This work aims to study the copper base alloy metallurgy in the Middle Bronze Age Levant. The corpus is constituted of weapons from the Lebanese sites of Byblos, Arqa, Khariji and Yanouh. The main objective of this work is the investigation of the knowhow of the MB craftsmen, thus contributing to the understanding of the technological history of this region. Several methods are used for this matter. The alloy recipes were identified with elemental analysis. Manufacture techniques were determined using metallographic observations. The collected data allowed the reconstruction of several phases of the weapon production process. Experimental recreations were undertaken to test the validity of the fabrication process models proposed in this study. All these results were then compared and confronted to the archaeological data (contextual evidence, written sources, and typology). This approach allowed the identification of the craftsmen's choices and practices. Furthermore if contributed to the understanding of the role of the weapons as a cultural vector.
Research on Middle Bronze Age Metallurgy through the study of weapons