@article{feadc88b5e4343de951e016e092febde,
title = "Archaeometallurgical investigation of thirteenth-twelfth centuries BCE bronze objects from Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel",
abstract = "Recent studies in the southern Levant have clarified that bronze - the commonly used metal during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages - continued to be produced throughout the entire Iron Age I. In order to gain more information concerning the metallurgical industry in southern Canaan during the Late Bronze-Iron Age transition, we performed an archaeometallurgical study of three well-preserved bronze objects - a 13th century BCE axe and 12th century BCE hoe and handle - discovered in the renewed excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel. Analyzing the composition, microstructure and microhardness of the objects, the study aims at reconstructing their manufacturing processes. The chemical analysis revealed that the three objects were made of bronze, with up to 6.2 wt% Sn and up to 4.0 wt% Pb. Giving their properties and shape, the objects were first cast, most likely in an open mould and then brought to the desired final size and shape probably through cold-forging and annealing cycles. The results of the present research contribute to the accumulating knowledge concerning the Canaanite metallurgical industry during the Late Bronze II-Iron Age I transition.",
keywords = "Archaeometallurgy, Bronze tools, Cold-forging and heating cycles, Iron Age, Late Bronze Age, Tel Beth-Shemesh",
author = "D. Ashkenazi and S. Bunimovitz and A. Stern",
note = "Funding Information: The excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh are directed by S. Bunimovitz and Z. Lederman under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University. Participating consortium institutions include Harding University, Arkansas, USA and the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The research was supported by the Israel Science foundation (ISF) (grant nos. 898/99 ; 980/03 ; 1068/11 ), the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture , and by an Early Israel grant (New Horizons project), Tel Aviv University . The authors would like to thank Rony Malmezada, Avi Malmezada and Haim Kravits from Microtech Advanced Metallographic Supplies (Israel) for their assistance. We would like to extend our thanks to A. Gienko, Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, for his technical support and to Y. Shoef and G. Shoef, Gabi Shoef Ltd., for their assistance in the radiographic testing and interpretation. Thanks are also given to the Israel Antiquities Authority for permission to use the photos of the open stone mould from Gezer. Special thanks to Yael Barschak, the Photographic Archives of the Israel Antiquities Authority, for her assistance. The authors are grateful to B. Doron for the English editing. The authors would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 Elsevier Ltd.",
year = "2016",
month = apr,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.02.006",
language = "English",
volume = "6",
pages = "170--181",
journal = "Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports",
issn = "2352-409X",
publisher = "Elsevier BV",
}