Archaeometallurgical investigation of thirteenth–twelfth centuries BCE bronze objects from Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel D. Ashkenazi a, ⁎, S. Bunimovitz b , A. Stern c a School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 6997801, Israel b Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 6997801, Israel c Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410501, Israel abstract article info Article history: Received 30 May 2015 Received in revised form 10 January 2016 Accepted 5 February 2016 Available online xxxx Recent studies in the southern Levant have clarified that bronze – the commonly used metal during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages – continued to be produced throughout the entire Iron Age I. In order to gain more infor- mation concerning the metallurgical industry in southern Canaan during the Late Bronze–Iron Age transition, we performed an archaeometallurgical study of three well-preserved bronze objects – a 13th century BCE axe and 12th century BCE hoe and handle – discovered in the renewed excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel. An- alyzing the composition, microstructure and microhardness of the objects, the study aims at reconstructing their manufacturing processes. The chemical analysis revealed that the three objects were made of bronze, with up to 6.2 wt% Sn and up to 4.0 wt% Pb. Giving their properties and shape, the objects were first cast, most likely in an open mould and then brought to the desired final size and shape probably through cold-forging and annealing cycles. The results of the present research contribute to the accumulating knowledge concerning the Canaanite metallurgical industry during the Late Bronze II–Iron Age I transition. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Archaeometallurgy Bronze tools Cold-forging and heating cycles Iron Age Late Bronze Age Tel Beth-Shemesh 1. Introduction Archaeological and archaeometallurgical studies in recent decades have revolutionized our perceptions concerning the transition from bronze to iron in the southern Levant. Apparently, bronze – the com- monly used metal during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages – continued to be produced through the entire Iron Age I, and iron became a utilitar- ian metal only at the beginning of the Iron Age II (about the ninth cen- tury BCE). Moreover, previous ideas about shortage in tin and copper due to the collapse of the eastern Mediterranean commercial network in the ‘crisis years’ of the twelfth century BCE, have turned out to be ex- aggerated if not completely erroneous. Tin was available in Iron Age I no less than before, and the Cypriote copper imported to Canaan during the Late Bronze Age seems to have been replaced by copper produced at the mining sites of Wadi Faynan and Timna in the Arabah (for all these is- sues see e.g., Waldbaum, 1978; Yahalom-Mack, 2009; Bunimovitz and Lederman, 2012; Yahalom-Mack et al., 2014; Levy et al., 2014; Yahalom-Mack and Eliyahu-Behar, 2015). In order to gain more information regarding the metallurgical indus- try in the southern Canaan during the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age, in this article we present an archaeometallurgical study of three well-preserved bronze artefacts dating from the Late Bronze IIB–Iron Age I (13th–12th centuries BCE): an axe (Fig. 1), a hoe (Fig. 2) and a handle (Fig. 3). The bronze objects were retrieved during the renewed excavations at the site of Tel Beth-Shemesh, located in the northeastern Shephelah (lowland) of Judah, about 20 km west of Jerusa- lem (for past and current research at the site concerning the periods under consideration see Bunimovitz and Lederman, 2009: 114–124; Bunimovitz et al., 2013; Brandl et al., 2013). The description of the three artefacts, including their preservation condition, dimensions and weight is summarized in Table 1. Their archaeological context, typology and chronology are discussed below. Typological and archaeometallurgical observations might help in determining the technological abilities of an- cient cultures (Ashkenazi et al., 2012: 531). The aim of the present study, based on the artefacts' typology, chemical composition, microstructure and microhardness, is to understand the objects' manufacturing process, as well as to ascertain if these three artefacts were made of the same ore deposits. 1.1. The bronze artefacts: archaeological context, typology and chronology The three bronze artefacts were found in 2004 and 2008 in primary contexts of Level 8 (Late Bronze IIB, 13th century BCE) and Level 7 (Iron Age IA, first half of the 12th century BCE) of the renewed excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh. 1.1.1. Axe, Reg. No. 5991.01 (Fig. 1) Context: Area A, Layer L1519, Level 8. Area A is located at the northern slope of the site and reveals a long stratigraphical sequence Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 6 (2016) 170–181 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: dana@eng.tau.ac.il (D. Ashkenazi). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.02.006 2352-409X/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep