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SUMMARY:Copper metallurgy at Kerma: Technological innovation in the Nile V
 alley - Dr. Frederik Rademakers (KU Leuven)
DTSTART:20201106T131500Z
DTEND:20201106T140000Z
UID:TALK151672@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Alette Blom
DESCRIPTION:Kerma is a key site in ancient Sudan\, at a cross-roads betwee
 n ancient Egypt to the north and sub-Saharan Africa to the south\, but als
 o the east-west trade routes crossing the continent. Its material culture 
 reflects these different influences but equally represents strong local tr
 aditions. In this seminar\, new evidence for advanced metallurgical techno
 logy at Kerma is presented.  \nThis presentation discusses results from th
 e 2018-2019 campaign\, in which a Middle Kerma period (21st-18th century B
 CE) metallurgical workshop\, first discovered by Bonnet (1986)\, was re-ex
 cavated to understand its hitherto unknown function. Combining field evide
 nce with archaeometric analysis and experimental archaeology\, the large f
 urnace structure can now be understood in the context of a highly speciali
 sed production chain to cast large bronze sheets – a technique without p
 arallel in the ancient world.\nOur collaboration further allowed for the d
 etailed analysis of metal artefacts as well as crucibles and technical cer
 amics associated with metal production at Kerma. As such\, this research p
 rovides the first detailed overview of copper alloy technology and provena
 nce at this important site. This seminar concludes with a comparison to co
 ntemporaneous evidence from Egypt\, considering the exchange of materials 
 and the spread of knowledge over time in the Nile Valley. \n\nBonnet\, C.\
 , 1986. Un atelier de bronziers à Kerma\, in Krause\, M.\, Nubische Studi
 en. Tagungsakten der 5. Internationalen Konferenz der International Societ
 y for Nubian Studies\, Heidelberg\, 22.-25. September 1982. Mainz: Verlag 
 Philip Von Zabern\, 19-22.\n
LOCATION:Online via zoom
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