New evidence for prehistoric copper metallurgy in the vicinity of Bor

Abstract

The last three years of archaeological investigations at the site Ru`ana in Banjsko Polje, in the immediate vicinity of Bor, have provided new evidence regarding the role of non-ferrous metallurgy in the economy of the prehistoric communities of north-eastern Serbia. The remains of metallurgical furnaces and a large amount of metallic slags at two neighbouring sites in the mentioned settlement reveal that locations with many installations for the thermal processing of copper ore existed in the Bronze Age. We believe, judging by the finds of material culture, that metallurgical activities in this area also continued into the Iron Age and, possibly, into the 4th century AD. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177020: Archaeology of Serbia: Cultural identity, integration factors, technological processes and the role of the central Balkans in the development of European prehistory]

Keywords

• Bronze Age
• Iron Age
• copper metallurgy
• metallic slags