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The metal behind the myths: iron metallurgy in the south-eastern Black Sea region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2020

Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo Open the ORCID record for Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo [Opens in a new window] ,
Brian J.J. Gilmour  and
Nana Khakhutaishvili
Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology, Oxford University, UK
Brian J.J. Gilmour
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology, Oxford University, UK
Nana Khakhutaishvili
Affiliation:
Department of History, Archaeology and Ethnology, Shota Rustaveli State University, Georgia
*
*Author for correspondence: ✉ [email protected]
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Abstract

The south-eastern Black Sea area is a key region for understanding the history of iron metallurgy. While Classical texts mention the people living in this area as producers, and perhaps even inventors, of iron, material evidence has been lacking. Recent archaeological survey and scientific analyses now make it possible to investigate iron technologies in the region during the mid to late first millennium BC and the medieval period, providing new insights into the metallurgical tradition that inspired such admiration in the Graeco-Roman world. These results have implications for the smelting of iron in liquid state, although it remains unclear where and when this technology first appeared in Western Eurasia.

Keywords

Black SeaChalybesColchismetallurgyiron smeltingslagsSEM-EDS
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 94 , Issue 374 , April 2020 , pp. 401 - 419
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020

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