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David Larreina

Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU, Grupo de investigación en Patrimonio y Paisajes Culturales (GIPyPAC), Researcher

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Papers by David Larreina

Los inicios de la sedentarización y de la metalurgia en el centro?oeste peninsular: el yacimiento calcolítico de Castillejo (Villasbuenas de Gata, Cáceres)

Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología/Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología, Jun 29, 2024

En este trabajo se presentan los primeros resultados de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en el as... more En este trabajo se presentan los primeros resultados de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en el asentamiento de Castillejo (Villasbuenas de Gata, Cáceres). Las excavaciones han permitido exhumar un pequeño conjunto de estructuras domésticas, así como un potencial recinto amurallado en la zona más alta del enclave. Estas han podido ser adscritas a un momento del Calcolítico Pleno a través del estudio de la cultura material y de las dataciones radiocarbónicas. Así mismo, la abundancia de materiales arqueológicos ha posibilitado realizar un amplio abanico de análisis que incluye el repertorio cerámico, la industria lítica, los manteados constructivos de barro, los registros arqueobotánicos de carbones y semillas, así como un análisis arqueometalúrgico

The Flint Quarry of Pozarrate (Treviño, Spain) in the Context of Iberian and Early European Neolithic Mining

Archaeologia Polona, 2022

flint tools, among other recoveries. Radiocarbon dates indicate an Early Neolithic activity which... more flint tools, among other recoveries. Radiocarbon dates indicate an Early Neolithic activity which makes Pozarrate one of the few flint procurement sites in the Iberian Peninsula from this period. Moreover, a considerable number of elements link Pozarrate to the Early European Neolithic flint mining phenomenon.

The Metallography of Medieval Agricultural and Quotidian Iron Utensils from the Rural Settlement of Zaballa (Basque Country)

Archaeometry, 2018

This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and ... more This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and domestic character, and is set out as preliminary results of the research project Basquesmith. This project aims to explore the production of iron utensils used by a specific part of the social spectrum: the peasantry. The artefacts, most of which date to the Early Medieval period (8th–10th centuries ad) were excavated at a single rural settlement in the region of the Álava Plain (northern Spain), and correspond to ordinary objects such as nails or scissors, which are under‐represented in archaeometric studies in favour of luxury and exotic items—typically weapons. The metallographic analysis revealed that most of the items are low carbon iron that had been extensively cold worked, whereas composite structures of iron and steel were less frequently present. The iron‐working technologies reconstructed here are discussed in relation to the accessibility of iron by the medieval rural commun...

Technology and social complexity: iron tools and peasant communities in the Medieval period

This chapter aims to explore the complexity of early medieval rural societies by the integrated a... more This chapter aims to explore the complexity of early medieval rural societies by the integrated approach of historical sources, archaeological evidence and archaeometric analysis of material culture. Ten iron farming tools including billhooks, horseshoes, scissors, a knife, and a strip were metallographically analysed and the results inserted within the wider framework of historical and archaeological data to offer a tentative reconstruction of interplay between models of iron production and peasant communities during early medieval times in the area of Llanada Alavesa (Basque Country, north of Spain).

Technical ceramics for salt production in Western Sahara

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 2021

ABSTRACT This paper presents evidence of ceramic technology in western Tiris (Western Sahara), da... more ABSTRACT This paper presents evidence of ceramic technology in western Tiris (Western Sahara), dated by thermoluminescence to the third millennium cal. BP. Western Tiris is an arid region mostly covered by desert where recent archaeological fieldwork has nevertheless revealed a significant network of settlements from the Neolithic period inhabited by nomadic people. Domestic pottery and lithic materials are common in the archaeological register of these sites, but three sherds found in the Lejuad XVII rockshelter present features typical of technical ceramics. Laboratory analyses reveal that abundant mineral and organic temper was added to the natural clay which, in addition to the presence of thicker walls than those usually found in domestic pottery, is interpreted as an attempt to increase resistance to thermal shocks. However, the fragments present only mild signals of exposure to high temperatures, up to a maximum of 900 °C. Discussion of these contradictory data leads to the conclusion that the sherds may have been part of a briquetage mould to extract salt by evaporation, a pyrotechnical industry previously unknown in Western Sahara. Its appearance in an arid environment far from production centres is explained as result of sporadic economic activity rather than cross-cultural mobility and trading, which seems to have been intense in the area from Neolithic times. In addition, this paper introduces the use of micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) as a technique for measuring large porosity derived from burned organic materials.

A new piece of the puzzle: slag and ore analysis to reconstruct the prehispanic smelting technology at the Atacama Desert, Chile

Heritage Science

The Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which ... more The Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which had its unique peculiarities and was based on local ancestral knowledge. The widespread use of tin-bronze during the Inca expansion, the development of mining and smelting sites, as well as ethno-historical records evidence the Incas’ interest in copper smelting, a key activity in the Andes since ca. 1400 BC. However, little is known about the technical parameters achieved by ancient metallurgists and the changes that occurred during the Inca expansion. In this paper, we address these changes through a case study of Copiapó valley, focusing on the Viña del Cerro site, one of the most famous Inca smelting centres of the southern Andes. Although this place was architectonically restructured by the Incas, its operations began long before the imperial expansion and used wind-powered furnaces. We analysed 19 slag and 11 copper ore samples using OM, SEM–EDS, WD-XRF, and XRD analyses. Results i...

LOS HORNOS DE REDUCCIÓN DE HIERRO EN LAS FERRERÍAS DE MONTE VASCAS ENTRE LA SEGUNDA EDAD DEL HIERRO Y LA EDAD MEDIA: CARACTERIZANDO UNA NUEVA TRADICIÓN TECNOLÓGICA

Kobie, 2022

This paper presents the construction elements corresponding to the remains of three bloomery furn... more This paper presents the construction elements corresponding to the remains of three bloomery furnaces recently documented by our research team in as many Basque archaeometallurgical sites, dated, respectively, to the Second Iron Age-Aizegain (Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa)-, the transition to the Roman period-Pagola (Aramaio, Álava)-and Late Atiquity-Artobila (Zaratamo, Bizkaia)-. It should be noted that, despite the chronological disparity, their characteristics are surprisingly coincidental, which leads us to hypothesize that they belong to the same furnace type with a wide temporal validity. It is a furnace type whose characteristics differ significantly from those of the medieval furnaces characterized in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. The consequent search for parallels leads us to detect a furnace documented in Bearn, as well as to reinterpret the records of other Basque paleosiderurgical sites, which present some coincident characteristics, although they belong to much later chronologies, between the High and the Plein Middle Ages. Thus, new perspectives of archaeological analysis of the technological evolution of prehydraulic paleosiderurgy in these areas are opened.

The Neolithic Flint Quarry of Pozarrate (Treviño, Northern Spain)

by David Larreina and Hugo Hernández

Open Archaeology

In this work, we present the preliminary data we have obtained in the Neolithic flint quarry of P... more In this work, we present the preliminary data we have obtained in the Neolithic flint quarry of Pozarrate, currently under archaeological works. We want to put forward an update about the sedimentary fillings of one of the crescent-shaped dump quarries (6000–5600 BP). It is located at the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Treviño, northern Spain). In this region, Tertiary carbonated terrains which host important silicifications called Treviño flint (Tarriño, A. (2006). El sílex en la cuenca vasco-cantábrica y Pirineo Navarro. Caracterización y su aprovechamiento en la Prehistoria. Monografía 21, Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura) are outcropped. The procurement of these silicifications by prehistoric populations was motivated by the good quality of this raw material for knapping. Currently, it constitutes one of the few Neolithic known flint mines of the Iberian Peninsula, understood as places of exploitation of flint with landscape modificati...

An insight into iron-making in the Basque Country (Northern Spain): Technical traditions from the First Millennium BC to the later Middle Ages

Monographies Instrumentum 73, Proceedings of the 5th International conference "Archaeometallurgy in Europe", 19-21 June 2019, Miskolc, Hungary, 2021, 2021

This paper presents results of recent research by the Archaeology Team of the Basque Country Mini... more This paper presents results of recent research by the Archaeology Team of the Basque Country Mining Museum aiming to contribute to a better understanding of the technology of medieval bloomery iron smelting in the Basque Country region. A mainstay of this technology is found in a particular kind of smelting furnace, presumably of wide use during the later Middle Ages, but likely to have originated much earlier. A complete series of radiocarbon (14C) dates from charcoal used as fuel indicates that the bulk of the industry that survives was concentrated in the Late Middle Ages; but also that the iron resources were exploited earlier by means of similar economic and technological strategies and points to a time frame which would cover from the 5th century BC to the 14th century AD. Intensive archaeological work has revealed almost 350 ironworks framed within this chronology. Overall, these sites represent relatively small-scale smelting sites, typically located in the mountains, equipped with a single furnace, and identifiable on the surface by the presence of large slag heaps. The paper reconstructs the engineering parameters of this process through microscopic analysis of an assemblage of technical materials such as slag, furnace walls and pieces of ore recovered from archaeological interventions in six sites ranging in date from pre-Roman to late medieval. The results show that, in spite of the chronological span, there was a common technological procedure in smelting bloomery iron, using a particular type of sunk funnel-shape tap furnace, as well as a common economic strategy for organizing the production, as small-scale ironworks next to the ore deposits where smelting and bloom consolidation were carried on.

A new piece of the puzzle: slag and ore analysis to reconstruct the prehispanic smelting technology at the Atacama Desert, Chile

by David Larreina and María Teresa Plaza Calonge

Heritage Science, 2023

The Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which ... more The Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which had its unique peculiarities and was based on local ancestral knowledge. The widespread use of tin-bronze during the Inca expansion, the development of mining and smelting sites, as well as ethno-historical records evidence the Incas' interest in copper smelting, a key activity in the Andes since ca. 1400 BC. However, little is known about the technical parameters achieved by ancient metallurgists and the changes that occurred during the Inca expansion. In this paper, we address these changes through a case study of Copiapó valley, focusing on the Viña del Cerro site, one of the most famous Inca smelting centres of the southern Andes. Although this place was architectonically restructured by the Incas, its operations began long before the imperial expansion and used wind-powered furnaces. We analysed 19 slag and 11 copper ore samples using OM, SEM-EDS, WD-XRF, and XRD analyses. Results identified heterogeneous and viscous slags, rich in SiO 2 (43 wt%) and poor in FeO (13 wt%). Copper retention was high (up to 60 wt%). Microstructural analyses indicate that slags were formed under unstable oxidising conditions, reaching temperatures that ranged between 1000 to 1100 °C. The copper produced was very pure. High-grade copper ores containing up to 69 wt% CuO were reduced at the site, combining carbonates (malachite, azurite), halides (buttgenbachite, clinoatacamite), and some sulphates (brochantite). We propose that even under the relatively unfavourable conditions for slag formation, the smelting conditions generated at Viña del Cerro were competent enough to extract metal, but not necessarily enough to form liquid slag. These conditions were facilitated by the local metallurgists' thorough knowledge of the wind flow and their ability to select the right ore. This new information contributes to understanding the efficiency of metallurgical technology and the knowledge, skills, and adaptability of the ancient metallurgists from Copiapó valley, a group that was integrated into the economic networks of the Inca Empire.

Technical ceramics for salt production in Western Sahara Larreina Garcia et al 2021

Azania, 2021

les poteries ont des parois plus épaisses que celles habituellement observées dans la poterie dom... more les poteries ont des parois plus épaisses que celles habituellement observées dans la poterie domestique, est interprété comme indiquant une tentative d'augmenter la résistance aux chocs thermiques. Cependant, les fragments ne présentent que de faibles signaux d'exposition à des températures élevées, jusqu'à un maximum de 900°C. L'évaluation de ces données contradictoires amène à la conclusion que ces tessons ont pu avoir fait partie d'un moule de briquetage pour l'extraction de sel par évaporation, une industrie pyrotechnique jusque-là inconnue dans le Sahara Occidental. Son apparition dans un environnement aride loin des centres de production s'explique par une activité économique sporadique plutôt que par une mobilité et un commerce interculturels, apparemment intenses dans la région après le Néolithique. En outre, cet article présente l'utilisation de la tomographie micro-calculée (µ-CT) comme technique de mesure de la grande porosité dérivant de matières organiques brûlées.

Ironworking technology and social complexity in rural communities in the early medieval Basque Country

Antiquity, 2018

The Basquesmith project aims to illuminate the cycle of iron production and consumption by early ... more

Bloomery iron smelting in the Daye County (Hubei): Technological traditions in Qing China

Archaeological Research in Asia

China is widely accepted as the birthplace and shrine of the blast furnace, with bloomery iron te... more China is widely accepted as the birthplace and shrine of the blast furnace, with bloomery iron technology largely believed to be scant before the Han Dynasty, and virtually inexistent afterwards. Challenging this traditional picture, this paper presents the material characterisation and reverse engineering of the primary smelting of bloomery iron at five metal production sites, located in close proximity of each other in the Daye County in Hubei Province, China, and in operation during the middle Qing Dynasty. A combination of materials science analyses-optical microscopy, SEM-EDS and WD-XRF-of surface collected technical material such as slags, furnace remains, and ores has demonstrated the established existence of bloomery iron at the core of the Chinese Empire. The five case studies present robust evidence of an overall broadly shared technical procedure based on the smelting of high grade ores in batteries of embanked furnaces, generating abundant slag but a limited metal output. The reconstruction of the various smelting processes in a relatively small region illustrates different technological adaptations to natural resources and sociotechnological contexts, which are discussed using conceptual frameworks of rational economy and technological traditions.

Earliest known human burial in Africa

Nature

The metallography of medieval agricultural and quotidian iron utensils from the rural settlement of Zaballa (Basque Country)

This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and ... more This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and domestic character, and is set out as preliminary results of the research project Basquesmith. This project aims to explore the production of iron utensils used by a specific part of the social spectrum: the peasantry. The artefacts, most of which date to the Early Medieval period (8th–10th centuries AD) were excavated at a single rural settlement in the region of the Álava Plain (northern Spain), and correspond to ordinary objects such as nails or scissors, which are under-represented in archaeometric studies in favour of luxury and exotic items—typically weapons. The metallographic analysis revealed that most of the items are low carbon iron that had been extensively cold worked, whereas composite structures of iron and steel were less frequently present. The iron-working technologies reconstructed here are discussed in relation to the accessibility of iron by the medieval rural commun...

Bullion production in imperial China and its significance for sulphide ore smelting world-wide

Gold and silver production was of major importance for almost all ancient societies but has been ... more Gold and silver production was of major importance for almost all ancient societies but has been rarely studied archaeologically. Here we present a reconstruction of a previously undocumented technology used to recover gold, silver and lead at the site of Baojia in Jiangxi province, China dated between the 7th and 13th centuries AD. Smelting a mixture of sulphidic and gossan ores in a relatively low temperature furnace under mildly reducing conditions, the process involved the use of metallic iron to reduce lead sulphide to lead metal, which acted as the collector of the precious metals. An experimental reconstruction provides essential information, demonstrating both the significant influence of sulphur on the silicate slag system, and that iron reduction smelting of lead can be carried out at a relatively low temperature. These new findings are relevant for further studies of lead and precious metal smelting slags world-wide. The technological choices of ancient smelters at this s...

The metalography of medieval agricultural and quotidian iron utensils from the rural settlement of Zaballa (Basque Country)

by David Larreina and Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo

Antiquity, 2018

This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and ... more This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and domestic character, and is set out as preliminary results of the research project Basquesmith. This project aims to explore the production of iron utensils used by a specific part of the social spectrum: the peasantry. The artefacts, most of which date to the Early Medieval period (8th–10th centuries AD) were excavated at a single rural settlement in the region of the Álava Plain (northern Spain), and correspond to ordinary objects such as nails or scissors, which are under-represented in archaeometric studies in favour of luxury and exotic items—typically weapons. The metallographic analysis revealed that most of the items are low carbon iron that had been extensively cold worked, whereas composite structures of iron and steel were less frequently present. The iron-working technologies reconstructed here are discussed in relation to the accessibility of iron by the medieval rural communities, which is recurrently noted as scant by the written sources, as well as being supported by negative evidence in the archaeological record. Finally, a scenario on iron production during medieval times is explored that contradicts the purported paucity of iron within the rural communities.

Bloomery iron smelting in the Daye County (Hubei): Technological traditions in Qing China

by Marcos Martinon-Torres and David Larreina

China is widely accepted as the birthplace and shrine of the blast furnace, with bloomery iron te... more China is widely accepted as the birthplace and shrine of the blast furnace, with bloomery iron technology largely believed to be scant before the Han Dynasty, and virtually inexistent afterwards. Challenging this traditional picture, this paper presents the material characterisation and reverse engineering of the primary smelting of bloomery iron at five metal production sites, located in close proximity of each other in the Daye County in Hubei Province, China, and in operation during the middle Qing Dynasty. A combination of materials science analyses–optical microscopy, SEM-EDS and WD-XRF–of surface collected technical material such as slags, furnace remains, and ores has demonstrated the established existence of bloomery iron at the core of the Chinese Empire. The five case studies present robust evidence of an overall broadly shared technical procedure based on the smelting of high grade ores in batteries of embanked furnaces, generating abundant slag but a limited metal output. The reconstruction of the various smelting processes in a relatively small region illustrates different technological adaptations to natural resources and socio-technological contexts, which are discussed using conceptual frameworks of rational economy and technological traditions.

Ironworking technology and social complexity in rural communities in the early medieval Basque Country

by Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo and David Larreina

The Basquesmith project aims to illuminate the cycle of iron production and consumption by early ... more

Geomorphology and prehistoric flint mining evidence in the Sierra de Araico (Basque-Cantabrian Basin), Burgos-Álava, Spain

Journal of Maps, 2010

... 1Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuer... more

Los inicios de la sedentarización y de la metalurgia en el centro?oeste peninsular: el yacimiento calcolítico de Castillejo (Villasbuenas de Gata, Cáceres)

Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología/Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología, Jun 29, 2024

En este trabajo se presentan los primeros resultados de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en el as... more En este trabajo se presentan los primeros resultados de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en el asentamiento de Castillejo (Villasbuenas de Gata, Cáceres). Las excavaciones han permitido exhumar un pequeño conjunto de estructuras domésticas, así como un potencial recinto amurallado en la zona más alta del enclave. Estas han podido ser adscritas a un momento del Calcolítico Pleno a través del estudio de la cultura material y de las dataciones radiocarbónicas. Así mismo, la abundancia de materiales arqueológicos ha posibilitado realizar un amplio abanico de análisis que incluye el repertorio cerámico, la industria lítica, los manteados constructivos de barro, los registros arqueobotánicos de carbones y semillas, así como un análisis arqueometalúrgico

The Flint Quarry of Pozarrate (Treviño, Spain) in the Context of Iberian and Early European Neolithic Mining

Archaeologia Polona, 2022

flint tools, among other recoveries. Radiocarbon dates indicate an Early Neolithic activity which... more flint tools, among other recoveries. Radiocarbon dates indicate an Early Neolithic activity which makes Pozarrate one of the few flint procurement sites in the Iberian Peninsula from this period. Moreover, a considerable number of elements link Pozarrate to the Early European Neolithic flint mining phenomenon.

The Metallography of Medieval Agricultural and Quotidian Iron Utensils from the Rural Settlement of Zaballa (Basque Country)

Archaeometry, 2018

This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and ... more This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and domestic character, and is set out as preliminary results of the research project Basquesmith. This project aims to explore the production of iron utensils used by a specific part of the social spectrum: the peasantry. The artefacts, most of which date to the Early Medieval period (8th–10th centuries ad) were excavated at a single rural settlement in the region of the Álava Plain (northern Spain), and correspond to ordinary objects such as nails or scissors, which are under‐represented in archaeometric studies in favour of luxury and exotic items—typically weapons. The metallographic analysis revealed that most of the items are low carbon iron that had been extensively cold worked, whereas composite structures of iron and steel were less frequently present. The iron‐working technologies reconstructed here are discussed in relation to the accessibility of iron by the medieval rural commun...

Technology and social complexity: iron tools and peasant communities in the Medieval period

This chapter aims to explore the complexity of early medieval rural societies by the integrated a... more This chapter aims to explore the complexity of early medieval rural societies by the integrated approach of historical sources, archaeological evidence and archaeometric analysis of material culture. Ten iron farming tools including billhooks, horseshoes, scissors, a knife, and a strip were metallographically analysed and the results inserted within the wider framework of historical and archaeological data to offer a tentative reconstruction of interplay between models of iron production and peasant communities during early medieval times in the area of Llanada Alavesa (Basque Country, north of Spain).

Technical ceramics for salt production in Western Sahara

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 2021

ABSTRACT This paper presents evidence of ceramic technology in western Tiris (Western Sahara), da... more ABSTRACT This paper presents evidence of ceramic technology in western Tiris (Western Sahara), dated by thermoluminescence to the third millennium cal. BP. Western Tiris is an arid region mostly covered by desert where recent archaeological fieldwork has nevertheless revealed a significant network of settlements from the Neolithic period inhabited by nomadic people. Domestic pottery and lithic materials are common in the archaeological register of these sites, but three sherds found in the Lejuad XVII rockshelter present features typical of technical ceramics. Laboratory analyses reveal that abundant mineral and organic temper was added to the natural clay which, in addition to the presence of thicker walls than those usually found in domestic pottery, is interpreted as an attempt to increase resistance to thermal shocks. However, the fragments present only mild signals of exposure to high temperatures, up to a maximum of 900 °C. Discussion of these contradictory data leads to the conclusion that the sherds may have been part of a briquetage mould to extract salt by evaporation, a pyrotechnical industry previously unknown in Western Sahara. Its appearance in an arid environment far from production centres is explained as result of sporadic economic activity rather than cross-cultural mobility and trading, which seems to have been intense in the area from Neolithic times. In addition, this paper introduces the use of micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) as a technique for measuring large porosity derived from burned organic materials.

A new piece of the puzzle: slag and ore analysis to reconstruct the prehispanic smelting technology at the Atacama Desert, Chile

Heritage Science

The Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which ... more The Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which had its unique peculiarities and was based on local ancestral knowledge. The widespread use of tin-bronze during the Inca expansion, the development of mining and smelting sites, as well as ethno-historical records evidence the Incas’ interest in copper smelting, a key activity in the Andes since ca. 1400 BC. However, little is known about the technical parameters achieved by ancient metallurgists and the changes that occurred during the Inca expansion. In this paper, we address these changes through a case study of Copiapó valley, focusing on the Viña del Cerro site, one of the most famous Inca smelting centres of the southern Andes. Although this place was architectonically restructured by the Incas, its operations began long before the imperial expansion and used wind-powered furnaces. We analysed 19 slag and 11 copper ore samples using OM, SEM–EDS, WD-XRF, and XRD analyses. Results i...

LOS HORNOS DE REDUCCIÓN DE HIERRO EN LAS FERRERÍAS DE MONTE VASCAS ENTRE LA SEGUNDA EDAD DEL HIERRO Y LA EDAD MEDIA: CARACTERIZANDO UNA NUEVA TRADICIÓN TECNOLÓGICA

Kobie, 2022

This paper presents the construction elements corresponding to the remains of three bloomery furn... more This paper presents the construction elements corresponding to the remains of three bloomery furnaces recently documented by our research team in as many Basque archaeometallurgical sites, dated, respectively, to the Second Iron Age-Aizegain (Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa)-, the transition to the Roman period-Pagola (Aramaio, Álava)-and Late Atiquity-Artobila (Zaratamo, Bizkaia)-. It should be noted that, despite the chronological disparity, their characteristics are surprisingly coincidental, which leads us to hypothesize that they belong to the same furnace type with a wide temporal validity. It is a furnace type whose characteristics differ significantly from those of the medieval furnaces characterized in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. The consequent search for parallels leads us to detect a furnace documented in Bearn, as well as to reinterpret the records of other Basque paleosiderurgical sites, which present some coincident characteristics, although they belong to much later chronologies, between the High and the Plein Middle Ages. Thus, new perspectives of archaeological analysis of the technological evolution of prehydraulic paleosiderurgy in these areas are opened.

The Neolithic Flint Quarry of Pozarrate (Treviño, Northern Spain)

by David Larreina and Hugo Hernández

Open Archaeology

In this work, we present the preliminary data we have obtained in the Neolithic flint quarry of P... more In this work, we present the preliminary data we have obtained in the Neolithic flint quarry of Pozarrate, currently under archaeological works. We want to put forward an update about the sedimentary fillings of one of the crescent-shaped dump quarries (6000–5600 BP). It is located at the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Treviño, northern Spain). In this region, Tertiary carbonated terrains which host important silicifications called Treviño flint (Tarriño, A. (2006). El sílex en la cuenca vasco-cantábrica y Pirineo Navarro. Caracterización y su aprovechamiento en la Prehistoria. Monografía 21, Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura) are outcropped. The procurement of these silicifications by prehistoric populations was motivated by the good quality of this raw material for knapping. Currently, it constitutes one of the few Neolithic known flint mines of the Iberian Peninsula, understood as places of exploitation of flint with landscape modificati...

An insight into iron-making in the Basque Country (Northern Spain): Technical traditions from the First Millennium BC to the later Middle Ages

Monographies Instrumentum 73, Proceedings of the 5th International conference "Archaeometallurgy in Europe", 19-21 June 2019, Miskolc, Hungary, 2021, 2021

This paper presents results of recent research by the Archaeology Team of the Basque Country Mini... more This paper presents results of recent research by the Archaeology Team of the Basque Country Mining Museum aiming to contribute to a better understanding of the technology of medieval bloomery iron smelting in the Basque Country region. A mainstay of this technology is found in a particular kind of smelting furnace, presumably of wide use during the later Middle Ages, but likely to have originated much earlier. A complete series of radiocarbon (14C) dates from charcoal used as fuel indicates that the bulk of the industry that survives was concentrated in the Late Middle Ages; but also that the iron resources were exploited earlier by means of similar economic and technological strategies and points to a time frame which would cover from the 5th century BC to the 14th century AD. Intensive archaeological work has revealed almost 350 ironworks framed within this chronology. Overall, these sites represent relatively small-scale smelting sites, typically located in the mountains, equipped with a single furnace, and identifiable on the surface by the presence of large slag heaps. The paper reconstructs the engineering parameters of this process through microscopic analysis of an assemblage of technical materials such as slag, furnace walls and pieces of ore recovered from archaeological interventions in six sites ranging in date from pre-Roman to late medieval. The results show that, in spite of the chronological span, there was a common technological procedure in smelting bloomery iron, using a particular type of sunk funnel-shape tap furnace, as well as a common economic strategy for organizing the production, as small-scale ironworks next to the ore deposits where smelting and bloom consolidation were carried on.

A new piece of the puzzle: slag and ore analysis to reconstruct the prehispanic smelting technology at the Atacama Desert, Chile

by David Larreina and María Teresa Plaza Calonge

Heritage Science, 2023

The Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which ... more The Incas appropriated many local metallurgical technologies throughout the Andes, each of which had its unique peculiarities and was based on local ancestral knowledge. The widespread use of tin-bronze during the Inca expansion, the development of mining and smelting sites, as well as ethno-historical records evidence the Incas' interest in copper smelting, a key activity in the Andes since ca. 1400 BC. However, little is known about the technical parameters achieved by ancient metallurgists and the changes that occurred during the Inca expansion. In this paper, we address these changes through a case study of Copiapó valley, focusing on the Viña del Cerro site, one of the most famous Inca smelting centres of the southern Andes. Although this place was architectonically restructured by the Incas, its operations began long before the imperial expansion and used wind-powered furnaces. We analysed 19 slag and 11 copper ore samples using OM, SEM-EDS, WD-XRF, and XRD analyses. Results identified heterogeneous and viscous slags, rich in SiO 2 (43 wt%) and poor in FeO (13 wt%). Copper retention was high (up to 60 wt%). Microstructural analyses indicate that slags were formed under unstable oxidising conditions, reaching temperatures that ranged between 1000 to 1100 °C. The copper produced was very pure. High-grade copper ores containing up to 69 wt% CuO were reduced at the site, combining carbonates (malachite, azurite), halides (buttgenbachite, clinoatacamite), and some sulphates (brochantite). We propose that even under the relatively unfavourable conditions for slag formation, the smelting conditions generated at Viña del Cerro were competent enough to extract metal, but not necessarily enough to form liquid slag. These conditions were facilitated by the local metallurgists' thorough knowledge of the wind flow and their ability to select the right ore. This new information contributes to understanding the efficiency of metallurgical technology and the knowledge, skills, and adaptability of the ancient metallurgists from Copiapó valley, a group that was integrated into the economic networks of the Inca Empire.

Technical ceramics for salt production in Western Sahara Larreina Garcia et al 2021

Azania, 2021

les poteries ont des parois plus épaisses que celles habituellement observées dans la poterie dom... more les poteries ont des parois plus épaisses que celles habituellement observées dans la poterie domestique, est interprété comme indiquant une tentative d'augmenter la résistance aux chocs thermiques. Cependant, les fragments ne présentent que de faibles signaux d'exposition à des températures élevées, jusqu'à un maximum de 900°C. L'évaluation de ces données contradictoires amène à la conclusion que ces tessons ont pu avoir fait partie d'un moule de briquetage pour l'extraction de sel par évaporation, une industrie pyrotechnique jusque-là inconnue dans le Sahara Occidental. Son apparition dans un environnement aride loin des centres de production s'explique par une activité économique sporadique plutôt que par une mobilité et un commerce interculturels, apparemment intenses dans la région après le Néolithique. En outre, cet article présente l'utilisation de la tomographie micro-calculée (µ-CT) comme technique de mesure de la grande porosité dérivant de matières organiques brûlées.

Ironworking technology and social complexity in rural communities in the early medieval Basque Country

Antiquity, 2018

The Basquesmith project aims to illuminate the cycle of iron production and consumption by early ... more

Bloomery iron smelting in the Daye County (Hubei): Technological traditions in Qing China

Archaeological Research in Asia

China is widely accepted as the birthplace and shrine of the blast furnace, with bloomery iron te... more China is widely accepted as the birthplace and shrine of the blast furnace, with bloomery iron technology largely believed to be scant before the Han Dynasty, and virtually inexistent afterwards. Challenging this traditional picture, this paper presents the material characterisation and reverse engineering of the primary smelting of bloomery iron at five metal production sites, located in close proximity of each other in the Daye County in Hubei Province, China, and in operation during the middle Qing Dynasty. A combination of materials science analyses-optical microscopy, SEM-EDS and WD-XRF-of surface collected technical material such as slags, furnace remains, and ores has demonstrated the established existence of bloomery iron at the core of the Chinese Empire. The five case studies present robust evidence of an overall broadly shared technical procedure based on the smelting of high grade ores in batteries of embanked furnaces, generating abundant slag but a limited metal output. The reconstruction of the various smelting processes in a relatively small region illustrates different technological adaptations to natural resources and sociotechnological contexts, which are discussed using conceptual frameworks of rational economy and technological traditions.

Earliest known human burial in Africa

Nature

The metallography of medieval agricultural and quotidian iron utensils from the rural settlement of Zaballa (Basque Country)

This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and ... more This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and domestic character, and is set out as preliminary results of the research project Basquesmith. This project aims to explore the production of iron utensils used by a specific part of the social spectrum: the peasantry. The artefacts, most of which date to the Early Medieval period (8th–10th centuries AD) were excavated at a single rural settlement in the region of the Álava Plain (northern Spain), and correspond to ordinary objects such as nails or scissors, which are under-represented in archaeometric studies in favour of luxury and exotic items—typically weapons. The metallographic analysis revealed that most of the items are low carbon iron that had been extensively cold worked, whereas composite structures of iron and steel were less frequently present. The iron-working technologies reconstructed here are discussed in relation to the accessibility of iron by the medieval rural commun...

Bullion production in imperial China and its significance for sulphide ore smelting world-wide

Gold and silver production was of major importance for almost all ancient societies but has been ... more Gold and silver production was of major importance for almost all ancient societies but has been rarely studied archaeologically. Here we present a reconstruction of a previously undocumented technology used to recover gold, silver and lead at the site of Baojia in Jiangxi province, China dated between the 7th and 13th centuries AD. Smelting a mixture of sulphidic and gossan ores in a relatively low temperature furnace under mildly reducing conditions, the process involved the use of metallic iron to reduce lead sulphide to lead metal, which acted as the collector of the precious metals. An experimental reconstruction provides essential information, demonstrating both the significant influence of sulphur on the silicate slag system, and that iron reduction smelting of lead can be carried out at a relatively low temperature. These new findings are relevant for further studies of lead and precious metal smelting slags world-wide. The technological choices of ancient smelters at this s...

The metalography of medieval agricultural and quotidian iron utensils from the rural settlement of Zaballa (Basque Country)

by David Larreina and Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo

Antiquity, 2018

This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and ... more This paper deals with the metallographic examination of 18 medieval iron objects of economic and domestic character, and is set out as preliminary results of the research project Basquesmith. This project aims to explore the production of iron utensils used by a specific part of the social spectrum: the peasantry. The artefacts, most of which date to the Early Medieval period (8th–10th centuries AD) were excavated at a single rural settlement in the region of the Álava Plain (northern Spain), and correspond to ordinary objects such as nails or scissors, which are under-represented in archaeometric studies in favour of luxury and exotic items—typically weapons. The metallographic analysis revealed that most of the items are low carbon iron that had been extensively cold worked, whereas composite structures of iron and steel were less frequently present. The iron-working technologies reconstructed here are discussed in relation to the accessibility of iron by the medieval rural communities, which is recurrently noted as scant by the written sources, as well as being supported by negative evidence in the archaeological record. Finally, a scenario on iron production during medieval times is explored that contradicts the purported paucity of iron within the rural communities.

Bloomery iron smelting in the Daye County (Hubei): Technological traditions in Qing China

by Marcos Martinon-Torres and David Larreina

China is widely accepted as the birthplace and shrine of the blast furnace, with bloomery iron te... more China is widely accepted as the birthplace and shrine of the blast furnace, with bloomery iron technology largely believed to be scant before the Han Dynasty, and virtually inexistent afterwards. Challenging this traditional picture, this paper presents the material characterisation and reverse engineering of the primary smelting of bloomery iron at five metal production sites, located in close proximity of each other in the Daye County in Hubei Province, China, and in operation during the middle Qing Dynasty. A combination of materials science analyses–optical microscopy, SEM-EDS and WD-XRF–of surface collected technical material such as slags, furnace remains, and ores has demonstrated the established existence of bloomery iron at the core of the Chinese Empire. The five case studies present robust evidence of an overall broadly shared technical procedure based on the smelting of high grade ores in batteries of embanked furnaces, generating abundant slag but a limited metal output. The reconstruction of the various smelting processes in a relatively small region illustrates different technological adaptations to natural resources and socio-technological contexts, which are discussed using conceptual frameworks of rational economy and technological traditions.

Ironworking technology and social complexity in rural communities in the early medieval Basque Country

by Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo and David Larreina

The Basquesmith project aims to illuminate the cycle of iron production and consumption by early ... more

Geomorphology and prehistoric flint mining evidence in the Sierra de Araico (Basque-Cantabrian Basin), Burgos-Álava, Spain

Journal of Maps, 2010

... 1Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuer... more

Bullion production in imperial China and its significance for sulphide ore smelting world-wide

by David Larreina, Pira Venunan, Siran Liu, Marcos Martinon-Torres, and Thilo Rehren

Gold and silver production was of major importance for almost all ancient societies but has been ... more Gold and silver production was of major importance for almost all ancient societies but has been rarely studied archaeologically. Here we present a reconstruction of a previously undocumented technology used to recover gold, silver and lead at the site of Baojia in Jiangxi province, China dated between the 7th and 13th centuries AD. Smelting a mixture of sulphidic and gossan ores in a relatively low temperature furnace under mildly reducing conditions, the process involved the use of metallic iron to reduce lead sulphide to lead metal, which acted as the collector of the precious metals. An experimental reconstruction provides essential information, demonstrating both the significant influence of sulphur on the silicate slag system, and that iron reduction smelting of lead can be carried out at a relatively low temperature. These new findings are relevant for further studies of lead and precious metal smelting slags world-wide. The technological choices of ancient smelters at this site are then discussed in their specific geographical and social-economic settings.

Copper smelting in the Raxgebiet: a Late Bronze Age Alpine industrial landscape (Larreina-Garcia et al 2015, BAR S2771)

by David Larreina and Thilo Rehren

The Raxgebiet (Lower Austria) is a large region in the Alps with abundant archaeological remains ... more The Raxgebiet (Lower Austria) is a large region in the Alps with abundant archaeological remains of copper smelting (structures, by-products, finished objects). This potentially indicates a high volume of metallurgical activity, which mainly consisted of primary smelting from sulphidic ores. The most abundant of the slag types is cake-shaped with plenty of un-decomposed quartz within a fully crystallised silicate matrix. This is in stark contrast to the other two types of slag that clearly reached a completely liquefied state. Based on the morphology, composition and microstructure of the slag and analyses of other by-products (matte, furnace lining) we have attempted a reconstruction of the copper smelting process. This includes roasting the ore, smelting it to get matte and, finally, smelting the matte to obtain copper metal.

Technology and social complexity: iron tools and peasant communities in the Medieval period

This chapter aims to explore the complexity of early medieval rural societies by the integrated a... more This chapter aims to explore the complexity of early medieval rural societies by the integrated approach of historical sources,
archaeological evidence and archaeometric analysis of material culture. Ten iron farming tools including billhooks, horseshoes,
scissors, a knife, and a strip were metallographically analysed and the results inserted within the wider framework of historical and
archaeological data to offer a tentative reconstruction of interplay between models of iron production and peasant communities
during early medieval times in the area of Llanada Alavesa (Basque Country, north of Spain).