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Reassessing Bronze Age Manufacturing Technologies at Nuzi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Andrew Shortland ,
Katherine Eremin ,
Susanna Kirk  and
James Armstrong
Andrew Shortland
Affiliation:
a.shortland@cranfield.ac.uk, Cranfield University, Department of Materials and Applied Sciences, Shrivenham, N/A, United Kingdom
Katherine Eremin
Affiliation:
katherine_eremin@harvard.edu, Harvard University Art Museums, Straus Center for Conservation, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States
Susanna Kirk
Affiliation:
s.f.kirk@cranfield.ac.uk, Cranfield University, Department of Materials and Applied Sciences, Shrivenham, N/A, United Kingdom
James Armstrong
Affiliation:
jarmstr@fas.harvard.edu, Harvard University, Semitic Museum, Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States
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Abstract

The Hurrian city of Nuzi, in modern Iraq, was an important site during the Mesopotamian Bronze Age. Excavations in the late 20s and early 30s yielded a large and important assemblage of glass and other vitreous materials and smaller but significant assemblages of metals and ceramics. Although the vitreous materials have been widely studied in the past, the other assemblages have received little attention. However a recent study of some metal artifacts indicated the presence of brass and dirty copper rather than the expected bronze. This study was, however, limited to a few objects and the proportions of the different alloys was not investigated. Recent analytical studies on the glass beads have highlighted compositional differences between Egyptian and Mesopotamian glass and attempted to link these to the raw materials used. The lack of significant tin or zinc in glasses colored with copper is interesting given the presence of brass and the apparent scarcity of bronze in the copper alloys. The current study involves reassessment of the entire assemblage, concentrating initially on the vitreous materials, glazes and metals. Variations in preservation across the site and within individual buildings are currently being examined. Full characterization of the assemblages will allow relationships between different manufacturing technologies and the raw materials needed to be investigated.

Keywords

archaeologycorrosionelectron microprobe
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1047: Symposium Y – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VIII , 2007 , 1047-Y02-05
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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