The Cretan Collection in the University of Pennsylvania Museum: Metal Objects from Gournia

The Cretan Collection in the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Volume III. Metal Objects from GourniaPhilip P. Betancourt, Susan C. Ferrence, and Alessandra Giumlia-MairThe University of Pennsylvania owns the largest collection of Minoan artifacts outside of Europe. The objects were acquired legally from the nation of Crete after it became independent from the Ottoman Empire and before its request was accepted to become a part of Greece, whose laws forbade such gifts to institutions that had sponsored archaeological expeditions. This third volume about the Cretan Collection in the Penn Museum presents the Minoan metal artifacts. They provide primary evidence for the early history of metallurgy in southeastern Europe during the second millennium B.C. This is a rich and varied assemblage of objects, with a large number of different classes. It is especially rich in items from the preliminary stages of metalwork (including oxhide ingot fragments, cut preliminary strips, and small cast strips used as early stages in the manufacture of artifacts). The study using modern techniques of examination-including scientific analyses-both documents the museum?s holdings and provides new information on Minoan metalworking. Two important metallurgical techniques are documented: eutectic bonding of silver-capped rivets on daggers and casting on repairs to an existing object, which has not been noted previously in Minoan metalwork. The assemblage is remarkable for the light its objects shed on the history of technology.Hardback: 206pp., 11 tables in the text, 22 illustrations in the text, 19 figures, 22 plates.(Prehistory Monographs 73, INSTAP Academic Press, 2023)List of Tables in the Text…………………………………………………………………………………… viiList of Illustrations in the Text ……………………………………………………………………………..ixList of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………………. xiList of Plates………………………………………………………………………………………………. xiiiPreface……………………………………………………………………………………………………… xvAcknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………………….. xviiList of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………………………… xixPART I. INTRODUCTION AND SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS1. Metal Objects Found by Harriet Boyd Hawes, Philip P. Betancourt and Susan C. Ferrence……………. 32. Philadelphia?s Collection of Metal Objects from Gournia, Philip P. Betancourt and Susan C. Ferrence….93. Data from X-ray Fluorescence Analysis, Alessandra Giumlia-Mair, Philip P. Betancourt, andSusan C. Ferrence ………………………………………………………………………………….. 134. Data from Investigation of Zinc-Rich Copper-Based Artifacts with ESEM-EDS,Moritz Jansen, Susan C. Ferrence, Alessandra Giumlia-Mair, and Philip P. Betancourt………….. 21PART II. WORKSHOP ARTIFACTS5. Copper Ingots, Philip P. Betancourt, Susan C. Ferrence, and Alessandra Giumlia-Mair……………… 276. Origin of the Oxhide Ingots, Noël H. Gale and Zofia Anna Stos-Gale ……………………………….. 317. Metallographic Analysis of Ingot Fragments, Moritz Jansen…………………………………………… 358. Lead Ingot, Philip P. Betancourt, Susan C. Ferrence, and Alessandra Giumlia-Mair………………….. 439. Other Workshop Material, Philip P. Betancourt, Susan C. Ferrence, and Alessandra Giumlia-Mair …. 47PART III. FINISHED METAL ARTIFACTS10. Finished Metal Artifacts, Philip P. Betancourt, Susan C. Ferrence, and Alessandra Giumlia-Mair….. 55PART IV. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS11. Discussion of Alloying, Casting, Forming, and Finishing Practices, Philip P. Betancourt,Susan C. Ferrence, and Alessandra Giumlia-Mair………………………………………………… 8912. The Role of Metals in the Town of Gournia, Philip P. Betancourt and Susan C. Ferrence ………….. 111Appendix. Conservation of Gournia Metals, Caitlyn Mahony and Lynn Grant………………………… 117References ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 119Concordance of Museum Accession and Catalog Numbers…………………………………………….. 133Index ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 135FiguresPlatesList of Tables in the TextTable 3.1. Analyses by XRF of metal objects from Gournia …………………………………………… 18Table 4.1. Analyses by XRF of artifacts containing zinc……………………………………………….. 22Table 4.2. Semiquantitative ESEM-EDS results (in wt. ) of the chemical analyses on blankstrips (8, 9)……………………………………………………………………………. 23Table 4.3. Semiquantitative ESEM-EDS results (in wt. ) of the chemical analyses on the chisel (33)… 23Table 5.1. Percentages of selected trace elements in copper ingot fragments in the Philadelphiacollection……………………………………………………………………………………… 29Table 5.2. Percentages of trace elements in copper ingot fragments in the Philadelphia collection ….. 30Table 6.1. Lead isotope compositions of the ingot fragments from Gournia ………………………….. 32Table 6.2. Lead isotope analyses of copper slags from the Late Bronze Age copper smelting siteof Politiko-Phorades, Cyprus………………………………………………………………… 33Table 6.3. Instrumental neutron activation analyses (in ppm) of the ingot fragments from Gournia… 33Table 11.1. Relative frequency of the types of objects containing more than 2 tin …………………. 102Table 11.2. Categories of objects containing more than 2 tin……………………………………….. 103