Abstract: The present paper discusses the relationship between copper production sites and copper
mining areas in the southern Levant, claiming that metallurgy was embedded within the context of
the Chalcolithic of the southern Levant, giving the mining area of Feinan a somewhat special status,
although it was located not close to the centers of Chalcolithic settlements. Individuals who had
knowledge of the sources of copper and who mastered the art of smelting and casting it, probably en-
joyed enhanced social status and were likely concerned with maintaining it. Where and how smelting
and casting took place, and the functions of objects created are additional aspects related to cop-
per-based metallurgy that are particularly informative about the society with which it was associated.

Key words: Chalcolithic, southern Levant, copper, metallurgy, social context.

The

1

Chalcolithic culture emerged in the southern Levant (Lovell et al.

2007: 57) ca. 4900 B.C., but unlike the settlement patterns of the preceding
Pottery Neolithic period, the Chalcolithic population expanded into semi-arid
zones, where, as Levy (1998: 226) suggests, there is evidence of greater com-
plexity that can be explained by interrelationships between population in-
crease, environment, changes in technology and a newly developed metallurgy.

Metallurgy was a major technological innovation of the period and its de-

velopment required certain conditions for this specialized activity. Foremost
are knowledge of sources of copper ore, accessibility to them, technological
know-how for their exploitation, and a surplus of food and other resources that
could be allotted to a segment of the population engaged in metal production.
Furthermore, it may be argued that the process of manufacturing copper ob-
jects was done in several stages, which include the procurement of ore, reduc-
tion of ore into a state that allowed for its beneficiation, smelting, casting of in-
gots and casting of objects, which were than ground down, smoothed and pol-
ished (Shugar 2000: 252).

CHALCOLITHIC METALLURGY OF THE

SOUTHERN LEVANT:

PRODUCTION CENTERS AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

Milena Go{i}

Belgrade

Glasnik Srpskog arheolo{kog dru{tva

Journal of the Serbian Archaeological Society

24 (2008) 67–80.

1

Acknowledgments: special thanks are due to B. An|elkovi}, who has guided and mentored

me over the years of my studies in Belgrade and who has offered me his wise advice and encourage-
ment in the preparation of this paper. Although I alone bear responsibility for the ideas in this paper,
I wish to thank E. Braun and I. Gilead, who made important comments on preliminary drafts. I am
also further grateful to I. Gilead for making the site of Nevatim known to me and for providing me
with information on excavations there.

Mining Areas

Two copper mining regions in the southern Levant are known to have

been exploited during the Chalcolithic period, Timna and Feinan. Both are lo-
cated in the Arabah Valley (a segment of the Great Rift Valley) and were orig-
inally contiguous geological deposits, separated only when the Great Rift was
created (Hauptmann et al. 1992: 4). Thus, it is difficult to distinguish between
ores from these areas.

Timna

The Timna Valley, a large semicircular geologic formation of some 700

km², is located ca. 30 km north of the Gulf of Aqaba and to the west of the
Wadi Arabah. Today the western Arabah is an integral part of a desert zone
that extends from the edge of the Eastern Desert of the Nile Valley to include
northwestern Arabia and Sinai up to the southern border of the Negev
(Rothenberg and Glass 1992: 141). Because this is a separate cultural province,
Rothenberg and Glass (1992: 151) claim that the application of the chrono-
-cultural concept “Chalcolithic” is archaeologically unjustified for the region of
Timna, as the facts strongly indicate the region shows independent cultural de-
velopment. Henceforth, the term “Timnian” is used for this region (Henry
1995: 353–374; Gilead, in press; Rosen, forthcoming). Notably, extensive sur-
veys and petrographic and typological pottery studies indicate that the more
northerly Beersheva facies of the Chalcolithic culture did not penetrate into
this region (Rothenberg and Merkel 1999: 149).

Whitish sandstone formations at the foot of cliffs at the edges of the

Timna Valley and its tributaries dating to the Lower Cretaceous contain nod-
ules of copper ore with up to 55% chalcocite and malachite. Another cop-
per-bearing stratum in the area, consisting mainly of chrysocolla, malachite
and plancheite, was formed during Lower Cambrian times (Rothenberg 1999:
75). Prehistoric copper mines at Timna were first discovered by The Arabah
Expedition in 1954 (idem 1978: 1), which found some few traces of the begin-
nings of copper mining and smelting at the site. Rothenberg (1999: 77) noted
the first miners gathered ore in the form of nodules of copper on the surface or
from shallow pits they mined. Copper ores were found within the conglomer-
ate that could be collected on the surface in some places. Next to one of those
pits was found a grooved mining pick. Ore was mined from deposits in two dif-
ferent sedimentary layers there.

More is known about the smelting process of copper in the Timna area

than mining, which is not surprising, considering that the former activity is
much easier to detect archaeologically. The earliest and also the single prehis-
toric smelting location in the immediate environs of the mining region is Site
F2. Slag from that site has numerous inclusions of half-reduced ores. Smelting
at relatively low temperatures (700-800º C) left a certain quantity of metallic
copper trapped inside lumps of slag, which then had to be crushed in order for

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68

the metal to be extracted. These finds, which are indicative of the very first
steps of extractive metallurgy, together with sherds of coil-made, poorly fired,
black and gritty pottery of Qatifian type (i.e. Late Pottery Neolithic), purport-
edly date to the 6

th

–5

th

millennia B.C. (Rothenberg 1999: 78), but this interpre-

tation is highly problematic (see below).

“Site 39”, which dates to the middle of the 5

th

millennium B.C., is located

on the eastern fringe of the Timna Valley (ibid.: 80–82). That site consists of a
habitation and workshop area at the foot of a hill (Site 39a) and a smelting fur-
nace surrounded by slag on the top of the same hill (Site 39b). Slag from Site
39b is somewhat better smelted than the slag from Site F2, but copper still had
to be extracted by crushing. Probably the most significant improvement dis-
cerned at this site, compared to smelting at Site F2, is fluxing with iron ore,
which offers advantages by allowing for a greater yield of metal.

Feinan

The copper ore deposits at Feinan are located to the east of the Wadi

Arabah (Hauptmann et al. 1992: 4–5). During the Chalcolithic period, as in the
Timna Valley, copper ore was mined in the Wadi Feinan from two different
sediment layers. The upper consists mainly of copper-manganese bearing
shales and claystone, while the lower is a massive brown sandstone sediment
that contains copper mineralizations localized along joints.

2

The mineralogical

pattern of these ores is very distinct and allows them to be identified unambig-
uously with Feinan whenever such copper ores are found in excavations
(Hauptmann et al. 1992: 28).

The earliest use of copper ores from Feinan dates to the Pre-Pottery Neo-

lithic (8

th

and 7

th

millennia B.C.) as “greenstones” for cosmetics and for beads.

Feinan “greenstones” have been found at Jericho, Ain Ghazal and Nahal
Hemar, among other sites. The earliest evidence for metallurgy in Feinan is
found at Fidan 4, a settlement on top of a plateau on the southern bank of the
wadi (i.e. dry water course). Numerous semi-finished mining picks and ham-
mers made of stone were found on site. Several copper droplets and nut-sized
pieces of slag were found in Area C, but most of the metallurgical finds come
from Area D. There were found crucible fragments, copper and cuprit drop-
lets, pieces of secondary copper ores and small amounts of slag. These finds
suggest that smelting of high grade copper ore took place inside the settlement
where it was done on a small scale, in contrast to evidence of extensive mining
activity in the region (Adams and Genz 1995: 14).

However, dating of the site is somewhat problematic. Authors disagree as

to the dating of the pottery, while the small scale of the smelting operation
greatly contrasts with the extensive Chalcolithic mining. Hauptmann (1991:
401) argues that Fidan 4 is to be dated to the Chalcolithic period, based on ce-

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M. Go{i}

Chalcolithic Metallurgy of the Southern Levant

2

Where two different types of sediments are in contact.

ramic comparanda of pottery finds with that from Maqass, which is dated to
the late 4th millennium B.C. (i.e. Early Bronze I). Pottery from Fidan 4 has
been reexamined by Gilead, who described it as a local version of Qatifian tra-
dition, the archaeological entity that was dominant in the Northern Negev at
the end of the 6th millennium B.C. Rothenberg and Merkel (1995: 5), who cor-
related finds from Fidan 4 with Site F2 at Timna (similarities in the types of
metallurgical finds are also apparent), characterize Fidan 4 as a Qatifian, Pot-
tery Neolithic site, with evidence of copper smelting (loc. cit.). More recent ex-
cavations at the site (Adams and Genz 1995) suggest that Fidan 4 is later than
previously thought. Adams (1998: 653) argues that the origin of the confusion
regarding the dating lies in two facts. First, pottery from the site does not fit
neatly into established ceramic chronologies and, second, there are clear tech-
nical and stylistic similarities between pottery from Fidan 4 and Qatif, but
there are also important differences that actually relate the pottery of Fidan 4
to the Late Neolithic pottery of the region, from which it developed (ibid.:
654). Fidan 4 is, in fact, the first site in the copper producing area of Feinan
that shows indisputable evidence of metallurgical activity, but it is most likely
of the Early Bronze Age (Adams and Genz 1995: 19).

Two phases of research on mining at Feinan were conducted by a team

from the Deutsche Bergbau Museum, Bochum. The first determined and
mapped traces of mining activity and afterwards dated them approximately by
related surface finds. The second phase comprised systematic excavation of
mining pits and analysis of material collected, which enabled determination of
mining methods and more precise dating. In some cases, when fragments of or-
ganic material such as wood were recovered,

14

C dating was possible. More

than 200 mining related locations from various periods have been included in
the team’s research (Hauptmann 2000: 62). However, Chalcolithic mining lo-
cations are difficult to determine and it is safe to assume they were destroyed
by mining activities during later periods. In a mining area, Qalb Ratiye, located
to the northeast of Wadi Feinan, 55 mining pits were detected. Manga-
nese-free, copper ores (malachite, cuprit and tile ore) was mined there. Al-
though it is certain that mining activity at this location spanned the period
from the Early Bronze Age through the Roman Period, the possibility that
mining started there during the Chalcolithic cannot be excluded.

Production Centers

Even though the Chalcolithic culture was spread over a much wider terri-

tory, with sites in the Golan Heights, the Jordan Valley, the Coastal Plain and
the Northern Negev, traces of copper smelting and casting activities are evi-
dent only at settlements in the Northern Negev, in the vicinity of modern
Beersheba. In that area, with few settlements in previous periods (Gilead
2007), Chalcolithic culture appeared ca. 4700 B.C. in the aspect known as
“Besorian” (Gilead 2007). The later settlements along Nahal Beersheba, such

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as Abu Matar, Bir es-Safadi, Horvat Beter and Shiqmim are characterized by
both surface architecture and underground features. In addition, more than 70
smaller Chalcolithic sites have been mapped along Nahal Besor and Nahal
Beersheba (Shugar 2001: 51–53).

Abu Matar

Abu Matar, on the north bank of Nahal Beersheba, excavated in the

1950’s (Perrot 1955) and in the 1990’s (Gilead et al. 1992: 12), had stratigraphy
that is quite difficult to interpret, mostly due to the presence of subterranean
chambers (Gilead 1987). According to Perrot’s (1984: 80) most recent inter-
pretation there are three phases of habitation structures at Abu Matar. The
two earliest phases consist of subterranean, or partially subterranean habita-
tions, while the latest phase of the settlement is typified by traditional surface
structures. However, later excavations (Gilead et al.: 1992) have revealed more
than one phase of surface occupation with no indication that they follow ear-
lier subterranean features. Non-contiguous occupation in different areas of the
site makes a generalized vertical stratigraphic scheme impossible to determine
(Gilead 1987; Golden 1998: 64).

Several loci with archaeometallurgical debris (Loci 119, 127, 155, 218 and

244) were discovered during Perrot’s excavations. Locus 119 is a small, oval, un-
derground chamber linked with other underground chambers; to the south with
Locus 152, to the east with Locus 149, to the north with Locus 153 and to the
west to Locus 155. On the floor of Locus 119 copper maceheads were found and
an ornamented hilt, covered with several decimeters of earth originating from
the disintegration of walls (Perrot 1955: 29). Perrot noted these artifacts are of
pure copper (ibid.: 79), although no analyses are cited for them. Locus 127 is a
larger oval chamber that communicated with Locus 119 through a tunnel-like
chamber, Locus 153. Perrot divided this last locus into nine layers, in one of
which, layer 4, was found copper (1955: 25). In Locus 155 traces of a fireplace
were found with a few fragments of slag and crucibles (ibid.: 34). In locus 218
several kilograms of malachite were recovered, together with two large flint slabs
bearing traces of having been used for crushing of ore (Perrot 1955: 79).

Locus 244 was the center of copper production in the subterranean struc-

tures at Abu Matar. There, traces of small fireplaces and fragments of small ov-
ens and crucibles with pieces of slag were found (Perrot 1955: 79). During exca-
vations in 1990–1991 a trench was cut next to Area A (a precinct of the site char-
acterized by Perrot as devoted to habitation), which led to the discovery of a
metallurgical workshop. An excavation section of this area showed a series of
thin, tilted ash layers, which contained stones and numerous lumps of charcoal,
pottery sherds (including a slagged rim of a small crucible) and many little lumps
of slag and a few droplets of copper (Gilead et al. 1992: 12; Shugar 2000).

Assuming these finds were indicative of metallurgical activity, the excava-

tors initiated work in a 5 x 5 m square where they found a shallow pit (ca. 0.5 m
in diameter) with hard-baked walls that suggest it was subjected to high temper-

71

M. Go{i}

Chalcolithic Metallurgy of the Southern Levant

atures. Above its floor were also found lenses of brick fragments, charcoal and
vitrified lumps of silt. Nearby a circle of about 2 m in diameter, the same type of
material was also discovered. Also found was what seems to be a fragment of a
pottery tuyere (Shugar 2000: fig. 5.04), the proximal end of a ceramic pipe for
providing draft for the furnace. Based on fragments of crucibles found nearby, it
was possible to determine they were heated from the top, which is typical for
melting crucibles. Ca. 3 m from this installation another shallow pit was found to
contain a concentration of stones, large cobbles split in their centers and used as
anvils, and smaller pebbles used as hammerstones. Some of these implements
had green copper stains. Charcoal, pieces of slag, crucible fragments, pottery
sherds and flint artifacts were also found (Gilead et al. 1992: 12–13) there.

Area M, of domestic nature, situated about 100 m from Perrot’s main ex-

cavation area, had several strata of stone and brick walls and additional under-
ground structures. Dispersed between these structural remains were chunks of
ore, slagged fragments of furnace walls, crushed slag and a few crucible frag-
ments (ibid.: 13

).

Additional metallurgical finds, consisting of ore and slag

nodules, some larger lumps of ore and slag, copper prills and several corroded
copper objects, were also found in a layer excavated some 80 m west of Area A
(Shugar 2000: 48).

According to Gilead et al. (1992: 13), smelting was conducted in the vicin-

ity of Area M, whereas melting of copper and casting of objects was conducted
in Area A. However, Shugar (2000: 255) argues that the installation in Area A
is in fact a smelting furnace. His interpretation is based on fragments of
slagged furnace walls, ore and slag, some incompletely smelted, and the prox-
imity of the location for crushing ore. Thus, both smelting and recasting took
place in this area. Area M is characterized as having functioned for benefici-
ation and for the crushing of slag.

Bir es-Safadi

Bir es-Safadi, located approximately 700 m across Nahal Beersheba from

Abu Matar, was discovered by Perrot (1984) and excavated in 1954. Little evi-
dence of metallurgy is associated with the site. Together with copper ores and
crucible fragments (Shugar 2000: 65), only two copper axes and a copper ring
were recovered there.

Neve Noy

Neve Noy, excavated in the 1980s, is named after a modern neighborhood

of Beersheba and is, in fact, part of Bir-es Safadi. Several subterranean struc-
tures were exposed there in salvage excavations conducted by Eldar and
Baumgarten (1985: 134–138). The original unit at the site comprised a sunken,
open courtyard in which hearths and bell-shaped pits were located and around
which were grouped underground chambers. A system of tunnels connected
these rooms with one another or led upward to ground level. Three phases of
construction were revealed. In one of the units a small crater (16 cm in diame-

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72

ter) was found with slightly raised rims. That the entire installation had been
subjected to high heat was evident by the discoloration of the soil. A tuyere was
lying nearby along with what is described as a work table, a mortar and an an-
vil. In two other units several large flat stones smeared with malachite were
discovered and were interpreted as anvils for crushing ore, indicating the re-
mains of a beneficiation station (Eldar and Baumgarten 1985: 137). Two hol-
low standards, two axeheads and a broad bracelet were found bundled to-
gether nearby. Other copper finds are a fragment of sheet metal, a fragment of
a crown, a small wire pendant and several awls.

Horvat Beter

Horvat Beter, located upstream from Abu Matar, is also within the mod-

ern neighborhood of Neve Noy noted above. The accumulation of cultural de-
bris there totals roughly 1.0 m, but little evidence of temporal change at the
site has led excavators to believe it was only briefly occupied (Golden 1998:
70). Copper ore and slag were found on site in association with blackened
stones and ashes. Some fragments of corroded copper were also found, which
led the excavators to postulate that smelters were once located in the vicinity.
One of the artifacts chemically analyzed was found to be composed of pure
copper (Shugar 2000: 66).

Nevatim

Nevatim is located along the bank of Nahal Beersheva. There are least

two layers of occupation in the site. The upper layer is characterized by struc-
tures and installations made of stone and bricks. In the lower levels the use of
bricks seems to be more intensive and there are brick walls without stone foun-
dations. The existence of underground structures has been confirmed, but their
stratigraphic context is ambiguous. The question whether they are contempo-
rary with one or both of the above-mentioned phases, or represent an addi-
tional phase, remains unclear. It seems that Nevatim was a cluster of small,
probably contemporary or partially contemporary household units. More than
30 small pieces of copper ore were uncovered there. Twelve pieces were sub-
mitted to A. Sugar for archaeometallurgical analyses at the Institute of Ar-
chaeology, University College, London. The results indicate the sample is com-
posed of objects from two groups of raw copper. The first, of local origin, prob-
ably derives from Feinan, while the second, of a different chemical composi-
tion, appears to have been imported from Anatolia. A small copper chisel was
also found. The ores and the existence of at least two pyrotechnic installations
testify to the existence of a copper industry at Nevatim, an aspect shared with
the Nahal Beersheva Chalcolithic sites (Gilead and Fabian 2001).

Shiqmim

Shiqmim, the site which has provided the most extensive Chalcolithic met-

allurgical remains found outside of Nahal Mishmar and Abu Matar, is approxi-

73

M. Go{i}

Chalcolithic Metallurgy of the Southern Levant

mately 12 km downstream from the Beersheva sites. Levy and Alon (1987: 153)
conducted excavations there during a number of seasons (Golden 1998: 71).
Metallurgical remains found there include ore, slag, crucible fragments and cop-
per artifacts dispersed across the site with no particular area of concentration.
The metal artifacts discovered are awls, chisels and axes, mace heads, scepters,
beads and a copper band. A mace head and two awls are directly associated with
burials located on site and may have social and cultural connotations.

A considerable number of copper artifacts, together with limited evidence

for copper smelting, suggested to Shugar (2000: 64) that Shiqmim was a major
secondary production site focusing on making of tools rather than on full craft
specialization. However, during a more recent 1993 season, remains of walls of
three smelting installations were found (Golden, Levy and Hauptmann 2001:
956). These were shallow pits that have raised, thickened rims of fired clay, but
it is uncertain if those were intentionally fired or simply became hardened after
repeated exposure to high temperature. Both pits and the raised rim fragments
were lined with slag, typical evidence for smelting.

Provenance of Copper ores from Sites in Northern Negev

Among metallurgical finds from sites mentioned above are copper ores,

and since there are no copper deposits in the Northern Negev, it must be con-
cluded that ore was obtained from afar. Provenance studies include analyses
conducted on ore from several sites. Results indicate whether copper ores orig-
inated in the southern Levant, and from which site.

Such studies rely mostly on trace element analyses such as Neutron Acti-

vation Analysis (NAA), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), X-ray Dif-
fraction (XRD) and Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). If unique
traits, such as a relatively high amount of certain trace elements or their pres-
ence in varying proportions may be discerned, it is possible, in the results, to
isolate a signature of a specific mine as a source for the copper. Parallel to
trace element studies conducted in order to determine what ores are com-
posed of (through ICP-OES), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and En-
ergy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) can be applied in order to determine geo-
logical origins of ores (Golden 1998: 207).

As for Timna and Feinan, the chemical structures of the greater parts of

their deposits are quite similar since they were originally part of the same geo-
logical formation. However, after being ripped asunder (with the creation of
the Great Rift Valley) they have subsequently been exposed to different geo-
logical conditions, so the nature and the texture of ores found in each place is
somewhat informative when distinguishing between the two locations (Haupt-
mann 1989: 120).

The ores found at Abu Matar are complex types and variations are visible

in them through optical microscopy and bulk chemical composition. Minerals
found in those ores are malachite, quartz, hematite, chalcocite and occasion-

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ally covellite, azurite and chrysocolla. They vary in copper content which is,
however, generally speaking high (Shugar 2000: 166). Since mineralization in
Feinan and Timna ores is very similar, the minor and trace element analyses of
Abu Matar ores do not inform which site or sites they derive from. However,
microscopy is able to distinguish ore textures influenced by tectonic events.
The netlike replacement of chalcocite ores from Abu Matar, which is identical
to ores from the Qalb Ratiye and Wadi Abiad locations in the Wadi Feinan,
indicate their origin. No such ores have been observed at Timna.

Provenancing of ore from Bir es-Safadi is somewhat more complicated.

Samples consist mainly of tile ore with chalcocite, which can be linked both to
Feinan and Timna. Slightly higher antimony contents hint at a Timnian origin
(Hauptmann 1989: 127). Excavations conducted at Shiqmim during 1993 and
analyses of ores recovered there (Golden, Levy and Hauptmann 2001: 954) con-
firmed previous assumptions that they derived from Feinan. In texture and
chemical composition they resemble ores from Feinan. However, two samples
have profiles which suggest they could have originated at Timna, but these re-
sults are not conclusive. Based both on the study of their textures and chemical
compositions, the ores from Abu Matar, Bir es-Safadi and Shiqmim may be said
to form a roughly consistent group (ibid.: 955), although Shugar (2000: 178) also
claims to have indentified ores from Anatolia. However, they are quantitatively
marginal and their importance lies beyond the scope of this discussion.

Relations between Mining Areas and Sites in the Northern Negev

According to established views early mining and smelting of ores was car-

ried out within a single vicinity. Such a model is based on the following as-
sumptions: 1. smelting of ores takes place in the vicinities of their sources; 2.
smelting leads to slag production; 3. smelting is closely related to a fuel supply,
which is problematic particularly in arid zones where ores are found; 4. trade
of ores over long distances is unlikely; 5. metallurgy within settlements was re-
stricted to secondary processes, such as remelting and casting (Levy and Shalev
1989; Shalev 1994). However, it has become evident that a reexamination of at
least some of these conclusions is necessary.

During the Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant, which in terms of

metallurgy can be considered relatively early, evidence for smelting has been
found mainly at settlements. The communities of the Northern Negev, where
such activity took place, are relatively distant from the sources of ore. Ore
found at the Negev Chalcolithic sites must have been transported over some
considerable distance from the mines. One final point of interest is eminently
notable; smelting installations have, for the present, been found only within
northern Negev settlements.

Ores from sites in the Northern Negev, Bir es-Safadi, Neveh Noy, Horvat

Beter and Shiqmim and Nevatim, were found dispersed throughout all occupa-

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M. Go{i}

Chalcolithic Metallurgy of the Southern Levant

tional levels and in no particular areas of concentration (Gilead 1988: 423), ex-
cept for Abu Mtar where clusters of chunks of ore were found. Since it is clear
these ores were transported long distances to settlements, it is necessary to
consider how this was accomplished.

Two basic scenarios with some possible variations for explaining how the ores

might have been obtained, recommend themselves. One suggests the Late Chal-
colithic populations at Beersheva were in contact with nomadic peoples who occa-
sionally worked mines at the ore deposits and then traded the fruits of their labor
either to occasional depositions to the mining regions or directly to sedentary set-
tlements such as those in the Beersheva cluster (Gilead 1992: 39; Gates 1992).
Such scenarios explain why there is no good evidence for a Chalcolithic entity at
Feinan. Although one can argue that it is possible to smelt ore in a vicinity of a
mine, rather than transport it long distance, it is possible that Chalcolithic popula-
tions preferred not to settle or make permanent outposts in the Wadi Feinan
because of lack of resources, such as water, food and fuel.

A second basic scenario suggests the inhabitants of the Beersheva sites were

directly responsible for procurement of ores. Excavations at Abu Matar have
shown that different areas of the site were settled in different periods and that
certain precincts were inhabited only during some periods, possibly seasonally
(Golden 1998: 64). On this basis it is possible to hypothesize that the Northern
Negev was settled by a population, part of which was semi-nomadic and responsi-
ble for procurement of ore. From its ranks would come expeditions to mining ar-
eas where ores were obtained by mining activity or by contacts with nomadic
groups that worked the sites. The existence of such nomadic groups, who appar-
ently had not mastered metallurgical technology, would explain a lack of evidence
for smelting in the Chalcolithic period in the Wadi Feinan.

The relationship of the Northern Negev Chalcolithic settlements with

Timna is less understood, as few ore specimens found in them are likely to be
of that origin. Thus, it can be only speculated that they had sporadic contacts.
Notably, to date, no traces of material culture associated with the Northern
Negev Chalcolithic have been detected at Timna.

The importance of the high level of technology (i.e. alloyed copper, cire

perdue/lost wax technique, etc.) associated with metallurgy also has a bearing
on the social fabric of the Late Chalcolithic settlements of the Northern Negev
and the relationship of their populations to possible groups of miners or trad-
ers in ore. It may be argued that the know-how of smelting ore was likely to
have been closely guarded within the northern Negev Chalcolithic communi-
ties, and was possibly akin to a “trade secret” (cf. Levy 1998: 154). Such a sce-
nario is likely if the copper production process was accomplished within the
comparative privacy of a settlement, and not near a mining site where physical
concealment was less possible. This does not necessarily mean that the entire
population of the sites in northern Negev where production was carried was fa-
miliar with the process, but simply that it was easier to maintain a degree of se-

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crecy within the settlements. Since that would entail transporting ores over
long distances, it would have the added benefit of keeping knowledge of dis-
tant sources of ores from the uninitiated of the greater community of the
Chalcolithic of the southern Levant.

The basic knowledge that ore, a kind of stone taken from a certain area,

could be smelted to produce copper, was however, apparently known to the
greater part of the population, as ore has been found in various parts of each
site. Thus, copper production might have been an activity in which a significant
part of the population took part, either directly or indirectly, although, as
noted above, it does not necessarily meaning that all shared knowledge of the
exact smelting and casting processes. If knowledge of how to process copper
was limited to only a small group of initiates, that knowledge and the elevated
status of such a group may have played an important part in the way in which
the Chalcolithic communities of the northern Negev organized themselves and
individuals perceived their roles within that organization.

In addition to smelting and casting (which are archaeologically visible),

ritual was an important part of prehistoric metallurgy (Budd and Taylor 1995:
139; cf. Ottaway 2001; Walker 2001). The entire production process may have
been looked upon as a ritual activity and the craftspeople who mastered it may
have had a somewhat special status. In that case, a constant supply of ore
would be crucial for maintaining such status. For the present, it is unknown
whether ore was procured through trade or expeditions (either secret or pub-
lic) were sent to Wadi Feinan.

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M

ILENA

G

O[I]

HALKOLITSKA METALURGIJA JU@NOG LEVANTA:

PROIZVODNI CENTRI I DRU[TVENI KONTEKST

Rezime

Mada je bilo diskusija na temu odnosa izme|u oblasti iz kojih je

bakarna ruda dono{ena i centara u kojima se ta ruda topila, one su se
najve}im delom odnosile na poreklo ruda prona|enih u proizvodnim cen-
trima. Budu}i da postoji vi{e izvora bakarne rude na ju`nom Levantu, od
kojih nijedan nije u severnom Negevu, mora se pretpostaviti da je ruda iz
drugih oblasti, najve}im delom iz Fejnana, dono{ena na lokalitete poput
Abu Matara, Bir es Safadija i [ikmima, gde je prona|ena zajedno sa
instalacijama za weno topqewe. U radu se insistira na nekim od re|e
postavqanih pitawa, poput toga da li su rudari i metalurzi bili ~lanovi
iste zajednice i, ako nisu, kakve druge mogu}nosti interpretacije postoje?
Zbog ~ega je ruda preno{ena preko tako velike udaqenosti, da bi bila
topqena u okviru naseqa u severnom Negevu? Da li je to bio na~in da se
za{titi znawe potrebno da se ona redukuje, kako bi bili izliveni bakarni
predmeti? Topqewe na teritoriji zajednice pru`alo bi adekvatnu za{titu
ovom znawu, {to je svakako lak{e nego ~uvawe udaqenih izvori{ta ma-
terijala. Halkolitsko rudarstvo i metalurgija su deo dru{tvenog kon-
teksta koji je rudarskoj oblasti – Fejnanu – davao poseban status, iako se
nalazilo na geografskoj i kulturnoj margini halkolitskog dru{tva. Fej-
nan je bio izvori{te izrazito va`nog materijala, kako sa ekonomske, tako
verovatno i sa simboli~ke strane. Pojedinci koji su ovladali ve{tinom
pretvarawa rude u metalne predmete u`ivali su neku vrstu posebnog dru-
{tvenog polo`aja i verovatno je da su se trudili da taj polo`aj i odr`e.
Gde se redukovala ruda i lio metal, na koji na~in je to postizano, kao i koja
je svrha predmeta koji su proizvo|eni, neki su od aspekata proizvodwe
bakra koji nam dosta govore o dru{tvu u kome se ova tehnologija razvila.

Received: 23 June 2008

UDC 622.343:903.4(56-13)“636“

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