archaeological LIA. In general, very few lead isotopic
analyses of Omani ores have been undertaken, and future
analyses may broaden the potential isotopic range of
copper produced in Oman.
In Figure 7.13, copper-low tin objects from Umm al-
Nar Period tombs in the U.A.E. are illustrated in com-
parison to copper ores from the Sultanate of Oman. Two
objects show similarities to massive sulfide ores when all
three isotopic ratios are considered: a pinlawl from Tell
Abraq (TA1428) matches closely with a number of ores
from Raki and Hay1 as-Safil, and a flat fragment from A1
Sufouh (ASI-3) is isotopically-similar to an ore sample
from Zuha, and one from Maqa'il. Other than these
objects, isotopic parallels for the remaining copper-low
Figure 7.1 2 LIA data for copper objects from the U.A.E. analyzed in
this study; Omani copper ores from massive sulfide deposits (Chen
and Pallister 1981; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991; Stos-Gale et al. 1997),
from the Hawasina-hostedAI Ajal copper deposit (Calvez and
Lescuyer 1991),and; from unspecified deposits (Prange et al.
1999:Figure 7).
tin objects cannot be found among the currently analyzed
group of massive sulfide ores. A number of the unspeci-
fied ores published by Prange et al. (1999:Figure 7)
show isotopic similarities to some of the copper-low tin
objects, although full data will be required before a
provenance can be suggested with even limited confi-
dence. Three of the copper-low tin objects from Umm al-
Nar Period tombs in the U.A.E. have 207Pb1206Pb iso-
topic compositions outside the range of any known ores
from southeastern Arabia, including a ring from Unarl
(M10-17), a flat fragment from A1 Sufouh (ASI-2), and a
copper-low tin lump from Unar2 (1023-2.11 0). Even
when their 207Pb1206Pb ratios are similar to ores from
southeastern Arabia, copper-low tin objects from the
U.A.E. appear to have higher relative 206Pb1204Pb ratios,
and thus identification of local sources is equivocal.
As illustrated in Figure 7.14, a similar pattern is
observed for tin-bronzes. When not entirely outside the
Figure 7.1 3 LIA data for copper-low tin objects from the U.A.E. ana-
lyzed in this study, and Omani copper ores from massive sulfide
deposits (Chen and Pallister 1981; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991; Stos-
Gale et al. 1997),from the Hawasina-hosted AI Ajal copper deposit
(Calvez and Lescuyer 1Wl), and from unspecified deposits (Prange
et al. 1999: Figure 7). Outlier M10-17 not shown.
207Pb1206Pb range of known ores from Oman (e.g.
TA107, TA699, TA1217, TA1286, TA1306, TA1614),
they seem to be enriched in 206Pb1204Pb relative to the
ore samples (e.g. all Unar2 tin-bronzes). A close match
with a massive sulfide ore can be seen for only one tin-
bronze, a pinlawl from Tell Abraq (TA1459), which is
isotopically similar to an ore sample from Raki. One tin-
bronze from Unar2 (1014.158) also has similar isotopic
properties to one of the unspecified Omani ores ana-
lyzed by Prange et al. (1999), although all ratios are
not available for comparison.
It is helpful to examine more closely the isotopic
distribution of objects of AsINi-copper, as illustrated in
Figure 7.15. As discussed in Chapter Five, As-Ni-copper
is an unintentional or "natural" alloy that is highly like-
ly to have been locally produced in southeastern Arabia.
That is, under the kinds of smelting conditions known
to have characterized the Bronze Age, the geology and
Figure 7.14 LIA data for tin-bronze objects from the U.A.E. analyzed
in this study, and Omani copper ores from massive sulfide deposits
(Chen and Pallister 1981; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991; Stos-Gale et al.
1997),from the Hawasina-hosted AI Ajal copper deposit (Calvez and
Lescuyer 1ggl), and from unspecified copper deposits (Prange et al.
1999: Figure 7). Outliers TA107,TA699 and TA1614 not shown.
Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 15 7

Figure 7.1 5 LIA data for copper-base objects with As and Ni con-
centrations greater than 1 percent analyzed in this study, and
Omani copper ores from massive sulfide deposits (Chen and
Pallister 1981; Calvez and Lescuyer 1991; Stos-Gale et al. 1997),from
the Hawasina-hosted AI Ajal copper deposit (Calvez and Lescuyer
1Wl), and from unspecified copper deposits (Prange et al. 1999:
Figure 7). Outlier TA107 not shown.
mineralogy of many copper deposits in southeastern
Arabia indicate that objects high in impurities of As
and Ni could have been naturally produced from
them. As can be seen in Figure 7.15, objects with
more than one percent of As and Ni have a relatively
restricted range, with 207Pb1206Pb ratios in the
0.83 8-0.855 range. One exception is the tin-bronze
ring TA107 from Tell Abraq, which has a radiogenic
207Pb1206Pb ratio of 0.8 1800. Given that As-Ni-copper
is unlikely for mineralogical reasons to have been pro-
duced from the massive sulfide ores of Oman, it is not
surprising that there are very few isotopic matches
between these groups. Only the flat fragment ASI-3
from A1 Sufouh has isotopic characteristics similar to
a massive sulfide ore, in particular a sample from the
deposit at Zuha. Object ASI-3 is unusual in possessing
very high cobalt levels (1.2 percent CO) in addition to
approximately 2.8 percent Ni and 6.2 percent As.
158 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
In contrast, a number of As-Ni-copper objects
show isotopic similarities to Omani copper ores ana-
lyzed by Prange et al. (1999), especially those with
207Pb1206Pb ratios of approximately 0.840. This group
is composed entirely of pinlawl fragments, and includes
Cu-As-Ni alloys from Unarl (L14N-PIN), Unar2
(1019-4.108) and Tell Abraq (TA1612), and a Cu-As
alloy (1018-3.93) from Unar2 (this pinlawl has just
under one percent Ni). Two arsenic-bearing tin-bronze
rings from Unar2 (1014.158, 1019-5.71) also have iso-
topic characteristics similar to the ores analyzed by
Prange et al. (1999).
The full publication of the ore data from Oman is
required before the isotopic similarity of these Omani
ores and AsINi-copper objects can be properly
assessed. In particular, the types of copper deposits
that the German team analyzed must be considered.
Although close isotopic matches with local Omani ores
cannot be found for all AslNi-copper objects, the
analyses provide tentative support for the hypothesis
that AslNi-copper found in southeastern Arabian con-
texts is a local product, as proposed based on the min-
eralogical and technological considerations outlined in
Chapter Five
Overall, close isotopic matches between analyzed
objects and Omani ores can only be seen in a handful
of cases. In some instances, such as the highly radi-
ogenic objects discussed earlier in this chapter, the
attribution of the metal to non-Omani sources seems
very likely. In other cases, it is difficult to distinguish
between the possible use of foreign metal and the
effects of the non-representative nature of the local ore
database. The database is limited in both the number
of analyses undertaken, and in the variety of geological
contexts from which copper ores have been collected
and analyzed.
Comparisons to Non-Omani Ores
Isotopic evidence from other areas of western Asia and
adjacent regions is relatively limited, but can nevertheless
be used to suggest possible source areas for the Umm al-Nar
Period objects from the U.A.E., if a foreign origin is argued.
Iran and India are the two most obvious candidates given
the strong trade connections between these regions and
southeastern Arabia documented in the Bronze Age archaeo-
logical record. Potentially important metal supply areas show a similar range to the analyzed sulfide concentrates
with demonstrable contemporary copper production, such from rocks hosting the Sar Cheshmeh deposit. There are
as Baluchistan and Afghan Seistan (e.g. Dales 1992),unfor- no exact isotopic matches between the Iranian and south-
tunately remain isotopically uninvestigated. Moreover, iso- eastern Arabian groups, with Sar Cheshmeh samples in
topic analyses from Iran and India are very limited, and particular having relatively depleted 206PbF04Pb ratios in
rarely undertaken with the provenancing of archaeological relation to the U.A.E. objects. The two analyzed mid-
copper-base objects in mind. Thus, the following discussion third millennium copper slag samples from Tepe Sialk and
represents a very preliminary investigation of this issue. Arisman show general isotopic similarity with a number
Ores and slags from India have been analyzed by Hegde of U.A.E. objects, including a copper object from Tell
and Ericson (1985)and Srinivasan (1999),and they are Abraq (TA1426) and an arsenical tin-bronze from Unar2
largely related to lead deposits and their associated smelting (1018-3.99). The significance of the Veshnoveh ore sam-
remains, with a geographical focus in Rajasthan. However, ple is difficult to determine, as its stated 207Pb1206Pb
some copper ores have been analyzed isotopically, and based ratios and those illustrated in the report are significantly
on these data and the trends suggested by the analyzed lead different (compare Chegini et al. 2000:Figure 23 and
deposits, an Indian origin for the U.A.E. objects appears Table 3). Nevertheless, it suggests that Veshnoveh ores
unlikely. Many Indian ore deposits, and especially those of
Rajasthan, are hosted in geologically-old rocks of
Precambrian age. This is reflected in the isotopic composi-
tion of the ores and associated slags that commonly have
207Pb/206Pbratios of greater than 0.900, (see Figure 7.16).
Two exceptions can be seen in the data, one of which is from
the Cu-Pb-Zn deposit at Ambaji in northern Gujarat, while
the other ore is from Ambadongar in the Deccan. The
Ambaji ore, however, is clearly depleted in thorogenic lead
in comparison to the archaeological objects analyzed. It
thus seems an unlikely source for the Umm al-Nar Period
copper-base objects from the U.A.E. However, the number
Figure 7.16 LIA data for Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this
of copper objects from the Gulf (particularly ingots) with study, and Indian ores and slags (Srinivasan 1999; Hegde and Ericson
depleted thorogenic isotope ratios should be borne in mind 1985).Outliers TA699 and TA1614 not shown.
when assessing the potential importance of this deposit, as
should Carter's (2001)evidence for Gujarati pottery at Saar
in the early second millennium BC. The Ambadongar
deposit is much less likely to be significant for discussions
of Bronze Age copper use in the Gulf region, due to its out-
of-the-way location and the lack of evidence for early
exploitation of the deposit.
Turning to the evidence from Iran, some isotopic
data is available for copper ores and prehistoric slags
from the Iranian Plateau, based on recent archaeometal-
lurgical research by a collaborative Iranian-German team
(Chegini et al. 2000), and geological research at the Sar
Cheshmeh copper mine, Iran's largest (Shahabpour and Figure 7.17 LIA data for Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this
study, lranian copper ores and slags (Chegini et al. 2000:Table 3), sul-
Kramers 1987). As can be seen in Figure 7.17, the ana- fide concentrates from the Sar Cheshmeh mine (Shahabpour and
lyzed Iranian copper ores and slags from the Kashan Kramers 1987), and lranian lead ore and slag (Stos-Gale 2001:Table
region have 207Pb1206Pb ratios of less than 0.843, and 4.1). Limited isotopic range shown.

Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 159


Figure 7.18 LIA data for Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this
study, and Saudi Arabian copper ores (Stacey et al. 1980) and tin-
bearing granites (Du Bray et al. 1988).
may be more radiogenic than most of the copper objects
from the U.A.E. analyzed in this study. The slag analyses
do indicate that, when more LIA of Iranian copper ores
and slags have been undertaken, distinguishing isotopi-
cally between metal from Oman and Iran may be prob-
lematic. This possibility is further indicated by the iso-
topic composition of various lead ores and slags from
across Iran (Stos-Gale 2001) illustrated in Figure 7.17.
Although not strictly useful for provenancing copper-
base archaeological objects, these analyses demonstrate
that ore bodies with a wide variety of isotopic charac-
teristics can be expected in Iran, many of which may
isotopically match ores from southeastern Arabia.
Looking further afield, there are numerous copper
and tin deposits in the Arabian shield. However, the iso-
topic characteristics of these ores (Stacey et al. 1980; Du
Bray et al. 1988) are incompatible with the LIA of the
Umm al-Nar Period objects from the U.A.E. (see Figure
7.1 8). Furthermore, there is little or no archaeological evi-
160 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
dence for contact between the Gulf and western Arabia in
the third millennium BCE, and currently no evidence for
the exploitation of Saudi Arabian copper deposits at that
time. Better isotopic parallels for the U.A.E. objects can be
found in more northerly and westerly regions of western
Asia, including Anatolia and the southern Levant (see
Figure 7.19), for which copper production is documented
by at least the third millennium BCE (e.g. Hauptmann
2000:Abb. 33). However, the evidence for contact
between these areas and the Gulf region in the Bronze Age
is absent, making the use of Anatolian or Levantine copper
in southeastern Arabia highly unlikely. Likewise, the simi-
larity of the isotopic composition of copper from south-
eastern Arabia and Cyprus has been addressed by Prange
et al. (1999:191), and reflects the similar age and geologi-
cal context of the copper ores from the two regions. This
metal is very unlikely to have been used in the southern
Gulf, at least in the Umm al-Nar or Wadi Suq Periods.
However, distinguishing the use of isotopically and com-
positionally similar Cypriot and Omani copper in second
millennium BCE Mesopotamia may be very difficult (see
Chapter Six).
Tin-Bronze in Wider Western Asia:
Important Lead Isotope Studies
Sizeable programs of isotope analysis have been con-
ducted on material from the Aegean and northwestern
Anatolia. These data proved unexpectedly important for
assessing the significance of the Gulf LIA data for wider
studies of western Asian trade in the Bronze Age. The
analyzed material comes from the Early Bronze Age
(EBA) sites of Poliochni, Thermi and Kastri in the
Aegean, and from Troy and the Troad in Anatolia. These
sites show use of tin-bronze by the mid-third millennium
BCE, and have been exceptionally important in discus-
sions of the development of tin-bronze technology and
the tin trade in the eastern Mediterranean and western
Asia (see Chapter Eight). The results of these isotopic
studies are summarized below, and their relationship to
Bronze Age material from the Gulf is investigated.
Lead isotope analyses of EBA metal artifacts from
Kastri and Troy have revealed that these objects show
great isotopic diversity, with 207Pb/206Pb ratios from
approximately 0.830-0.900, a spread of more than
eight percent. It has been suggested by Stos-Gale et al.
(1984:28) that five separate ore sources, ranging in age
from Pliocene (2-33 Ma) to Precambrian (700-900
Ma), provided the copper and tin-bronze that was used
at these sites. Tin-bronzes fall into all five "source"
groups, but dominate those with lead isotopic model
ages beyond known ores from the Aegean, eastern
Mediterranean or Anatolia. Very similar patterns are
visible in LIA of other EBA material from Troy and the
Troad (Pernicka et al. 1984; Seeliger et al. 19851,
Poliochni (Pernicka et al. 1990) and Thermi (Begemann
et al. 1992; 1995; Stos-Gale 1992).
The isotopic analyses are regarded as evidence
that, during the third millennium BCE, tin-bronze was
traded into northwestern Anatolia and the Aegean
from as yet unknown external sources. Furthermore,
trace element data for objects from Thermi indicate
that tin-bronze was imported pre-alloyed as ingots or
objects, and "was not produced by adding imported
tin to locally produced copper" (Begemann et al.
1992:220). Isotopic data also show that, in addition to
tin-bronze, "exotic" copper and brass was reaching
sites such as Kastri and Troy in the third millennium
BCE, from areas outside the Aegean or Anatolia (Stos-
Gale et al. 1984). It is clear that some metallic tin was
also reaching the region, as indicated by the tin bangle
from Thermi, and as might be expected given the men-
tion of metallic tin in a number of mid-third millenni-
um BCE written sources from western Asia (see
Chapter Eight).
The ultimate source of this "exotic" metal remains
uncertain. Given that a number of the Aegean tin-
bronzes are isotopically incompatible with any
Anatolian source, various authors have suggested that
Precambrian copper and tin deposits in the Arabian
Peninsula and Egypt (Stos-Gale et al. 1984:29) or
Afghanistan (Pernicka et al. 1990:290; Pernicka
1995b:107-108) may have been used. There is neither
archaeological evidence for contact between the Saudi
Arabian region and the Aegean at this time, nor evidence
for the exploitation of Saudi Arabian copper and
Egyptian tin ores in the third millennium BC (see
Chapter Eight). Significantly, the available isotopic evi-
dence from Saudi Arabian copper deposits (Stacey et al.
1980) indicates that they did not supply the metal used
at EBA sites such as Troy, Poliochni and Thermi.
2m02 i O
Ores
Anatolianl~e~ean
Figure 7.19 LIA data for Umm al-Nar Period objects analyzed in this
study, in comparison to ellipses representing the isotopic character-
istics of ores from Anatolia, the Aegean, Feinan and Timna. Ellipse
boundaries drawn after Hauptmann (2000: Abb. 33).
Furthermore, if the Thermi bangle is regarded as rep-
resentative (Pernicka 1995b:108; Sayre et al. 1992), its
isotopic ratios suggest that proposed tin sources in the
Taurus Mountains, in particular Kestel and Goltepe
(Yener et al. 1989; Yener and Vandiver 1993a), did not
supply the tin that was used in EBA contexts in the
region. The question is slightly more complicated for the
tinltungsten-bearing granites of Saudi Arabia and Yemen
(see Chapter Eight). An actual tin ore deposit (at Silsilah)
is only associated with one of these granites, but cassi-
terite occurs in small quantities as an associated mineral in
three other deposits (Du Bray et al. 1988:Table 1).N o lead
isotope data are available for the cassiterite ores them-
selves, only for their host granites. If the data from the
granites are an accurate reflection of the isotopic com-
position of the cassiterite ores they host, then it seems
clear that tin from western and central Saudi Arabia
was not supplying the EBA Aegean or Anatolia.
However, cassiterite ores are frequently lead-poor and
uranium-rich (Gulson and Jones 1992), meaning that
the isotopic signature of the cassiterite may not match
that of the host granite. In this discussion, the scant evi-
dence for the early exploitation of these ores is signifi-
cant, and suggests that western Arabia was an unlikely
tin source for EBA Anatolia and the Aegean.
Unfortunately, the possible production of early Aegean
and Anatolian tin-bronze from Afghani sources cannot
be investigated using LIA data, as none is available
from geological or archaeological studies.
Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 16 1
 The LIA of objects from Poliochni, Thermi, Kastri
and the Anatolian mainland has served to complicate
discussions of the EBA tin trade in the Aegean, and
has broadened immensely the areas in which potential
tin and tin-bronze sources must be sought. In this con-
text, it is interesting to note that the third millennium
tin-bronzes from the U.A.E. show a very similar iso-
topic composition to EBA tin-bronzes from the Aegean
region, as illustrated in Figure 7.20. The Gulf tin-bear-
ing objects follow very closely the linear pattern of the
tin-bronzes from northwestern Anatolia and the
Aegean, and show a similarly broad a range of values.
Highly radiogenic tin-bronzes similar to those from
Umm al-Nar Period contexts at Tell Abraq are occa-
sionally reported from northwestern Anatolia and the
Aegean (e.g. Seeliger et al. 1985:Abb. 31). It should
also be noted that a similar isotopic pattern seems to
occur in a number of EBA objects from the central
Anatolian site of Kaman-Kalehoyiik (Hirao et al.
1995:Figure l l ) , in mid-third millennium BCE tin-
bronzes from Velikent in Daghestan (Kohl et al.
2002:127) and in some Luristan tin-bronzes (Begemann
et al. 1989:Figure 30.5), although the Luristan data are
not fully published.

Figure 7.20 LIA data for tin(and zinc)-bearing objects from the Aegean and northwestern
Anatolia, in comparison to tin-bronzes and copper-low tin objects from the U.A.E.analyzed in
this volume.

16 2 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

 The isotopic similarity between the Tell Abraq and
Aegean tin-bronzes may indicate that the tin-bearing
metal being used at Kastri, Poliochni, Thermi, Troy, and
Umm al-Nar Period sites in the U.A.E. was obtained
from the same source(s). There are a number of other
reasons for believing such an hypothesis, which are dis-
cussed in detail in the following chapter.
LIA: Summary of the Main Findings
Isotopically heterogeneous metal was used in each of the
four metal assemblages investigated, with the possible
exception of the objects from Unarl. This probably indi-
cates the simultaneous exploitation, at each individual
site, of metal from multiple sources. Further differences
are seen in the isotopic ranges of metal objects from each
tomb assemblage, which probably reflect variation in
sources resulting from the chronological differences
between the sites.
In addition to this chronological variation, isotopic
variability can be linked with composition, in particular
the tin-content of the objects. This is perhaps not surpris-
ing, as tin is clearly a metal foreign to the geological
milieu of southeastern Arabia. Overall, about one-quarter
of the analyzed Umm al-Nar Period objects lay outside
the isotopic range of any Omani copper ores as currently
known, and all have tin concentrations over 0.5 percent.
The presence of a number of highly radiogenic tin-
bronzes and copper low-tin objects demonstrates the
import of pre-alloyed tin-bronze (probably in the form of
finished objects) into southeastern Arabia.
In contrast, a group of objects (207Pb/206Pbratios of
0.836-0.842,208Pb/206Pb ratios of 2.070-2.0907206Pb/
204Pb ratios 18.50-1 8.80) which includes material from
all four assemblages and from other sites in southeastern
Arabia and the central gulf shows a significant degree of
isotopic homogeneity. Although these objects show no
isotopic matches with Omani massive sulfide ores, they
are isotopically similar to a few Bronze Age copper ingots
from the Gulf and one Omani ore sample. This group
may represent one "kind" (isotopically speaking) of
Omani copper available in the Gulf.
Furthermore, the broad isotopic range of the ana-
lyzed Omani ores (207Pb/206Pb approximately
0.838-0.872) coincides with isotopic characteristics of
most of the Umm al-Nar Period objects, which suggests
that many of them may have been made of Omani copper.
Although there are very few exact matches between the
objects analyzed in this study and Omani ores, this may
reflect the limited database of Omani ore analyses. The
similarity of the Bronze Age analyses from the four sites
to later material from Tell Abraq might also support a
local origin, i.e. it could reflect the continued use of local
sources exploited in the Umm al-Nar Period into the sec-
ond millennium. Alternatively, isotopic similarities may
simply reflect the recycling of third millennium metal,
or continuity in foreign sources.
However, one object of undoubtedly foreign origin,
the tin ring from Tell Abraq, has isotopic characteristics
compatible with Oman. This tells us that some foreign
metal is likely to be isotopically indistinguishable from
Omani ores. Furthermore, as a group, the isotopic char-
acteristics of the tin-bronzes show many similarities to
those found in other areas of Bronze Age western Asia,
particularly the Aegean region and northwestern
Anatolia. If tin sources are very scarce, one or a very lim-
ited number of sources could have supplied a very large
area, and such isotopic matches could be a reflection of
shared provenance.
In general, conclusions about absolute provenance
are very much open to debate. This is primarily due to
the incomplete and possibly unrepresentative nature of
the Omani ore database. However, the fact that isotopic
similarity does not necessarily equal shared prove-
nance-a basic tenet of isotopic analysis-must also be
borne in mind. The archaeological implications of the
various exchange transactions suggested by the lead iso-
tope data are addressed in the following chapter.
Lead Isotope Data from the Gulf 163
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8 Tin and Tin-Bronze
in Early Western Asia
Introduction
As tin is a non-local resource in most regions of western
Asia, questions regarding the ultimate source of this raw
material have long been asked by archaeologists,
archaeometallurgists and ancient historians. The mecha-
nisms and routes by which tin and tin-bronze were
exchanged throughout Bronze Age western Asia and
beyond have also received significant attention (e.g.
Muhly 1973a; Larsen 1976). After all, what is a Bronze
Age without bronze?
Nevertheless, a review of the archaeological evidence
for early tin-bronze use forced P.R.S. Moorey (1982:87) to
conclude that "the significance of tin in the third millenni-
um B.C. in the economy of the Near East is very easily
overrated.. .a dearth of analyses, and the consequent danger
of over-emphasizing isolated ones, makes any conclusions
hazardous". Such a statement was justified at the time of its
writing, more than two decades ago, when the early tin-
bronzes from northwestern Anatolia, Mesopotamia and
Iran seemed, like the proverbial good men, both few and
far. However, recent programs of archaeometric analysis
and the isotopic analyses presented in the previous chapter
indicate a more widespread use of the alloy than previously
known, as well as the possibility of a far-flung trade in tin
and tin-bronze from a very limited number of sources. At
the same time as such findings demand explanation in
terms of trade routes, technology, and ideology, they also
have the potential to add to our understanding of the inter-
connectedness of regional economies that seems to charac-
terize Bronze Age western Asia.
The determination of the ultimate sources of tin
used in the Bronze Age is a provenience problem of
slightly different nature to many dealing with the metals
trade, due to the extremely limited occurrence of work-
able tin deposits within or adjacent to western Asia. As
geological evidence on the occurrence of tin in the Old
World has improved, and the plethora of western Asiatic
tin-deposits discussed in early archaeological reports (see
Muhly 1973a; 1985a) have vanished under the scrutiny
of modern research, the problem of tin sources is
increasingly visible as a primarily geological concern
(although see Moorey 1994:299 for the limitations of
the geological data). Such an approach is not possible
for many other metals in use in Bronze Age western
Asia, such as copper or iron, deposits of which occur
much more frequently within the region (e.g. Pigott
1999b:Figures 4.6, 4.12).
Hence, evidence from modern geological surveys
provides the framework within which theories regarding
the provenance of tin in early western Asia are evaluat-
ed. Information from early written sources dealing with
the tin trade can also be incorporated into provenance
studies, in addition to evidence for the occurrence of tin
and tin-bronze in the archaeological record provided by
archaeometallurgical studies. Interestingly, it is the com-
bination of these different strands of evidence that has
largely led to the search for tin sources in western Asia
being regarded as problematic. Archaeological, metallur-
gical and textual sources have suggested explanations for
the provenance of tin which are, superficially, conflict-
ing. However, a close examination of the evidence
reveals long-standing but questionable archaeological
assumptions, the modification of which allows for the
formulation of a consistent explanation for the early use
of and trade in tin and tin-bronze. In the following chap-
ter, the evidence from geology, historical sources, and
archaeometallurgical analyses is collated and discussed,
in order to arrive at an understanding of the sources that
may have supplied tin and tin-bronze to the Gulf region
in the Bronze Age. The chapter concludes with a recon-
sideration of the tin problem in the light of broader
developments in metallurgy, exchange systems, and
socio-political complexity in western Asia. The locations
of the archaeological and metallurgical sites referred to
in the following discussion are given in Figure 8.1.
Tin Deposits in Western Asia
and Surrounding Regions
At one time or another, workable tin deposits have been
claimed to exist in various regions of Anatolia,
Mesopotamia, Iran, Syria and the Levant, Egypt, and
the Arabian Peninsula, among other places (Muhly
1973a, 1985a; de Jesus 1 9 8 0 5 1 ff.). Many of these
claims, for example the alluvial tin of the Kesserwan
District of Lebanon (Wainwright 1934; Lucas
1934:213), have failed to withstand the scrutiny of
detailed geological research (de Jesus 1980:53).
Likewise, an hypothesized tin source in northern
Mesopotamia, based upon price equivalencies for tin in
Bronze Age cuneiform sources (Heltzer 1978:108-1 l ) ,
clearly does not take account of the geological informa-
tion which would preclude such a deposit (Muhly
1985a:249-250). Furthermore, a number of areas of
western Asia which do have tin deposits can be excluded
Figure 8.1 Map of Asia, showing archaeological sites, metallurgical sites, and ore deposits discussed in Chapter 8.
166 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
as potential sources for the tin used in the Bronze Age,
based upon the lack of evidence for early exploitation of
the deposits, or lack of evidence for contemporary local
use of tin and tin-bronze. It is clear that tin deposits do
not exist in Syria, Lebanon, the Levant or Mesopotamia,
but other regions of western Asia have possible tin
deposits that require more detailed discussion, as pre-
sented below.
Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula
Significant granite-hosted and alluvial cassiterite deposits
have been recorded at a number of places in the Eastern
Desert of Egypt (Rapp et al. 1999:153-154; Wertime
1978; Muhly 1978; 1993b:244-248 and Figure l ) , and
more recently in the western Arabian Peninsula in both
Saudi Arabia and Yemen (Du Bray 1985; Du Bray et al.
1988; Kamilli and Criss 1996; Overstreet et al.
l 9 8 8:411-413). The Egyptian deposits were surveyed by
J. D. Muhly, T. A. Wertime and G. Rapp in 1976, who
noted the presence of tin-tungsten mineralization in the
form of "high-temperature hydrothermal vein deposits
forming mineralized zones that are 1,200-2,500 m long,
450-650 m wide, and up to 1.5 m thick" (Muhly
1993133244). Alluvial cassiterite is present and replen-
ished regularly by rainstorms in the wadis of Abu
Dabbab, Nuweibi, Igla, El Mueilha and Homr Akarem
(Rapp et al. 1999:Figure 3; Muhly 1993b:246). All of
these locations have been worked for tin within the last
century (Rapp et al. 1999:154). Another tin deposit
exists further to the south, in the Khartoum province of
Sudan ( Garenne-Marot 1984:107).
In the Arabian peninsula, a tin deposit is associated
with only one of the so-called Sn-W granites of the
region, the Silsilah deposit in the Fawarrah pluton,
although cassiterite occurs in small quantities as an asso-
ciated mineral in three other deposits (Du Bray et al.
1988:Table 1).At Jebel Silsilah, cassiterite is found as
disseminated grains in partly and completely greisenised
rock, and as elliptical pods of cassiterite-rich greisen.
The latter consist of 60-90 percent cassiterite in a
quartz-topaz matrix, while samples from the two most
intensely mineralized greisens contain from 0.1 to sever-
al percent tin (Du Bray et al. 1988:153 and Table 7;
Kamilli and Criss 1996:1423). Overall, the deposit has
been described as "generally low-grade" (Du Bray et al.
1988:153), and the potential for modern extraction is
regarded as economically marginal (Kamilli and Criss
1996:1432). Penhallurick (1986:l.S) reports that "the
source grade and volume, geomorphology and climate,
are not conducive to tin placer possibilities" at Jebel
Silsilah.
For a number of reasons, it is unlikely that Egyptian
and Arabian tin deposits provided the tin that was used
in Bronze Age western Asia or the Aegean. One of the
most powerful arguments against their use is that
Egyptian craftsmen seem to have made little use of tin-
bronze before the second millennium BCE (see below).
Furthermore, in the Middle and New Kingdoms, tin
seems to have been traded into Egypt by way of Eastern
Mediterranean and Levantine polities (Garenne-Marot
1984:107-108; Muhly 1973a). The situation is similar
for the Arabian tin ores, which are associated with
deposits of copper and gold, but which show no signs of
exploitation prior to the first millennium BCE
(Glanzman l 9 8 7: 146; Fleming and Pigott 1987; Wertime
1978:6). An analysis of slags from the first millennium
BCE site of Hajar Ar-Rayhani in the Yemen Arab
Republic demonstrated the association of copper and tin
ores in smelting installations, although tin-bronze does
not always appear to have been successfully produced by
the local metalworkers even in this period (Fleming and
Pigott l 9 8 7: 174). Further evidence against the use of
Arabian or Yemeni tin was discussed above (Chapter
Seven), based upon lead isotope studies. Other tin
deposits claimed to exist in Arabia, such as those of
Oman listed by Lamberg-Karlovsky (1967: l49), have
not been recorded in extensive geological surveys of the
region.
Anatolia
Copper, iron, silver and lead are plentiful in Anatolia,
and the geological preconditions necessary for the occur-
rence of tin ores are met in a number of regions of the
country, such as the Troad and the Taurus Mountains
(Muhly 1985a:277). Correspondingly, claims for the
occurrence of tin deposits within Anatolia have been rel-
atively common. For example Muhly (1995b: 1507)
states that "a source of tin in the Troad remains a very
attractive possibility, especially because of the very early
use of tin in the area", and Renfrew (1967:13) and de
Jesus (1978:37-8) have expressed similar views.
Cassiterite has been recorded in southeastern
Anatolia in the KestelICelaller region (Yener et al. 1989;
Kaptan 1995:200) and stannite is known from
Sulucadere/Bolkardag and Sogukpinar near Bursa (Yener
and Ozbal 1987:222-223; Kaptan 1995:201 and Figure
1).Numerous minor occurrences of tin minerals have
been recorded in Anatolia (Kaptan 1995:Figure 1; Yener
2000:71-72), but the three sites mentioned above are the
largest known from more than 130 years of geological
research into tin sources in the region. None of these
sources is of modern economic value (Kaptan 1995:198),
and the exploitation of these sources in ancient times is
also debated, as discussed below.
The occurrences of stannite at Sulucadere and
Sogukpinar are regarded by a number of scholars as
unlikely to have ever provided tin, principally due to the
relatively high silver and gold values in the deposits, the
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 167
complexity of the ores and, in the case of Sulucadere,
the tiny size of the deposit (Hall and Steadman
1991:221-222; Pernicka et al. 1992:92-93). Thus, the
investigation of potential Anatolian tin deposits has con-
centrated upon the site of Kestel in the Taurus
Mountains of southeastern Turkey, which allegedly oper-
ated as a tin mine in the Early Bronze Age (Yener
2000:72 ff.; Yener and Ozbal 1987; Yener et al. 1989;
Yener and Goodway 1992; Willies 1990; 1992; Yener
and Vandiver 1993a). The mine, containing more than
1.5 km of shafts and galleries used discontinuously from
Chalcolithic to Byzantine times, contains very low con-
centrations of cassiterite (0.1-1.0 percent Sn) which are
said to be the non-economic remains from Bronze Age
mining activities (Yener 2000:73, Figure 15; Yener and
Vandiver 1993a:215). The Kestel mine is believed to
have been worked after ca. 3000 BCE, with an expan-
sion from the EBI-I1 period onwards (Yener and
Vandiver 1993a:214), and to have ceased production by
approximately 2000 BCE (Earl and Ozbal 1996:289).
The geologist associated with the Kestel project has esti-
mated a potential production of hundreds of tonnes of
tin concentrate from the mine (Willies 1991:79; 1992;
1993:263).
Associated with the Kestel mine is the nearby Early
Bronze Age site of Goltepe, where the mined cassiterite
was processed through a complex series of concentra-
tion, crushing and smelting stages to produce metallic
tin (Yener and Goodway 1992; Earl and Ozbal 1996;
Adriaens et al. 1999). The site is characterized by the
presence more than 5000 stone crushing tools and
almost one tonne of clay crucible fragments with metal-
lurgical accretions on their interior surfaces (Yener
2000:74, Figure 24; Earl and Ozbal 1996:289, 298). A
number of deposits of powdered ore have been recov-
ered from Goltepe, and are thought to represent differ-
ent phases of ore-production at the site (Adriaens et al.
1999). Although it is suggested that they represent the
high tin-containing material from Kestel that was "selec-
tively transported to Goltepe for ore dressing and smelt-
ing" (Adriaens et al. 1999:83), the ore powders show
very low levels of tin, generally less than one percent
(with an average of 0.2 percent Sn; Earl and Ozbal
1996:295). There is evidence that some of the excavated
powders were waste samples that had undergone heating
168 Early Metallurgy of t h e Persian Gulf
processes, and it is further noted that the analyses have
demonstrated "the presence of a metallic tin phase,
which could be concentrated by simple metallurgical
processes" (Adriaens et al. 1999:88; Earl and Ozbal
1996:297). Settlement at Goltepe reached its peak in the
EBII-I11 period (Yener and Vandiver 1993a:214) and the
crucible fragments from the site are dated to the span of
the Early Bronze Age through their stratigraphic con-
texts and by radiocarbon and thermoluminescence deter-
mination~(Yener and Vandiver 1993a:216, 222;
Vandiver et al. 1993; Earl and Ozbal 1996).
However, the true importance of these sites remains
a contentious issue, with various scholars arguing that
the Kestel mine was more likely to have been a source of
gold or auriferous lead (Hall and Steadman 1991:229;
Pernicka et al. 1992:95; Sharp and Mittwede 1994) or
perhaps iron (Muhly 1993b:25 l-252), rather than tin.
The most recent reports of the early mining and smelting
operations at Kestel and Goltepe acknowledge that gold
winning may also have been associated with tin extrac-
tion, and that the mining operation may indeed have
been initiated in the search for gold (Yener 2000:73; Earl
and Ozbal 1996:289,295). The possibility that Kestel was
mined for iron ores is thought to be excluded by an exami-
nation of the techniques used to process the haematite ores
at Goltepe. Earl and Ozbal (1996:296) regard the fine
grinding of tin-bearing haematite to small particle size as
much more indicative of attempts to extract tin and gold
from the haematite than to produce iron.
The tin concentrations reported from the ores
remaining in the Kestel mine are generally very low,
leading to claims that tin is present in the mine only as a
trace element, and would have been impossible to detect
(Muhly 1993:247; Hall and Steadman l991:218).
Although Yener and colleagues have claimed that the
low tin levels now found at Kestel represent the cut-off
grade below which Bronze Age extraction was not possi-
ble (approximately one percent Sn; Willies 1990:94;
Yener and Vandiver 1993a:215), the analyses presented
by Adriaens et al. (1999) suggest that ores with tin con-
centrations of less than one percent were commonly
processed at Goltepe. This fact is important in consider-
ing the estimates for overall production given by Willies,
which were based in part upon the idea of the "cut-off
grade" and which may be significantly too high as a
result. Pernicka et al. (1992:95) regard Willies' estimates
as "unrealistic" given the type of mineralization and the
ore grades reported from the Celaller region. Willies
(1992:lOl) has defended the proposed production levels,
citing evidence for the total volume of ore that could
have been extracted from the known galleries at Kestel
and stating that "even at sub-one-percent-levels of tin,
there seems no reason to reduce the estimate".
The tin extraction process postulated for Kestel and
Goltepe has been criticized as unrealistically complicated
for a Bronze Age operation (Muhly 1993b:251; Hall and
Steadman 1991:222). The complexity of reconstructed
mining techniques at Kestel employing fire-setting is
regarded by some scholars as unparalleled in the early
production of tin, and more likely to have been the
result of later mining activities (Muhly 1993b:25 1).The
reconstruction of ore processing at Goltepe by Yener and
colleagues (Yener and Vandiver l993a:23 5-23 6; Earl
and Ozbal 1996), involving tin concentrations which are
so low as to be unobservable until the later stages of
production, is also criticized as it is difficult to imagine
how such an extraction process may have originated
(Muhly 1993b:251).
However, the scientific analyses of the crucible frag-
ments from Goltepe provide strong support for the pro-
duction of tin at the site (Yener and Vandiver
1993b:257-258). Yener and Vandiver (1993a:Table 4;
1993b:257) report compositional analyses of 24 crucible
accretions showing average tin-oxide concentrations of
30 percent (although analyses of 28 crucible accretions
by Earl and Ozbal (1996:298) reveal only four samples
with more than one percent tin, and a maximum concen-
tration of 3.65 percent Sn). In addition, the vanning,
concentration and refining reconstructions undertaken by
Earl and Ozbal (1996) seem plausible, even if somewhat
"tortuous" (as noted by Muhly 1993b3246). The experi-
mental smelts produced very small amounts of metallic
tin with high iron concentrations (up to ca. 42 percent
Fe; Earl and Ozbal 1996:300), which could be collected
and amalgamated by slag crushing and remelting of the
tin metal prills. The reconstructions can, however, be
criticized on the basis of the tin concentrates used for
smelting: these contained 10-15 percent tin (Earl and
Ozbal 1996:300-301), much higher concentrations than
were found in any of the archaeological powder samples
from Goltepe. Of course, it could be argued that the
crushed ore samples found at Goltepe represent waste
products from the refining process, rather than concen-
trated crucible charge for smelting.
Additional circumstantial evidence for the produc-
tion of tin at Goltepe is provided by the appearance of
tin-bronze objects at the site in Early Bronze Age con-
texts. Six of eight copper-base objects from the settle-
ment contain more than five percent Sn, which Earl and
Ozbal (1996:Table 6 and 302) consider as surprising
given the largely "industrial" nature of the site. In com-
parison, other examples of early tin-bronze from central
Anatolia (see below) occur in contexts more reflective of
high status, such as the rombs of Alaqa Hiiyiik and
Horoztepe (see below). Such evidence is, of course, open
to many different interpretations. For example, a site
that was producing gold, as has been claimed for Kestel,
would seemingly have had enough wealth to obtain tin-
bronze. The potential significance for western Asia of the
tin extraction processes proposed for Kestel and Goltepe
is discussed further below.
Iran and the Caucasus
Suitable geological conditions for the occurrence of tin
exist in various parts of Iran, and this fact has led a
number of scholars to suggest that tin deposits might be
found within the country. For example, J. D. Muhly
(1973b:409) suggested in 1973 that "a mineral zone run-
ning roughly from Hamadan to Tabriz seems to fit all
the evidence for the Near Eastern tin trade as it exists
today", although the supporting evidence for the occur-
rence of tin in this mineralized zone was unpublished
(Muhly 1973a:261 and Chapter IV note 158). Further
references were made to possible tin deposits in north-
eastern Iran near Meshed and in the Elburz region
(Muhly 1973a:260).
However, as Moorey (1994:299) has noted, tin is
not mined in Iran today, nor is there any evidence for
medieval extraction of this material. Detailed surveys of
northwestern Iran by Iranian, American and French geo-
logical teams have revealed no significant traces of tin
mineralization (Wertime 1978:3). Only two tin-bearing
deposits in Iran are currently cited with any conviction:
the minor occurrences of primary and placer cassiterite
in the far east of the country in the Dasht-i Lut (Stocklin
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 1 69
et al. 1972:58; Rothenberg 1982:267-268; Pigott
199913381; Vatandoust 1999:Figure 2), and the cop-
per-tin-gold prospect near Deh Hosein in central
western Iran (Momenzadeh et al. 2002). The Dasht-i
Lut deposits may relate to the tin of Drangiana (mod-
ern Seistan) mentioned by Strabo (15.2.10). However,
Wertime (1978:4) has reported that his survey of the
region in 1976 revealed no traces of workable cassi-
terite or stannite, and his doubts as to the occurrence
of significant tin deposits in Iran are shared by
Penhallurick (1986:19-20). In contrast, the ore
deposit at Deh Hosein shows evidence for large-scale
extraction. However, this extraction is limited to the
early first millennium BCE and the deposit is primari-
ly of copper (chalcopyrite, malachite, azurite,
tenorite) with maximum tin levels of only ca. one
percent (Momenzadeh et al. 2002). Although the site
has been suggested as possibly important for the pro-
duction of Iron Age Luristan bronzes, it is unlikely to
have been significant for the Bronze Age tin trade:
the exclusive extraction of minor cassiterite from the
deposit does not seem possible, and the production of
a consistent natural tin-bronze by the smelting of
mixed copper and tin ores has not yet been demon-
strated archaeologically.
A number of references can be found to tin
deposits in the Caucasus, and cassiterite was suppos-
edly worked at the archaeological site of Metsamor in
Armenia in the thirteeth century BCE and perhaps
earlier (e.g. Crawford 1974:242-243; Burney and
Lang 1971:68). However, more recent assessments of
the evidence from Metsamor and other areas of the
Caucasus have tended to indicate that claims for tin
sources are not supported by geological evidence, and
should be considered unproven (Penhallurick
l986:18-19; Moorey 1994:300). Although I. R.
Selimkhanov (197857) is adamant that tin deposits
are not to be found in the area, Kavtaradze (1999:86)
reports that geologists have recorded "twenty deposits
with tin content" in western Georgia. None of these
deposits, however, contained any evidence for ancient
exploitation, and the meaning of the phrase "tin con-
tent" is unclear. We do not know the grade of the
deposits if they are in fact of cassiterite, and it is pos-
sible that the tin ores are only a minor mineral com-
17 0 Early Metallurgy of rhe Persian Gulf
ponent in deposits largely consisting of other base
metal ores (such as in the copper-tin deposit at Deh
Hosein). As such information is not currently avail-
able for the Georgian deposits, their potential
significance for Bronze Age tin extraction remains
uncertain.
Afghanistan and Central Asia
The sources of the tin used in third millennium west-
ern Asia have often been sought in regions with well-
documented sources of tin that lie outside western
Asia itself. For the metal industries of Mesopotamia
and Iran, tin is often posited to have come from further
to the east. It is therefore significant that extensive tin
deposits, both granite-hosted and alluvial, are known
from many areas of Afghanistan (Berthoud et al. 1977;
Rossovsky et al. 1987; Pigott 1996, 1999a:Figure 9;
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific [ESCAP] 1996:32-37). All the primary tin min-
eralization in Afghanistan is associated with skarns,
fault zones or pegmatites, and a number of low-grade
placer deposits are known (ESCAP 1996:32). In addi-
tion to the major tin occurrences in Afghanistan, 44 tin
mineral occurrences and numerous tin mineral show-
ings are widely distributed throughout the country
(ESCAP 1996:37). Research by a French tcam has iso-
lated tin deposits near ancient copper mines southwest
of Herat (cf. ESCAP l996:32), while tin-bearing sands
regarded as "easily beneficiated by panning" were record-
ed in the Sarkar Valley (Cleuziou and Berthoud 1982:16
and Figure 2; Berthoud et al. 1977). Details of the majority
of tin deposits recorded in Afghanistan by Russian geolo-
gists are summarized by Rossovsky et al. (1987) and by
Stech and Pigott (1986:44-45), who note the common
association of cassiterite with copper, lead and gold, and
deposits with greater than five to six percent tin (see also
ESCAP 1996:32). While the area is emerging as one of the
most likely sources for the tin used in Bronze Age western
Asia (Moorey 1994:301) and South Asia (Kenoyer and
Miller 1999:118), it has been observed that, aside from
the overwhelming geological evidence, "there is no other
substantive evidence to suggest it as a source for ancient
Near Eastern bronze production" Pigott (1999a:118).
The little evidence that exists for early use of tin-bronze
in the region is discussed below.
 Tin deposits in central Asia proper were brought to
the attention of archaeologists working in western Asia
by the publications of Masson and Sarianidi (1972:128)
and Crawford (1974:243, citing Kuzmina 1966), who
noted the occurrence of tin deposits "on the Zeravshan
River about halfway between Bukhara and Samarkand".
The exploitation of the mines was said to date back to
the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000-1600 BCE), but the
possibility of earlier workings was not ruled out
(Crawford 1974:243; see also Cleuziou and Berthoud
1982:16-1 7). This occurrence, and the proposed Middle
Bronze date, has been confirmed by important recent
work undertaken in the region by scholars from
Germany, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (Alimov et al. 1998;
Boroffka et al. 2002). This work has isolated a number
of tin occurrences between Bukhara and Dushanbe, at
the sites of Karnab, Lapas, Cangali and Mushiston
(Alimov et al. 1998:Abb. 1).
The Karnab mineralization is regarded as a typical
example of a granite-related tin deposit, with tin present
as cassiterite in quartz veins in a granite intrusive com-
plex. Other tin mineralization at Karnab, formed by
contact-metasomatic processes at the contact between
quartz veins and marble, is considered less important for
ancient extraction processes (Alimov et al. 1998: 164).
Tin concentrations in samples from Karnab are relatively
low (ca. 1.3 percent Sn or less), and relatively high sul-
fur levels are recorded due to the presence of associated
arsenopyrite, pyrite and sphalerite (Alimov et al.
1998:164 and Table 1).There is evidence for mining
operations at Karnab radiocarbon dated to the first mil-
lennium BCE (Alimov et al. 1998:170-179; see also
Penhallurick 1986:25-28), and mining as early as the
second millennium BC is indicated by the presence of
Andronovo sherds in the lower levels of the mine
(Boroffka et al. 2002:145, 147; Parzinger 2000:249). It
has been suggested that ancient mining may have con-
centrated upon the richest areas of tin mineralization at
the site and that the remaining ore is of a lower grade
than that which was actually extracted (Alimov et al.
1998:166). Nearby the Karnab mine site is a seasonal
Andronovo settlement with evidence for some small-
scale metalworking activities, including the use of tin
ores and the possible production of tin-bronze (Boroffka
et al. 2002:149-153; Parzinger 2000:250).
Mushiston is a hydrothermal ore deposit with
numerous, relatively thin ore veins situated between
dolomitized limestones of the Upper Silurian-Lower
Devonian Kupruk-formation and the schists of the Upper
Devonian Akbasai-Formation (Alimov et al. l998:166).
The deposit is unusual in that it contains significant
quantities of both copper and tin, with the primary min-
eralization consisting of stannite (Cu2FeSnS4)with asso-
ciated cassiterite, arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite and
tetrahedrite (Alimov et al. l998:166). The deposit also
has a significant oxidation zone with rich secondary
mineralization including malachite with infrequent azu-
rite, alongside cassiterite, varlamoffite (Sn02.nH20)and
Mushistonite ( C ~ s n ( 0 H )(Alimov
~) et al. 1998:167;
Boroffka et al. 2002:141-142). Tin and copper concen-
trations in both the primary and secondary mineraliza-
tion zones are very high, ranging up to 50 percent Cu
and 34 percent Sn (Alimov et al. 1998:Table 2).
However, there is great variation in the concentration of
these two elements in the 18 samples analyzed, with
compositions varying between almost pure copper ore
and almost pure tin ore, and many ratios in between
(Alimov et al. 1998:167).
The Mushiston deposit is considered to be of poten-
tially great importance for the early production of tin-
bronze in the region, as the smelting of the mixed ores
from the site is likely to have led to the production of a
natural tin-bronze (Alimov et al. 1998:166, 184). Mixed
copper-tin ores were available in one of the recently
examined Mushiston mining galleries, which were
worked by at least the middle of the second millennium
BCE according to radiocarbon determinations and finds
of Andronovo pottery (Alimov et al. 1998:185, 190).
Parzinger (2000:250) has claimed radiocarbon determi-
nations from Mushiston date as early as the second half
of the third millennium BCE, but as yet the dates are
unpublished. Alimov et al. (1998:170) note that, for
both modern and ancient mining operations, considera-
tions of logistics and infrastructure are just as crucial to
the viability of a mining operation as overall ore grades.
They therefore emphasize their belief that, although
analyses indicate that Mushiston is a much richer ore
body, a number of factors including the elevation (ca.
3,000 m asl) and inaccessibility of the Mushiston deposit
make Karnab a more viable mining operation.
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 17 1
 A number of other important metal deposits have been
recorded in the region. The mine of Kaznok (about one km
east of Mushiston) also contains copper and tin mineraliza-
tion, but of a form only accessible through modern mining
techniques (Alimov et al. 1998:169). The lead-zinc-silver
occurrence of Chirgasang and the lead-zinc deposit of
Kaninukra lie to the west of Mushiston, where there is evi-
dence for mining and slag from lead smelting that probably
relates to medieval silver production (Alimov et al.
1998:169). Ruzanov (1979) reports tin deposits to the
southwest of Samarkand and along the Kok-Su River,
known to have been worked in the early centuries CE and
perhaps much earlier. Penhallurick (1986:25-26) describes
other tin deposits in the Ferghana Valley region.
India
Tin deposits occur in a number of Indian provinces,
including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bihar, Rajastan, and
Gujarat (Chakrabarti and Lahiri 1996:25-26 and Map 2;
Asthana 1993:278). Hegde (1978:40-41, Figure 2) further
notes the possibility of alluvial cassiterite deposits in the
Kaptagod, Aravalli and Chota Nagpur Hills, and more
recent research in Haryana has identified a significant tin-
copper deposit at Tosham (also called "Tusham"; see
Seetharam 1986; Kochhar et al. 1999; Chakrabarti 2002).
The Hazari Bagh deposits of Bihar are the largest in India
(Penhallurick 1986:21), while the smaller sources in
Rajastan and Gujarat (and now at Tosham) have been
regarded as more significant for early metallurgy due to
their proximity to the Indus Valley (Asthana 1993:278).
There is very little archaeological evidence for the early
exploitation of these deposits, although Chakrabarti and
Lahiri (1996:25-26) have drawn attention to British colo-
nial descriptions of pre-industrial cassiterite extraction at
Bastar in Madhya Pradesh, and Paharsingh and Nurungo
in Bihar. Muhly (1985a:283), though allowing for the
occurrence of significant alluvial cassiterite deposits in
Madhya Pradesh, states his belief that Indian tin deposits
are likely to have been an important source only for local
metallurgy. Certainly, there is no strong archaeological evi-
dence for the exploitation of Indian tin sources in the
Bronze Age, but the same can be said for copper mining in
the region, which was almost certainly taking place by the
third millennium BCE (Chakrabarti and Lahiri
1996:192-196).
172 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Europe
For Anatolia, the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean,
tin deposits in the western Mediterranean (e.g. Sardinia
and Iberia), or in western Europe (e.g. the Erzgebirge
Mountains and Brittany), have often been regarded as
potential sources (Muhly 1985a:285-287). Tin is also
known to occur in the area of the former Yugoslavia
(McGeehan-Liritzis and Taylor 1987), and the well
known tin deposits in Cornwall are also a possible
source in later periods (Muhly 1985a).
The tin occurrences at the sites of Cer, Bukulja and
Srebrenica in the former Yugoslavia (McGeehan-Liritzis
and Taylor 1987:289-290) are lode deposits, while plac-
er deposits of stream tin also occur at Cer. The placer
deposits are considered large enough to be of potential
commercial value, although no details are given on the
grade of the alluvial deposit and no archaeological evi-
dence for ancient working has been recovered
(McGeehan-Liritzis and Taylor 1987:290).
Further to the west, the large tin deposits of the
Erzgebirge have been worked since at least the twelfth
century CE (Taylor 1983:295). Bronze Age tin produc-
tion in the region has often been hypothesized (e.g.
Penhallurick 1986:71-79), however this possibility was
rejected by Muhly based partly on the fact that primary
tin ores in the Erzgebirge are hosted by hard granite and
could not have been mined at such an early stage (Muhly
1973a:27). In response to Muhly's arguments, Taylor
(1983) has given a detailed description of the geology of
the Erzgebirge, highlighting the presence of placer
deposits which would have been workable during the
Bronze Age (see also Roden 1985:74; Rapp et al. 1999).
Circumstantial evidence for Bronze Age tin production in
the Erzgebirge region is provided by the local utilization
of significant amounts of tin-bronze after ca. 2000 BCE
(Tylecote 1987:39), and the proximity to the tin deposits
of Late Bronze and Iron Age settlements situated in loca-
tions non-ideal for agricultural subsistence (Bouzek et al.
1989). It has been suggested that the lack of many early
settlements in the tin-bearing regions of the Erzgebirge
might be explained by the transport of extracted tin ores
to more distant settlements for smelting (Roden
1985:74). The lack of convincing evidence for the Early
Bronze Age exploitation of alluvial cassiterite in the
Erzgebirge is highlighted by Niederschlag et al. (2002),
and supported by recent LIA of ores and objects from
the region (Niederschlag et al. 2003). Additionally,
Muhly (1985a:289-290; 1987:103-104) provides a sig-
nificant argument against the early exploitation of these
deposits by noting that Classical and later sources never
refer to tin from Bohemia.
The significant tin deposits of northwestern Spain
and Portugal (Muhly 1985a:286; Tylecote 1987:38) were
worked at least as early as the Iron Age and perhaps ear-
lier (Roden 1985:72; Giardino l995:3 12-3 16), and cor-
respond to the tin producing areas of Galaecia and
Lusitania described by Pliny the Elder and Strabo. The
extraction of alluvial cassiterite is indicated by Pliny's
note (Natural History XXXIV.156-157) that tin is found
"in the surface strata of the ground which is sandy and
of a black color. It is only detected by its weight, and
also tiny pebbles of it occasionally appear, especially in
dry beds of torrents". Likewise, Strabo (Geography
3.2.9) records that the tin-bearing soil of northwest
Lusitania "is brought by the streams; and the women
scrape it up with shovels and wash it in sieves woven
basket-like". Tin is also said to occur in the provinces of
Murcia and Almeira in southeastern Spain (McGeehan-
Liritzis and Taylor 1987:288). The tin deposits of
Brittany are known to have been worked in the prehis-
toric period (Penhallurick 1986536-94; Roden
1985:66-71), and may have been an important source
for the eastern Mediterranean world from the later sec-
ond millennium BCE (Muhly 1985a:287). Evidence for
the ancient exploitation of tin deposits in the Massif
Central of France is lacking (Penhallurick 1986:86).
The main cassiterite deposits in Italy are found in
Tuscany, with smaller occurrences known in Etruria
(Muhly 1985a:285; Roden l985:72-73; McGeehan-
Liritzis and Taylor 1987:288-289). The grade of the
Tuscan deposit (ca. 0.4 percent Sn) has seen it described
as "wildly uneconomic" for production even in the mid-
dle of the twentieth century CE (Tylecote 1987:38),
although much richer ores in the area are reported by
Roden (1985:73). Extensive mining during the Second
World War has destroyed any evidence that may have
existed for early tin extraction in the region (Roden
1985:72). Analyses of copper-base objects from northern
Italy have indeed revealed the presence of a small num-
ber tin-bronzes in third millennium BCE contexts (Eaton
1977), and one copper object with a possible coating of
metallic tin (Angelini et al. 2002), however the Italian
deposits are likely to have been significant only for local
use at most (Penhallurick 1986:80-82). Likewise, a num-
ber of minor tin deposits are known in southern
Sardinia, particularly in the Iglesias region (Tylecote et
al. 1983; McGeehan-Liritzis and Taylor 1987:289).
There is no evidence for the early working of the
Sardinian deposits (Beagrie 1985: 166; Giardino
1995:309), and the find of a crucible containing oxidized
fragments of a tin ingot from the Nuraghic site of
Forraxi Nioi cannot be dated earlier than the Late
Bronze Age (Tylecote et al. 1983; Muhly 1985a:286).
The abundant tin deposits of Cornwall have been
discussed in numerous papers dealing with early tin and
tin-bronze use (see Penhallurick 1986:148 ff. for a
detailed discussion), and it is certain that they were
exploited from at least the end of the third millennium
BCE. J. D. Muhly (1973b3409-412; 1980:40; 1985a:
287-288) envisages Cornish tin and Baltic amber reach-
ing the eastern Mediterranean in the later Bronze Age,
with definite evidence for such a trade from at least the
sixth century BCE onwards. However, it is extremely
unlikely that Cornish tin was being used in Bronze Age
western Asia, for reasons related to both the chronology
of tin-bronze use in Britain and the distance of the
source from western Asia.
Archaeological Evidence for Early Tin-Bronzes
Tin-bronzes, defined variously as copper alloys containing
over one, two or five per cent tin, first appear in a number
of areas of western Asia in the later fourth or early third
millennium BCE. The archaeological evidence for early tin-
bronze use has been summarized and discussed in numer-
ous scholarly works (e.g. Muhly 1973a, 1985a, 1993b;
Eaton and McKerrell 1976; de Jesus 1980; Yakar 1984;
Montero-Fenollos 1997) and only an outline is presented
here, alongside important recently documented occur-
rences and relevant re-interpretations of the evidence.
In Mesopotamia, the earliest tin-bronzes are found in
the Early Dynastic I (ED I) period at the Y cemetery at
Kish, and occur in tombs which probably represent the
burials of elite members of the society. Eight of 23 analyzed
copper-base objects from Kish contain one percent tin or
more (Stech 1999:63; Moorey and Schweizer 1972;
Tin and Tin-Bronze i n Early Western Asia 1 73
Miiller-Karpe 199l),but tin-bronzes remain uncommon
in the region until the ED I11 period (ca. 2600-2350 BCE),
when they form a significant percentage of the copper-
base objects found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur (Stech
1999:Table 3.1; Miiller-Karpe 1991:Table 1).Tin-bronze
does not appear to have been so common at other
Mesopotamian sites:Moorey (1994:253) notes that analy-
ses of material from Tepe Gawra revealed no tin-bronze
before Level V1 (Akkadian to post-Akkadian), and that
the alloy was scarce even at this time (see also Muhly
1987a:285 for differences between Ur and Tepe Gawra).
As Stech (1999:64) has observed, the introduction of tin-
bronze at certain Mesopotamian sites "did not occasion
its entry into general circulation" within the alluvium.
Early third millennium BCE tin-bronzes are also
found at sites further to the west and north. A cache of six
human figurines from Level G at Tell Judaidah in the
Amuq which dates to the early third millennium BCE con-
tains some of the earliest known examples of tin-bronze
(Braidwood and Braidwood 1960:296-3 15,516-519;
Stech and Pigott 198652).Although the date of the
Judaidah figurines has been questioned (see Seeden
1980:8; Yakar l984:7O; Hall and Steadman 1991:227), a
few tin-bronzes are found in other Level G deposits from
Tell Judaidah, reinforcing the evidence for early tin-use at
the site (Yener and Vandiver 1993:97). Until recently,
very few tin-bronzes of similar date were known from
other Syrian sites, despite extensive references to tin and
bronze in the mid-third millennium BCE texts from Ebla
(see below), and Stech and Pigott (198652)regarded the
earliest "reliable" occurrence of tin-bronze as the late
third millennium example from Tell Sweihat (see also
Maddin et al. l98O:ll3). However, 1 6 tin-bronzes (most-
ly decorative pins with up to 19 percent Sn) dating to the
EDI period have recently been recovered from a tomb at
the site of Tell Qara Quzaq on the northern Euphrates in
Syria (Montero 1995; Montero Fenoll6s 1997:1 6 and
Figure 1; Montero Fenoll6s and Montero Ruiz
2000:Lam. 5.1). Early or mid-third millennium tin-
bronzes are also reported from southeastern Anatolia at
Tarsus (Esin 1969; Yener and Vandiver 1993; Muhly
1993b:240), where six of 25 analyzed EBII objects con-
tain more than one percent tin, with an average of 4.4
percent Sn (DeJesus 1980:Graph 8; Muhly 1993b1240;
cf. Yener and Vandiver 1993b3256).
174 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Further evidence for early tin-bronze use comes from
Early Bronze Age (EB) I1 and I11 contexts in the central
Anatolian sites of Ahlatlibel, Mahmatlar, Alaqa Huyuk
and Horoztepe (Esin 1969; Muhly 1993b:240-242).
While the absolute chronology of the Bronze Age in
Anatolia is much debated, the EBII period in central
Anatolia probably begins in the second quarter of the
third millennium, and extends to ca. 2300 BCE (Yakar
1984:73; cf. Miiller-Karpe l 9 9 l : l l l ) . From the EBII
period at Ahlatlibel eight tin-bronzes are recorded out of
20 analyses (de Jesus 1980:Graph 2), while EBII
Mahmatlar had seven tin-bronze objects (Muhly
1993b:240). Nineteen of 40 analyzed objects from EBII
Alaqa Hiiyiik were tin-bronze (de Jesus 1980:Graph 3),
while 32 of 56 analyzed samples from EBIII Horoztepe
proved to be of tin-bronze (de Jesus 1980:Graph 5). All
these figures are based upon a definition of tin-bronze as
containing more than one percent Sn. Additionally,
Yakar (1984:73) makes mention of the production of
tin-lead pewters in Anatolia at this time, although he
cites no references. The distinctly regional character of
Anatolian tin use in the EBA is indicated by analyses of
objects from sites such as Ikiztepe on the Black Sea
coast, which have revealed a more limited use of tin-
bronze in the later third millennium (Bilgi 1984; Gedik
et al. 2002). However, even at Ikiztepe, where the analy-
ses (Bilgi 1984:73) are said to indicate that "copper is
alloyed only with arsenic", 14 of 101 analyzed copper-
base objects contain more than two percent tin, with a
further four objects having 0.5-2.0 percent tin. These
tin-bronzes come from Late Chalcolithic, EBII, EBIII and
late third millennium BCE contexts at the site, and more-
over are characterized by higher levels (often more than
one percent) of zinc and lead, and lower levels of
arsenic, than the remaining objects at the site (an inter-
esting impurity pattern matched by some contemporary
Transcaucasian tin-bronzes; see Edens l995:56).
Evidence of significant tin-bronze use is also found
in third millennium contexts in northwestern Anatolia,
at the sites of Troy and Beshiktepe (Pernicka et al. 1984;
de Jesus 1980:134-135), and at a number of nearby
Aegean settlements which show strong Anatolian con-
nections in their material culture, such as Poliochni on
Lemnos (Pernicka et al. 1990), Thermi on Lesbos
(Begemann et al. 1992; 1995; Stos-Gale 1992) and
Kastri on Syros (Stos-Gale et al. 1984). These tin-
bronzes were thought to have been among the earliest in
the western Asia, dating to the first half of the third mil-
lennium BCE, but more recent debate has tended to date
them towards the third quarter of the third millennium
(Manning 1995:Figure 2; J. E. Coleman 1992:276;
Mellink 1992:219; Muhly et al. 1991:215 ff.). The flo-
rescence of tin-bronze use at Troy occurs in the Troy I1
period (where 61 percent of objects contain more than
one percent Sn), although one example of tin-bronze is
claimed to occur in a Troy I context (de Jesus
1980:134-135; but see Muhly 1985a:283-284 for prob-
lems with the chronological attribution of this piece).
The material from Thermi is particularly interesting,
as Thermi Towns I-V are usually considered to be con-
temporary with Troy I and early Troy 11, and the limited
tin-bronze use at Thermi (three objects from 33 analy-
ses) is thus clearly datable to the second quarter of the
third millennium BCE (Manning 1995:Figure 2; Yakar
1984:83; Muhly 1985a:284; Begemann et al.
1992:220-221). A further five tin-bronzes at Thermi are
recorded from the so-called "Potter's Pool" deposit,
which may date to the Troy I1 period rather than Troy I
(Begemann et al. 1992:221). Thermi has also provided
the earliest example of metallic tin in the region, a ban-
gle from Level IV (Begemann et al. 1992). The chrono-
logical attribution of other claimed early examples of
tin-bronze in Anatolia, such as those from Mersin, have
been clearly refuted (Yakar 1984:60; Muhly 1985a:284),
while two examples of tin-bronze from the Greek site of
Sitagroi (Level IV) are likely to be contemporary with
the Thermi examples (Begemann et al. 1992:223).
Tin and tin-bronze are found more sporadically in
other areas of western Asia before the end of the third
millennium BCE, with the majority of metal assemblages
reflecting instead the use of pure or arsenical copper
(Eaton and McKerrell 1976:Table 9; Moorey
1982:97-98). Tin is used for only a handful of objects in
third millennium Egypt and the Levant (Lucas
1934:177-1 78; Eaton and McKerrell 1976; Maddin et
al. 1980:117; Cowell 1987; Muhly 1993b:243), and the
late date for the introduction of tin-bronze into Egypt is
supported by analyses of the blue and green pigments
used for wall paintings. Such pigments were manufac-
tured from copper-base scrap metal, and their composi-
tion indicates an absence of tin-bronze before the rule of
Thutmosis I11 in the fifteenth century BCE (El Goresy et
al. 1995; Schiegl 1994:95). Such evidence is open to
other interpretations (for example technological, eco-
nomic, or ideological preferences for copper scrap over
tin-bronze scrap in the manufacture of pigments) but
seems to match quite well with the chronological
changes in alloying suggested by the analyzed objects
from the region.
In Iran, early tin-bronzes occur with significant fre-
quency only at the site of Susa. The analyses of Malfoy
and Menu (1987:Table D) indicate that tin-bronze first
appears consistently at Susa in the Susa IVA2 period
(equivalent to the EDIIIB period in Southern
Mesopotamia) and the frequency of tin-bronze use
remains below 10 percent of objects until the late third
millennium BCE, when 15 percent of Susa VA objects
(three of 20) are of tin-bronze. The real beginnings of
tin-bronze use date to the Susa VB phase, in the early
second millennium BCE, when more than 60 percent of
objects are of tin-bronze (64 of 98 analyses). Isolated
examples are known from later fourth-early third millen-
nium BCE contexts at Susa (Moorey 1982; Stech and
Pigott 1986:42-43), although the chronological attribu-
tion of some of these pieces has been questioned (Miiller-
Karpe 1991:111).Elsewhere in Iran, one arsenical tin-
bronze is recorded from Giyan Period IV, which dates
broadly to the mid-third millennium BCE (Berthoud
1979). Besides these early examples, a more consistent use
of tin-bronze is recorded for the late third and early sec-
ond millennia BCE at Tepe Godin (period 111) and Tal-i
Malyan in the Kaftari phase (Pigott 1996:461; Pigott
1980:107; Pigott et al. 2003). Other Iranian sites such as
Tepe Sialk, Tepe Hissar, Shahr-i Sokhta, Shahdad and
Tepe Yahya show predominant use of arsenical copper in
the third millennium (Pigott 1999a, 199910; Vatandoust
1999:Table 2; Thornton et al. 2002a). As Pigott
(1996:460) has noted, tin-bronze does not become the
dominant copper alloy in Iran until the Iron Age (see also
Pigott 1980:105; Moorey 1982:87).
The evidence for the early occurrence of tin-bronze in
the Caucasus region is similar to that from Iran. The sum-
mary of alloy types used in the early metal industries of
Asia and Eastern Europe provided by E. N. Chernykh
(1992:Figure 6) indicates that tin-bronze appears in
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 17 5
conspicuous amounts in the Trans-Caucasus and
Caucasus only towards the end of the third millennium
BCE. However, in one subterranean tomb at the site of
Velikent in Daghestan, 15 of 195 analyzed copper-base
objects (ca. eight percent) were found to contain more
than one percent Sn (Gadzhiev and Korenevskii 1984).
Kohl et al. (2002) now date the Velikent catacomb
tombs to the early-middle third millennium BCE based
upon radiocarbon determinations, thus making these
tin-bronzes among the earliest recorded for the
Caucasus and among the earliest in wider western Asia.
Further isolated examples of contemporary or even ear-
lier tin-bronzes from the Caucasus region are reported
by Kavtaradze (1999:71), who nevertheless suggests a
gradual introduction of tin-bronze in the later third mil-
lennium BC, followed by its adoption as the predomi-
nant copper alloy in material from the Trialeti kurgans
in the terminal thirdlearly second millennium.
Significantly, the early use of tin-bronze south of
the Greater Caucasus has been linked to the presence
of a small number of lapis lazuli items which appear in
the region in the later third millennium BCE (Apakidze
1999:Abb. l),and to a significant increase in the
amount of gold found at Transcaucasian sites from the
Middle Bronze Age (Edens 1995:60). An origin of all
three materials in Afghanistadcentral Asia has been
suggested, utilizing a trade route that brought raw
materials from Afghanistan via Turkmenistan, thence
across the Caspian Sea or perhaps through Iran, north
of the Elburz Mountains, to the Trans-Caucasian
region. Apakidze (19 9 9 5 13) envisioned the Afghani
raw materials as subsequently being transported along
the large river valleys south of the Greater Caucasus to
the eastern Black Sea coast, from where they were
traded to more westerly regions such as northwestern
Anatolia and the Aegean. Such a reconstruction has
also been suggested by Edens (1995:60-61), and is
obviously of significance for the discussion of tin
sources presented here.
Analyses of copper-base objects from central Asia
also indicate that the frequent use of tin-bronze is a
relatively late innovation. In Turkmenistan, the earliest
bronze object comes from a Namazga IV (ca. mid-third
millennium BCE) context at the site of Aktepe (Ruzanov
1999:104), but bronze remains infrequent in the
176 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
subsequent Namazga V period at the major sites of
Anau, Namazga and Altyn-depe (Ruzanov 1999;
Salvatori et al. 2002; Terekhova 1981:319-320; Pigott
1996:461; Egor'kov 2001). Analyses of third millenni-
um BCE copper-base objects from Sarazm on the
Zeravshan River in Tajikistan, in the immediate vicinity
of the previously-discussed central Asian tin sources,
revealed only unalloyed copper (Isakov et al. 1987;
Pigott 1996:461). A similar lack of tin-bronze is seen in
eastern Bactria at the settlement of Shortughai
(Berthoud et al. 1982:Table C; Francfort 1989:208).
The real beginning of tin-bronze metallurgy in central
Asia can be placed in the early second millennium BC,
in the BMAC or Namazga V1 phase (Hiebert
1994:Figure 10.1). At this time, bronze becomes the
dominant alloy at sites in southern Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, although apparently not
in the Kopet Dagh region or the Murghab oasis
(Ruzanov 1999:104; Hiebert 1994:160; Hiebert and
Killick 1993). Bronze use is also significant among the
adjacent steppic (Andronovo) peoples in the second
millennium BCE (Ruzanov 1999). This could reflect
either contact between these groups and the bronze-
using sedentary agriculturists of the central Asian
oases, or the direct involvement of Andronovo peoples
in tin mining in the Zerafshan valley, as suggested by
the Andronovo pottery from the tin mines at Karnab
and Mushiston (Alimov et al. 1998:Abb. 29; Boroffka
et al. 2002).
The situation seems noticeably different further to
the south in Afghanistan, although very few analyses
have been undertaken. Important evidence comes from
Mundigak, where a small number of analyses indicate
that tin-bronze was used from the middle of the fourth
millennium BCE, although the absolute dates are debat-
ed (Stech and Pigott 1986:47). Unfortunately, a number
of possibly early tin-bronzes from Snake Cave in
Afghanistan analyzed by Caley (197171972a,b)cannot be
assigned a clear chronological range. The Afghani evi-
dence is paralleled by the occurrence of tin-bronzes at a
number of sites in Pakistani Baluchistan excavated by
Sir Aurel Stein. Six of seven "prehistoric" samples from
the sites of Shahi-Tump, Mehi, Siah-damb and Segak
analyzed by Desch were of tin-bronze (Ullah 1931a:
488). The material from Shahi-Tump and Siah-damb
(also known as Nundara) seems clearly to belong to the
first half of the third millennium BCE (Possehl
1999595; Besenval 1997) and Asthana (1993:277-278)
allocates all of these finds to the pre-Harappan period.
Tin-bronze use is also attested at Indus civiliza-
tion sites. Of the 177 objects analyzed from Mohenjo-
Daro and Harappa, 30 percent show tin concentra-
tions of greater than one percent (Agrawal 1984:164).
A chronological change in alloy use is also seen, as
tin-bronze is much more abundant in the later levels
of Mohenjo-Daro (23 percent of objects) than in the
earliest phases at the site (six percent of objects)
(Agrawal 1984:164; see also Ullah 193la:484). Seven
of 1 3 tools analyzed from Rangpur contain more than
two percent Sn (Agrawal 1984:164), while a tabulation
of metal alloys used in prehistoric India (Lahiri
1995:Table 2 ) indicates that tin-bronze was also used
at the Indus sites of Kalibangan, Lothal, Rojdi,
Chanhu-Daro and Surkotada (see also Chakrabarti and
Lahiri 1996:36-65; Kenoyer and Miller 1999). Ingots
of tin-bronze are also said to have been found at
Mohenjo-Daro (Mackay 1943: l 8 7 ) , although the attri-
bution is based only on the color of the metal rather
than compositional analyses.
Both Agrawal (1984:164) and Asthana (1993:278)
have speculated that the infrequent use of tin-bronze in
the Indus region reflects the scarcity of tin available to
local metalsmiths, and Asthana notes that tin and tin-
bronze are very rare for more than a millennium in
post Harappan contexts in the region (see also Yule
1989). Such a pattern of use suggests that the wide-
ranging trade contacts developed in the Harappan peri-
od were responsible for the arrival of tin-bronze at
Harappan sites, which would indicate the utilization of
tin sources from outside the Indus region (Asthana
1993:278). In contrast, Chakrabarti and Lahiri
(1996:207) argue strongly against such technologically
deterministic and evolutionary interpretations of early
alloying. They suggest that social traditions of "puri-
ty" and the conservation of raw materials, observed
ethnographically and through ancient texts, may better
explain the variable pattern of copper and copper-
alloy use in South Asia since the Bronze Age. These
issues will be further elaborated upon in the following
sections of this chapter.
Returning to the Gulf, it is unfortunate that virtually
no analyses of third millennium BCE metal objects from
the central Gulf region have been undertaken. Although
copper-base objects and fragments have been reported
from Tarut Island (Piesinger 1983:190) and copper-base
objects, crucibles and copper-working residues are
known from City Ib levels at Qala'at al-Bahrain
(Hrzrjlund and Andersen l994:370-38 l ) ,they remain
largely unanalyzed. Only material from the subsequent
City I1 period at the Qala'at, the Saar settlement (Weeks
forthcoming a ) and graveyard (Prange et al. 1999), and
the Barbar temple (McKerrell 1977; Heskel, undated) has
been chemically studied. The earliest analyses were of 30
metal objects from the Barbar Temple (wrongly attributed
to the site of Qala'at al-Bahrain) undertaken by H.
McKerrell (1977: 167). The absence of tin-bronzes among
these objects was taken used to suggest that there was no
significant tin trade through the Gulf in the very late third
or early second millennium BCE (McKerrell 1977: 167).
Further analyses of material from the Barbar Temple
(Heskel, unpub.) tend to support such a view, with tin
concentrations of one percent or higher recorded in only
five of more than 100 analyzed samples (all five objects
were axes). The seeming infrequence of tin-bronze use at
Barbar may, however, partly reflect the samples that were
available for analysis. Most were sheet fragments or nails
used to decorate the temple and seem to have been prefer-
entially made of pure copper, perhaps for ideological rea-
sons similar in conception to those outlined in the preced-
ing paragraph. Less than 40 of the Barbar Temple analy-
ses are of finished objects that are not sheet fragments or
nails, and the ratio of tin-bronze to unalloyed copper
among this group is consequently somewhat higher.
Nevertheless, a similarly low rate of tin-bronze use is
reported by Prange et al. (1999:191 and Figure 6), where
only two objects from about 40 analyses of second millen-
nium Bahraini material contained in excess of one percent
tin, with a maximum concentration of six percent tin in an
object from the Saar grave field.
In contrast, analyses of five objects from Bahrain
tumuli presented by Peake (1928:454) revealed that they
were all tin-bronzes with high tin concentrations. At
least one of these objects was a socketed spearhead from
Mackay's excavations at the 'Ali cemetery (Reade and
Burleigh 1978:82) which has exact typological ~arallels
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 177
in the late third to early second millennium BCE in south-
eastern Arabia (Potts 1990a, 2000). It is likely that the
other items analyzed came from either Mackay's excava-
tions or those of Mr. and Mrs. Bent at 'Ali in 1889 (Reade
and Burleigh 1978), and also date to the early second mil-
lennium rather than to ca. 1200 BCE as proposed in the
original article (Peake l928:454). Peake's analyses are
therefore good evidence for tin-bronze use on Bahrain in
the City I1 period, and are supported by analyses of
objects from the Saar settlement, where a further five tin
bronzes were recorded in a group of 19 analyzed finished
objects (Weeks, forthcoming a). In summary, there is no
evidence at all regarding alloying practices in the third
millennium BCE in the central Gulf, while analyses of
early second millennium BCE material indicate a limited
use of tin-bronze.
Finally, as summarized in Chapter Two, a number of
analytical studies have revealed little evidence for the use
of tin-bronze in southeastern Arabia prior to the second
millennium BCE (Hauptmann et al. 1988; Prange et al.
1999),whereas recent analytical programs and the data
presented in this volume provide ample evidence of tin-
bronze use in the northern Oman Peninsula in the Umm
al-Nar Period (Weeks 1997:20-22). Two of three recently
analyzed objects from a burial context at Aztah near
Salalah, in the Dhofar province of southern Oman, are
also of tin-bronze (Yule 1999). The chronological attri-
bution of these objects to the third millennium is uncer-
tain, and it is difficult to know whether they should be
grouped with material from the Oman Peninsula or
South Arabia, as the typological parallels with material
from Asimah in Ras al-Khaimah cited by P. Yule (1999:
91) are not particularly convincing. Archaeological sur-
veys indicate that the southernmost location of Umm al-
Nar cultural materials is Masirah Island, suggesting that
the Aztah finds are more likely to reflect a South Arabian
metallurgical tradition. Very little is known of South
Arabian metallurgy in the third millennium BCE,
although the Aztah data can be compared with recent
analyses of a hoard of Bronze Age objects from the site of
al-Midamman near the Red Sea coast (Giumlia-Mair et
al. 2002). Analyses of these objects, typologically dated
to a broad Early-Middle Bronze Age range (third to sec-
ond millennium BC), revealed the presence of a number
of low-tin bronzes (Giumlia-Mair et al. 2002:Table 1).
17 8 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Texts Referring t o the Bronze Age
Use and Trade of Tin
The earliest textual sources from western Asia have
proven critical for the reconstruction of ancient trade
and exchange in metals. As a relevant illustration of this
point, one might consider the metals trade between
Mesopotamia and Dilmun, so clearly reconstructed
through textual sources by A. L Oppenheim (1954), W.
F. Leemans (1960) and others. As summarized by B.
Foster (199759):
Buying and selling metals in commerce can
now be documented continuously from the lat-
ter half of the third millennium through the
Old Babylonian period. Sumerian and
Babylonian merchants went to Dilmun to buy
copper and tin, while traders from Dilmun
came to Mesopotamia, for example, to
Sargonic Umma, Lagash, and Agade, as well
as to Susa when it was under Sargonic rule.
Contacts between Dilmun and archaic Uruk
push the possibilities of such contact back half
a millennium, while contacts with north Syria
at various times extend the geographical hori-
zon of such trade far beyond Sumer ...As the
evidence accumulates, the continuity of this
trade is impressive in its consistency.
The importance of textual sources is particularly
clear in the case of the early use and trade of tin in west-
ern Asia. As discussed above, archaeological evidence for
objects of metallic tin is extremely limited prior to the mid-
second millennium BCE, whereas references to tin and tin-
bronze in textual sources are frequent. Textual evidence
for the use and trade of tin has been discussed in detail by J.
D. Muhly (1973a, 1973b) and others (e.g. Limet 1960;
Malamat 1971; Larsen 1976,1987; Waetzoldt 1981;
Joannes 1991; Archi 1993), and is summarized below.
From Bronze Age written sources, words for tin are
known in Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Egyptian and
Ugaritic (Muhly 1985a:279; see also Muhly 1973a:
240-247). For Mesopotamia, the first distinction between
copper (urudderii) and tin-bronze (zabadsiparru) appears
in cuneiform texts from the EDI period at Ur, while the ear-
liest mention of metallic tin (AN.NA/annakum) is found in
EDIVIII texts from Fara (Limet 1960). Contemporary
with the appearance of tin-bronze in the Royal Cemetery
at Ur there are references in texts from Palace G at Ebla
to the mixing of various ratios of "washed" copper (a-
gar5(-gar5)la6aru)and tin to produce bronze (Waetzoldt
and Bachmann 1984; Archi 1993), and similar recipes
are found in the late nineteenth century BCE texts from
Mari (Muhly 1985a:282). The most common copper-tin
ratios mentioned are from 6:l to 10:l (e.g. Muhly
1973a:243-4; Waetzoldt 1981:371, 375-376; Limet
1993:104-5; Reiter 1999:169), although ratios produc-
ing alloys with less than one percent Sn are also reported
as are ratios producing alloys with 20 percent Sn (Limet
1985:204; Archi 1993:619-625; Muller-Karpe 1991).
Textual references to the Mesopotamian tin trade
are largely found in two collections of cuneiform texts,
from the central Anatolian site of Kultepe (ancient
Kanesh) and from Mari on the Euphrates, which date
to the late nineteenth and early eighteenth centuries
BCE. These texts document a trade in which tin was
moving exclusively from east to west. Arriving in
Mesopotamia from the east, metallic tin was tran-
shipped up the Euphrates to Mari, or overland to
Assur. From Assur the tin (in addition to Babylonian
textiles) was transported via donkey caravan to various
Assyrian trading colonies such as KaneshIKiiltepe in
Anatolia, where it was traded for silver and gold
(Larsen 1976, 1987). From Mari, the tin was traded
further west to sites in Syria and Palestine (Dossin
1970; Malamat 1971), and perhaps as far as Crete
(Malamat 1971:38; Muhly 1985a:282).
The absolute quantities of tin documented in the
Kanesh sources (ca. 13.5 tonnes over approximately 50
years, see Larsen 1987:5 1)are significantly higher than
those recorded in the Mari texts, which are often of the
order of only a few kilograms (although a single tablet
from Mari, A.1270, discusses the distribution of 16 tal-
ents 10 minas [ca. 485 kg] of tin, see Dossin 1970;
Malamat 1971). The original sources of this tin are
unknown, as many of the place-names mentioned in the
texts can refer only to way-stations along the trade
routes, rather than the actual tin sources themselves. The
Kanesh texts refer to tin coming overland through the
Zagros Mountains to Mesopotamia from northwestern
Iran (Muhly 1973a:306), while Mari seems to have
obtained its tin in ingot form almost exclusively through
diplomatic gift exchange with Susa and Anshan (Limet
1985; Joannes 1991; Potts 1999a:169 and Table 6.2),
although the cuneiform evidence is limited (Reiter
1999:171). As stated by Larsen (1987:50), "Assur and
Susa ...represent the pipes through which tin was chan-
neled into the Middle Eastern system" in the early second
millennium BCE. The elite spheres in which tin seems to
have circulated probably reflects the observation by
Reiter (1999:171) that "the import of all kinds of metals
even for kings depended heavily on good political rela-
tions with the countries which produced these metals or
which functioned as thoroughfares".
Claims for an eastern source of tin are supported by
other textual evidence. For example, the Sumerian poem
"Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta", an epic myth of the
third millennium known from later copies, mentions a
period in which there was no trade between Uruk and the
semi-mythical land of Aratta which lay beyond the
Zagros in Iran. The cessation of this trade meant that
Uruk did not have access to the gold, silver, copper, tin,
lapis lazuli and "mountain stones" of Aratta (Kramer
1952, 1977:61). This association of tin, lapis lazuli and
also carnelian found commonly in third millennium
Mesopotamian texts is taken to indicate that tin had a
similar origin to these goods (e.g. Kramer 1977:61; T. F.
Potts 1994:155). Extensive geological and archaeological
studies indicate that the lapis lazuli used in western Asia
is most likely to have come from Badakhshan in
Afghanistan (Herrmann 1968), although smaller deposits
in Baluchistan (Delmas and Casanova 1990) or those in
Iran mentioned in medieval sources (Moorey 1994:86)
cannot be ruled out. Carnelian is likely to have been
obtained from a number of Indian sources in Gujarat and
elsewhere, or possibly in Iran (Tosi 1980:448-449;
Asthana 1993:275; Moorey 1994:97). Both lapis lazuli
and carnelian are referred to in Mesopotamian cuneiform
sources as coming from the land of Meluhha (Heimpel
1993:54), a trade which was conducted via the Gulf
(Muhly 1973a:307). Furthermore, Stieglitz (1987:45) and
Pinnock (1985; 1988:108-llO) suggest that the lapis
lazuli used at Ebla in the third millennium BCE traveled
via the Gulf and Dilmun. In addition to its tin, Mari also
obtained lapis lazuli from Susa in the early eighteenth
century BCE, which may reflect the significant overland
contact between Susa and Bactria at this time (Potts
1999a:169).
Tin and Tin-Bronze i n Early Western Asia 17 9
 One text from the reign of Gudea of Lagash men-
tions that, in addition to lapis lazuli and carnelian, tin
was also traded to Mesopotamia from the land of
Meluhha. The relevant passage (Cylinder B, column
XIV, lines 10-13) states that "Gudea, the Governor of
Lagash, bestowed as gifts copper, tin, blocks of lapis
lazuli, [a precious metal] and bright carnelian from
Meluhha" (Wilson 1996; see also Muhly
1973a:306-307). This is the only specific cuneiform ref-
erence to the trade of tin from Meluhha (see Possehl
1996:141 for doubts over the association), however fur-
ther evidence for a tin trade through the Gulf is provid-
ed by late third and early second millennium BCE texts
mentioning tin from Magan (Cohen 1975:28) and
Dilmun (Waetzoldt l 9 8 1:366-367; Moorey 1994:298;
Foster 1997; see Stieglitz 1987:44 and Muhly
1995b:1506 for uncertainties regarding the use of the
term "Dilmun" in the Ebla texts). A pre-Sargonic text
from Lagash published by B. Foster (1997) and
described as "a Sumerian merchant's account of the
Dilmun trade" mentions obtaining from Dilmun 27.5
minas (ca. 14 kg) of an-na zabar. This phrase can be lit-
erally translated as "tin bronze", and Foster suggested
the possible reading "tin (inlfor?)bronze". As there are
additional textual references to the trade of finished tin-
bronze items from Magan (Limet 1972:14-1 7), there is
some degree of historical support for the hypothesized
trade in tin-bronze suggested by the LIA of the Gulf
objects (Potts 1999b; also Chapter Seven).
Summary of Archaeological, Geological
and Textual Evidence
The evidence presented above for the early use of tin-
bronze has been used by a number of scholars as a guide
to the sources of tin used in Bronze Age western Asia.
Thus, the archaeological evidence for significant Early
Bronze Age tin-bronze use in the Aegean and the Troad,
central Anatolia, northern Syria and Mesopotamia was
seen as evidence for the contemporary exploitation of
tin deposits somewhere in (probably northwestern)
Anatolia (e.g. Renfrew 1967; Eaton and McKerrell
1976; Yener and Vandiver 1993; Muhly 1995b:1507). A
Troadic tin source has been ruled out by geological
research, which has established the existence of tin
deposits in Egypt, Arabia, Afghanistan, central Asia,
18 0 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Europe, and probably the Taurus Mountains, but not in
northwestern Anatolia. A range of evidence indicates
that, of these verified tin sources, those in the Eastern
Desert of Egypt and the western Arabian Peninsula were
not utilized in the third millennium BCE. Furthermore,
the use of European tin in the EBA Aegean, once consid-
ered likely (e.g. Muhly 1985a:285), now seems improba-
ble due to relatively late adoption of tin-bronze in main-
land Europe (Niederschlag et al. 2003:62-64).
The extant archaeological, geological and historical
evidence indicates that the tin used in third millennium
western Asia most likely came from sources in southern
Anatolia, Afghanistan, and central Asia. Certainly, the
use of Taurus tin within EBA central Anatolia seems
likely, although this has not yet been conclusively
demonstrated. Claims of third millennium BCE tin-
smelting operations at Goltepe seem stronger for weath-
ering a period of intense scrutiny and debate. However,
the use of Taurus tin beyond central Anatolia, on any
significant scale, is not recorded in the surviving textual
sources from Mesopotamia, and the LIA of the third mil-
lennium tin objects from Thermi and Tell Abraq indi-
cates that tin from KestelJGoltepe was not used in their
manufacture (see Chapter Seven). Additionally, the LIA
of contemporary tin-bronzes from the Aegean region has
indicated that they are probably not made of Anatolian
metal. Thus, although a tin source in the Taurus
Mountains fits the distribution pattern of early tin-
bronzes quite well, the isotopic evidence indicates clearly
that more than one tin source supplied western Asia in
the third millennium.
Afghanistan and the Indo-Iranian borderlands have
been tentatively suggested as the source regions for the
tin-bronze used in the EBA Aegean (Pernicka et al.
1990:290; Pernicka 1995b:107-108), based upon geo-
logical considerations and the geo-chronological implica-
tions of Aegean lead isotope data. The fact that the iso-
topic characteristics of the Aegean tin-bronzes are so
similar to those from the Gulf analyzed in this study
adds further weight to the hypothesis of an eastern
source for these early alloys. Although the great dis-
tances involved in such a trade have been regarded as
problematic by some authors (Renfrew 1967:13; de Jesus
1980:59), the isotopic evidence is consistent with that
from early second millennium BCE textual sources,
which testify to the large-scale overland trade of tin into
Mesopotamia from beyond the Zagros Mountains and
its subsequent export in large quantities into central
Anatolia. Significantly, a number of scholars regard the
surviving texts from Kanesh as reflecting only one short
period in a trade relationship with Assur that existed
already by the third millennium (Muhly 1993b32.52;
Larsen 1977:119-120). The possibility of tin coming
from these eastern sources is supported by the occur-
rence of many tin deposits in modern-day Afghanistan,
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, although evidence for tin
extraction is currently limited to the central Asian sites
of Karnab and Mushiston, and goes only as far back as
the second millennium BCE.
Yener (2000:75) has argued cogently against a "one-
source-for-all" model of the third millennium tin trade,
and does not regard the proposed tin mining and pro-
cessing in the Taurus Mountains as inconsistent with
the importation of large amounts of tin into Anatolia
(cf. Belli 1991). Taurus tin production is thought to
have CO-existedwith large-scale exchange of foreign
metal in the third millennium (Yener et al. 1989:203;
Yener and Vandiver 1993:212), before the eventual
"devastation" of Anatolian tin mining operations by the
availability of "purer, already packaged, readily-avail-
able tin" from the Old Assyrian trade (Yener 2000:7.5).
Yener's arguments regarding multiple tin sources are
well made, and it is clear that the evidence from
KestelIGoltepe provides only a part of the information
needed for a complete understanding of the Bronze Age
tin trade. Obviously, the question remains as to the
sources that were supplying the "large-scale metal
exchange" discussed by Yener and others. The eastern
sources noted above are clearly significant candidates,
especially when the tin sources used in a region such as
the Gulf are under consideration.
Having confirmed the likelihood of a long-distance
tin trade in third millennium western Asia, however, the
evidence for the use of the Afghan and central Asian
sources remains equivocal. In particular, the evidence
for early tin-bronze in these regions is sparse, due to the
limited number of analytical programs, and chronologi-
cal attributions of the analyzed objects are often doubt-
ful. As noted above, the evidence for extraction of tin in
the third millennium BCE is also absent. Such factors
have added weight to arguments hypothesizing the
importance of Anatolian tin sources. In particular, the
evidence for EBA tin-bronze use in Anatolia is much
stronger than in the east, there is some archaeological
evidence for third millennium tin extraction in the
Taurus Mountains, and the textual references to the use
of eastern tin in Greater Mesopotamia are concentrated
in the early second millennium BCE. However, the com-
bined evidence from archaeology, geology, and historical
sources suggests the significance of eastern sources for
the tin trade in both the third and second millennia
BCE. In particular, for regions such as Baluchistan, the
Indus Valley, and the Gulf, which show significant third
millennium tin-bronze use, the exclusive use of tin or
tin-bronze from Afghanistan and central Asia seems
highly likely. Textual sources are scarce, but highlight
the trade through the Gulf linking Mesopotamia with
Meluhha, Magan and Dilmun as the most common
source of tin in the later third millennium BCE, after an
earlier overland Iranian tin-lapis-carnelian trade hinted
at by the epic tale of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta.
The trade routes which may have brought this eastern
tin (and perhaps also Taurus tin) to the Gulf region in
the third millennium BCE are investigated in more detail
in the following section.
Tin-Bronze in the Gulf:
Patterns of Acquisition
The presence of tin-bronze objects at A1 Sufouh, Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq in the second half of the third
millennium BCE raises interesting questions with regard
to the means by which this material reached southeast-
ern Arabia. As outlined above, the absolute source of
the metal is likely to have been far to the north and
east in Afghanistan or central Asia. Tin or tin-bronze
from such a source, like the other material of undoubt-
ed central Asian origin has been found in southeastern
Arabia and the central Gulf, could feasibly have
reached the Gulf along a number of routes.
The first possibility that must be considered is that
tin and tin-bronze were obtained through direct contact
with central Asia. The limited amount of archaeological
material of central Asian origin found in southeastern
Arabia includes footed vessels of Bactrian type from a
grave in the Wadi Suq and the Umm al-Nar tomb at
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 18 1
Tell Abraq (Frifelt 1986:133 and Figure 33; Potts
2000:127), and a copper-base goblet from a late third
millennium BCE grave at Asimah in Ras al-Khaimah
(During Caspers 1992:s and PI. 4d; Vogt 1995:129 and
Figures 54:3 and SS). An interesting attestation to the
use of Indo-Iranian or central Asian materials in south-
eastern Arabia is provided by a third millennium
alabaster vessel with very strong Indo-Iranian parallels,
which bears the inscription "Naram-Sin, king of the
four world regions, a vessel from the booty of Magan"
(Potts 1986:282 ff., Tav. XXIV). Other objects with
clear central Asian parallels include a small soft-stone
flask from Tomb A at Hili North (Cleuziou and Vogt
1985:255-257 and Figure 4.5) and two decorated ivory
combs from the Umm al-Nar tomb at Tell Abraq (Potts
1993d; Potts 2000:127; Potts 2003b). The ivory combs
from Tell Abraq are part of a larger collection of ivory
objects from the tomb which show strong Indus paral-
lels in addition to Bactrian connections, a point whose
significance is addressed further below.
Objects of possible central Asian origin have also
been found in the central Gulf, where one of the more
numerous categories of evidence is footed goblets,
known from graves at 'Ali, Sar al-Jisr and Dhahran
(During Caspers l992:Pls. 1, 4; Edens 1993:Figure
29.5:s-12). Comparable sherds are reported from set-
tlement contexts on Failaka and at Qala'at al-Bahrain
(During Caspers 1994:37). A bronze goblet from a
grave at Hamala North on Bahrain, very similar to the
example from Asimah mentioned above, has also been
paralleled with BMAC material (During Caspers
1992:8 and P1. 4d). From the "foundation deposit" of
the Barbar Temple I1 comes an anthropomorphic tin-
bronze mirror handle which bears comparison to
Bactrian examples, although some elements of its con-
ception differ (Heskel undated; During Caspers
1992:10 and Figure 7c-d; During Caspers 1996:s 1).
Furthermore, the bronze bull's head from the Barbar
Temple has been compared to a late third millennium
BCE example from Altyn-Depe in central Asia (During
Caspers 1976:32), although parallels could also be
drawn with Mesopotamian material of Early Dynastic
date. Finally, three alabaster vessels from the same
deposit have strong Indo-Iranian parallels (Potts
1986:284, Tav. XXXI).
182 Early Metallurgy of t h e Persian Gulf
However, while pottery with central Asian parallels
is found in the Gulf, there is very little additional evi-
dence to suggest the presence of central Asian people in
the region. Exceptions to this situation include a stamp
seal of Murghabo-Bactrian type that was recovered from
a grave at Hamad Town on Bahrain (Crawford and a1
Sindi 1995) and a cylinder seal from Hamad town that
shows iconographic parallels with the Dasht-i Lut region
of eastern Iran (Denton and al-Sindi 1996). The latter
seal is particularly interesting, as it seems to have been
manufactured on Bahrain and incorporates elements of
both eastern Iranian and Dilmun glyptic. Denton and al-
Sindi (1996:191-192) regard the seal as belonging to an
eastern Iranian expatriate resident in Dilmun in the early
second millennium BCE. Such evidence is, however, far
too ambiguous to support a general claim of "Bactrians"
in the Gulf in the Bronze Age. Archaeological evidence
from the Gulf is significantly different to that from the
Indo-Iranian borderlands, where sizeable collections of
intrusive BMAC material indicate either periodic direct
contact with central Asian people or their actual pres-
ence (Hiebert and Lamberg-Karlovsky 1992; Kohl and
Pottier 1993). The first significant use of tin-bronze at
Tepe Yahya has in fact been quite explicitly linked by the
excavators of the site to the presence of an ethnic
Bactrian element in the early second millennium popula-
tion (Thornton et al. 2002a, 2002b).
In general, it seems much more likely that the cen-
tral Asian material in the Gulf, including tin or tin-
bronze, arrived by way of intermediaries. The central
Asian materials from the Gulf cannot be understood in
isolation, as they form only a small portion of the exotic
goods found in Bronze Age sites in the region that testify
to contacts with Mesopotamia, Iran, Baluchistan and the
Indus region, and the existence of a complex trade net-
work capable of transporting goods thousands of kilo-
meters. The potential complexity of the trade contacts in
the Gulf is demonstrated by the Ur version of the myth
of "Enki and Ninhursag", composed around 2000 BCE,
which indicates that eight countries transported their
wares to Dilmun:Tukrish, Meluhha, Marhashi, Magan,
the "Sealand", Zalamgar, Elam and Sumer (Kramer
197759). The archaeological evidence for foreign mate-
rial in the Gulf has been presented in numerous places as
a basis for general discussions of the Bronze Age Gulf
trade (e.g. Edens 1992; Potts 1993b, 1993c; Cleuziou
1982, 1984, 1992; Cleuziou and Tosi 1989; Franke-Vogt
1993, 1995; Vogt 1996; Possehl 1996; Weisgerber 1986;
Zarins 1989). The data are summarized below, in two
sections related to the southern and central Gulf regions
respectively, with the aim of delineating the routes by
which tin and tin-bronze may have reached the region.
Tin for Southeastern Arabia
The first possible intermediary in the tin trade to be
considered is Mesopotamia, as evidence for
Mesopotamian contact with Magan is extensive.
Mesopotamian pottery has been recovered in numerous
Umm al-Nar Period settlement contexts (Frifelt 1991,
1995; a1 Tikriti 1985; M6ry and Schneider 1996:83;
Potts 1990b; Mkry 1996:170) and in tombs (Mkry
1997:187 and Figure 12; Potts 2000:51-52; Phillips
1997:Figure 2.1). On Umm an-Nar Island, vessels lined
with Mesopotamian bitumen have been recovered, in
addition to numerous bitumen fragments (Frifelt
1995:226), and bitumen fragments from Raysal-Jinz
RJ-2 are also shown by atchaeometric studies to be of
Mesopotamian origin and transported in Mesopotamian
vessels (Cleuziou and Tosi 1994:756-757; Mkry
1996:170). Mesopotamian influence in the Umm al-
Nar Period is also indicated by the cylinder seal recov-
ered from the A1 Sufouh tomb (Benton 1996:Figure
197). While almost certainly of local manufacture, this
A1 Sufouh seal and two other cylinder seals from Hili
North tomb B and Ajman tomb B (Benton 1996:165)
suggest economic relations with the cylinder-seal using
cultures of Mesopotamia or Iran. The number of
archaeologically-attested objects of southeastern
Arabian origin in Mesopotamia is very much smaller,
and includes around a dozen se'rie re'cente soft-stone
vessels from contexts spanning the late third and early
second millennia BCE (Reade and Searight 2001:Figures
1-10; Potts 1990a:108-109), while a handful of exam-
ples of skrie tardive have been found in early second
millennium BCE contexts at Ur and al-'Ubaid (Potts
1990a:252; Reade and Searight 2001:Figures 11, 12).
Cleuziou (1986: 148) originally suggested, based on
archaeological evidence, that southeastern Arabia
experienced a change in external orientation in the
Bronze Age:strong ties with Mesopotamia existed at the
beginning of the third millennium BCE, but its influence
lessened to be replaced by contacts with the Indus in the
late third millennium (see also Cleuziou and Tosi
1989:37; Edens 1993; Franke-Vogt 1993; Vogt 1996).
Thus, at exactly the time when tin-use in southeastern
Arabia increased (i.e. from 2300-2000 BCE), the
archaeological evidence of Mesopotamian contact is sig-
nificantly more scarce than previously, and secondary to
the evidence for contemporary exchange with southeast-
ern Iran and the Indus. However, a more recent consid-
eration of the evidence by Cleuziou and Miry
(2002:286, 290) has led them to suggest that the depo-
sition of Mesopotamian pottery in Oman in funerary
and settlement contexts at least partially reflects arbi-
trary social and ideological factors, and cannot be
regarded as an accurate index of the exchange between
the two regions. A much different picture of
Mesopotamian-Gulf interaction is seen when the surviv-
ing cuneiform evidence is examined (Oppenheim 1954;
Leemans 1960; Pettinato 1972; Heimpel 1987), as con-
tacts between Mesopotamia and Magan are recorded
only from the Sargonic Period onwards, with a peak of
interaction at the very end of the third millennium BC.
Such contacts could, in theory, have been responsible
for the introduction of tin-bronze in southeastern
Arabia, as tin and tin-bronze were used in
Mesopotamia from the early third millennium BCE
onwards (see above).
Nevertheless, the texts do not support such a
hypothesis. This is because the range of traded materi-
als listed in the texts is consistently limited to the local
agricultural and manufactured products of the
Mesopotamian al1uvium:perishable organic products
such as oils, cereals, wool and garments. There are very
few references to metals reaching southeastern Arabia
from Mesopotamia. Copper, tin and gold are traded to
Mesopotamia through the Gulf, and only silver is occa-
sionally provided to Mesopotamian merchants for
exchange in the Gulf region. It is possible, however,
that the surviving texts do not provide a complete
record of the materials exchanged between southeastern
Arabia and Mesopotamia. The occasional trade of metal
artifacts from Mesopotamia to Oman in the Umm al-
Nar Period, for example as gifts between the individuals
undertaking the trade, therefore remains a possibility.
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 18 3
 A more likely northern intermediary in the move-
ment of tin between central Asia and the southern Gulf
is Iran. As discussed above, cuneiform evidence suggests
that a significant portion of the tin reaching
Mesopotamia in the early second millennium BCE seems
to have been channeled through Elam and Anshan.
Moreover, metallurgical analyses from Susa indicate that
tin-bronze was used there from the mid-third millenni-
um, although the frequency of tin use was not high until
the early second millennium BCE.
The archaeological evidence for contact between the
Gulf and southwestern Iran is rather slim. From the
final centuries of the third millennium BCE, Kaftari
ware has been recorded in Umm al-Nar Period tomb
assemblages at Unar2 (Carter 2002) and at Tell Abraq
(Potts 2003a). Connections can be traced into the sec-
ond half of the second millennium BCE, through the
presence of a number of Middle Elamite sherds and a
cylinder seal of Middle Elamite style in Wadi Suq layers
at Tell Abraq (Potts 1993b:434-435). Likewise, some
material of Gulf origin seems to have been circulating in
Elam by the second half of the third millennium BCE.
Although the majority of it is from Dilmun rather than
Magan (see below), Omani soft-stone vessels of both
se'rie re'cente and se'rie tardive have been found at
Bandar Bushire (Pizard 1914:Pl. VIII), and sirie ricente
soft-stone vessels have been found at Susa (Potts
l99Oa: 110; Potts 1993b:434). Of course, Omani copper
could have been the main item of trade between the two
regions, and analyses of copper-base objects from the
Gulf region undertaken by the CNRS, France, have been
used to suggest that Susa was indeed obtaining south-
eastern Arabian copper by the mid-third millennium
BCE (see Chapter Two).
In general, the archaeological evidence from south-
eastern Arabia and the metallurgical studies of tin-
bronze use at Susa suggest that Elam would have been a
more likely supplier of tin to the Gulf in the second mil-
lennium BCE rather than earlier, an idea which is inves-
tigated further below. However, the increase in tin-
bronze use at Kaftari phase Tal-i Malyan and the pres-
ence of Kaftari vessels in the tombs at Tell Abraq and
Unar2 may indicate a role for this region in Gulf tin-
bronze use. V. Pigott (personal communication from W.
Sumner) argues that, given the limited distribution of
184 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Kaftari material outside the Marv Dasht, the evidence
for contact between Anshan and the Gulf is relatively
strong. This trade could have been conducted through
ports such as Liyan, at Bandar Bushire, which show clear
material connections to both the central and southern
Gulf and Kaftari period Malyan (PCzard 1914). Of
course, Kaftari period Malyan could in fact have been
receiving its tin or tin-bronze from the Gulf trade, rather
than vice versa. As a result of these uncertainties, the
possible role of southwestern Iran in the Gulf tin and
tin-bronze trade remains unclear.
By far the bulk of evidence for third millennium
contact between Iran and the Oman Peninsula involves
material from southeastern Iran and neighboring areas of
Pakistani Baluchistan. Although finds of se'rie ancienne
(Intercultural Style) soft-stone in southeastern Arabia are
very limited (Potts 1990a:76-77; Ziolkowski 2001), at
least three types of imported southeast Iranian gray-ware
pottery are found abundantly in later Umm al-Nar grave
assemblages. These include painted black-on-gray vessels
with parallels at Bampur, Shahr-i Sokhta and Khurab,
which archaeometric studies indicate were imported
from southeastern Iran (Cleuziou 1982, 1984; Cleuziou
and Vogt 1985:267-269; Blackman et al. 1989:66), as
well as incised gray-wares which were both imported
and copied locally in southeastern Arabia (De Cardi et
al. 1976:118-122; MCry 1991, 1997; MCry 1996:170).
Such vessels are found as early as the mid-third millenni-
um BCE in the region, but are much more common
towards the end of the Umm al-Nar Period (Blackman et
al. 1989:66; MCry 1996:170). The third type of Iranian
pottery is represented by two burnished gray-ware ves-
sels found in the tomb at Tell Abraq (Potts 2000:124). A
number of alabaster vessels from the Tell Abraq tomb
are also likely to have originated in southeastern or east-
ern Iran (Potts 2000:125). Omani material in southeast-
ern Iran is much rarer, but a number of Umm al-Nar
pottery sherds and fragments of sirie ricente soft-stone
are reported in later third-millennium BCE contexts at
Tepe Yahya (Potts 1990a:103, 110), and an Omani soft-
stone vessel was also found at Shahdad Cemetery B
(Hakemi 1997:72 and 205).
It is clear that southeastern Iran and southeastern
Arabia were in close contact throughout the third mil-
lennium BCE, and particularly in the latter half of that
period. Based on this evidence, a relatively straightfor-
ward north-south movement of tin andlor tin-bronze
through the Indo-Iranian borderlands to the Gulf could
be hypothesized. However, the evidence for third millen-
nium tin-bronze use in southeastern Iran is very limited
(see above), with the Tepe Yahya sequence particularly
illustrative of the late adoption of tin-bronze in the
region. In contrast, much more evidence for tin use is
available from early to mid-third millennium sites in
neighboring areas of Baluchistan, and the central Asian
connections of both southeastern Iran and Baluchistan in
the late third millennium are clear (Hiebert and Lamberg-
Karlovsky 1992; Kohl and Pottier 1993). Thus,
Baluchistan could theoretically have been a significant
source of tin and tin-bronze for the southern Gulf region,
although there is no positive proof of this hypothesis.
The final intermediary in the Gulf tin trade which
must be considered here is the Indus Valley, as studies of
n metallurgy indicate significant tin-bronze use in the
region in the later phases of the mature n period (see
above). The n site of Shortughai (Francfort 1979, 1984,
1989) in Afghanistan is a prime and often cited example
of the means by which central Asian materials such as
lapis lazuli were obtained by the ns, although no tin-
bronze is found there.
During Caspers (1994523-525) has noted that the
presence of central Asian materials in the Gulf coincides
with an increase in the amount of Indus Valley material
in the region, and has suggested that "the Indus Valley
presence in the Arabian Gulf towards the close of the
third millennium B.C. could, at least partly, be responsi-
ble for the introduction of Murghabo-Bactrian material
into the region". During Caspers' reasons for the
hypothesis are sound: there were direct connections
between the Indus and central Asia (Francfort 1984:174;
Hiebert 1994:13), and a strong Indus trade with the Gulf
in the third millennium. The chronology of Indus con-
tacts with the Gulf is also important in the evaluation of
this hypothesis, as a clear intensification in Indus-Oman
relations is seen towards the end of the third millennium
BCE (Cleuziou 1992; Frifelt 1995: 238-239; Vogt
1996:127). Thus, the Indus presence in the Gulf is seen to
intensify at the time when tin-bronze first appears in sig-
nificant quantities in southeastern Arabia in the tombs at
Unar l,Unar2 and Tell Abraq.
Southeastern Arabian archaeological finds in the
Indus Valley are extremely rare, and include one soft-
stone vessel of se'rie re'cente style from Mohenjo-Daro
(Cleuziou and Tosi 1989:Figure 12; Chakrabarti 1998:
306) and one from Lothal (Miry 1996:171). Of course,
the most important raw material that may have been
exchanged between the two regions is copper (see
Chapter Two), although the evidence for this trade is
unfortunately ambiguous. In contrast, the archaeological
evidence for Indus material in southeastern Arabia is
considerable. For example, black-slipped storage vessels
of Indus origin are found in numerous settlement con-
texts in southeastern Arabia in the second half of the
third millennium BCE (Blackman and Miry 1999:Figure
2; Mkry and Blackman 1999:173; Vogt 1995,1996:
123-124; Frifelt 1995: 165-168; Cleuziou 1984; De Cardi
1997; Potts 1993c, 1994). Decorated Indus pottery is
more common in tomb assemblages, such as Tombs A
and N at Hili (M6ry 1997:Figures 11, 12; A1 Tikriti and
Miry 2000:21 l),and continues to be found in south-
eastern Arabia into the early second millennium BCE
(Potts 1994; Kennet and Velde 1995:87, 92-93; De Cardi
1988:46 and Figure 11).
Additional Indus-related finds from southeastern
Arabia include stamp seals (Weisgerber l98 1:218:Abb. 53,
1984; Cleuziou 1992:97), cubical stone weights (Potts
2000:128; De Cardi 1988), and ivory combs and fig-
urines (Cleuziou 1996:97; Potts 1993d, 1994:Figure
53.6, 2000:102, 131; cf. Possehl 1996:141). Of course,
the most numerous class of goods imported into south-
eastern Arabia from the Indus is beads. Examples in
etched carnelian (Vogt l996:ll3; Benton 1996:Figures
149-150; Cleuziou and Vogt 1985: Figure 5; Vogt
1996:113; Potts 2000:131; Edens 1993: 348), gold, and
silver (Potts 1994:620; 200054) are found in tomb
assemblages throughout the Oman Peninsula and have
very close parallels to Indus finds. Most significantly for
this study, typological analyses suggest that Indus cop-
per-base objects, including spearheads and flat axes,
were also imported in southeastern Arabia (Mkry and
Marquis l998:217, Figure 7; Potts 1990b:Figure 36;
Weisgerber 1980b:Abb. 78; Frifelt 1975:Figure 46)
Indus contact with southeastern Arabia is observable
not only by imported Harappan goods, but also by locally-
produced objects which show Harappan influences. Such
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 185
items include the thumbnail-impressed pottery found at
Maysar 1 and Hili 8 (Cleuziou and Tosi 1989:40; Potts
1990a:103; Vogt 1996:120), and deeply concave handle
lids such as found at Umm an-Nar Island (Edens 1993:
341; although Frifelt 1995:178 and Figures 245-247
suggests an actual Indus origin for these pieces). Other
changes in ceramic technology which are seen to occur
in southeastern Arabia at the end of the third millenni-
um BCE, such as string-cut bases and the use of rope or
cord to wrap large vessels prior to firing, are thought to
indicate influence from the Indus or Indo-Iranian
regions (Cleuziou and Vogt 1985:272-274; Vogt
1996:ll9-120).
T. F. Potts (1994:28 1)has suggested that the distribu-
tion of tin in third millennium western Asia was con-
trolled by the Meluhhans. This hypothesis is based upon
the pattern of early tin-bronze use in the region, and par-
ticularly its dearth in highland Iran, which Potts sees as
reflecting differential access to maritime trade through
the Gulf. Certainly, the archaeological evidence for con-
tact between southeastern Arabia and the Indus Valley
indicates that Meluhhan tin and tin-bronze might have
been accessible to the inhabitants of southeastern
Arabia. However, the review of the archaeological evi-
dence for foreign material in Magan suggests that cen-
tral Asian tin and tin-bronze could also have been traded
to southeastern Arabia via Iran or Baluchistan. These
regions show the strongest contacts with southeastern
Arabia in the last third of the third millennium BCE in
addition to significant levels of interaction with the
putative source areas the Indo-Iranian borderlands and
central Asia. Admittedly, the evidence for tin-bronze
use in the Indus in the third millennium BCE is much
stronger than that for most areas of Iran, but the
recent analyses of material from Kaftari Period
Malyan indicate significant tin-bronze use, and Kaftari
vessels have been found in the tomb assemblages at
both Tell Abraq and Unar2 where tin-bronze is fre-
quently used. However, as nowhere between Fars
Province and the Indo-Iranian borderlands seems to
have been using tin-bronze at this time, the possibility
of Malyan obtaining its tin via an overland trade with
the east seems small. In short, an Indus origin for the
tin used in the Gulf region, and perhaps also in south-
western Iran, seems the most likely situation.
186 Early Metallurgy of t h e Persian Gulf
Tin for the Central Gulf
At the moment, the only real evidence for the availability
of tin in the central Gulf in the third millennium BCE is
the reference from Ebla t o the use of Dilmun tin, and a
text from pre-Sargonic Lagash that refers to obtaining
an-na zabar from Dilmun. The uncertainties associated
with these references have been discussed earlier. The
lack of analyses of copper-base objects from third mil-
lennium BCE contexts in the central Gulf is a major
lacuna in our understanding of the Gulf metals trade,
and prevents a reliable discussion of the tin and tin-
bronze trade through the region before the early second
millennium BCE. Indus contacts seem particularly perva-
sive by this time (the City I1 Period) at the Qala'at al-
Bahrain, and include items such as seals with Indus
inscriptions and weights derived from the Indus system
(Edens 1993) which were used for the administration of
aspects of the Gulf trade. (Harjlund and Andersen
1994:474). Carnelian beads and ivory form the Qala'at
are likely also to have come from the Indus (Bibby 1986;
Harjlund 1989; H~zrjlundand Andersen 1994:470-473)
and Indus material has been recovered at contemporary
sites on Bahrain, including the graves at 'Ali (Frifelt
1986:129-131 and Figure 32) and the Saar settlement
(Carter 2001). Further to the north, Edens (1993:346)
has suggested that a number of seals from Failaka
demonstrate strong "greater Indus" connections that
continued into the early second millennium BCE.
Contemporary Dilmun-related material in the Indus
region is extremely limited, but includes a Dilmun seal
found at Lothal (Rao 1963).
In the second millennium BCE, Dilmun's exchange
ties with more northerly areas such as Mesopotamia and
Elam were also close. The small number of Kaftari
(Zarins 1989:82) vessels in the central Gulf is supple-
mented by a limited array of other finds. Notably, four
Dilmun seals have been excavated at Susa (Amiet 1986),
in addition to a number of locally-manufactured seals
with elements of Dilmun glyptic, and a cuneiform tablet
bearing a Dilmun seal impression (Potts l999a: 179).
Furthermore, analyses of the bitumen used at the Saar
settlement in the early second millennium BCE indicate
that it was Iranian in origin (Connan et al. 1998 cite
possible sources in Luristan, Khuzistan and Fars). The
once-hypothesized presence at Susa of a temple to the
Dilmunite god Inzak has now been refuted (Potts
1999a:169), but the use of personal names associated
with Inzak by Elamite residents, and the offering of a
gift or tribute of silver to Susa by Dilmun in the late
18th century BCE (Potts 1990a:226-228) remain as
indications of the contact between these two regions.
-Furthermore, in the northern Gulf there is significant
archaeological evidence for Elamite contact with
Failaka in the second millennium, in the form of
Elamite pottery and cylinder seals at tells F3 and F6
(Potts 1990a:274 note 78). Further south, red-ridged
Dilmun pottery has been found on the coast of Iran at
Bandar Bushire (Pizard 19l4:Pl. VIII). Regardless of
the quantity of finds in Dilmun and Elam, their nature
suggests that contacts between the two regions were
based on mercantile activity. The Elamite connections
with Failaka in particular suggest that this region must
be considered as a potential supplier of the tin and tin-
bronze used in early second millennium Dilmun.
The use of "Elamite" tin in Dilmun might also cor-
relate with changes in the trade routes used to trans-
port eastern tin to western Asia over the course of the
Bronze Age. As discussed above, the overland trade of
eastern luxury goods that characterized the early third
millennium seems to have been reduced in importance
with the incorporation of Meluhha into the Gulf trade
by the later third millennium. T. F. Potts (1994:277-290)
has discussed the increasing role of the Gulf in the sup-
ply of eastern raw materials and luxury goods to south-
ern Mesopotamia over the course of the third millenni-
um, and the possibility that the overland trade route
through highland Iran and the Gulf sea-route were
essentially mutually exclusive exchange systems. With
the collapse of the Indus civilization some time around
1900 BCE, the trade in eastern luxuries may have
reverted to near-exclusive use of the overland routes.
Significantly, Susa is regarded by Potts as one of
very few sites which may have participated in both
exchange networks (T. F. Potts 1994:280), and it may
have been well placed to profit from the loss of
Meluhha from the Gulf trade in the early second mil-
lennium BCE. Materials of central Asian origin once
traded via Meluhha now had to be obtained through
the overland trade with Iran, and the strong Bactrian
connections at Susa in the early second millennium
attest to the role of Susa in the westerly distribution of
eastern goods (Potts 1999a: 179). Certainly, all the ref-
erences to the tin trade through the Gulf (the tin of
Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha) belong to the third mil-
lennium BCE, whereas the large-scale tin trade of the
second millennium involving Assur and Mari seems to
have involved tin which reached Susa and
Mesopotamia via overland routes. The significant
increase in tin-bronze use at Susa in the early second
millennium BCE (Malfoy and Menu 1987:Table D )
may be a further reflection of this change in acquisi-
tion patterns, and the contemporary use of tin on
Bahrain may indicate contacts with Susa rather than
the more easterly regions which supplied tin to the
Gulf in the third millennium. In this context, it is inter-
esting to consider the material from the foundation
deposit of Barbar Temple 11: the alabaster vessels,
bronze bull's head and mirror handle have parallels in
the Indo-Iranian or central Asian regions (Potts
1990a:204-205; Crawford and a1 Sindi 1995:3; cf.
Mortensen 1986:184), and may also have arrived
through northern exchanges with Elam.
Reconsidering the "Tin Problem"
The early tin trade has long been regarded as problemat-
ic because of apparent discrepancies between the distri-
bution of early tin-bronzes, the textual evidence for tin
trade routes, and the limited geological evidence for the
location of tin deposits suitable for Bronze Age exploita-
tion. As outlined above, the evidence from archaeometal-
lurgy and geological studies has improved dramatically
over the last twenty years, and archaeologists are no
longer forced to rely upon the distribution pattern of the
earliest tin-bronzes as a proxy indicator for the location
of ancient tin sources (cf. Renfrew 1967:13; Muhly
1973a:170; de Jesus 1978:37-38). Thus, tin sources in
the Troad need no longer be hypothesized, as the EBII
tin-bronzes of the Troad and the Aegean, once thought to
represent the earliest in the region, are in fact contempo-
rary or later than tin-bronzes in Greater Mesopotamia
and elsewhere. Modern programs of compositional and
isotopic analyses have conclusively supported these find-
ings, by demonstrating the non-Anatolian origin of the
metal in the earliest tin-bronzes of the Troad and the
Aegean region (see Chapter Seven).
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 187
 From the very first, the Mesopotamian evidence for
tin-bronze use has illustrated the limited influence that
the geographical distribution of tin ore deposits had on
the utilization of tin-bronze soon after this alloy was first
produced. Basic geological considerations indicate that
the early and mid-third millennium tin-bronzes in metal-
poor Mesopotamia were obtained through long-distance
trade (Stech and Pigott 1986:40-4 1).Moreover, surviving
cuneiform evidence from Mesopotamia indicates that its
tin sources lay to the east, and that in the early second
millennium BCE this tin was traded from Mesopotamia
into central Anatolia. It is increasingly clear that investi-
gating how, why, and by which elements of society the
tin-bronze alloy was adopted is as important to under-
standing its early trade as where it was used and in what
quantities (cf. Philip 1991; Stech and Pigott 1986). Only
by addressing such factors can the "problematic" distri-
bution patterns of early tin-bronzes and Bronze Age tin
sources be reconciled. In the following discussion, the
possible ideological and socio-political aspects of early
tin-bronze use in western Asia are investigated, beginning
with southeastern Arabian evidence.
Tin and Tin-Bronze as Prestige Goods in the Gulf
A large and growing body of data from both the Old
and New Worlds indicates that the earliest copper-base
alloys were often produced and selected based upon
such properties as physical appearance and scarcity
rather than purely on mechanical properties of strength,
hardness, or ease of working and casting (Levy and
Shalev 1989:358; Miiller-Karpe 1991:112; Moorey
1994:253; Hosler 1995; Tadmor et al. 1995; Hayden
1998:27). For example, the physical appearance of tin-
bronze has been regarded as important in the initial
adoption of this alloy in upper Mesopotamia. Speaking
of material from the early third millennium site of Qara
Quzaq in Syria, Montero Fenollos (1996:20) stated:
Su be110 aspect0 exterior, frente a1 m i s vulgar
del cobre arsenicado, explica la presencia en
una misma tumba de alfileres de bronce, unos
simples ornamentos personales, junto a armas
de cobre, donde hubiera sido m i s 16gico el
empleo de la aleaci6n cobre-estaiio.
[Its beautiful outer aspect, as opposed to
arsenical copper, explains the presence in the
188 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
same tomb of tin-bronze pins, simple personal
ornaments, next to copper weapons, for which
the use of the copper-tin alloy would have been
more logical.]
A similar argument can be made for early tin-bronze
use in the Gulf. As discussed in Chapter Five, there were
considerable differences in the alloy types used to pro-
duce different object categories in Umm al-Nar Period
southeastern Arabia. In particular, 90 percent of rings
analyzed in this volume contained in excess of one per-
cent Sn, whereas objects such as pins/awls and blades
showed a much lower frequency (less than ca. 20 per-
cent) of tin-bronze use. It seems clear that the advanta-
geous mechanical properties of tin-bronze were not the
reason for its adoption. If this were the case, the use of
tin-bronze in utilitarian object categories, such as blades
or pins/awls would have been expected. In Chapter Five,
it was suggested that this discrepancy reflected the pref-
erential use of tin-bronze for decorative rather than utili-
tarian objects in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia, based
upon its golden color in comparison to reddish copper,
andlor the greater value of the alloy, due to its inclusion
of exotic tin. Both factors may have made tin-bronze
more appropriate for adornment and display than unal-
loyed local copper.
While still allowing for the importance of the surface
appearance of tin-bronze in its initial adoption in southeast-
ern Arabia, a more elaborate argument is presented in the
following paragraphs. Although surface appearance may
indeed have marked this alloy as distinct and could have
caused it to be valued differently than copper, it is suggested
below that its golden color was simply one among a suite of
properties, both materially and socially determined, that
distinguished tin-bronze from contemporary copper-base
alloys. This argument recognizes the fact that in prehistoric
contexts, metals and metal objects possessed unique, social-
ly-defined properties partly divorced from their material
characteristics. These properties are, thus, not amenable to
identification and quantification by archaeometric analysis
such as those employed in this volume.
In particular, I wish to examine the possible role of
tin-bronze as a prestige material in the Bronze Age Gulf.
The role of "luxury" or prestige goods in prehistoric
economic and political development has been empha-
sized by a number of scholars (Kohl 1975:47; Schneider
1977; Renfrew 1986; Sherratt and Sherratt 1991;
Hayden 1998). Following theoretical models developed
primarily in anthropology (e.g. Mauss 1966; Sahlins
1972; Dalton 1975; Ekholm 1977), the control of the
long-distance trade in prestige goods has been linked to
the construction and maintenance of political power in
societies with developed or nascent hierarchies (e.g.
Friedman and Rowlands 1977; Frankenstein and
Rowlands 1978; Hodder 1982:204; Kristiansen 1986;
Larsson 1986; Kipp and Schortman 1989; Earle 1997;
McGlade 1997). According to such theories, prestige
goods act not only as important markers of status, but
also have a role to play in generating and legitimizing
political, economic and other forms of hierarchy (e.g.
Renfrew 1986:144; Appadurai 1986:34). The point is
succinctly expressed by Earle (1997:144): "power rests
on materialized ideologies".
The importance of luxury or prestige materials, that
is their potential to generate and legitimize political
power, is linked to both their scarcity and their symbolic
or ideological content (Hodder 1982; Helms 1986,
1993). Scarcity arises from a number of factors, includ-
ing limited natural occurrence (for raw materials) andlor
restricted loci of production (for raw materials and fin-
ished artifacts), in addition to the great distances
involved in the acquisition of such goods. Their symbol-
ic and ideological content would have reflected bogh the
distances from which the goods were obtained, as well
as the ideologically-charged contexts in which they were
consumed at their destinations (Helms 1993; Lamberg-
Karlovsky 2001:280). Furthermore, implicit in the theo-
retical formulations outlined above is the notion that the
long-distance exchange of prestige goods took place
within restricted social and political spheres, i.e.
between the elites of the societies in contact (Earle
l997:198; Helms 1993:3-4; for a western Asian exam-
ple, see Pinnock 1988 regarding Ebla).
The significance of long-distance exchange in prehis-
tory has been down-played by a number of scholars (e.g.
Wallerstein 1993:294; Leemans 1977:s-6), due to the
small scale of the trade and its limitation to goods of a
"luxury" nature, which Wallerstein regarded as non-
systemic to early economies. However, if the genera-
tion, maintenance and legitimization of socio-political
relationships relied upon obtaining luxury goods, they
are better regarded as necessities, and the admittedly
small scale of the trade in such goods is perhaps not as
important as its role. Following Polanyi (1975:135),
luxuries can be seen as simply necessities for the rich
and powerful. This concept is emphasized by
Appadurai (1986:38), who states "I propose that we
regard luxury goods not so much in contrast to neces-
sities (a contrast filled with problems), but as goods
whose principal use is rhetorical and social, goods that
are simply incarnated signs. The necessity to which
they respond is fundamentally political." It is interest-
ing to note Adams' comments on this trade
(1974: l 4 9 ) , which he regarded as possessing "consider-
able socioeconomic force ...in spite of its being largely
confined to commodities of very high value in relation
to weight and bulk because of high transport costs,
and in spite of its directly involving only a small part
of the population" (my italics). If this statement is
assessed from the theoretical perspective discussed here,
it would seem that the prestige goods trade was impor-
tant precisely because of these factors.
Thus, we can see that prestige goods have three
important attributes:they are scarce, charged with sym-
bolic content, and circulated with restricted spheres of
exchange. It is these three factors that have led archae-
ologists and anthropologists to attach such significance
to long-distance exchange in early economies. The par-
ticular role of metals as prestige goods in Bronze Age
exchange systems has been discussed by a number of
authors (e.g. Renfrew 1986; Sherratt 1976, 1994;
Sherratt and Sherratt 1991:360-361; Hayden
1998:27-28). For example, Sherratt and Sherratt
(1991:354) state that items such as exotic metalwork
may "embody concepts of value and purity which have
a power which is more than just a consequence of their
relative scarcity". Although many examples of the use
of gold and silver could be cited in this context, it is
important to note that other metals such as copper, tin
and copper alloys could also have been regarded in
such a manner in Bronze Age contexts.
As has been noted numerous times in this volume,
tin is a foreign object in Gulf archaeological contexts. The
analyses discussed in this volume, in addition to a handful
of cuneiform sources, indicate that both tin and pre-
alloyed tin-bronze (the latter probably traded as finished
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 1 89
artifacts) were available through the Gulf trade that con-
nected Mesopotamia with the societies of Dilmun,
Magan and Meluhha. Based upon objects recovered
from archaeological contexts in the Gulf and the evi-
dence of Mesopotamian texts, it is clear that this trade
dealt largely in materials that can be regarded as pres-
tige goods (e.g. Edens 1992:122; Crawford 1996). Such
goods included gold, silver, textiles, ivory, lapis lazuli,
carnelian, various types of wood, and exotic vessels of
pottery and stone (Heimpel 1987, 1988; Potts 1990a,
1993b; Ratnagar 1981). The association of tin and tin-
bronze with these materials in the Gulf trade is one fac-
tor that suggests it may have had a prestige status in
Bronze Age southeastern Arabia.
In addition to their rarity and intrinsic worth, Edens
(1992:122) has noted that the raw materials of the Gulf
trade "carried heavy burdens of ideological significance"
when they reached their Mesopotamian destinations,
where they were consumed as part of cultic or elite
practices. A similar regard for these materials almost
certainly prevailed in southeastern Arabia and Mkry
(1997:171) has suggested that the deposition of so much
foreign material in burial contexts in southeastern
Arabia suggests the retention of a "strong symbolic
meaning" for objects obtained through the Gulf trade.
Moreover, the participation of southeastern Arabia in
the Gulf trade almost certainly led to a spread in the
ideology of elite consumption and notions of "appropri-
ate" prestige goods among the societies participating in
the trade. This reflects the fact that, in all societies, the
value of raw materials and finished products is chiefly a
matter of convention (e.g. Renfrew 1972:370). For
example, Sherratt (1994:337-338) regards the develop-
ment of Bronze Age exchange networks in Europe as
dependent in part upon the emergence of a common ide-
ology of consumption reflected in the existence of
"internationally recognized 'role/status kits"' of prestige
materials. Sherratt's ideas echo the claim by Stech and
Pigott (198656) that tin was part of a "material com-
plex", incorporating also lapis lazuli and gold, that was
important in the display of power in third millennium
Mesopotamia (see also Muhly 1985a). Thus, the sym-
bolic value of tin-bronze in southeastern Arabia was
probably shaped by both local and broader regional
ideologies of consumption, in particular those possessed
190 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
by the elite elements in Mesopotamian society that cre-
ated the principal demand for the prestige goods traded
through the Gulf.
The simple fact that tin-bronze came to the Gulf
from a great distance not only added to its ideological
worth (e.g. Lamberg-Karlovsky 2001:280), but also
ensured that it circulated in limited spheres of exchange
within southeastern Arabia. This is because the Gulf
trade seems to have been organized in such a way that it
was highly susceptible to monopolistic control (cf.
Peregrine 1991:2). Such control was possible because
there were only a few points of articulation between the
internal southeastern Arabian exchange system and the
trade of prestige goods through the Gulf, at coastal trad-
ing sites such as Umm an-Nar Island, Tell Abraq, and
Ra's al-Jinz (e.g. Frifelt 1991:128; Carter 2001:196). It is
almost certain that foreign connections at these sites,
and the goods they introduced into southeastern Arabia,
were monitored and controlled by local elites (Cleuziou
and Tosi 1989:33).
As a result of such exchange mechanisms, tin-
bronze may have been regarded as a highly different
material to unalloyed or local copper. In addition to its
golden color, and its rarity, access to the alloy was lim-
ited ideologically and practically to the elites in south-
eastern Arabian society. Using the theoretical construct
outlined above, at the same time as the use of tin-
bronze demonstrated an elite person's access to the
fruits of the Gulf trade, this access and the prominent
display that went with it helped to legitimize their
authority in the eyes of the wider community. The con-
spicuous consumption of tin-bronze through its prefer-
ential incorporation into items of jewelry, such as rings
and bracelets, supports such a notion for early tin and
tin-bronze use in southeastern Arabia.
Such an explanation contrasts strongly with previ-
ous hypotheses regarding alloy use in Bronze Age
southeastern Arabia, which have focused predominant-
ly on the mechanical properties of early copper-base
objects. Specifically, the apparent lack of tin-bronze in
Bronze Age southeastern Arabia was explained by the
prevalence of arsenic and nickel-bearing copper in the
local metal industries. This natural alloy of As/Ni-cop-
per probably had similar working properties to tin-
bronze, meaning that from a material perspective tin-
bronze did not "need" to be adopted (Hauptmann
1987:217; Hauptmann et al. 1988). However, more
recent analyses of material from Oman have suggested
that AsINi-copper occurs more frequently in the Wadi
Suq Period than the third millennium BCE, and that
its appearance coincides with the first significant
(though limited) use of tin-bronze (Prange et al.
1999:Figures 5-6). However, the results of this study
and of analyses undertaken on Umm al-Nar Period
material by Berthoud (1979), Hauptmann (1995) and
Hauptmann et al. (1988) indicate that the co-occur-
rence of As/Ni-copper and tin-bronze also character-
izes third millennium BCE metallurgy in southeastern
Arabia. This CO-occurrence of alloy types, and partic-
ularly the preferential use of tin-bronze in the produc-
tion of decorative items, argues against interpretations
of early alloying in southeastern Arabia focused pure-
ly upon mechanical properties.
In summary, the arguments presented above are
based upon two considerations: firstly, the actual use
that was made of the tin-bronze alloy in southeastern
Arabian metalworking industries and, secondly,
anthropologically-derived theories which stress the
socio-political importance of the long-distance
exchange of prestige goods. Thus, the possibility that
tin-bronze was adopted in southeastern Arabia due to
its improved mechanical properties seems to be ruled
out by the preferential use of tin-bronze in decorative
rather than utilitarian items. One possible explanation
for the use of tin-bronze in the later Umm al-Nar
Period is that the external appearance of the alloy, its
golden color, was important in its adoption. However,
theoretical considerations indicate that the importance
of the non-material, socially-defined characteristics of
tin-bronze in Bronze Age contexts in the Gulf should
not be underestimated. It seems highly likely that tin-
bronze, due to its scarcity and its source in the Gulf
prestige goods trade, had ideological/symbolic quali-
ties and a socio-political value that locally-produced
copper and AsINi-copper could never have possessed.
The adoption of tin-bronze in southeastern Arabia
was no doubt conditioned by these ideological consid-
erations as much as by consideration of the mechani-
cal and casting improvements offered by the alloy, or
its physical appearance.
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Wider Western Asia:
Technology, Ideology, Trade Routes
In contrast to earlier technologically-based explanations
for the development of alloying practices in western
Asia, scholars have recently suggested that the adoption
of tin and tin-bronze in third millennium metal indus-
tries was governed more by their prestige status than
their mechanical properties. The strongest statement to
this effect was made by Stech and Pigott (1986; see also
Stech 1999; Pigott 1999c), but realization of the possi-
ble prestige status of tin-bronze in third millennium
Mesopotamia can be seen as early as the work of
Moorey and Schweizer (l972:185). Early tin use in Iran
is also considered by Moorey (1982:98) to have been
conditioned by more than just technological considera-
tions. He notes that "it may be doubted that, outside
the great Elamite urban centers, tin-bronzes were com-
mon in Iran much before the middle of the second mil-
lennium B.C. and, even in Susa, social and economic
factors may have controlled their production and distri-
bution". The potential role of these factors in the early
use of tin-bronze across western Asia is considered in
the following paragraphs.
In Mesopotamian contexts, the hypothesized "pres-
tige" status of tin and tin-bronze has been suggested not
only by the distances which were involved in the tin
trade and the association of tin with clearly prestigellux-
ury materials such as lapis lazuli and gold (e.g. Muhly
1973a), but also by the kinds of objects that tin-bronze
was used to manufacture and the archaeological contexts
in which it was concentrated. The enormous distances to
the tin sources have been clearly established by geologi-
cal research, with the even the nearest potential source in
the Taurus Mountains located more than 1,000 km from
southern Mesopotamia, and the more likely sources in
Afghanistan and central Asia well over 1,500 km distant.
In Mesopotamia, the preference observable in the materi-
al from the Royal Cemetery at Ur for using tin-bronze to
produce vessels (Muller-Karpe 1991, 1994:71) has been
explained as reflecting the prestige status of the alloy,
because the mechanical advantages of employing tin-
bronze to produce vessels are unclear (Stech 1999).
Likewise, Moorey and Schweizer (1972:185) have noted
the preferential use of tin-bronze for vessels and clothing
pins, and suggested that its display or "luxury" value
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 19 1
seemed more important in third millennium
Mesopotamia than its "natural advantages" of hardness
and easier casting. Similar patterns are seen outside
Mesopotamia. As noted above, tin-bronze is used only
for toggle pins at Qara Quzaq on the upper Euphrates,
while tools and weapons from the site are of arsenical
copper (Montero Fenoll6s 1996, 1995:Figure 1;
Montero Fenoll6s and Montero Ruiz 2000:Lam. 5.1).
Likewise, the early tin-bronzes from Velikent in the
Caucasus are all decorative items (toggle pin, rings,
bracelets) rather than tools or weapons (Kohl et al.
2002: 124; Gadzhiev and Korenevskii 1984).
Looking at the context of the early tin-bronzes in
western Asia, the deposition of many early
Mesopotamian, Anatolian and Caucasian tin-bronzes in
high-status burials is additional evidence for the prestige
nature of tin in the third millennium BC. As observed by
Stech (1999:66), the distribution of tin-bronze is far
from uniform:a great deal of the third millennium BCE
tin-bronze known from Mesopotamia and Anatolia is
concentrated in the elite burials of Kish (Y Cemetery),
Ur, Alaqa Hiiyiik, and Horoztepe. Thus, the great dis-
tance to the tin sources, the contexts of tin-bronze use,
and alloying patterns point to the fact that tin-bronze
was a prestige material in Greater Mesopotamia.
However, the evidence from other regions with early
tin-bronze use is much more equivocal with regard to
the prestige status of tin and tin-bronze. In the Indus
Valley, there seems to be little differentiation between
the uses of tin-bronze for utilitarian or display objects.
As conveniently summarized by Kenoyer and Miller
(1999:142), while some bangles, button and beads are
of tin-bronze, so are many axes, knives, and chisels.
Likewise, at Aegean sites with early tin-bronze use, the
new alloy is used to produce a range of objects, from
those which can be clearly classed as items of display or
prestige (e.g. vessels, toggle pins, and "frying pans"), to
objects whose display status is uncertain (e.g. daggers
and flat axes), and simple utilitarian items such as awls,
chisels and punches (Pernicka et al. 1984:Table 4; Stos-
Gale et al. 1984:Tables 2-3). Thus, while tin-bronze
seems in a number of cases to be preferentially utilized
for items of display, its use for specific object categories
is never exc1usive:some tools and weapons are made of
tin-bronze, and many non-utilitarian items are not.
192 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Furthermore, the tin-bronzes of northwestern
Anatolia and the Aegean and the Indus Valley are com-
monly found in settlement contexts, rather than in elite
burials as in Mesopotamia and central Anatolia. In some
cases, however, the settlement contexts are far from
"commonplace" or domestic. At Troy, for example, the
tin-bronzes are from the citadel complex and were found
as part of large caches of objects, or "treasures", that
also included precious metals. In contrast to the situation
in the Aegean region, caches of metal objects from
Harappan sites are generally of gold and silver only, with
copper-base objects found predominantly in normal
household or rubbish contexts (Kenoyer and Miller
l999:l3 1-132). An exception is seen for copper-base
vessels, which are found more commonly in hoards than
in settlement contexts. These differences in context of
deposition may indicate that precious metals and metal
vessels "were used more overtly to define wealth, status,
and power" in the Indus region than copper-base tools
and weapons (Kenoyer and Miller 1999:132). Moreover,
the find contexts and distribution patterns of copper-
base objects at Indus sites are regarded as potentially sig-
nificant. Specifically, the lack of concentrations of cop-
per-base tools in workshops or hoards has been taken to
indicate that copper-base tools were widely available or
accessible within Indus sites. This may reflect the fact
that metal use was not closely associated with elite ele-
ments of society. Of course, such statements are specula-
tive, and the data on which they are based is open to
alternative explanations (Kenoyer and Miller 1999:133).
More information on the factors affecting the adop-
tion of tin-bronze is provided by examining metallurgical
traditions in the regions where tin-bronze does not seem
to have been utilized in any significant quantities in the
third millennium BCE. In a Near Eastern context, the
most conspicuous examples of this phenomenon are the
Iranian Plateau and Egypt, both of which had developed
metal industries and urban communities and yet relied
almost exclusively upon copper and/or arsenical copper
until the late third or early second millennia BCE.
A first factor to be considered is that of trade routes,
which no doubt influenced the access to the new tin-
bronze alloy at sites across western Asia. The virtual
lack of tin-bronze in third millennium BCE Egypt is per-
haps easier to explain than its absence in Iran, as Egypt
lay at the very end of what was an extremely long-dis-
tance trade route, and there is little evidence for the con-
temporary use of tin-bronze in the neighboring Levant.
Nevertheless, a maritime tin trade to Egypt seems to
have been well established by the early second millenni-
um, when eastern tin (i.e. from sources to the east of
Mesopotamia) was regularly obtained through Middle
Kingdom contacts with the Syrian littoral at Byblos
(Muhly 1973a:332). Although similar trade connections
existed in the Old Kingdom, they do not seem to have
brought much tin or tin-bronze to Egypt, even though
Afghan was utilized in Egypt, somewhat sporadically,
from the early third millennium (Muhly 1973a:318).
However, ideological factors could also explain the
dearth of tin-bronze in third millennium Egypt. For
example, Lucas (1934:178) has noted that, while the
Middle Kingdom is the period when tin-bronze really
begins to be used frequently in Egypt, analyses of the
material from the tomb of Tutankhamun reveal more
copper objects than tin-bronzes. Significantly, particular
object categories, such as the implements of shawbti fig-
urines, seem to have been preferentially made only of
relatively pure copper. Such differentiation suggests that
notions of appropriate alloys for particular types of
objects, or of ritual purity, may have existed, and con-
strained the use of particular alloys in early Egypt.
Turning to the third millennium Iranian Plateau, the
very rare occurrence of tin-bronze in the region is more
difficult to explain, especially if tin was coming overland
from Afghanistan or central Asia. One explanation
could be that tin was, in fact, not coming from these
eastern sources at all. The textual evidence from
Mesopotamia has always led scholars to look for tin
deposits in northwestern and central western Iran (e.g.
Muhly 1973b:409), and a possible tin or tin-copper
source has been recently discovered in Luristan, at Deh
Hosein. The utilization in Mesopotamia of tin from such
a region would help to explain the lack of tin-bronze at
sites on the Iranian Plateau and further to the east, if the
tin was traded only to the southwest. However, as out-
lined above, the significance of the Deh Hosein copper-
tin deposit is yet to be adequately assessed. Basic data
regarding the possible production of natural tin-bronzes
from the ores are as yet unpublished and, most impor-
tantly, production at Deh Hosein seems to have been
concentrated in much later periods than those under
consideration here. Nevertheless, the very recent discov-
ery of the site indicates the possibility that small tin-
bearing deposits remain undiscovered, even in regions as
well surveyed as the Zagros. Although the Deh Hosein
extraction seems unrelated to the issue of Bronze Age tin
sources, and more easterly regions have emerged as the
most likely third millennium tin producers, the site high-
lights the limitations of the geological knowledge upon
which much of the present discussion is based.
If tin was in fact coming to Mesopotamia from the
Indo-Iranian borderlands, we must imagine that it was
either not traded through central and eastern Iran, or
that when it was, none was utilized in local metal indus-
tries. Alternative routes to an overland Iranian Plateau
trade include a southern trade through the Gulf, or a
northern route across the Caspian Sea. The possibility
of a southern tin and tin-bronze trade through the Gulf
is supported by the results of the present study,
although the absence of analyzed third millennium BCE
objects from the central Gulf is still a significant lacuna
in our knowledge. As discussed above, such a trade
route could explain the known distribution of tin-
bronze in southern Mesopotamia and at Susa, and
indeed this has been proposed by T. F. Potts (1994:281).
This southern maritime route was already long-estab-
lished in the supply of copper and other goods to south-
ern Mesopotamia and, by avoiding Iran altogether, pos-
sessed a number of advantages in cost and speed.
Possehl (1996:189) has described the Mesopotamia-
Meluhha trade as an "end-run" around southeastern
Iran which facilitated the procurement of larger quanti-
ties of material, more suitable for the scale of demand
generated by contemporary Mesopotamia, than could be
provided by the overland route.
Of course, once tin and tin-bronze reached
Mesopotamia, they could have been further dispersed to
the west (i.e. the Troad and the Aegean) via overland
trade through Anatolia. The higher tin-bronze frequency
in the Troad than in central Anatolia is not a significant
stumbling block to an overland trade hypothesis, if one
regards the trade as directed more towards some con-
sumers than others, rather than being simple down-the-
line exchange. Nevertheless, the possibility of an alterna-
tive northern trade route across the Caspian Sea is hinted
Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 19 3
at by archaeological evidence from the Caucasus, the
Aegean, and the Troad. For example, the coastal/island
concentration of tin-bronze in the Aegean and the Troad
has suggested to some scholars that a maritime trade
across the Black Sea may have brought eastern tin into
the Aegean (Muhly et al. 1991; Muhly 1999:18-19;
Apakidze 1999). The predominant use of arsenical cop-
per at the site of Ikiztepe on the Black Sea coast (e.g.
Gedik et al. 2002) has proven problematic for propo-
nents of such a tin trade route, but analyses indicate that
about 15 percent of the analyzed copper-base objects
from Ikiztepe contain significant amounts of tin. As
noted above, the possibility of a Black Sea trade in tin is
further supported by the finds of tin-bronze and lapis
lazuli in third millennium Transcaucasia (e.g. Kohl et al.
2002; Kavtaradze 1999; Apakidze 1999; Edens
1995:56), which raise the possibility that tin from the
Indo-Iranian borderlands may have been shipped west
via a Caspian route, or that it may have traveled over-
land through northernmost Iran, along the southern
shores of the Caspian Sea. The utilization of such a
route might explain the absence of tin-bronze in eastern
Iran, although its absence at a northeastern site such as
Hissar is still hard to explain if the tin was coming from
Afghanistan. In contrast, central Asian tin from the
Uzbekistan-Tajikistan border region could well have
traveled to the west by a route that ran north of the
Kopet Dagh and Elburz Mountains.
In contrast, if tin and tin-bronze were traded across
the Iranian Plateau, then technological or ideological
explanations must be proposed for their absence in
Iranian metal assemblages. A technological explanation
might be supported by the evidence for a developed
arsenical copper metallurgy at most third millennium
BCE sites in eastern and central Iran, including Tepe
Hissar (Pigott 1982:Table 3), Shahr-i Sokhta
(Hauptmann 1980; Pigott 1999b), Sialk (Berthoud
1979), Shahdad (Vatandoust 1999), and Tepe Yahya
(Heskel and Lamberg-Karlovsky 1980; Thornton et al.
2002). Using this reasoning, the arsenical copper used at
these sites probably had similar material characteristics
to tin-bronze, and the new alloy was not utilized as it
offered no mechanical advantages over the alloys
already in use and was no doubt more difficult and
costly to obtain. However, analytical studies have
194 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
demonstrated the CO-occurrenceof pure copper and
many varieties of binary and ternary copper alloys in
metal assemblages from sites across western Asia, and
the use of these alloys in ways that do not exploit their
mechanical potential. Such findings suggest that the tech-
nological advantages of alloys over pure copper may not
always determine the nature of metal use at Bronze Age
sites. Moreover, explanations which suggest scarcity of
alloying elements as an explanation for synchronic and
diachronic alloy variability may also be underestimating
the significance of ideological factors in early metal use.
As noted by Chakrabarti and Lahiri (1996:207), the
assumption that "what is considered to be technological-
ly superior must also be culturally preferred" is often not
justified by the available archaeological, metallurgical
and ethnographic data.
An alternative interpretation for the dearth of tin-
bronze on the Iranian Plateau is offered by Pigott
(1999b:83). He regards tin and tin-bronze as prestige
goods, and suggests that "the rarity of tin may have pro-
moted its status among the Sumerians while the people of
the Iranian Plateau may have remained un-influenced by
such pressure". However, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan or
Baluchistan reached Iran in significant quantities, as seen
for example at Shahr-i Sokhta (Lamberg-Karlovsky and
Tosi 1973:46) and Hissar (Bulgarelli 1979). Lapis lazuli
was also a status material in Mesopotamia, and one won-
ders why the distribution patterns of lapis and tin, both
probably from a similar source region, are so different.
Furthermore, although the great majority of lapis lazuli
that reached Shahr-i Sokhta was traded further west
rather than used locally (Lamberg-Karlovsky and Tosi
1973:46), it is still highly visible in the archaeological
record of the eastern Iranian sites. Tin-bronze is not, and
one may question whether this material was ever, in fact,
traded overland through the Indo-Iranian borderlands in
the later third millennium BCE.
Other ideological and symbolic factors may have a
role in explaining the non-utilization of tin-bronze in
third millennium Iran. One factor suggesting this is
Pigott's (1999b:84) description of the "remarkable tech-
nological conservatism" of metallurgical production at
Hissar. Such conservatism may not be a reflection of
technological retardation, but rather of strong ideological
or ritualistic beliefs dictating the use of metal from a
particular mine site, or metal produced in a specific way, to characterize some metalworking traditions (e.g. the
or of a specific alloy type (cf. Chakrabarti and Lahiri Gulf, Mesopotamia, and central Anatolia), while tech-
1996:206-207; Hosler 1995; Budd and Taylor 1995). nological conservatism or differing ideological sanctions
Where complicated extraction technology was most like- may have prevented the adoption of tin-bronze in other
ly learnt and passed on within a ritual context (Budd and areas (e.g. Iran and Egypt). In other regions, such as the
Taylor 1995:139) and by analogy with natural and social Aegean and the Indus Valley, the factors that influenced
processes (Childs and Killick 1993:325), practical barri- early alloying practices remain uncertain. Thus, the
ers to the adoption of new extraction or alloying tech- archaeological evidence does not reflect a simple evolu-
nologies and non-local metal are likely to have existed. tionary development of fabrication technology based
Furthermore, elements of social reproduction and identi- upon observation of and experiment with the mechani-
ty may have been tied to metal production, exchange, cal properties of copper and its alloys. Moreover, it is
and use (e.g. Childs and Killick 1993; Philip 1991; abundantly clear that such overarching "technological"
Hosler 1995). Such factors may have led to the develop- explanations for the development of early alloying can-
ment of a highly conservative but reliable extraction not simply be replaced by correspondingly broad theo-
technology, and strong sanctions against "experiment- retical conceptions incorporating ideologies of elite con-
ing" with the practical aspects of extraction. Moreover, sumption. Rather, early alloying practices reflect the
once metal was extracted from its ore, it and the artifacts interaction of a multitude of both enduring and histori-
produced with it no doubt functioned as material mark- cally contingent forces; from mechanical and physical
ers of ethnicity, status, religion, and wealth, in addition properties, to the stability of trade routes for metals and
to their more "obvious" roles as tools, weapons, and raw alloying components and variations in the socio-politi-
materials for trade (Childs and Killick l993:33 1). cal and ideological contexts of metal production,
As has been noted by a number of archaeologists exchange and use.
(e.g. Chakrabarti and Lahiri 1996:207; Budd and Taylor
1995), such ideological considerations are antithetical to
many evolutionary schemes of early metal production,
which focus upon technological advances dependent
upon the freedom or drive to innovate (e.g. Wertime
1973). Although the ideological aspects of early metal-
lurgy are probably unknowable from an archaeological
perspective, this does not mean that their potential sig-
nificance can be disregarded or diminished. Among com-
munities that extracted their own copper-base raw
metal, such as those of the Iranian plateau, the adoption
of the new and foreign metal tin-bronze may have been
incompatible with local cultural traditions of metal man-
ufacture and use. Just as in the Gulf, where tin-bronze
appears to have had a socially-defined ideological worth
that local AsINi-copper could not possess, so on the
Iranian Plateau tin-bronze may not have been compati-
ble with the social and political contexts in which local
arsenical copper was produced and used.
The discussion presented above points to a high
degree of regionalism in alloying practices across west-
ern Asia. Examples of the use of tin-bronze for ideologi-
cal purposes of status display or elite consumption seem

Tin and Tin-Bronze in Early Western Asia 19 5

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 Summary and Conclusion
Aims Reiterated
This study began with relatively restricted aims, specifi-
cally the investigation of whether the Bronze Age inhabi-
tants of Tell Abraq were unique in southeastern Arabia in
terms of their access to metallic resources. This possibility
was suggested by previous analyses of material from the
site, which demonstrated the routine use of tin-bronze in
the Umm al-Nar Period. This alloy had not previously
been found with any frequency in third millennium BCE
contexts in the Gulf, and given the geological setting of
southeastern Arabia, was clearly imported to Tell Abraq
from a considerable distance.
The hypothesis that Tell Abraq may have had greater
access to foreign metals than contemporary sites in south-
eastern Arabia was supported by additional circumstantial
evidence. This included the prominent position of the site
on the southern shores of the Gulf and its size in relation to
contemporary coastal sites, in addition to material evidence
from Tell Abraq attesting to widespread exchange relations
with regions to the north and east. Tell Abraq7sunusual
pattern of metal use seemed to reflect the role played by
long-distance exchange in shaping metal-working crafts in
southeastern Arabia, a region otherwise famous for its
large-scale, indigenous, Bronze Age copper production.
However, the ability to assess the uniqueness of the Tell
Abraq metal assemblages was impaired by the extremely
limited number of analyses of contemporary copper-base
objects that were available for comparison. That is, it was
possible that the Tell Abraq analyses appeared anomalous
simply due to the lack of relevant comparable data.
In order to investigate this issue, analyses of objects
from three other tomb assemblages in the northern
U.A.E. were undertaken. The compositional analyses
from A1 Sufouh, Unarl, and Unar2 utilized the tech-
nique of Proton-Induced X-ray Emission analysis (PIXE),
and were supplemented by the analysis of a newly exca-
vated group of objects from the Tell Abraq tomb using
the same technique. These new analyses form the core of
the present volume and they have facilitated an
improved understanding of alloying technology and raw
material exchange patterns over the second half of the
third millennium BCE in the northern Oman Peninsula.
Furthermore, as the ultimate origin of the tin and tin-
bronze used in Bronze Age western Asia remains uncer-
tain, the study of the Umm al-Nar Period artifacts has
provided important insights into an archaeological issue
of concern to Bronze Age western Asia as a whole.
The data from the four Umm al-Nar Period sites
have, however, allowed for the investigation of more
than the Bronze Age tin trade, and the issues addressed
in this volume have expanded well beyond the scope of
the project as initially conceived. A discussion of copper
production in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia represent-
ed one primary addition, and provided information of
fundamental importance for the interpretation of the
new compositional data. The review of technological
and mineralogical aspects of Bronze Age copper mining
and smelting in Oman indicated that specific alloys
recorded in Umm al-Nar Period tomb assemblages
reflect the geological milieu of the Oman Mountains,
and the comparison of the two data sets has allowed an
assessment of the likelihood of their local manufacture.
More generally, and moving away from technologi-
cal issues, a discussion of the organization of copper
production in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia and the
impact that this may have had on contemporary socie-
ty was also presented. Just as the evidence for tin-
bronze at Tell Abraq and in other U.A.E. tombs reflect-
ed patterns of trade in wider western Asia, so too pri-
mary copper production in southeastern Arabia
responded to both internal and external socio-econom-
ic factors. In previous studies, the apparent periodicity
of copper production in southeastern Arabia has been
strongly linked with changes in the external demand for
the copper of Magan. However, the discussion presented
in this volume indicates that internal demand for Omani
copper, as well as changing socio-economic configura-
tions in Bronze Age southeastern Arabia, also played a
significant role in the development of primary smelting
operations.
The compositional analyses of objects from the four
Urnm al-Nar Period sites were supplemented by lead iso-
tope analyses (LIA) of a sub-set of the objects. These data
provided important evidence regarding the relative and
absolute provenance of the metals used to produce the
copper-base objects, and raised many issues with regard to
the mechanisms and routes by which clearly foreign tin
and tin-bronze reached the Gulf. Comparisons of the LIA
of the four U.A.E. sites to isotopic data for artifacts from
other regions, such as Anatolia and the Aegean, also raised
interesting questions regarding the significance for wider
Western Asia of the early tin-bronze exchange in the Gulf.
Summary of Major Results
The analyses of the A1 Sufouh, Unarl, Unar2 and Tell
Abraq assemblages indicate a number of variations in
metallurgical technology and alloy use. Objects of unal-
loyed copper are used at all four sites, as are copper-base
alloys including As/Ni-copper (containing approximately
one to six percent arsenic andlor nickel) and tin-bronze
( > 2percent Sn). However, while the types of alloys used
in southeastern Arabia are relatively limited, the fre-
quency of alloy use changes dramatically over the half a
millennium (ca. 2450-2000 BCE) covered by the tomb
assemblages. Thus, As/Ni-copper was particularly
prominent in the earlier Urnm al-Nar objects from A1
Sufouh, but was rare in the latest tomb assemblage from
Tell Abraq. In contrast, tin-bronze appears with greater
frequency in the later third millennium BCE:a few tin-
bronzes with low tin concentrations (0.5-5.0 percent Sn)
are recorded at A1 Sufouh and Unarl, whereas more
than half of the objects from the latest Urnm al-Nar
assemblages from Unar2 and Tell Abraq were manufac-
tured of tin-bronze, often with greater than 1 0 percent
Sn. A number of objects, particularly from the Unar2
tomb, are ternary alloys with significant concentrations
of both tin and arsenic. Other complex alloys are rare,
but include one example each of the Cu-As-Pb and Cu-
Sn-Pb ternary alloys (with one to two percent Pb), and
one example of a Cu-As-Ag alloy (with 2.3 percent Ag).
198 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Returning to the basic aim of this study, analyses of
copper-base objects from the four Urnm al-Nar Period
sites in the U.A.E. indicate that the alloying practices
recorded at Tell Abraq in previous studies by the author
(Weeks 1997) are not unique in the northern Oman
Peninsula. The patterns of metal-use at Tell Abraq show
numerous parallels to contemporary Urnm al-Nar Period
sites in the U.A.E. A strong contrast remains, however,
between the results of the present study and those under-
taken on contemporary material from southeastern
Arabia (Prange et al. 1999).
The strongest compositional differences in the
U.A.E. objects analyzed in this volume are between the
A1 Sufouh and Tell Abraq assemblages. These tomb
assemblages sit at the opposite ends of our half millenni-
um span, and their observed compositional diversity
might reflect this chronological separation. However, the
compositional variability of the assemblages is not com-
plete, as statistical analyses have indicated that the cop-
per objects from each of the tomb assemblages were rela-
tively similar in terms of their minor and trace element
compositions. In contrast, the tin-bronzes from Unarl,
Unar2 and Tell Abraq were relatively distinct from each
other in terms of their overall composition.
The discussion presented in Chapter Five focused on
the impurities of iron and sulfur found in the Urnm al-
Nar Period objects, and the concentrations of the poten-
tial alloying elements arsenic, nickel, and tin. The pres-
ence of sulfur and iron in the Urnm al-Nar Period objects
reflects the ores that were used to produce them, the
smelting technology employed, and the degree of refining
that the raw copper received prior to object fabrication.
The high iron and sulfur concentrations would have
adversely affected the working properties of the raw cop-
per, and a refining stage prior to fabrication (i.e. second-
ary refining) would have been necessary in order to pro-
duce satisfactory objects. Evidence of such refining prac-
tices has been found in abundance at Bronze Age settle-
ments in the Gulf region, including sites such as Bat, Hi1
8, Tell Abraq, Saar, Qala'at al-Bahrain, and Failaka.
A review of the mineralogical, metallurgical, and
technological aspects of the production of As/Ni-copper
objects in southeastern Arabia suggests that they are
most likely to have been natural alloys inadvertently pro-
duced as a result of the types of ores exploited and the
smelting technology employed. Thus, much as with iron
and sulfur, arsenic and nickel are present as natural
impurities in southeastern Arabian raw copper. The dif-
ference is that these impurities had advantageous rather
than deleterious effects on the mechanical properties of
the resultant metal.
The advantageous properties of these "accidental"
alloys, including increased hardness, attractive color, and
improved castability, most probably allowed AsJNi-cop-
per to be distinguished from unalloyed copper after it
had been produced in the primary smelt. The evidence
for alloy use in different object categories indicates that
AsJNi-copper was rarely used for decorative objects such
as rings, but was commonly found in more utilitarian
objects such as pinslawls and blades. Such a differentia-
tion may be indicative of the use of AsJNi-copper for its
mechanical advantage of hardness, but could also reflect
factors such as the relative worth (in economic and ideo-
logical terms) of other alloys like tin-bronze.
Examination of alloy use in different object cate-
gories indicates that tin-bronze was selectively used for
objects which had a decorative rather than utilitarian
function. This suggests that the surface appearance of
tin-bronze, or its greater value (however defined), may
have dictated how this alloy was used in Bronze Age
southeastern Arabia. Evidence from the compositional
analyses was, however, inconclusive regarding the tech-
niques used to manufacture the tin-bronzes found at A1
Sufouh, Unarl, Unar2, and Tell Abraq. The LIA present-
ed in Chapter Seven indicated that at least some of the
tin-bronze used in southeastern Arabia was traded to the
region already in its alloyed state, perhaps in the form of
small finished objects. In contrast, the discovery of a tin
ring in the Tell Abraq tomb indicates that alloying of
metallic tin with local copper could also have been
undertaken in the region in the Umm al-Nar Period.
Although the significant quantities of arsenic and
nickel in the Umm al-Nar objects are compatible with a
southeastern Arabian origin, copper ores with significant
As and Ni concentrations are also found in geological
contexts outside Oman. Reliable conclusions regarding
absolute provenance cannot, therefore, be drawn from
the compositional data alone. In this study, issues of
provenance were investigated using both compositional
analyses and the LIA of a subset of the objects analyzed
by PIXE. This approach was critical in assessing the
potential provenance both the AsJNi-copper objects and
the tin-bearing objects from the four tomb assemblages.
The significant isotopic diversity of the objects ana-
lyzed in this study suggests very strongly that multiple
sources of metal were utilized in the northern Oman
Peninsula in the Umm al-Nar Period. Comparison of the
data from individual sites suggests that each had access
to some metal from different sources than available to
the other sites. Nevertheless, there are a range of isotopic
compositions (207PbJ206Pb ca. 0.837-0.843, 208PbJ206Pb
ca. 2.070-2.090, 206Pb1204Pb ca. 18.60-1 8.80) that seem
to characterize copper objects found at Bronze Age sites
in both Oman and the Central Gulf. Thus, although the
isotopic data indicate multiple metal sources for Gulf
sites, copper from one source may have been a signifi-
cant supplier to the Gulf region in general. The most
obvious candidate for this source is a mine or mines in
southeastern Arabia, a region whose large copper output
in the third millennium has been amply demonstrated.
Moreover, some of the copper ingots from southeastern
Arabia that have been isotopically analyzed fall into this
range of "common" isotope ratios. However, many of
the plano-convex copper ingots found in Oman and one
from the Central Gulf site of Saar have unusual isotopic
characteristics that are unmatched amongst the objects
analyzed in this study. Thus, the likelihood of an Omani
origin for many Gulf objects is difficult to determine.
Although only a small number of ore analyses exist
against which to assess the results in this volume, the
LIA clearly indicated that at least some of the analyzed
objects were produced from metal sources outside south-
eastern Arabia. In particular, the radiogenic isotopic sig-
natures of some of the tin-bronze objects from Tell
Abraq and Unarl suggest a foreign source for the alloy.
Likewise, a number of tin-bronzes and copper-low-tin
objects from A1 Sufouh, Unar2 and Tell Abraq have
207PbJ206Pb ratios less radiogenic than those encountered
in the southeastern Arabian ores so-far analyzed. Of
course, the tin content of these objects alone indicates
that they incorporate at least some foreign metal, and so
their isotopic divergence from copper objects analyzed
here could reflect either the use of entirely foreign metal,
or the perturbation of the isotopic characteristics of local
copper by lead-bearing metallic tin.
Summary and Conclusion 1 99
 These outlying objects, exclusively tin-bronzes or
copper-low tin objects, make up about one quarter of the
42 copper-base objects that underwent LIA. The remain-
ing objects show a small number of clear isotopic matches
with Omani ores, but nevertheless fall into the (very
broad) isotopic range of southeastern Arabian copper
deposits (207Pb/206Pb ca. 0.838-0.872). Given the limited
nature of the ore database as it currently stands, it is
impossible to determine whether the lack of isotopic
matches between U.A.E. copper-base objects analyzed in
this study and Omani ores reflects a separate provenance,
or merely the limited number of analyses of appropriate
ore sources. Certainly, the isotopic signature of the metal-
lic tin ring from Tell Abraq and isotopic similarities
between U.A.E. objects and third millennium BCE tin-
bronzes from other areas of Western Asia suggest that the
tin-bronzes may be composed entirely of foreign metal,
and that this metal may be difficult to distinguish isotopi-
cally from Omani copper ores.
The ultimate source of the tin in the U.A.E. tin-
bronzes almost certainly lay to the east or northeast of
Iran, in Afghanistan, Tajikistan or Uzbekistan. Geological
research and archaeometallurgical studies in Central Asia
have demonstrated the presence of many tin deposits, and
some evidence for their having been worked by the early
second millennium BCE. The situation in Afghanistan is
less clear, due to the inaccessibility of the region for
research over the past few decades. However, the combi-
nation of early tin-bronze use and abundant geological
evidence for cassiterite deposits in a number of areas of
the country make Afghanistan a prime candidate for a
source of tin used in the Gulf region and other areas of
Bronze Age Western Asia. This metal probably reached
the Gulf through a number of intermediaries, and the
archaeological evidence from southeastern Arabia points
particularly to trade with the Indus Valley, and possibly
Iran, as the immediate source of Gulf tin and probably
also tin-bronze. The above claims do not represent a rejec-
tion of the evidence for tin extraction that has been found
in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey, but merely a reflec-
tion of the kinds of cultural contacts that seem to charac-
terize the polities of the southern Gulf region. Clearly, any
discussion of tin production and exchange in wider
Western Asia must deal not only with the potential eastern
sources, but also with those in Anatolia.
200 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf
Generally, the evidence for the inconsistent adoption
of tin-bronze across Western Asia suggests that, in addi-
tion to considerations of technology and trade routes,
"ideological" aspects of early metal use often condi-
tioned the adoption of the new alloy. Indeed, it is clear
that technological changes, such the adoption of a new,
harder, more easily cast and worked alloy like tin-
bronze, were mediated at every stage by cultural values.
To co-opt a phrase used by Hamilton (1991), tin-bronze
is best thought of as a "cultural alloy", whose adoption
and use was conditioned by the social contexts in which
it was produced, exchanged, and utilized.
Prospects for Future Research
Much of the discussion presented in this volume has
served to highlight the limitations in our understanding
of early copper production in southeastern Arabia. In
particular, the current understanding of primary copper
extraction as having gone through distinct periods of
intensification and decline requires close scrutiny. A
complete understanding of Bronze Age copper produc-
tion in southeastern Arabia will require investigation of
both the earliest metallurgy in southeastern Arabia in
the Hafit and early Umm al-Nar Periods, as well as
metallurgical activities in the Wadi Suq Period and Late
Bronze Age.
The Hafit Period has produced significant evidence
for the use of copper-base objects but virtually no evi-
dence for contemporary copper smelting. Determining
whether these early copper-base objects are foreign or
local products (as usually assumed) is of critical interest.
Analyses of objects from Hafit period sites may be crucial
in determining whether Hafit Period copper-base objects
were imported, or if they represent the development of
copper extraction technology in southeastern Arabia
through direct adoption from neighbouring regions such
as Iran, or a process of stimulus diffusion. Finding and
studying evidence for Hafit Period copper smelting will be
of the greatest significance. Smelting sites such as that at
al-Batin recorded by Yule and Weisgerber (1996:141),
with TL dates around the middle of the third millennium
BCE and a slag typology different to that seen at later
Umm al-Nar Period sites, are a hopeful indication that
evidence for early smelting will be recovered in the
archaeological record of southeastern Arabia.
 Obtaining secure evidence for primary copper
extraction in the Wadi Suq Period will require intensive
investigation of the very few sites, such as Masirah
Island, that show some evidence of Wadi Suq Period
exploitation. The investigation of even one such site
could radically alter our understanding of this critical
period of copper production and trade in the Gulf
region. However, efforts must also be made to determine
the exact chronological range of the numerous Omani
smelting sites designated "Bronze Age" because of their
slag typology. Although dating of such sites can be diffi-
cult, programs of TL dating (Haustein et al. 2003) may
aid in their interpretation. Compositional and isotopic
analyses of contemporary Wadi Suq copper-base objects
from tomb assemblages (e.g. Qattarah) will also be
important in reaching conclusions about second millen-
nium copper smelting in southeastern Arabia.
Determining the organization of Bronze Age (and
later) copper production in southeastern Arabia should
also be a major focus of future research. Understanding
the impact of copper production on the Bronze Age pop-
ulation southeastern Arabia necessitates an understand-
ing of the way in which copper mining and smelting
were integrated with other social and economic activi-
ties. In investigating this issue, detailed field reconnais-
sance at large extraction sites such as Wadi Salh 1 and
Tawi Ubaylah will be critical. Our current treatment of
these sites as homogeneous, indivisible, large-scale col-
lections of extraction residue, means that they are mute
regarding the ways in which Bronze Age communities
organised production. In order to understand production
at such sites, factors such as the scale, context, concen-
tration and intensity of extractive processes (Costin
1991) must be investigated. Attention must also be paid
to the variability of production regimes that character-
ized Bronze Age southeastern Arabia. Thus, relatively
small sites like Wadi Fizh 1, where copper extraction is
integrated within the context of village subsistence farm-
ing, require investigation of their productive processes as
much as the larger sites mentioned above.
Such approaches will allow archaeologists to move
from a primarily technological understanding of early
metallurgy in southeastern Arabia towards a more
behavioral interpretation of the archaeometallurgical evi-
dence. The large output of copper from Bronze Age
Oman, for 4,000 tonnes of copper is indeed a very great
amount, must be contextualised in terms of individual
and group human behaviors. How much copper was
smelted and how this was accomplished technologically
are important archaeometallurgical questions. However,
more complex and intractable archaeological problems
remain to be addressed. These include an understanding
of who controlled copper production in Bronze Age
Oman, both in organizational (political) terms and in
terms of access to the technical (i.e. ritual) knowledge
that lay at the heart of copper extraction. Such questions
raise others, for example the status of those involved in
the mining and smelting of copper in Magan. Such issues
will no doubt prove difficult to unravel, but nevertheless
they lay at the heart of any understanding of the ways in
which mining and smelting were integrated with politi-
cal, economic, and subsistence activities in Bronze Age
southeastern Arabia.
With regard to other problems, the question of
metal sources and exchange will only be satisfactorily
investigated through greatly expanded programs of LIA
of Omani sources, and sources in the neighbouring
regions of Iran, Pakistan, India and Central Asia. Very
important preliminary research along these lines is being
undertaken by.the German mining Museum in Oman
(Prange et al. 1999) and in Iran (Chegini et al. 2000), as
well as by other groups (e.g. Stos-Gale 2001; Srinivasan
1999). Of course, such isotopic analyses will only be one
component of archaeometallurgical research at impor-
tant Bronze Age primary production sites across the
Indo-Iranian borderlands.
Finally, despite the significant advances that have
been made over the last decade in the knowledge of the
tin sources used in Bronze Age western and central Asia,
a definitive understanding of early production centers
and exchange mechanisms has not been achieved. The
basic foundations for the discussion of this issue will
continue to be provided by field research at putative tin
sources in Anatolia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. It is to
be hoped that related research will soon be possible in
Afghanistan, given the enormous significance of this
region for the resolution of the "tin problem". In the
Gulf region, our understanding of early alloying prac-
tices would be considerably improved by the analysis of
copper-base objects from third millennium contexts in
Summary and Conclusion 20 1
the Central Gulf. Few assemblages of such date are
known, but material from Tarut Island and from City I
contexts at Qala'at al-Bahrain can be cited, whose study
would be extremely enlightening for the discussion of
early tin and tin-bronze exploitation.
As noted above, all of this metallurgical research
must be interpreted with an understanding of the social
relationships that determined the ways in which tin and
tin-bronze were produced, exchanged, and utilized.
Although we may never be able to satisfactorily address
some of these questions in an archaeological context,
their influence in the shaping of the archaeometallurgi-
cal record is clear. Indeed, the realization of the social
embeddedness of technological systems has been one of
the most significant theoretical developments in archaeo-
metric research in the last few decades. Although the
explanations that can be offered by studies synthesising
metallurgical, archaeological, historical and ethnograph-
ic data are often tentative, limiting our conclusions to
issues of materials science can only marginalise archaeo-
metric studies within the wider discipline of archaeology.
Striving to explain human behavior, and to embed our
explanations of technological systems in social processes,
must remain the goal of the archaeometallurgist.

202 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

Appendix 1 A.l Analytical Techniques

Analytical A.l . l . PIXE Sample Preparation

Samples taken for analysis were usually small, pre-exist-
Techniques and ing fragments. If a sample had to be removed from a
Data Treatment larger object, a fine-bladed handsaw was used. For PIXE
analyses, samples with dimensions of greater than
approximately five mm were taken. Samples were almost
inevitably heavily corroded. For analysis, material from
the center of the sample was exposed by abrasion, and
polished using wet-and-dry sandpaper grades 320, 600,
800, and 1,200. The samples were cleaned in distilled
water and mounted on Cr-coated iron brackets on the
long target stick just prior to analysis.

A.1.2. PIXE Instrumental and Analytical Details

(courtesy of Dr. Grahame Bailey)
1. Samples, mounted on a long target stick, were
positioned at the center of an evacuated target
chamber and bombarded with 2.5 MeV protons
from ANSTO's 3MV accelerator. A schematic of
the SR2 target chamber is illustrated in Figure
A.1.
2. Gamma rays and X-rays, produced from proton
interactions within the target material, were
counted simultaneously by two detectors posi-
tioned at angles of 135 and 225 degrees from
the incident proton beam direction.
3. The gamma rays were counted by a large, 67
mm diameter intrinsic Ge detector situated out-
side the chamber. This detector was surrounded
with 20 mm of lead shielding to reduce contri-
butions from the natural background.
4. The X-rays were counted by a small 4 mm
diameter Si(Li) X-ray detector, placed close to
the target, and situated inside the target cham-
ber vacuum to minimise attenuation of low
energy X-rays. The X-ray detector, which is con-
structed with a fixed 25pm Be entrance window,
was fitted with an additional pinhole filter. The
pinhole filter consisted of a combination of thin
47pm Mylar disc, attached to a 1.68 mm thick
perspex disc, which had a small pinhole drilled
in the center. The Mylar filter, in combination
with the inherent Be filter, is required to prevent
 Figure A.l SR2 target chamber schematic.
scattered protons from the target surface reach-
ing the sensitive volume of the X-ray detector.
The pinhole filter is used to reduce the count-
ing rate in the X-ray detector to manageable
levels (set at a figure of about five percent dead
time) by preferentially attenuating low energy
X-rays from the light elements such as A1 and
Si, which are often present in samples in high
concentrations.
5. Samples were exposed to a fixed proton charge,
together with a number of standards and car-
bon blanks, which allows for calibration of the
two detectors.
6. The calculation of element concentrations from
the X-ray spectra was done using the ANSTO
PIXAN X-ray analysis software package, which
has be adapted for use on a fast unix-based
computer (Clayton et al. 1987).
204 Early Metallurgy o f the Persian Gulf
A.1.3. Sensitivity, Precision, and Accuracy
of the PIXE data
The sensitivity of the PIXE technique is represented by a
quantity known as the Minimum Detectable Level
(MDL), which is calculated for each quantified element
in each analyzed sample. The MDL is the theoretical
minimum amount of an element that can be discerned by
the PIXE analytical technique, and is dependent upon
the atomic weight of the individual element, the compo-
sitional matrix of the analyzed sample, and the particu-
lar instrumental set-up employed in individual laborato-
ries (Fleming and Swann 1986).
The effect of atomic weight on the MDL for a par-
ticular element is illustrated in Figure A.2, which shows
the average MDLs for every element for the Umm al-Nar
samples analyzed in this volume. However, matrix effects
can also be observed in these data. The MDLs for the
three elements closest to copper (CO, Ni and Zn) are
 Atomic Number and MDL
100000
Pm
S.
10 15 20 25 30
Atomic Number
Figure A.2 The relationship between PIXE sensitivity and atomic number.
higher than elements of similar atomic weight, which
reflects the difficulty in measuring low concentrations of
these elements in high-copper samples.
MDLs can vary greatly between laboratories as a
result of instrumental set-up. For example, the MDL for
silicon in this analytical program is commonly between
one and two percent, whereas the MDL for arsenic is
generally less than 100 ppm. Detection limits for these
elements at the MASCA laboratory, University of
Pennsylvania, are 1 7 ppm and 160 ppm respectively
(Fleming and Swann 1986: 146). The large difference in
Si detection levels between the laboratories results from
the use of a pinhole filter for the ANSTO analyses (see
section A. 1.2, point 4 ) which severely attenuates the
low-energy electron signal from light elements such as
A1 and Si.
The MDL values presented in Chapter Four for each
element are a statistical simplification of the large
amount of raw MDL data collected during PIXE analy-
ses, and represent an average MDL value calculated
from the MDL data for all the analyzed samples.
However, significant variations can be seen between
samples from different sites, which reflect the differing
performance of the ANSTO PIXE system on a day-to-
day basis.
The higher the concentration of a particular element
above the MDL, the better the precision that can be
associated with the measurement. The relationship
SnL
35 40 45 50 55
between MDL and precision for samples from Tell
Abraq analyzed on the ANSTO PIXE system is illustrat-
ed in Figure A.3. As can be seen, values below the MDL,
although frequently produced by the quantification soft-
ware, are highly unreliable. Percentage standard devia-
tions are commonly in the range of 40-10,000 percent at
concentrations below the MDL. At levels of one to three
times the MDL, percentage standard deviations are gen-
erally in the 15-40 percent range. At concentrations of
more than about five times the MDL, precision is better
than ca. 210 percent for most elements.
As noted in section A.1.2 (point S), each analytical
run involved the calibration of the PIXE detectors using
standards of known composition, which are used to cor-
rect for possible systematic errors such as offset in the
target current measurement. The standards used for the
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
St. Dev. (%)
Figure A.3 The relationship between PIXE precision and element
concentration.
Appendix 1 205
analyzeds of archaeological samples were two ANSTO
in-house geological standards GSR3-A and GSR3-B.
The overall experimental error of the ANSTO PIXE sys-
tem is ca. 210 percent (Dr. R. Siegele, ANSTO, personal
communication).
A.1.4. Problems Measuring Chromium Concentrations
As noted in Section A.l .l,archaeological samples were
mounted on chromium-coated iron brackets for PIXE
analysis at ANSTO. Following the analysis of the major-
ity of samples presented in Weeks (2000a), an interest-
ing pattern was found in the Cr concentrations. The Cr
data for all objects analyzed in Weeks (2000a) are illus-
trated in Figure A.4. They show a strongly bimodal dis-
tribution with modes at 0-500 pprn Cr and 4,500-5,000
pprn Cr.
Examination of the published analyses of Bronze
Age and Iron Age copper-based objects from Western
Asia indicated that Cr concentrations of greater than ca.
2,000 pprn were extremely rare, and close scrutiny was
subsequently given to the Cr data provided by the
ANSTO PIXE system. To test the validity of the ANSTO
results, 8 samples with high concentrations of more than
5,000 pprn Cr were re-analyzed using mounting brackets
coated with nickel rather than chromium. One sample
with relatively low Cr concentration (ca. 160 ppm) was
also re-analyzed on the different brackets.
The results proved conclusively that the high Cr con-
centrations recorded in the initial analyses were spuri-
ous. All samples with high Cr concentrations reported
Cr levels of less than 200 pprn upon re-analysis. The
sample with low Cr concentration of ca. 160 pprn was
found to contain ca. 70 pprn Cr upon re-analysis. Upon
0-500 1000- 2000- 3000- 4000- 5000- 6000- 7000-
1500 2500 3500 4500 5500 6500 7500
Cr ( P P ~ )
Figure A.4 Chromium concentrations in all analyzed PIXE samples.
206 Early Metallurgy o f the Persian Gulf
consultation with ANSTO technical staff, it seems likely
that the spurious Cr concentrations resulted from prob-
lems in proton-beam alignment, whereby a part of the
beam was hitting the bracket holding the archaeological
sample rather than just the sample itself.
The possibility that some of the iron recorded in ana-
lyzed samples was a by-product of poor beam alignment
was also considered. PIXE compositional analysis of a
Cr-coated iron bracket suggested that the possible iron
contamination was approximately 10 percent of the Cr
contamination. This finding allowed for the correction of
iron concentrations given by the PIXE analyses using the
formula: Femodified - 0.1 Cr
= Feoriginal
All Fe concentrations presented in this volume have
been corrected in the above manner prior to normalisa-
tion. Such findings are obviously of importance for previ-
ous PIXE analyses undertaken at ANSTO. As an exam-
ple, the high Cr concentrations reported in the analysis of
pre-Islamic copper-based coins from Arabia (Grave et al.
1996b) are almost certainly false. The findings suggest
that the nickel-coated brackets employed at ANSTO
should be used in preference to Cr-coated brackets, as the
aperture through which the beam can pass is larger on the
Ni-coated brackets (10 mm as opposed to five mm). The
larger aperture of the Ni-coated brackets reduces the pos-
sibility of contamination through poor beam alignment.
A.1.5. LIA Sample Preparation and Analytical Details
(courtesy Prof. Ken Collerson)
TIMS: All archaeological objects from Tell Abraq were
analyzed at the facilities the Advanced Center for
Queensland University Isotope Research Excellence
(ACQUIRE) of the Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Queensland, using TIMS. Small shavings
from each artefact were retrieved and stored in clean
teflon SavillexB beakers. Each sample was cleaned using
deionised water and acetone in ultra sonic bath prior to
dissolution with hot HC1-doped 7 N H N 0 3 . Following
evaporation to dryness on a hot plate at -75 "C shavings
were converted to chloride using 7pl of 6 N HC1.
Samples were taken up with 3pl HBr for loading on
ion-exchange columns. Lead separations were carried out
using standard HBr-HCl chemistry on columns filled with
100 m1 AG-1~8,200-400mesh anion exchange resin using
procedures of Tilton (1973).
 Purified Pb fractions were dissolved in H3PO4 and a
small fraction was loaded with silica gel on single degassed
Re-filament. Isotopic compositions were measured at
1,350 degrees C and the data were corrected for instru-
mental mass fractionation of l % o per atomic mass unit
using the values of Todt et al. (1996).This value was estab-
lished by measuring multiple loads of a NBS-981 standard
solution during the data acquisition. Procedural blanks
during the study ranged from 100 pg to 65 pg Pb.
A.2. Data Treatment
A.2.1. Normalization
The PIXE data values were calculated using PIXAN, a
computer-based spectrum interpretation and quantifica-
tion program developed at ANSTO (Clayton et al.
1987). The raw data produced by the quantification
software have been modified prior to analysis and dis-
cussion. All data have been "normalized", whereby ele-
mental data for each individual sample are manipulated
so as to sum to a uniform value, which in our case is
100 percent (or one million parts per million). Such a
process is useful when raw data sums for individual
samples can range from (in extreme cases) 500,000 to
1.5 million parts per million (ppm), as normalization
can make otherwise incomparable compositional analy-
ses directly comparable.
Other normalization processes have also been used
on sample data generated by PIXE, due to the composi-
tional changes introduced through processes of sample
corrosion. PIXE analyses revealed the occurrence of a
number of elements which are likely to be present only
due to the contamination of the archaeological objects
after their deposition, and which are not representative
of their original composition. The process of corrosion
can not only change the concentrations of elements rela-
tive to those seen in the original, but can introduce
wholly foreign material such as surrounding soil and
mineral particles and corrosive salts (Scott 1991: Figures
65, 67). In the case of the samples analyzed in this study,
the elements silicon, chlorine, calcium and potassium are
the major indicators of the intrusion of soil and mineral
particles into the sample matrix or the formation of
bronze disease within the sample. Additionally, titanium,
vanadium, manganese, bromine and strontium data also
reflect contamination. The median level of total contami-
nation in the analyzed objects is eight percent, and the
ninetieth percentile value is 22 percent. In all cases, the
PIXE data for nine corrosion-related elements (Si, Cl, K,
Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Br, Sr) have been removed prior to nor-
malization, and normalized compositional values are thus
presented only for those elements which would have com-
prised the metal object in its original state.
There is a great deal of debate about the relative
advantages and disadvantages of data normalization, but
the technique is used for all data discussed in this vol-
ume (as advised by the scientific staff responsible for
PIXE analysis at ANSTO-Dr. Grahame Bailey, personal
communication 1997). Craddock (1976) argues strenu-
ously against such normalization procedures, particularly
when applied to compositional data for corroded sam-
ples. He states (1976: 96) that such normalization
assumes "the corroded metal had the same composition
as the original metal", and notes that there is no justifi-
cation for such an assumption. However, as almost all
the objects analyzed in this study are corroded, no ana-
lytical technique will succeed in providing fully quantita-
tive data. In such a case, normalization procedures pos-
sess the advantage of allowing for better comparability
between analyses which, no matter how accurate or pre-
cise, are only a guide to the original composition of the
objects in question.
A.2.2. Statistical Summaries
A brief note is required on the data summaries and
charts presented in Chapter Four. In all cases, the data
for individual elements are summarized statistically by
giving the median and the tenth to ninetieth percentile
range. These measures are preferred to other statistics
such as the average and the standard deviation because
the data are in almost all cases far from normally distrib-
uted. Averages and standard deviations can be strongly
affected by outliers within the data, and generally pro-
vide misleading summaries of group properties if utilized
on non-normally distributed data.
Statistical summaries better reflective of group prop-
erties can be achieved with the removal of outlying data,
but this is potentially a very subjective process
(Freedman et al. 1991: 95-96, 101). The selective
removal of outliers can be avoided through the use of
Appendix 1 207
the median rather than the average as a measure of cen- A.2.4. Frequency Histograms
trality, as it is less affected by outlying data. Percentiles Data are summarized graphically in Chapter Four in the
are preferred to standard deviations as a measure of dis- form of frequency histograms (e.g. Figure 4.1). The his-
persion for a similar reason; standard deviations contain tograms are presented in either percentage terms or ppm
little descriptive power in situations where the data are on a logarithmic (base 10) scale, with each order of mag-
strongly asymmetrical. The particular use of the tenth to nitude divided into four geometric intervals correspon-
ninetieth percentile range to describe the dispersion of ding to the squares of the fourth root of 10 (=1.78).As
the data is arbitrary, but offers a reasonable middle an example, the divisions from 0.1 through to 10 percent
choice between the absolute range of the data (which on Figure 4.1 are divided into the ranges 0.101-0.178,
can be strongly affected by outliers) and more common- 0.179-0.316, 0.317-0.562, 0.563-1.0, 1.01-1.78,
ly cited percentile-based measures of dispersion such as 1.79-3.16, 3.17-5.62, and 5.63-10.0. On the his-
the interquartile range, which represents only the middle tograms, the bar delineated by gray stippling ing repre-
50 percent of the data dispersion. sents all samples for which the elemental concentration
was below the MDL. This MDL column is placed on the
A.2.3. Previous Analyses Summarized histogram at the position it would occupy in the fre-
The summarized previous analyses of Umm an-Nar quency distribution. Thus, for sulfur with a MDL of ca.
objects (2700-2000 BCE) incorporate material from 0.1 percent, the MDL column is in the 0.056-0.1 percent
Umm an-Nar Island (Berthoud 1979; Frifelt 1975a, range (see Figure 4.1).
1991; Hauptmann 1995), Hili, Jebel Hafit and Qarn
Bint Saud (Berthoud 1979), Maysar 1, Maysar 4 and
Maysar 25 (Hauptmann et al. 1988), and Tell Abraq
(Pedersen and Buchwald 1991). Analyzed ingot and
raw copper fragments (2700-2000 BCE) come from
Maysar 1, Wadi Bahla (Al-Aqir), Umm an-Nar Island
and Ra's al-Hamra (Hauptmann 1987, 1995;
Hauptmann et al. 1988; Craddock 1981). The previous
analyses of Wadi Suq and Late Bronze Age material
(2000-1300 BCE) incorporate objects from Masirah
Island, Maysar 9, and Suweiq (Hauptmann et al.
1988), Shimal settlement area SX and Shimal tomb
SH102 (Weeks 2000a). A significant amount of previ-
ously-analyzed metal comes from tomb assemblages of
mixed Wadi Suq to Iron Age date (2000-300 BCE).
Summarized analyses include those from Shimal tombs
1 and 2 (Craddock 1985), Sharm (Weeks 2000b), Jebel
Buheis and Al-Qusais (Weeks 2000a) and Qattarah
(Abu Dhabi National Oil Company: n.d.). Previously
anal~zedIron Age material (1300-300 BCE) comes pri-
marily from the IbriISelme hoard (Prange and
Hauptmann 2001; Hauptmann 1987), the Qidfa tomb
(Im-Obersteg 1987; Weeks 2000a), the collective tomb
at Bithnah (Corboud et al. 1996), the settlement of
Muweilah (Weeks: forthcoming b), Tell Abraq
(Pedersen and Buchwald 1991), and the site of Maysar
9 (Hauptmann et al. 1988).

208 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

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Zwicker, U.
1977 Investigations on the extractive metallurgy of
Cu/Sb/As ore and excavated smelting products from
Norsun-Tepe (Keban) on the Upper Euphrates
(3500-2800 BC). In Aspects of Early Metallurgy, edited
by W. A. Oddy, pp. 13-26. Historical Metallurgy Society
and the British Museum Research Laboratory, London.
1989 Untersuchungen zur Herstellung von Kupfer und
Kupferlegierungen im Bereich des ostlichen Mittelmeeres.
In O l d World Archaeometallurgy, edited by A.
Hauptmann, E. Pernicka, and G. A. Wagner, pp.
191-202. Deutsches Bergbau Museum, Bochum.
 'Arja, 12, 20, 22, 25-27, 29, 32-33, 42, 54, 110, 119,
Index 134-136,143,155-156

Anatolia, 3, 16-17, 41, 113, 116, 133, 135, 140, 152,

160-163, 165-169, 172, 174-176, 179-181, 192-193,
195, 198
Anau, 176
Andronovo, 171, 176
Assur, 179, 181, 187
Bactria, 65, 176, 179, 181-182, 185, 187
Bahla, 39, 56, 152, 208
Bahrain, 1, 5, 14, 43, 64, 67, 74, 84, 88, 107, 113
Bayda, 12, 22, 26, 28, 33, 42, 57, 110, 134, 136, 143, 135,
155
carnelian, 15, 60-61, 65, 67, 179-181, 185-186, 190

Cyprus, 12-13,17,22,52-53,111, 134-135,161

Dilmun, 1, 4, 14-16, 22, 37, 41, 43, 57
Dushanbe, 171
Ebla, 15, 174, 179, 180, 186, 189
Elam, 182, 184, 186-187
Failaka, 14, 182, 186-187, 198
Goltepe, 161, 168-169, 179-180
Gujarat, 15, 159, 172, 179
Hafit, 1, 3, 8, 24, 36, 55, 82, 125, 142, 200
Harappa, 37, 41, 177, 185, 192
Hili, 21, 25, 36, 42, 52, 54-57, 78, 82, 94, 96, 113, 118, 125,
138,182-183, 185-186, 188, 195, 198,208
Indus, 1, 3, 4, 15, 22, 34, 36-37, 41, 44, 46-47, 49, 50,
53-54, 58

Iran, 1-2, 16, 20-21, 36-37, 43, 55, 58, 60-61, 64, 67, 110,
111, 116, 127, 138, 158-159, 166, 169-170,175, 179
Italy, 172
KaneshIKiiltepe, 179, 181
Kargaly, 40
Karnab, 171, 176, 181
Kastri, 160-163, 175

Kish, 18, 173, 192

lapis lazuli, 15, 60, 67, 176, 179-180, 185, 191-191, 193-194
Lasail, 12,22, 25-26, 28, 33, 42, 53-54, 57, 110, 119,
134-136, 142-143, 155
Levant, 6 , 112, 138, 160, 166
Lothal, 37, 177, 185, 186
Magan, 1, 14-16, 21-22, 37, 41, 43, 51, 57, 124, 137,
180-184, 186-187, 190, 197,201
Mari, 17, 179, 187
Masirah Island, 1, 10, 13-14, 17, 22,24-25, 27-31, 37, 39
Maysar, 46-50, 52, 88, 108, 111, 119, 125, 139, 152, 186,
208
Mediterranean, 17, 123, 132, 135, 138-141, 160-161, 167,
172-1 73
Meluhha, 14, 15, 37,41, 124, 179-182, 186-187, 190, 193
Mesopotamia, 1, 3-4, 14-18, 21, 36-37, 39-41, 43, 45, 51,
55, 57-58, 64,66, 107, 123-124, 135, 138, 141, 160,
165-166, 170, 173-175,179-183, 186-188, 190-194
Mohenjo-Daro, 176, 185
Mundigak, 176
Mushiston, 18 1
Namazga, 176
Old Assyrian trade, 181
ox-hide ingot(s), 132, 139
Poliochni, 133, 160-163, 174

Qara Quzaq, 174, 188, 192

Ra7sal-Jinz, 38-39, 50, 52, 55, 183, 190

Rajasthan, 159
Raki, 12,25-26,43, 53,57, 110-111, 135-136, 156-157
Ricardo7s Law of Comparative Advantage, 38-39, 52
Saar, 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 88, 90, 10-108, 113, 152-154, 156,
160, 177-178, 186, 198-199
Samdah, 20, 22, 26, 28, 30, 54

248 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf

Sarazm, 176
Sar-Cheshmeh, 159
Saudi Arabia, 1, 15, 160-161, 166
Shahdad, 36, 116,175,184,194
Shahr-i Sokhta, 20, 116, 175, 184, 194
Shortughai, 174-1 85
Sialk, 159, 175, 194
Snake Cave, 176
Susa, 175, 179, 184, 182, 187, 193
Tal-i Iblis, 36
Tal-i Malyan, 176, 184
Talmessi, 110, 116
Tarut Island, 14, 177, 202
Tell ed-Der, 138
Tell Judaidah, 174
Tepe Gawra, 174
Tepe Ghabristan, 36
Tepe Hissar, 36, 116, 175, 194
Tepe Yahya, 116,139, 175,182, 184-185,194
Thermi, 57, 153,160-163, 174-175
Transcaucasia, 174, 176, 194
Troy, 160, 161, 163, 174, 175, 192
Umm an-Nar Island, 38, 54-57, 73, 82-86, 90-91, 94, 96,
125,137, 183, 186, 190,208
Ur, 15-16, 173, 179, 182-183, 191
Velikent, 162, 176, 192
Veshnoveh, 159
Yemen, 161, 166
Yugoslavia, 172

Index 249