Dissertation submitted for the degree of MPhil Ancient History, UCL, London Metallurgy and the Development of Etruscan Civilisation PIETER WILLIAM MOMMERSTEEG History Department, University College, London Supervisor: Prof. Michael Crawford I confirm that this dissertation is entirely my own work. All sources and quotations have been acknowledged. The main works consulted are listed in the bibliography. Note: This dissertation is an unrevised examination copy for consultation only, and may not be quoted or cited without permission of the Chairman of the Board of Examiners for the MPhil in Ancient History. 1 Metallurgy and the Development of Etruscan Civilisation Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Ancient Technologies: Pottery and Textiles Chapter 3 The Technology of Copper and Bronze Chapter 4 The Advent of Iron 1200 – 900 BC Chapter 5 The Emergence of Etruria: Middle Bronze Age – 6th century BC Chapter 6 Metalworking in Etruria: 1st millennium BC Chapter 7 The Output of Iron from Populonia: quantitative analysis Chapter 8 The Demand for Iron: the economic background Chapter 9 Applications for Iron: 300-100 BC Chapter 10 Quantities: Uses of Iron, 300-100 BC Chapter 11 The Transfer of Technology Chapter 12 Summary and Conclusions Appendix 1 Area map: Golfo di Baratti. Diagram of the Gulf of Baratti from P Crew in JHMS 25/2 Appendix 2 Site Map from A.Minto Populonia Bibliography 2 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank Prof Michael Crawford, my supervisor, whose patience, encouragement and professional input has been invaluable and beyond the call of duty. Any errors or misguided reasoning though remain mine alone. A lot of new material has become available over the past decade which has, I believe, improved our understanding of the latter stages of iron development. I am indebted to Prof C. Giardino for his continued help in up-dating me with information. I am indebted also to Prof Th. Rehren for his contribution to the computational and other aspects in Chapter 7. The staff at the Library at the Institute for Classical Studies has, as always, been kind and helpful, displaying high levels of tolerance, for which I am very grateful. 3 Metallurgy and the development of Etruscan civilisation CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This dissertation assesses the role played in the development of metallurgy in the expansion and establishment of Etruria as an important, if not the most important, community in mainland Italy, in the first part of the 1st millennium. It seeks therefore to link in more detail the influence that metallurgy had on those changes which took place in the social and economic structure of Etruria. This dissertation examines the role that technology and particularly the transfer of technology played in the growth of metal production in Etruria between the 8th and the 1st centuries BC. It describes the period of change, from bronze to iron, together with the establishment of a basic iron technology. In considering the relationship between metallurgy and Etruscan civilisation several underlying factors contribute to this analysis. At the heart of this lies the question of how and why technology developed in ancient times. In general terms, the process began with „trial and error‟ experimentation leading to the establishment of a basic technology. This could then be developed further by the incorporation of subsequent developments often „within the limits of traditional techniques‟.1 This in turn led to either increased productivity, new forms of design eg colour, shapes, improved physical properties or a combination of these. Increases in productivity contribute to economic growth and this finally can impact on civilisation. Various aspects of this sequence will be raised at different stages of the discussion. The rate at which a technology develops is governed by a variety of factors even within a given field, in metals for example. The difference in development between copper / bronze on the one hand and iron on the other is marked. The former started with the Copper Age progressed relatively 1 Finley, M.I. (1965) „Technical Innovation and Economic Progress in the Ancient World‟ in The Economic History Review Vol 18 No1 29-45 4 uniformly through to the end of the Bronze Age. Iron and iron artefacts precede the Iron Age by some 2000 years. Iron was known from the 3rd millennium, but it was still comparatively rare in the middle of the second millennium, with little being known about its method of manufacture. By 400BC, iron was being produced in quantity, by ancient standards, and it had replaced bronze in many applications. The development of this technology into a workable and transferable one was reflected in the large-scale production of iron in Populonia between the 4th and 1st centuries BC. This technology provided the link between the ever-increasing demand for iron and a plentiful supply of ore. Whilst efficiencies improved over the centuries, the process did not change fundamentally until the 1700s. How did this technological change come about and why did it take so long? The structure of the dissertation can be summarised as follows: In chapters 2-4, a broad outline of the early development of ancient technologies is given. Before discussing that of metals, with copper and bronze providing a natural introduction to iron, two other technologies will be reviewed, namely pottery and textiles. This is to provide a useful background to indicate why these differing ancient technologies developed as they did, and how they progressed from an individual craft activity to the making of goods in large quantities. A core element of this capability is, I believe, the ability and skills to work towards the ability to control processes. The transition from bronze to iron in the Eastern Mediterranean and finally the emergence of Etruria is then discussed. Chapters 5-7 deal with metallurgy in Etruria, and the importance of the transfer from bronze to iron. Archaeological and archaeometallurgical evidence is reviewed together with the accompanying social changes. Finally, the establishment, at Populonia, of a process of iron manufacture which was capable of delivering large quantities of iron. A new assessment of the amount or iron produced there is put forward. 5 Chapters 8-10 begin with a brief summary of the economy in the second half of the first millennium. The wide applications of iron in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC follow together with its usage in weaponry, tools and other applications together with rate of up-take is assessed. The impact on the Roman economy at that time is also discussed. However before describing the development of ancient technologies, it may be helpful, in the context of this dissertation, to review the differences between science and technology. Whereas science is concerned with knowledge and the understanding of natural phenomena, technology can be described as a means of solving problems with practical solutions. The resolution of such problems depends on the successful application of experience and expertise to the relevant material data and its associated practical environment. In ancient times, the requirement for this expertise was governed by basic needs like survival or protection. The origin of these ancient technologies goes back as far as man himself with the use of fundamentals such as fire and flint stones.2 These basic requirements of survival were widened in due course to include more general needs. Ancient technology is rarely documented and the majority of data is available only through artefacts. From the basic element of fire comes heat and, when controlled, the domestic hearth and then the kiln. The resultant products after various degrees of heat treatment, such as pottery and metal artefacts, are in the main the only tangible evidence we have of the progress and control of these technologies. The driving force behind progress in these fields was initially inextricably linked to man's survival; to meet man‟s basic requirements, to improve process performance or to provide artefacts of beauty or adornment. The development of ancient science on the other hand was driven by quite different parameters, namely the desire for knowledge and understanding of the natural world. Aristotle wrote 'all humans desire knowledge' (Metaphysics 2 White, K.D. (1984) 6, Redher J.E. (2000) 3; with reference to pyrotechnology 6 980a21). He clearly established the scientific method that entailed enquiry, and the systematic collection of data, often with experimentation of variables, with the view to deducing from this evidence a formal structure. This not only explained the structure‟s rationale but also provided a fixed relationship between the variables and hence the opportunity to predict outcomes. This approach or way of thinking, generally attributed to Thales in the sixth century, led to an understanding of physical and mechanical phenomena that in turn provided the potential for new techniques to be invented and existing ones developed. Sometimes science and technology worked together, stimulated by the need to solve a problem. For example, it was used by Archimedes specifically in the field of mechanics, and war engines in particular, when he was asked to help in the defence of Syracuse in the second Punic war (Plutarch Marcellus 14.9-17.3). More generally, although the simple pulley was in use in Assyria in the eighth century,3 the compound pulley was described in detail by Aristotle (Mechanical Problems 18.853a-b) and the principles of its mechanism explained and understood. The exact role that the basic laws of mechanics played in the sequence of the development of the pulley we do not know. But the fact that it coincided with a major increase in activity in civil and temple construction, which in turn involved the manoeuvring of large blocks of stone, is probably not accidental. Sometimes the potential remained effectively unused for several centuries, such as the force pump of Ctesibius (3rd century BC, but described by Vitruvius De Arch 10.7.1-4).