METAL PRODUCTION IN LATE ANTIQUITY: FROM CONTINUITY OF KNOWLEDGE TO CHANGES IN CONSUMPTION Enrico Giannichedda Abstract The study of metal production in Late Antiquity falls between the Early Roman period and the Early Middle Ages—both of which left a more lasting impression. Late Antiquity marks an ambiguous boundary, or rather a period of transition in which significant continuity of knowledge of ancient techniques can be found, although sometimes translated into new forms, as a result of: a crisis in extraction activities of the central government; of contacts between peoples who brought with them different traditional techniques; and of changes in use, whether utilitarian or not. To examine these phenomena, three methods can be applied: firstly, one can differentiate products through their technical details; secondly, one can quantify production, and thus the metal that was actually available to the different social groups; thirdly, one can undertake archaeometallurgical research on sites of particular interest. Introduction Roman material culture reached a remarkable technological level, notably in terms of the manufacture of metal objects, which were widely distributed during the first centuries of the Empire. This simple observation once led some historians 1 to ask why, in Late Antiquity, the Roman World did not produce an industrial revolution. This debate was obviously connected with a view of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages as a period in which much knowledge was lost, including proper technical knowledge. However, this discussion can be sidestepped if one 1 Gibbon (1776); Rostovzeff (1957) 535 asks, from a Romanocentric view, “why does modern society always have to build upon the ruins of Antiquity, instead of being its direct continuation?”. L. Lavan, E. Zanini, and A. Sarantis (edd.) Technology in Transition A.D. 300–650 (Late Antique Archaeology 4 – 2006) (Leiden 2007), pp. 187–209 LAVAN_ZANINI_f12_187-210.indd 187 LAVAN_ZANINI_f12_187-210.indd 187 1/11/2008 5:06:29 PM 1/11/2008 5:06:29 PM