| Название |
The history of ancient gold |
| Реферат |
The manifestation of gold in its native state and the unique ability not to change its bright color and luster over time could not but attract the attention of people to it in ancient times. In the form of nuggets, gold of alluvial
origin was collected long before man mastered such operations as cold and hot forging, annealing and melting, and its use as jewelry dates back to the 12th millennium BC. The review presents the characteristic features
of gold, which became the first metal consciously used by ancient man in many regions of the Earth. Other parts of the review are the sources of information about «ancient» gold, the difficulties associated with the dating of gold-bearing objects, as well as the archaeological terminology and analytical techniques used. Special sections are devoted to the historical connection of gold and copper, as well as the reproduction and theoretical justification of ancient technologies in the implementation of mining and metallurgical operations. The results of experiments on ancient ore dumps in Copa Hill (Wales), where the impact of fire treatment on rocks and the effectiveness of the use of ancient tools are studied, are presented. When conducting experiments with the heat treatment of oxidized copper ore, it was concluded that the first smelting was unconsciously realized when the ore could be in the form of inclusions in the stones, from which a primitive hearth was made for cooking. The copper smelted in this case could accumulate at the bottom of the hearth in the form of well-distinguishable metal formations. Since malachite was widely used by ancient potters as an ingredient in decorative glaze, metallic copper could be isolated in the firing section of the furnace for the manufacture of ceramic products, easily distinguishable, since it was formed outside the furnace compartment. In such furnaces, the melting point of copper or gold could be reached without difficulty. Thus, the ancient man could get acquainted with the phenomenon of melting metals long before the discovery of the process of their target smelting from ore. To refine the “ancient” gold, which contained up to 35% silver, gold was first granulated, and then mixed with one part of table salt and two parts of brick powder. This mixture was loaded into a crucible of porous clay, heated to a red-hot temperature (about 700 oC), at which it was kept for 24–36 hours. After cementation of silver, the gold content increased to 87.5–91.7%. Silver absorbed by brick chips in the form of chloride was then partially extracted by amalgamation. |
| Библиографический список |
1. Tylecote R. A history of metallurgy. London: Institute of Materials, 1992. 205 p.
2. Selimkhanov I., Marechal J. Nouvelles conceptions sur les debuts de la metallurgie ancienne en Europe et au Caucase. Slovenská Archeológia. 1968. Vol. 16. pp. 461–478.
3. Ermolova N. Problems of absolute dating in archaeology. Moscow: Nauka, 1972. pp. 142–146.
4. Anon. Gold in Paleolithic caves. Al Shindagha Museum. 2002. No. 46. May-June.
5. Aitchison L. A history of metals. N. Y.: Interscience Publishers, 1960. 303 p.
6. Meier D. A pyrotechnological installation from the “metallurgical workshop” at Shahdad and its next geographical and chronological comparisons. The Iranian plateau during the bronze age. Development of urbanisation, production and trade. Ed. by J-W. Meyer et al. Lyon: Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, 2019. pp. 217–234.
7. Anon. The biggest nugget in Brazil. The Guardian. 1983. Sept. 22.
8. Hartmann A., Sangmeister E. The study of prehistoric metallurgy. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 1972. Vol. 11, No. 7. pp. 620–629.
9. Marfunin A. History of gold. Moscow: Nauka, 1987. 245 p.
10. Marro C., Stollner T. On salt, copper and gold: The origins of early mining and metallurgy in the Caucasus. Proc. Conf. Tbilisi (Georgia). 2016. June 16–19. Lyon: Maison de l’Orient et de la Mediterranée – Jean Pouilloux, 2021. pp. 13–28.
11. Hunt L. The true story of Purple of Cassius. Gold Bull. 1976. Vol. 9, No. 1. pp. 24–31.
12. Levey M. Chemistry and chemical technology in ancient Mesopotamia. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1959. pp. 188–189.
13. Hunt L. The long history of lost wax casting. Gold Bull. 1980. Vol. 13, No. 2. pp. 63–79.
14. Meretukov M. Gold: the origin of mining, metallurgy and technology. Moscow: Ore and Metals, 2008. 180 p.
15. Oudbashi O., Agha-Aligol D., Mishmastnehi M., Barnoos V. The Elamite metalworkers: multianalytical study on copper objects and ingots from second millennium BC of southwestern Iran. Archaeol. Anthropol. Sci. 2019. Vol. 11. pp. 2059–2072.
16. Oudbashi O., Mishmastnehi M. Archaeometallurgy of copper in the Middle Elamite period of Southwestern Iran: Analytical investigation of various parts of the copper production in Haft Tappeh. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 2020. Vol. 30, Ch. 102216.
17. Oudbashi O. M., Basafa H. Arsenical copper and bronze metallurgy during Late Bronze Age of north-eastern Iran: evidences from Shahrak-e Firouzeh archaeological site. Arch. Anthrop. Sci. 2020. Vol. 12, No. 10. Art. 231.
18. Vahdati A. The Early iron age in Northern Khorasan. Archaologie in Iran und Turan. 2018. Vol. 17. pp. 51–66.
19. Chen L. Sumerian arsenic copper and tin bronze metallurgy. Archaeol. Disc. 2021. Vol. 9. pp. 185–197.
20. Doonan R., Marks Y. Blowin’ in the wind: The beginning of primary metallurgy in the Early Bronze Age Aegean. Archaeometry. 2022. Vol. 64. pp. 161–176.
21. Francfort H. Iran and Central Asia.The Grand’Route of Khorasan (Great Khorasan Road) during the third millennium BC and the “dark stone” artefacts. The Iranian Plateau during the Bronze Age. Development of urbanisation, production and trade. Ed. by J-W. Meyer et al. Lyon: Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, 2019. pp. 247–266.
22. Guerra M. Fingerprinting ancient gold with proton beams of different energies. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section B. 2004. Vol. 226. pp. 185–198.
23. Chatterjee A. Archaeo-metallurgical analysis: metallurgy in the early medieval societies of Moghalmari, West Bengal, India. Current Science. 2023. Vol. 124. pp. 226–230.
24. Guerra M. Fingerprinting ancient gold by measuring Pt with spatially resolved energy Sy–XRF. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section B. 2005. Vol. 240. pp. 505–511.
25. Craddock P., Cowell M., Guerra M. Anatolian metal III. Ed. U. Yalcin. Bergbau Museum. Press, 2005. 224 p.
26. Karydas A., Kotzamani D., Bernard D. et al. A compositional study of a museum jewellery collection. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section B. 2004. Vol. 226. pp. 15–28.
27. Ruvalcaba J., Demortier G. Scanning RBS-PIXE study of ancient artifacts from South America using a microbeam. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section B. 1996. Vol. 113. pp. 275–278.
28. Dungworth D., Paunter S. Guidelines for the investigation of 17th– to 19th-century industries. Arhaeometallurgy. Centre for archaeology guidelines. London: English Heritage, 2006. 32 p.
29. Wagner F., Gebhard R., Gan W., Hofmann M. The metallurgical texture of gold artefacts found at the Bronze Age rampart of Bernstorf (Bavaria) stu died by neutron diffraction. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 2018. Vol. 20. pp. 338–346.
30. Cojocary V., Badica T., Popescu I. Natural gold composition studied by proton activation analysis (PAA). Romanian Reports in Physics. 2003. Vol. 5. pp. 460–463.
31. Gee C., Ramsey M., Maskall J., Thornton I. Mineralogy and weathering processes in historical smelting slags and their effect on the mobilization of lead. Journal of Geochemical Exploration. 1997. Vol. 58. pp. 249–257.
32. Nonis P. Possibilities of using the morphological characteristics of the slags in archaeo-metallurgical studies. Archaeol. Tourism. Anthropol. Dep. Archaeol. Univ. Kelaniya. 2021. Vol. 2, No. I. pp. 100–109.
33. Nengovhela A., Yibas B., Ogola J. Characterisation of gold tailings dams of the Witwatersrand Basin with reference to their acid mine drainage potential, Johannesburg, South Africa. Water SA. 2006. Vol. 32, No. 4. pp. 499–506.
34. Ritcey G. Tailings management. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1989. 970 p.
35. Boyle R. Gold: history and genesis of deposits. N. Y. : Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1987. 676 p.
36. Ling Ong H., Swanson V. Behavior of gold in tailing dumps. Color. Sch. Mines Quart. 1974. Vol. 69. pp. 395–425.
37. Meretukov M. On the mechanism of adsorption of gold cyanide complex on activated carbon. Tsvetnye Metally. 2004. No. 7. pp. 32–36.
38. Ruvalcaba L., Franco F., Torres L., Ortiz E. Artefact rich gold surfaces: depletion gilding or natural surface corrosion. Ancient gold technology: America and Europe. Ed. A. Perea. Madrid: CSIC, 2004. pp. 41–47.
39. Pickin J., Timberlake S. Primitive mining tools from Tembelini, near. Syama, Mali, West Africa. Bull. Peak District Mines Histor. Soc. 1988. Vol. 10. pp. 165–167.
40. Shepherd R. Ancient mining. London: Elsevier, 1993. 494 p.
41. Coghlan H. Notes on: the prehistoric metallurgy of copper and bronze in the Old World. 2nd ed. Oxford: Pitt Rivers Museum, 1975. 158 p.
42. Coghlan H., Mech A., Loco M., Anth F. Prehistoric copper and some experiments in smelting. Trans. Newcomen Soc. 1939–40. Vol. 20. pp. 49–65.
43. Bachmann H. On the early metallurgy of gold: Some answers and more questions. Proc. Int. Conf.: The beginnings of metallurgy. Ed. A. Hauptmann. Bochum, 1995. Deutches Bergbau-Museum. Bochum, 1999. pp. 267–275.
44. Ramage A., Craddock P. King Kroesus gold. London: British Museum Press, 2000. 272 p.
45. Hall E. Quantitative analysis of secondary X-rays for use particularly in archaeology. PhD thesis. Oxford Univ. 1953.
46. Notton J. Ancient Egyptian gold refining. Gold Bull. 1974. Vol. 7, No. 2. pp. 50–55. |
