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Copper Mining and Smelting
The Al Ain chapter has collected considerable information and photographs
regarding the copper smelting that took place in what was once known as Magan,
now the Oman peninsula including the emirates of the United Arab Emirates and
northern Oman.
The various pages include:
The ancient Sumerian literature refers to the land of Magan (or Makkan) as a
source of copper. Several archaeological projects have been undertaken in Oman
and the United Arab Emirates to document this industry that dates back 4000
years or more.
In Al Ain, the copper, and later the bronze industry is noted in conjunction
with the study of settlements in and around Hili. In the mountain wadis near Al
Ain, there is evidence of mud brick copper smelters and copper smelting furnaces
on an industrial scale.
The Al Ain chapter hopes to build a reference section on the copper and
bronze cultures. Below are listed websites and articles of interest to those
studying the smelting of copper and bronze. If you know of a site or article
that relates to the topic, please contact the group at info@enhg.org or contact
a Committee member.
Index of images and links on this page
- Images
- Copper ore
- Mud brick A
- Mud brick B
- Mud brick C
- Links
- Digging in the Land of Magan
- Early Metal Mining and Production
- Oxford Material Science-Based Archaeology Group
- Oman Archaeology: German Archaeological Expedition to the
Sultanate of Oman
- As Safarfir -- An Early Islamic Copper Mine in the UAE
- The Second Season of Excavations by the French Archaeological
Expedition in the Al Ain Region
- Seminar for Arabian Studies (Oxford University)
- Glimpses of the Historical Geography of the Al Ain Region, Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- The 1979-80 Excavations at Hili
- Al Hair Archaeological Site
- The People of the United Arab Emirates
- Archaeology in Al Ain
- Bronze: Historical Metal Age
- Bronze Age Factory Discovered in Jordan
- Copper
- Early Developments in Metallurgy -- Incomplete
- Development of Metallurgy
- Metals
- Copper metallurgy in Central Thailand
- Murlo Slags
- Smelting of copper
- UAE Ministry of Information and Culture: A walk through time;
20,000 - 2,000 years ago Copper
Images
Copper ore samples from a mining site in the Hajar mountains
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A mud brick from a Hajar mountain copper smelting site
Reverse side of mud brick
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Each mud brick has an impression of a hand on one side . . .
. . . and is flat on the reverse side
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The mud bricks were often used in individual smelters . . .
. . . arranged in a circle approximately 10 m in diameter; these 'donuts' are
plentiful in the mountains
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Links
- Digging
in the Land of Magan
- Excavations yield evidence of cultures spanning some 8,000 years. By M.
Redha Bhacker and Bernadette Bhacker. From Archaeology, Abstracts, Volume 50
Number 3 May/June1997
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- Early Metal Mining
and Production
- A review of Paul Craddock's book (Edinburgh University Press 1995 ISBN 0
7486 0498 7, £45.00 (hardback)) by Dr. David Dungworth
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- Oxford Material
Science-Based Archaeology Group
- "The Materials Science-Based Archaeology Group is concerned with the
investigation of all aspects of the metallurgical process, from smelting to
metal finishing, and from the first use of alloys in the 5th/4th millennia BC
to the Industrial Revolution."
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- Oman
Archaeology: German Archaeological Expedition to the Sultanate of Oman
- "Our Mission has conducted research and cultural management projects
in cooperation with the Sultanate's Ministry of National Heritage and Culture
since 1977. In different ways, and owing to an interdisciplinary approach, the
Mission has illuminated the prehistory of this Arabian land. Originally the
emphasis centred on localising the copper land Magan/Makkan which is known
from cuneiform texts. The Mission is sponsored by the German Mining Museum and
the Institute for Prehistory of the University of Heidelberg."
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- As Safarfir -- An Early Islamic Copper Mine in the UAE
- By R.A. Western as published in Bulletin 24 of the Abu Dhabi chapter's
Bulletin (page 2). "Parts of Oman have long been recognized as a source
for the production and smelting of copper ore. In the third millenium BC, the
country possessed large-scale mining operations at Maysar and in the Wadi
Jizzi, and both these areas witnessed a revival of the industry in the early
Islamic Period. Such was the extent of the operations in both periods that
some authorities believe the center and north of the country was denuded of
its forests for fuel, and that the resultant ecological devastation can still
be seen in Oman's arid landscape today."
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- The Second Season of Excavations by the French Archaeological Expedition in the Al Ain Region
- By Rob Western. Notes of a talk given by M. Serge Cleuziou to the ENHG on
27/02/78. (See Bulletin No. 2, page 18-20 for notes on the first season.)
"After a brief introduction to archaeology in the UAE, with reference to
the earliest excavations at Umm an Nar (see Geoffrey Bibby's Looking for
Dilmun), M. Cleuziou went on to describe in some detail the three main
periods encountered so far. Much of the second season's work confirmed various
theories introduced during the 1976-77 season, though the three periods
described are not clear-cut chronologically, and some of the sites displayed
evidence of successive, if not continuous, occupation."
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- Seminar for Arabian Studies (Oxford University)
- A summary report by Rob Western of the annual meeting held at Oriel
College, Oxford, between 22nd and 24th July.
"Third millennium copper production in Oman" by Dr. G. Weisburger,
of Mochum in West Germany, was also most interesting for the further
speculation it cast on ancient Makan. Using balloon aerial photography, the
team surveyed the plain of Maysar, a copper producing site between
approximately 2200 BC and medieval times. Last year the medieval remains were
examined, and then the team returned to analyze the older material beneath.
Their conclusion - the third millennium was every bit as important as more
recent times for mining and smelting the ore.
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- Glimpses of the Historical Geography of the Al Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- by Abdullah Hussain Dawood
"Third millenium sites, one at Unn un Nar island, near Abu Dhabi city,
are now being excavated and it is possible that they are a part of the country
of Magan which supplied copper and diorite to Mesopotamia. Although no copper
is produced today in the region (Masudi – Arab author), writing in the tenth
century mentions it as a product of Oman. Old copper mines are sited at the
head of the Jadi Jizi in addition to open-cast mining at Jebel Ma’adin (east
of Jebel Hafit), near Nizwa and Birkat al Mauz (interior Oman), and Masirah
island (south-east of Muscat)."
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- The 1979-80 Excavations at Hili
- A review by Rob Western of a talk given by the Director, Serge Cleuziou, to
the ENHG on 18 February 1980.)
"Serge is almost convinced that Hili is part of the "lost
civilization" of Makan. This is not a new idea. Bibby and others have
variously suggested Oman, Yemen and Pakistan, but the weight of evidence is
beginning to favor the area of Oman including Hili and various towns south
along the mountain fringe. Makan is mentioned in Mesopotamian sources as an
exporter of copper. A clay tablet from Ur dated 2024 BC mentions fifteen
garments and two-thirds of a talent of wool, 'merchandise for buying copper
from Makan.' "
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- Al Hair Archaeological Site
- A report by Pieter Stoel
"The site itself consists of two more or less oval shaped depressions of
10 m and 60 m long respectively. Ostrich shell, beads, seashell ornaments, one
potsherd and hundreds of flakes of flint debris were scattered all over the
place. The marine mollusks and flint I do not believe originated from this
place, but may be from Oman, indicating a traveling route. One light colored
piece of rock contained tiny veins of (presumably) copper ore, while another
piece looked like jaspar. Among the chert a banded gray and white ore was
found, and some artifacts could be identified. Because of the accompanying
shell material, I believe some artefacts may have been used as tools on shell
jewelery."
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- The People of the United Arab Emirates
- An article by Dr. Frauke Heard
"There is archaeological evidence of fairly well-to-do communities who
lived in the area as much as 5000 years ago. The tombs at Umm an Nar, Hili and
over the border in Oman are not spectacular, but the stone masons who built
and decorated them with a few pictorial engravings must have been supported by
a society which was affluent enough (maybe through copper trade?) to care in
that manner for their dead."
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- Archaeology in Al Ain
- An article by Walid Yassin al - Tikriti, archaeologist and curator of the
Al Ain Museum
"Bronze Age Sites: This period is represented by a complex of habitation
sites as well as tombs dated to the 3rd millenium BC. There are several round
collective tombs located inside and outside Hili Garden. These multi -
coloured tombs have yielded different types of painted, incised, and plain
pottery vessels dated to ca. 2500 - 2000 BC. Stone vessels and beads made of
different materials and copper objects were among the finds."
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- Bronze: Historical Metal Age
- "Bronze was the first alloy intentionally manufactured and used by
man. Early bronze was an alloy of copper and arsenic that occur together
naturally, and was used from about 4,000 BC until about 3,500 BC"
"About 3,500 BC true bronze started to appear, which is an alloy of
copper and tin. This true bronze was harder and less brittle than
copper-arsenic bronzes, could be made copper and tin ingots if the natural
materials were not available, and could be made the same every time."
[The current link was likely plagarized from an original article that was hosted at Grayson County College, but no longer exists]
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- Bronze
Age Factory Discovered in Jordan
- An article by John Roach for National Geographic News, June 25, 2002
"Archaeologists working at a desert site in Jordan have excavated a large
and very well-preserved copper factory from the Early Bronze Age. The
discovery is providing insight into metal production as the first urban
cultures emerged."
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- Copper
- "Copper: a common metallic element, reddish in color, that is readily
bent, easily extended, yet tough. Copper is frequently found in the pure, or
native, form in nature, but rarely in great enough concentration to mine
economically. Usually mining is dependent on one or more of the many copper
compounds. Other important alloys, known for many centuries, are brass (copper
and zinc) and, most ancient of all, bronze (copper and tin)."
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- Early Developments in Metallurgy -- Incomplete
- By Steve Muhlberger, Nipissing University
"Much of the interest of ancient history is tracing origins, whether in
politics, religion, or technology. This lecture and the next treat the
development of tools crucial to civilization. The subject of this lecture is
the development of metal tools. A great many things we take for granted cannot
be done efficiently, or at all, without appropriate metal tools. Advances in
technology have very often depended on advances in metallurgy."
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- Development
of Metallurgy
- "Ores are naturally occurring chemical compounds. They are mostly
oxides and suphides, though other more complex molecules also occur (e.g.,
silicates, carbonates, sulphates). First ore used was malachite Cu2CO3(OH)2.
It can be easily ground into a green power and was originally sought for
cosmetics (i.e., eye liner). If thrown into a fire it reduces to a globule of
copper."
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- Metals
- "Stone, ceramics, woven materials, and wood all have their relative
advantages and disadvantages. However it is hard to overestimate the impact
that metals have had on the history of our society. Metals can be shaped like
clay, are heat-resistant like pottery, but are not fragile. To someone who had
never seen a metal before, this was indeed a magical material."
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- Prehistoric copper production and technological reproduction in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of central Thailand
- By T.O. Pryce (2009) Doctoral Thesis
Employing a technological approach derived from the ‘Anthropology of Technology’ theoretical literature, this thesis concerns the identification and explanation of change in prehistoric extractive metallurgical behaviour in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of central Thailand. The ‘Valley’ metallurgical complex, amongst the largest in Eurasia, constitutes Southeast Asia’s only documented industrial-scale copper-smelting evidence. The two smelting sites investigated, Non Pa Wai and Nil Kham Haeng, provide an interrupted but analytically useful sequence of metallurgical consumption and production evidence spanning c. 1450 BCE to c. 300 CE. The enormous quantity of industrial waste at these sites suggests they were probably major copper supply nodes within ancient Southeast Asian metal exchange networks. Excavated samples of mineral, technical ceramic, and slag from Non Pa Wai and Nil Kham Haeng were analysed in hand specimen, microstructurally by reflected-light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and chemically by polarising energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry ([P]ED-XRF) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (SEM-EDS). Resulting analytical data were used to generate detailed technological reconstructions of copper smelting behaviour at the two sites, which were refined by a programme of field experimentation. Results indicate a long-term improvement in the technical proficiency of Valley metalworkers, accompanied by an increase in the human effort of copper production. This shift in local ‘metallurgical ethos’ is interpreted as a response to rising regional demand for copper in late prehistory.
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- Murlo Slags
- Program on Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"Nine samples of slag from the sixth century B.C. Etruscan site at Murlo,
Italy, were analyzed for microstructure and composition using light
microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray
spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to answer the following
questions: Is the material copper smelting slag, or the product of early iron
smelting? How efficient was the smelting process? Can information be gained
about the temperature and atmosphere inside the smelting furnace? How do these
slag samples compare with previously analyzed examples that derived from a
different location at the same site? Because the slags revealed different
phases (both glassy and crystalline, with some ceramic furnace remnants
attached) both to the naked eye and under a metallurgical microscope, several
samples from each slag piece were prepared."
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- Smelting of copper
- "The knowledge of the process of smelting copper had been lost in
Elizabethan England and it was necessary to bring a number of German experts
into the country before copper smelting could begin."
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- UAE
Ministry of Information and Culture: A walk through time; 20,000 - 2,000 years
ago Copper
- "The importance of metals in human history was recognised long ago by
early archaeologists and anthropologists interested in social evolution. Of
the base metals used in the Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia) in the past,
copper was surely the most important until c. 1000 BC when iron came to
prominence. In the UAE copper sources have been located in the Hajar
mountains, specifically in southern Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah, and evidence
of copper refining ('smelting') is abundant at several sites such as the Wadi
Safafir and Awhala."
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