Refining gold with glass – an early Islamic technology at Tadmekka, Mali

Th. Rehren; S. Nixon

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.013

Refining gold with glass – an early Islamic technology at Tadmekka, Mali

Th. Rehren, S. Nixon

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We describe two crucible fragments from an early Islamic context at the West African site of Tadmekka, in the Republic of Mali. They are made from a very sandy fabric and contain numerous gold particles and mineral grains in a matrix of lightly-coloured glass-based crucible slag. We interpret these as remains of a process separating freshly-panned gold concentrate from residual mineral inclusions, by melting the concentrate together with crushed glass beads. The process has similarities in modern artisanal practice, and shows the versatility of craftspeople in this major urban trading centre famous for its gold wealth.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	33-41
Number of pages	9
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science
Volume	49
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.013
Publication status	Published - 1 Sep 2014

Keywords

Gold processing
Early Islamic
Mali
Crucible technology

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.013Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Refining gold with glass – an early Islamic technology at Tadmekka, Mali",

abstract = "We describe two crucible fragments from an early Islamic context at the West African site of Tadmekka, in the Republic of Mali. They are made from a very sandy fabric and contain numerous gold particles and mineral grains in a matrix of lightly-coloured glass-based crucible slag. We interpret these as remains of a process separating freshly-panned gold concentrate from residual mineral inclusions, by melting the concentrate together with crushed glass beads. The process has similarities in modern artisanal practice, and shows the versatility of craftspeople in this major urban trading centre famous for its gold wealth.",

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AB - We describe two crucible fragments from an early Islamic context at the West African site of Tadmekka, in the Republic of Mali. They are made from a very sandy fabric and contain numerous gold particles and mineral grains in a matrix of lightly-coloured glass-based crucible slag. We interpret these as remains of a process separating freshly-panned gold concentrate from residual mineral inclusions, by melting the concentrate together with crushed glass beads. The process has similarities in modern artisanal practice, and shows the versatility of craftspeople in this major urban trading centre famous for its gold wealth.

KW - Gold processing

KW - Early Islamic

KW - Mali

KW - Crucible technology

U2 - 10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.013

DO - 10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.013

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