ANALYTICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF ANCIENT LEAD SLAGS FROM LAVRION, ATTIKA, GREECE

Abstract

The present research reports the chemical and mineralogical results of various archae-
ometallurgical lead slags from the Ari site at Lavrion, one of the largest ancient sites of
Pb–Ag metallurgical activities in Greece, excavated by the School of Mining and Metal-
lurgical Engineering of Greece, under the directorship of Prof. C. Tsaimou. Dating of the
metallurgical slags was carried out using radiocarbon measurements, indicating the ear-
liest phase of the Roman Empire. Chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were
used to identify the Ca-rich silicate, oxides and metallic phases. The major constituents of
the slag proved to be melilite (akermanite/hardystonite), clinopyroxene, olivine, spinel
and glass. Zinc was dissolved in the silicate melt and was mostly present in the form of
the zinc member of the spinel and as silicate (hardystonite). Lead, in contrast, behaves as
an “incompatible element” and was likely to be concentrated in the residual matrix. Pb
was also present in the form of metallic inclusions