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Mineral Exploitation (mineral + exploitation)
Selected AbstractsGeothermal activity at the archaeological site of Aghia Kyriaki and its significance to Roman industrial mineral exploitation on Melos, GreeceGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2003A. J. Hall The geothermal setting of the archaeological site at Aghia Kyriaki, Southeast Melos (or Milos) was investigated in order to help clarify the possible role of the site in mineral exploitation on Melos in Roman times. There are active sulfurous fumaroles in the area and these were also potential sources of sulfur and alum-group minerals in Roman times. However, geothermal activity has been ongoing in Southeast Melos for hundreds of thousands of years, and extensive hydrothermal alteration of basement rocks to the northeast of the site has produced "white rocks" containing additional potential industrial minerals such as kaolin and alunite. The archaeological remains occur within, but mainly near the surface, of a deeply gullied sequence of late Quaternary alluvial sediments, which consist mainly of metamorphic detritus but are rich in sulfates; the remains contain pottery sherds through the entire sequence of about 40 m. They were deposited on an earlier gullied topography of felsic tuffs overlying the metamorphic basement. Pervasive and veinlike intense reddish alteration of these sediments is probably mainly due to superheated fluid escaping from depth. Field observations demonstrate that this took place after the main phase of building but was likely to be ongoing during occupation of the site. While industrial minerals and geothermal energy would therefore have been available in the Roman period, any relationship of the site to mineral exploitation will have to be determined by archaeological excavation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] NEW APPROACHES ON THE ARCHAIC TRADE IN THE NORTH-EASTERN IBERIAN PENINSULA: EXPLOITATION AND CIRCULATION OF LEAD AND SILVEROXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 2 2010NÚRIA RAFEL Summary A wide-ranging study based on compositional and isotopic analyses of minerals and manufactured objects from the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula and their respective archaeological and cultural contexts demonstrates significant lead mineral exploitation in the El Priorat area (Tarragona province) linked to Phoenician trade (seventh,sixth centuries BC). This exploitation continued, despite losing intensity, until the Romanization of the territory. Our project also aims to determine the nature and origin of the lead and silver supply in the northern Iberian territory surrounding the Phocaean enclave of Emporion, especially with regard to the demands of the colonial mint. The behaviour pattern of the circulation of lead, silver and copper in Catalonia in the period studied indicates a plurality of contemporary supply sources, although, at least from the fifth century BC onward, minerals and metals from the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula take on considerable importance. [source] GLAZED CERAMIC MANUFACTURING IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY (ITALY): EVIDENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CONTINUITY THROUGHOUT THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (10TH,14TH CENTURIES),ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 1 2008C. FORTINA Archaeometric investigation allowed the characterization of two important classes of ceramics: ,vetrina sparsa' and ,invetriata grezza'. Their archaeological peculiarity makes them particularly suited for tracing the evolution of glaze manufacturing in southern Tuscany throughout the medieval period (10th,14th centuries). These ceramics were found in different sites of historical importance, and also from a mining perspective. Local copper, lead, zinc and iron mineralizations supported the growth of several settlements in the vicinity of the mines. The many castles and different archaeological finds (ceramics, glazed ceramic, slag etc.) attest to the intense mineral exploitation of the area from at least the first millennium bc up to the modern period. In light of these geological and archaeological characteristics, archaeometric investigation was intended to provide insight into ancient technical knowledge of ceramic glazing and to determine the source area for raw materials in the medieval period (10th,14th centuries). Ceramic bodies were analysed through OM, XRDp, SEM,EDS and XRF, while coatings were investigated through SEM,EDS. Mineralogical, petrographic and chemical analyses revealed slightly different preparation and firing processes for the two classes of ceramics. These data suggest the continuity through the centuries of the ,vetrina sparsa' and ,invetriata grezza' production technology. The mineralogical phases, such as monazite, xenotime, zircon, barite, Ti oxide, ilmenite, titanite, tourmaline and ilvaite, and the lithic (intrusive and volcanic) fragments detected within the ceramic bodies suggest a source area in the vicinity of the Campiglia mining district. Lastly, the presence of Cu,Zn,Pb (Ag) and Fe sulphide mineralizations (materials used to produce glaze) in the area supports the hypothesis of local manufacture. [source] |