martes, 3 de julio de 2012

Norway. Bronze Age people with a mine of their own

Copper mining has a long history in Norway, with mines being established from late 15th century onwards. But the industry might be a lot older - stretching all the way back to the Bronze Age.

When the Bronze Age reached Scandinavian shores around 3,500 years ago, it was the advent of a new technology. Combining copper, which is a malleable metal, with the elements tin or arsenic made an alloy which is stronger and more durable.

Using this new miracle material, the Bronze Age people could forge weapons, tools and jewellery with novel qualities and possibilities compared to traditional bone, wood or stone.

The region of modern-day Norway was, then as now, at the periphery of Europe.

Although the local residents had the skills and know-how to create their own bronze metalwork, they would have had to import all the copper they needed from abroad - according to scientific consensus.

Mining copper at home

But Bronze Age Norwegians may actually have mined their own copper ore, suggests archaeologist Anne Lene Melheim in her doctoral thesis.

“It might not have been a large scale operation, but this could radically change our perception of Norway in the Bronze Age,” she points out.

The century-old assumption that Bronze Age Norway relied solely on imported copper originated with the renowned Swedish archaeologist Oscar Montelius. He used the theory of metal imports to explain traces of trade and cultural contact between Scandinavia and Continental Europe.
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ScienceNordic
Via Past Horizons

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