Platinum group placer minerals in ancient gold artifacts – Geochemistry and osmium isotopes of inclusions in Early Bronze Age gold from Ur/Mesopotamia

Jansen, Moritz; Aulbach, Sonja; Hauptmann, Andreas; Höfer, Heidi E.; Klein, Sabine; Krüger, Michael; Zettler, Richard L.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2016.02.004

Cited by 27 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Terrestrial PGE nuggets are commonly found in ore bodies that when eroded, can become concentrated in riverine placer deposits, including those of the Jordan River floodplain. To compare Fe–Ir–Pt relationships among the TeH nuggets, we compiled data from nearby placer deposits in Greece 109 , Turkey 110 , 111 , and Iraq 112 , along with distant placers in Russia 113 – 115 , Canada 116 , and Alaska, USA 117 , 118 . The compilation of 109 Pt-dominant placer nuggets indicates that the average Fe concentration is 8.2 wt.%, Ir = 2.9 wt.%, and Pt = 80.3 wt.%.…”

Section: High-temperature Melted Mineralsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea

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LeCompte

Adedeji

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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We present evidence that in ~ 1650 BCE (~ 3600 years ago), a cosmic airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a Middle-Bronze-Age city in the southern Jordan Valley northeast of the Dead Sea. The proposed airburst was larger than the 1908 explosion over Tunguska, Russia, where a ~ 50-m-wide bolide detonated with ~ 1000× more energy than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. A city-wide ~ 1.5-m-thick carbon-and-ash-rich destruction layer contains peak concentrations of shocked quartz (~ 5–10 GPa); melted pottery and mudbricks; diamond-like carbon; soot; Fe- and Si-rich spherules; CaCO3 spherules from melted plaster; and melted platinum, iridium, nickel, gold, silver, zircon, chromite, and quartz. Heating experiments indicate temperatures exceeded 2000 °C. Amid city-side devastation, the airburst demolished 12+ m of the 4-to-5-story palace complex and the massive 4-m-thick mudbrick rampart, while causing extreme disarticulation and skeletal fragmentation in nearby humans. An airburst-related influx of salt (~ 4 wt.%) produced hypersalinity, inhibited agriculture, and caused a ~ 300–600-year-long abandonment of ~ 120 regional settlements within a > 25-km radius. Tall el-Hammam may be the second oldest city/town destroyed by a cosmic airburst/impact, after Abu Hureyra, Syria, and possibly the earliest site with an oral tradition that was written down (Genesis). Tunguska-scale airbursts can devastate entire cities/regions and thus, pose a severe modern-day hazard.

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Section: High-temperature Melted Mineralsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea

Bunch

LeCompte

Adedeji

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…The gold products with high Pt contents (>100 ppm) can both host PGM microinclusions (Ur and Mesopotamia—Jansen et al . ; this study) and can be devoid of them (Byzantine, Arab and Syrian coins—Gondonneau and Guerra ; East China foil—Brostoff et al . ; and Cambodian jewels—Schlosser et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…) and intermediate (328–366 in the Byzantine era, 110–366 in Arab territories and 184–555 in Syria—Gondonneau and Guerra ) to high (160–1200 in Ur and Mesopotamia—Jansen et al . ; and 1095–1127 in Cambodia—Schlosser et al . ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Microinclusions of platinum group minerals (PGMs), including osmium, iridium and ruthenium, were found in ancient gold objects, mostly from archaeological sites of Asia Minor and Egypt (Craddock ; Jansen et al . ; Meeks and Tite ; Ogden , ). The names of these minerals follow the classification of Harris and Cabri () for ternary system Os–Ir–Ru alloys.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trace Elements in Ancient Gold Products with PGE Microinclusions from Archaeological Sites of the Urals and North Black Sea Region: LA–ICP–MS Data

et al. 2018

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Many archaeological gold products of the Urals and North Black Sea region contain microinclusions of platinum group minerals (PGMs). The trace element composition of these products was studied using LA–ICP–MS to reveal their microgeochemical features, the differences in the trace element composition of PGM‐bearing and PGM‐free products, and the source of gold. Owing to the presence of microinclusions of ruthenium, osmium and iridium, the gold products from the Filippovka I grave field and the Phanagoria site are enriched in Os, Ru, Ir and Rh. Among the platinum group elements (PGEs), Pt exhibits the highest contents in the gold products. The gold products are characterized by individual assemblages of Ag and base metals. The gold products with both PGEs and base metals were manufactered from two types of gold: placer‐derived and gold from oxidation zones of polymetallic volcanic‐hosted massive sulphide deposits. It is suggested that cupellation was most common technique of gold refinement.

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“…One exception is the so-called platinum group elements, which are only present in a very low concentration in the copper. Hence, the presence of platinum group elements generally indicates the use of placer gold, as has already been discussed in papers dealing with the provenance of gold raw material (Chapman et al 2006;Ehser et al 2011;Jansen et al 2016). Tin is also often used as indicator for placer gold, but the situation is more complex.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

JAVA : ARTS AND REPRESENTATIONS. Art historical and Archaeometric Analyses of Ancient Jewellery (7–16th C.) : The Prillwitz Collection of Javanese Gold

Tjoa-Bonatz¹,

Lockhoff²

2019

archipel

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Platinum group placer minerals in ancient gold artifacts – Geochemistry and osmium isotopes of inclusions in Early Bronze Age gold from Ur/Mesopotamia

Cited by 27 publications

References 26 publications

A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea

A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea

Trace Elements in Ancient Gold Products with PGE Microinclusions from Archaeological Sites of the Urals and North Black Sea Region: LA–ICP–MS Data

JAVA : ARTS AND REPRESENTATIONS. Art historical and Archaeometric Analyses of Ancient Jewellery (7–16th C.) : The Prillwitz Collection of Javanese Gold

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