Metalworking materials and practices from Late Antique Rome

In recent decades, archaeological research in the monumental centre of Rome has revealed a completely new image of the city in Late Antiquity. In particular, the reoccupation of former public spaces for productive activities, among which metalworking seems to have played a prominent role, has been extensively documented. Recent excavations of three metalworking furnaces have yielded a considerable amount of material related to the secondary processing of iron and copper alloys, in particular metal debris and technical ceramics, recorded for the first time in Italy and especially in Rome. The main novelties are two nozzles from bellows at one site and numerous fragments of crucibles from two other sites, which turned out to be kitchenware items repurposed with a refractory lining, revealing an operational pattern for the production of these vessels. All these materials have been subjected to scientific analysis, the results of which, although partial, represent a novelty for the Roman scene and have provided a first, unexpected insight into the alloys and materials used, as well as some of the technological choices made by the metallurgists, showing that the subject merits further study. These studies will allow us to adventure some preliminary answers to archaeologically relevant questions about the economic and social life of Late Antique Rome. This is a very initial approach to larger questions such as the management of resources from a recycling perspective and the potential supply of raw materials.

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