Aegean-anatolian metals in the Hellenistic Southern Levant: new insights from the copper-alloy assemblage of Khirbet el-‘Eika

Abstract

This study presents the results of an archaeometallurgical investigation of copper-based objects from Khirbet el-‘Eika, a fortified rural estate in the Hellenistic Galilee. Compositional analysis of 27 objects reveals that the site’s metal stock primarily consisted of tin-bronze, and leaded bronze alloys, supplemented with unalloyed copper and a single gunmetal ring. Lead isotope analysis demonstrates that the majority of copper-based objects contain sufficiently elevated Pb to reflect the added lead source rather than the underlying copper, and are consistent with geologically young lead ores from the Aegean and Anatolia. The coherence of trace element patterns and lead isotope compositions across the majority of the assemblage indicates procurement from consistent Aegean-Anatolian lead sources rather than indiscriminate recycling of scrap from multiple sources. These results, alongside comparative Hellenistic copper-alloy and lead artifact assemblages, reinforce a growing body of archaeometallurgical studies demonstrating the existence of a sustained commercial interaction where metals circulated from the Aegean (or Western Anatolia) into the Southern Levant from the Late Persian period into the second century BC. When contextualized alongside ceramic and numismatic data, the results point to two concurrent circulation systems: a maritime network centered on ‘Akko-Ptolemais, and a secondary distribution system supplying the inland rural Galilee. These findings position copper, tin, and lead as key commodities within the wider Mediterranean trade networks of the Hellenistic Southern Levant.

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