Archaeometallurgy
Archaeometallurgy as a discipline is dealing with questions concerning the beginnings of metallurgy, the analysis of metallic archaeological objects and the research of manufacturing methods and origin of raw materials.
archaeometallurgie.de focuses on the history of metallurgy and puts an emphasis on the combination of archeology, natural and material sciences, as well as hands-on crafts. The interpretation of archaeological finds is thus based in equal measure on personal experience in dealing with materials, archaeological experiments and the results of scientific analyses. Far away from the desktop, archaeological reconstructions of production processes should work in the real world.
Archaeometallurgie.de uses its own laboratory for materials testing and its own foundry in which all common casting process can be performed.
Archaeometallury investigates archaeological or historical finds by scientific methods. Metals, slags and technical ceramics form the essential find categories. The archaeological research has thereby raised two basic questions. First, the question f the origin of the metals, the so-called provenance analysis. Second, it examines and reconstructs the production processes involved.
The central task of Archaeometallurgy is to interpret scientific “raw data” and put it to critical examination with regards to their archaeological, historical and practical plausibility. Only then analyzed data may become reliable sources, which can deepen our understanding of the past.
