Seven silver objects from antique Georgia, e. g. a raven and a goddess Diana sculpture, have been archaeometallurgically investigated. Six are dated into the 1st century AD and have been found in a burnt down palace at “Dedoplis Gora”. They are all strongly affected by a fire which was caused by an earthquake in 80 AD. Another object of study is a fragmented silver box of the 3rd century AD, excavated at Mtskheta, the old capital of the Kingdom of Kartli. All objects come from a time of great political influence from Rome. The provenance investigation by lead isotope analysis points not only to three different sources in the Roman Empire, the Central Balkans, the Cévennes (Massif Central) in France and the Pangeon Mountains in northern Greece, but also to lead-silver mines in Iran.

Kinet Höyük (ancient Issos), located in Cilicia on a narrow corridor between the seacoast of the East Mediterranean and the Amanus mountains (Nur Dağları), is an archaeological site with 29 excavated occupational levels, starting from the Early Bronze Age. The successive settlements at Kinet Höyük faced many military campaigns and changed hands frequently because of its strategic position with access to shipping routes, and the availability of rich mining and forestry resources. However, iron smithing was one of the activities that changed least during the transformations occurring in the region, according to iron-related finds from different occupational levels at the site. In this paper, iron objects and smithing slags from the Iron Age period at Kinet are introduced from their metallurgical perspective. The results of metallography and SEM-EDX analysis of Iron Age steel objects are discussed in light of previous studies on iron metallurgy of the neighboring regions. Additionally, slags which are dated to the site’s Neo-Assyrian phase are evaluated by petrography, ICP-MS and XRD analysis. Although all of the iron objects are fully corroded, remnant metal observations point to a variety of microstructural phases. The majority belong to medium- and high-carbon steel structures that were affected by heat treatments, i.e. normalizing, and annealing. Plentiful hammerscale were detected in thin sections of smithing slags. Basalt attachments to slags are considered to reflect the presence of basalt in the smithing hearths and other pyrotechnical settings.

The Veshnaveh ancient copper mine is located in the middle of the Orumieh-Dokhtar volcanic belt in north central Iran and is hosted by middle-upper Eocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The focus of this paper is the investigation of ore and rock samples from Veshnaveh using diverse geochemical and mineralogical methods including ore microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and lead isotope analysis in order to better understand the nature of mineralization. The results were then compared with the results from the ancient metallurgical relics from some key sites in central Iran including Tappeh Sialk, Arismān, Tappeh Sarm and Jamkarān. The results show the Veshnaveh deposit is a Manto type mineralization whose ore has been possibly used from the Middle Bronze Age until the early Iron Age by surrounding communities.

This paper presents a review of our knowledge of the earliest phases of metal use and working in Sardinia, based where possible on radiocarbon chronology. It covers the cultural periods from the late Neolithic Ozieri to the Copper Age Monte Claro phase. I suggest that in contrast to continental Italy, the earliest metalwork in Sardinia seems to be used for display. It is striking that metal use and working seems to emerge in Sardinia later than in mainland Italy, despite the island’s rich metal resources.

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