Identification of Fazael 2 (4000–3900 BCE) as first lost wax casting workshop in the Chalcolithic Southern Levant

Rose, Thomas; Bar, Shay; Asscher, Yotam; Goren, Yuval

doi:10.1186/s40494-023-01029-9

Heritage Science

Table 1 List of analysed items, their archaeological details, and key results of the analyses. Maximum firing temperature estimates according to Berna et al. [28]. Abbreviations: Ca = calcite; Qtz = quartz; and Cl = clays, N.A. = not available

From: Identification of Fazael 2 (4000–3900 BCE) as first lost wax casting workshop in the Chalcolithic Southern Levant

Object ID	Locus	Basket	Type	Features	Paste (Petrography)	Mineralogical composition (FTIR)	Clays’ main peak position (cm^-1)	Estimated firing T_max (°C)
F219	225	440	Crucible fragment	Bloated matrix, vitrified patches on surface	Silt-rich clay completely blackened, vegetal matter	Slagged material, Qtz-like structure	1081	> 900
F222	210	335	Crucible fragment	Cross-section shows red and black zones parallel to inside surface, preferred orientation of vegetal matter	Silt-rich clay, mostly blackened, vegetal matter, round aggregates of same clay with almost no silt	Slagged material, Qtz-like structure	1085	> 900
F225	106	446	Vessel fragment	Cracks subparallel to inside surface	Moza clay, carbonaceous sand	Ca > Cl > Qtz	1047	700–800
F225a	106	446	Baked sediment nodule	No shaped surfaces	Calcareous clay, vegetal matter, carbonaceous sand	Ca > Cl > Qtz	shoulder at 1040	500–600
F228	225	503	Crucible fragment	Bloated matrix, preferred orientation of vegetal matter	Silt-rich clay completely blackened, vegetal matter	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.
F229	225	440	Vessel, undiagnostic wall fragment		Moza clay, carbonaceous sand	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.
F2-Y39	361	665	Baked sediment nodule	Two layers: regular paste and finer-grained paste richer in silt	Ferruginous silt-rich clay	Cl > Ca > Qtz	1035	< 400
F2-Y42	361	665	Baked sediment nodule		Ferruginous silt-rich clay	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.
F2-Y52	361	665	Baked sediment nodule		Ferruginous silt-rich clay	Cl > Ca > Qtz	1035	< 400
F2-Y50	361	665	Baked sediment nodule	Areas with roughly chopped subparallel aligned vegetal matter and areas with sand-sized carbonate grains	Ferruginous silt-rich clay, vegetal matter, calcareous sand	Ca > Cl > Qtz	1035	< 400
F2-Y55	361	665	Baked sediment nodule	Less silt than in other sediment nodules, completely blackened, vitreous inclusions	Silt-containing opaque matrix, round aggregates with almost no silt, vegetal matter, carbonaceous sand, vitreous inclusions	Cl > Ca > Qtz	1035	< 400
F2-Y57	363	669	Baked sediment nodule	Particularly silt-rich matrix	Ferruginous silt-rich clay	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.
F2-Y64	366	674	Baked sediment nodule	Finely chopped vegetal matter	Ferruginous silt-rich clay, vegetal matter	Cl > Ca > Qtz	1035	< 400
F2-YA3	351	650	Baked sediment nodule		Ferruginous silt-rich clay, carbonaceous sand, vegetal matter	Cl > Ca > Qtz	1035	< 400
Unfired control	N.A.	N.A.	Clay			Cl > Ca > Qtz	1035	< 400

Back to article page