The book deals with the ancient exploitation and production of copper, exemplified by the mining district of Faynan, Jordan. It is an interdisciplinary study that comprises (mining-) archaeological and scientific aspects. The development of organizational patterns and technological improvements of mining and smelting through the ages (5th millennium BC to Roman Byzantine period), in a specific mining region, is discussed.

Autorentext

Andreas Hauptmann is a trained mineralogist and is concurrently head of the Research Group for Archaeometallurgy at the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, Bochum and a professor of archaeometry at the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. Born in 1950, his research has focused on early mining and metallurgy, and the analysis of copper, bronze, iron, gold and pottery. He has led and been involved in major expeditions to Jordan, Oman and Georgia and has participated in many excavations in Germany, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Greece, Syria and Cyprus.

Inhalt
Problems and Methods of Archaeometallurgy.- Nature and Geology in Faynan.- The Raw Material Sources.- Field Evidence and Dating of Early Mining and Smelting in the Faynan District.- Study of Archaeometallurgical Slag and Metal.- Copper Smelting Technology.- Export of Ore and Copper: The Importance of Faynan in Prehistoric Palestine.- Summary.