FROM THE BRONZE AGE TO THE “LEAD AGE”: OBSERVATIONS ON SEDIMENT ANALYSES AT TWO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN THE JEZREEL VALLEY, ISRAEL

Abstract

This paper reports on a study conducted on archaeological sediments from two sites in the Jezreel Valley, Israel: the Roman military camp of Legio, dating to the 2nd-3rd centuries CE, and the Bronze Age village of Tel Megiddo East, dating to Early Bronze I. The primary purpose of the study was to test the assumption that chronologically-specific metallurgical production and consumption would be evident through trace elements within archaeological sediments. Sediment samples were analyzed using a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) device, as well as conventional wet chemistry techniques in order to compare the results between bulk element analysis and readily leachable cations, and to assess the feasibility of field-based pXRF for such study. Samples taken from various contexts at each site were analyzed specifically for concentrations of lead, copper, and zinc, which should hypothetically differ between a Roman Period site utilizing lead and brass (a copper/zinc alloy), versus an Early Bronze Age site participating in primarily copper metallurgy. Results demonstrate quantitative differences in the sediments between both sites, as well as the capability of pXRF to detect and quantify such trace elements. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of the archaeo-metallurgical context of the two sites.