Dr Artemios Oikonomou, STARC

Abstract: 

Arguably, glass is an artificial material that needed the greatest amount of technical know-how to produce it of any other inorganic ancient material in antiquity. Mixing of specific ingredients/raw materials and very sophisticated control of pyrotechnology produces a material having unique properties, such as opacity, translucency and transparency, while it can be coloured with bright hues and can reflect/refract the light. In the very beginning of its invention glass have been attributed a ritual significance, but through time and innovation, slowly developed a more functional character.

In this lecture, we will examine a range of factors that led glass to its first appearance followed by the various ways in which it was used in society, ranging from important high value roles to begin with, leading to every-day functions following the invention of glass blowing at the ending of 1st millennium BC. We will consider the ritual, social, economic and political contexts in which glass developed and became the highly valued material with many uses until today. By looking at a range of archaeological case studies we will investigate how glass was made, how it can be characterised, what meaning glass had in ancient societies and the extent to which it was traded and exchanged.

Abstract: 

The early 1st millennium CE sees a major shift in the production technology of glass artefacts away from the earlier labour-intensive techniques of core forming, slumping etc., resulting in a fundamentally new role of glass as a common consumer good. The lecture introduces glass blowing as a revolutionary new technique, and explores the ramification this has within the context of the Roman and Byzantine empires: namely the mass production of glass and its concentration in a narrow strip along the eastern Mediterranean coast. The use of discrete sand sources with distinct geochemical signatures as the main raw material enables us to study the ebb and flow of successive major glass producing regions, through the analysis of minor oxides, trace elements and stable isotopes. We will explore current ways to determine the chemical and isotopic composition of ancient glass, and how to interpret the data with regard to determining production origins, coloration, working and recycling of glass. The lecture will highlight the recently discovered emergence of boron-rich glass from Western Anatolia as a distinct and still in part enigmatic part of the industry. It closes with the transition from mineral natron to plant ash as the main flux, during the 8th and 9th century CE and the associated dispersal of production away from the Roman & Byzantine centralized model. The role of glass tesserae will be discussed separately, in view of their ancient production, use and recycling, as well as their modern analysis.

Prof Patrick Degryse, KU Leuven

Abstract:

For over two decades, multi-element chemical analysis of soils in archaeological surveys and floor sediments in archaeological excavation contexts has been a tool to identify and interpret anthropogenic chemical residues and ancient activities. Geochemical anomalies in the subsoil can indeed be explained in several ways, from the natural occurrence of mineralization and ore deposits to anthropogenic input, both recent or past. In particular ancient agriculture, artisanal processes such as metal smelting and other pyrotechnologies or waste disposal will leave geochemical markers that last for millennia. But how can anomalous values in certain elements be detected and positively identified in the subsoil?

In this lecture, the use of geochemical techniques in archaeology and archaeological prospecting is discussed, and the practical use of data provided by such techniques is explained and put into practice. The student will handle a dataset of chemical data, provided from real scientific research material, and will answer questions regarding prospecting and artisanal processes, discussing the archaeological implications of their conclusions and reporting this result to ‘the archaeologist’ (the class group).

Dr Maria Dikomitou, UCL

Abstract: 

This lecture will provide an overview of archaeological ceramics’ life cycle, from raw material selection, use, and reuse to the artefacts’ final deposition; a series of interlinked and very closely associated technological and cultural choices. All these stages in a ceramic’s life cycle, collectively known in literature as its chaîne opératoire, can be reconstructed and studied individually and in unison using a range of analytical methods and by defining and recording the ceramic material characteristics and properties. The lecture will introduce students to a wide range of concepts and ideas used in artefact studies, and specifically in pottery studies, including ancient technology, technological change, the provenance postulate, as well as research design, with explicit references made to sample selection, various methods of analysis, data processing and interpretation. With examples drawn from the interdisciplinary study of ancient Cypriot cooking pots, tableware, and terracotta figurines, the lecture and discussion will involve hands-on-experience with actual archaeological specimens, datasets and analytical samples. 

Dr Frederik Rademakers, KU Leuven

Abstract:

This lecture aims at familiarizing the student with techniques from isotope geochemistry, and how they are applied to archaeological science. It will be discussed how in practice different isotopic systems used in the geosciences (Pb, Sr, Nd, Sb, Cu, B…)  can be used in the study of ancient artefacts and craft production (e.g. the reconstruction of ancient ceramic, glass or metal production) and how these answer specific archaeological questions.

Abstract: 

This lecture aims to introduce students to various theoretical and practical aspects of the scientific approach to ceramic studies in archaeology. The first part of the lecture gives a brief introduction into ceramic materials commonly found on medieval and post-medieval archaeological sites in EMMA, ranging from plain and glazed earthenware to glazed fritware. Technological differences between these ceramics will be outlined together with the most common scientific techniques used in Archaeological Science for their identification and study. The focus is on ceramic petrography and chemical analyses such as XRF and SEM-EDS. Methodological advantages and constraints of these techniques will be illustrated on several case studies from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. These case studies show potentials of well-contextualised scientific data for broader archaeological interpretations of production, ceramic organisation, provenance and cultural change.

In the second part of the lecture, students will get a chance to gain some practical experience with archaeological ceramics, samples and analytical instruments. Particularly, students will be able to learn about the basic principles of ceramic petrography by watching thin sections of ceramics under the polarising microscope that will be provided on the site. Furthermore, a portable XRF will be used for the demonstration of semi-quantitative analysis of glazes. The objective of the second part is to stress the complexity of scientific methods.

Prof Marcos Martinón-Torres, Cambridge 

Abstract: 

Humans have historically used metals for both the most splendorous and the most ignoble. Obtaining and transforming metals poses numerous technical challenges, but metals also open up exceptional materialities and opportunities for social interaction. As such, the study of how people obtained, transformed, exchanged and used metals in the past offers a peculiar avenue to understand human behaviour, cultural transmission and social relationships cross-culturally. Archaeometallurgy is also one of the archaeological subdisciplines where the use of scientific techniques is most established, enabling higher degrees of resolution in our knowledge as well as fertile grounds for academic interaction.

This session will start by attempting a summary of the main questions and research approaches within archaeometallurgy, making particular emphasis on the potential for integrated research incorporating archaeometallurgy and other fields of specialisation. We will then present a few selected case studies, including gold in the Pre-Columbian Americas, bronze in prehistoric China, and a few others in between.

Tour of the Lemba Lakkous Site

Field Trip 

The mine at Skouriotissa is the only currently operating mine in Cyprus, situated next to the largest deposit of archaeological slag known from Cyprus. We will visit the 25m thick Late Roman slag deposit exposed at Skouriotissa, a protected archaeological monumen, and explore ways how to study and understand past metallurgical operations. Strong footwear is recommended for this visit.