Beginning of the Metal Age in the Central Balkans According to the Results of the Archeometallurgy

8/9/2019 Beginning of the Metal Age in the Central Balkans According to the Results of the Archeometallurgy

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BEGINNING OF THE METAL AGE IN THE CENTRAL BALKANSACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF THE ARCHEOMETALLURGY

B. Jovanovi#

Corresponding Member of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts,Belgrade, Serbia

(Received 02 December 2008; accepted 29 January 2009)

Abstract

The gradual development of the primary copper metallurgy in Balkans starts with production of small jewelry pieces and ends with the serial production of massive tools and weapons. It is confirmed that thismetallurgy depended on the contemporary mining, i.e. the available sources of the raw materials. It is alsocorroborated by the discovery of two Early Eneolithic copper mines: Rudna Glava in Eastern Serbia and Ai-

Bunar in Bulgaria /first half and the middle of the 5th millennium BC/. These mines are also the evidence for the local exploitation of the carbonate copper minerals malachite and azurite. The technology employed isclose to the former flint mining in the Late Neolithic; massive pebbles obtained from the neighboring alluvial deposits were used as mining hammers. Identical technology was employed in the mines dating from the later periods /Rudnik, Central Serbia, Jarmovac, Priboj na Limu/. The Vina culture of the central Balkan followed all metallurgical phases of introduction of metal and use of the carbonate ores /Gradac I III phase/. This long process of including the metal in wider use lasted generally from the middle of the 5th millennium BC to theend of the 4th millennium BC, i.e. to the appearance of the Bronze Age.

Keywords: Eneolithic; Primary mining; Archaeometallurgy; Malachite; Rudna Glava; Mali turac, Jarmovac

# Corresponding author: [email protected]

DOI:10.2298/JMMB0902143J

J o u r n a l o f

M i n i n g a n d

M e t a l l u r g y

Journal of Mining and Metallurgy 45 (2) B (2009) 143 - 148

1. Introduction

The archaeology was based on collectingmaterial remains of the former /ancient/civilizations but did not always stick to this

basic prerequisite of its relatively lateappearance among the historical sciences. Ithas been dealing with hypotheses and was

engaged in speculations in solving certaincomplex events important for appearance /or disappearance/ of ancient cultures and their fundamental achievements.

The emergence of the first use of metal inthe Eneolithic/Copper Age/ of the Balkanswas explained, on the base of the lowabsolute chronology, as a consequence of the


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visits of the protectors of the AegeanBronze Age. They were the imagined professional metallurgists sent in these areas

to look for the new sources of the rawmaterials for the advanced civilizations of the East Mediterranean or even the Near East[1]. However, the real evidence for suchassumed expeditions, which brought to theBalkans the first knowledge about copper mining and processing of this earliest prehistoric metal, has never been provided.In its way was also standing the fact thatprotectors of the Mediterranean BronzeAge could not have transferred theknowledge concerning first metallurgicalexperience because it would have been verydistant past for them and thus unknown /as primeval/ as for the autochthonous culturesin the Balkans that had not experienced that past. It turned out, however, that remains of the earliest mining in the Balkans are verysporadic and as a rule destroyed by later exploitation from the prehistoric to themodern times.

Therefore, the first archeometallurgicalanalyses relied directly on the existingmuseum collections of copper artifactsaccording to principle how much metalfinds so much metallurgy. Their scarcity washence taken as evidence that primarymetallurgy had no significant impact on theevolution of the Early Eneolithic cultures inthe region. It was also emphasized that thereare no information for copper ore smelting,

so more attention was paid to collecting thenative copper and the contemporaneoustechnique of cold working. The gradualdevelopment of the copper metallurgy in theeastern and central Balkans starting withsimple jewelry and small implements (the phase of cylindrical beads and wire bracelets) and reaching to the massive tools

and hammer-axes has been recognized rather early on the basis of the archaeological finds.Thus has indirectly been confirmed the

independence of the primary copper metallurgy, which could be followed fromthe simplest forms of the objects for everyday use to the implements of substantial weight cast in the one-piecemoulds.

As a result we came to conclusion that theinitial phase of the Early Eneolithicmetallurgy could be better explained only onthe basis of evidence concerningcontemporary mining. The interdependenceof the metallurgical tradition and availablesources of raw material is in that way permanently present in production of themetal artifacts in prehistory. The knowledgeof technology employed in the earliestcopper mines in the Balkans as well as thediscovery of the Early Eneolithic cultures as bearers of the mining activities are necessaryfor the understanding of the origin of the primary copper use. By the discovery of twomore mines in the Central Balkans /RudnaGlava/ and in the Eastern Balkans /Ai-Bunar/[2] in the 1960s, these two basic elements of the copper use during Early Eneolithic havefinally been joined into unique productionentity. These mines, which have beenarchaeologically investigated to aconsiderable extent, are dated in the EarlyEneolithic, i.e. the Early Copper Age: Ai-Bunar corresponds with cultures Karanovo

VI /Karanovo V in the south Thrace datingfrom the first half and the middle of the 5thmillennium BC[3] while Rudna Glava wasactive during the Gradac phase of the Vinaculture and its date is similar [4]. Thesemines are the evidence for local exploitationof carbonate copper minerals malachiteand azurite. The massive pebbles of volcanic

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origin had been obtained from theneighboring river deposits and used as heavymining hammers. The technology employed

at Rudna Glava is very similar to the former mining of flint in the Early Neolithic or ineven earlier phases of this period throughoutthe continent.

Similar technology but this time of higher level, judging by the various types of pebbles-hammers, was used in the copper mines at Mali turac /Rudnik, CentralSerbia/ and particularly in Jarmovac /Pribojna Limu/. The first mine had been exploitedin the Bronze Age or the later periods whilethe other one had been exploited during theEneolithic but its exploitation continued untilthe modern times [5].

By comparing the technology employedin the earliest copper mines in Thrace andEastern Serbia as well as the similar examples in other regions the strikingsimilarity could be encountered. The use of pebble-hammers with transversal groove isidentical; the veins of copper ore werefollowed to the border of the oxidation zoneat the exploited deposit and generally usingsame technology in the quest for malachite,azurite and native copper. The introductionof copper, therefore, implies identical or verysimilar exploitation of the carbonate or oxideores regardless of the geographic location but there is a considerable difference in theabsolute chronology [6].

Similar evidence suggests that use of the

metal in the Eneolithic metallurgy dependsdirectly on the sources of raw materialswithin given territory. Thus very early use of silver prevails in the Aegean, particularly inthe Cyclades [7] while the copper metallurgyof large scale along with the first bronzealloys prevails besides gold, in thecontinental Balkans. The processing and

obtaining of the metal in the early phases of its use in the Central Balkans areinsufficiently documented from the

technological aspect. Thus an often askedquestion where had been the smelteries or atleast the individual smelting or castingfurnaces remains generally unanswered.

An attempt to explain the first mines assources of materials used for pigments:azurite for blue pigment, malachite for thegreen one is not based on the existingevidence. Even M. M. Vasi, the firstinvestigator of the Vina culture came toconclusion that there is no evidence for theuse of carbonate pigments in the settlementVina-Belo Brdo despite the presence of amorphous malachite in the later /Gradac/ phase of the settlement.

The cold working of the native copper isusually not accepted as distinctarcheometallurgical phase although it is notclear what it could be in that case. Thesporadic use of malachite as decorativemineral is not unexpected but it has nometallurgical significance as it was thequestion of mechanical treatment. Thetransition to the obtaining of copper frommalachite is illustrated by cylindrical beadsmade of thin sheet metal and worn side byside on the same necklace with beads of malachite (mineral). The bracelet made of copper of high purity comes from the Vinaculture (Gradac II phase) settlement Divostinnear Kragujevac where the amorphous

malachite was also found in a considerablequantity. This bracelet belongs to the well-known Plonik type represented by onespecimen in hoard 3 from the eponymoussite / Gradac III phase /. The smelting of carbonate ores for production of jewelry andsmall tools was introduced at the Vinaculture settlement Gornja Tuzla / Gradac I-II

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phase/. There has also been found theamorphous malachite [8].

It has been known for a long time that it is

not simple to determine the composition of the metal used for the earliest massive toolsin the Early Eneolithic whether it is thenative copper or the copper obtained bysmelting carbonate ore because of theexceptional purity of metal in both instances.

The finding circumstances of the earliestmetal artifacts have the important role indrawing conclusions about the primarymetallurgy. There has also been introducedthe term metallurgy of necropoles denotingthe origin of the most of early copper artifacts. They are the grave goods as thecompulsory offerings in the funerary ritualobserved in the Early Eneolithiccommunities in the Middle Danube basinand in the Carpathian basin. The valuablecontribution to the classification andarcheometry of the copper jewelry and toolsof the Eneolithic period are various hoardscontaining the finished copper products or the founders waste prepared for meltingdown. The magnificent grave goods of copper and gold from the famous Varnanecropolis radically changed theassumptions concerning the metallurgy of the Late Eneolithic in the Eastern Balkans /Gumelnia Karanovo VI culture/ [9]. Thehigh technological level of the LateEneolithic in the Balkans when massivecopper tools had been produced in series is

evident.The Vina culture followed all the stagesof gradual introduction of the metals in theCentral Balkans. The most acceptable is theconclusion that metallurgical production became possible only simultaneously with primary copper mining mostly concerningthe carbonate and oxide ores. This fact

speaks rather in favor of the revolution of mining than the revolution of metallurgy,which concerns more the technology of

alloys and the serial production of the bronzeartifacts.The south region of the Vina culture

provides different archeometallurgicalevidence to a certain degree. The mostinteresting among the larger Vinasettlements existing along the south edge of the zone with the richest ore deposits inEastern Serbia /Majdanpek Rudna Glava Bor/ is the settlement Belovode near Petrovac na Mlavi. This settlement existedduring Gradac I II phase; according to thedivision of the Early Eneolithic culture intoGradac I III phases it relates generally to itssouth area and is based on the correspondingarcheometallurgical development. The mostimportant result of such relativelychronological division is the sharpdistinction between the south and northregion of the Vina culture. While the former enters the final stages of the Early Eneolithicthrough the Gradac III phase, the latter isexposed to pressure and partial destruction by the cultures of the Pannonian Early andLater Eneolithic [10].

It turned out that processing of malachiteduring Gradac I II phase was, regardless of the technical and production level, just thelocal production. According to the existingevidence we should not expect any distinctcenter during the first stage of metallurgy in

the Vina culture. The situation with smithsand smelters gathered in small artisancommunities is more probable for the GradacIII phase because the serial production of massive tools and weapons has only been possible on the basis of the considerableincrease of the available quantity of copper obtained from the carbonate copper

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minerals. The early production centers have been confirmed so far only in the Badenculture /Eastern Slavonija/ at the site Salo

Donja Vrba near Slavonski Brod and this points to the Alpine zone in the northwestabounding in the sulphides copper ores[11].

It is not difficult to imagine the countlessways of circulation of the first metal, fromthe commercial exchange to plundering.Therefore it is impossible to distinguish,using classic archaeological methods, howmany artifacts had been produced of thecopper from one or many sources of the rawmaterials that could also be rather distantfrom each other.

The investigations concerning the originof malachite in the Vina settlements in theMorava valley in relation to Rudna Glava/Gradac I phase/ did not yield the expectedresults. The analyses of the radioactiveisotopes of lead in some samples werehampered by the increased radioactivity of the copper ore from Rudna Glava [12] as

well as by applying the analytic methodinsufficiently adjusted to the distinctiveconditions of the site situated on the strip

mine of the modern magnetite mine[13].Therefore, the different levels of development of metallurgy within thecontemporaneous cultures of the EarlyEneolithic in this region are understandable.Thus, the Tiszapolgar culture, which wascloser to the sources of the Carpathiancopper yielded considerable number of massive hammer-axes (mostly grave goods)while geographically close Sopot culture didnot yield the data about its own production of the copper artifacts.

The metallurgy in the Balkans repeats the primary mining technology and copper processing independently of thechronological and geographical differences.This was possible to achieve because theinitial knowledge about metals was in the

B. Jovanovi / JMM 45 ( 2 ) B (2009) 1 43 - 14 8

Fig. 1. Massive copper tools and weapons, Eneolithic period 1. Central Balkans; 2 Western Balkans

Fig. 2. Massive copper tools and weapons, Eneolithic period 1-2. Eastern Balkan; 3. Lower Danube basin

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Balkan-Aegean area rather early but the prerequisites for its intensification were verydifferent.

Bearing in mind the early occurrence of small number of copper objects within the Neolithic cultures in the Balkans and their diverse dating as well as the absence of reliable evidence concerning the very beginning of the metallurgical processing of malachite there still remains, however, the primary mining of carbonate copper minerals, determined chronologically andgeographically. Therefore, the Gradac I phase of the Vina culture /Rudna Glava/ andKaranovo V-VI /Ai-Bunar/ denote accordingto our present knowledge the beginning of the metallurgical activity in the Balkans. Theuse of gold from the river deposits was probably of a later date as it is suggested bythe necropolis in Varna /Black Sea coast/.

The long process of including the metal inregular use lasted from the middle or the endof the 5th millennium BC until the end of the4th century BC. The quoted dates are alsoconfirmation of gradual / and independent /improvement of the metallurgical knowledgein the Eneolithic period of the Balkans.

References

1. B. Jovanovi, The first use of metals in theBalkans, Coloquium XIX, The Copper Age in the Near East and Europe, XIII Congress of UISPP, Forli,1996, 57-64.

2. B. Jovanovi, Rudna Glava, Die altesteKupferbergbau im Zentralbalkan, Bor-Beograd, 1982.3. N.N. ernich et al., The Circumpontic

Metallurgical Province as a System, Die Kupferzeitals Historische Epoche, T.2, herausg. von J.Lichardus,Bonn, 1991, p.593-622.

4. M. Garaanin, Die Gradac Stufe der VinaGruppe und der Beginn des Aeneolitikums, Dacia,

XXXVIII-XXXIX (1994-1995) 9-17.5. B. Jovanovi, Ref. 2, p.78.6. B. Jovanovi, Continuity of the prehistoric

mining in the Central Balkans,Ancient mining andmetallurgy in Southeast Europe, P. Petrovi, S.Djurdjekanovi, Eds., Bor - Beograd, 1995, p.29.

7. B. Jovanovi, Silver in the Early Praehistory of the Central Balkans, Silver Workshops and mints,I.Popovi, T. Cvjetianin, B.Bori Brekovi,Belgrade, 1995, 31-37. (in Serbian )

8. B. ovi, Prehistoric mining and metallurgy inBosnia and Herzegovina state and investigation problems, Annual XXII, Center for balkanologicalresearch, 20 (1984) 111-144. (in Serbian )

9. H. Todorova, Chronologie, horizontaleStratigraphie und Befunde, Durankulak, Bd. II, Teil1,herausg., H. Todorova, Sofia, 2002, p.35-52.

10. B. Jovanovi, Gradac Phase of the Vinaculture: Origin of a typological innovation Homage toMilutin Garaanin, N.Tasi, C. Grozdanov Eds.,Belgrade 2006, 221-233;

11. D. ljivar, The Eariest Copper Metalurgy in theCentral Balkans, Metalurgija, Guest-Editor D.ivkovi, 12 (2-3) (2006) 93-104.

12. J. Lozuk, A problem of the Baden group

Metallurgy at the site of Salo, Donja Vrba near Slavonski Brod, Ancient mining and metallurgy inSoutheast Europe, P.Petrovi, S. Djurdjekanovi,Eds., Bor-Beograd, 1995, p. 55-58.

13. E. Pernicka, Eneolithic and Early Bronze AgeCopper artefacts from the Balkans and their relation toSerbian Copper Ores, Praehistorische Zeitschrift, 68(1) (1993) 1-54.

14. B. Jovanovi, Archaeological Comment toE.Pernicka,s et.al., Eneolithic and Early Bronze AgeCopper artefacts from the Balkans and their relation toSerbian Copper Ores, Praehistorische Zeitschrieft 68(1) (1993) 55-57.

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Beginning of the Metal Age in the Central Balkans According to the Results of the Archeometallurgy