Goldwork technology at the Arabian Peninsula. First data from Saruq al Hadid Iron Age site (Dubai, United Arab Emirates). (December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Soriano, Ignacio; Perea, Alicia; Escanilla, Nicolau; Contreras Rodrigo, Fernando; Al Ali, Yaaqoub Yousif Ali; Karim, Mansour Boraik Radwan; Zein, Hassan
• Is Part Of: Journal of archaeological science. Volume 22(2018)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 10
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Subjects: Iron age -- Arabian peninsula -- Gold -- SEM-EDS -- Lost-wax casting -- Polychromy; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- Research -- Periodicals; 930.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.08.030
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-409X

Abstract

Abstract: The Spanish team that leads a research project at Saruq al Hadid excavated an area where about 450 gold items were recovered during the campaigns from 2015 to 2017. The site with a lengthy occupation from the end of the fourth millennium to the Islamic period is well known for its important finds attesting copper metallurgy production during Iron Age II. Other rich archaeological finds in iron, stone and pottery, in some cases showing a snake iconography, point to a ceremonial place where production processes and exchanges took place. We present an archaeometric study of a significative sample of the gold items found at the site using OM (Optical Microscopy) and SEM-EDS (Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy). Our provisional results suggest the existence of a workshop -the first archaeologically attested at the Arabian Peninsula- where lost wax casting and plastic deformation were usual practices, together with other goldwork techniques like polychrome alloying, filigree and granulation. Evidence of the production processes were workshop wastes and raw material, although no associated archaeological structures could be identified. Highlights: Identification of the first Iron Age II gold workshop at the Arabian Peninsula Characterization of lost wax casting and plastic deformation technological processes Gold polychromy through intentional alloying is suggested. Interpretation of the site as a gold production and distribution centre of the region