Pour une histoire médiévale de l'entreprise minière en Lombardie

Menant, François

doi:10.3406/ahess.1987.283419

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As the adjacent mill would have been equipped with a hydraulic system, and such ventilation has been documented as early as the late 12th century in the eastern Alps. 31,32 It is conceivable that the Minier furnaces were designed accordingly during the 14th century. The melting temperatures of the slag were determined using EDS quantifications through MELTS_v1.0 software.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency of Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Distinguishing Lead Slag

Tomczyk,

Minvielle Larousse

2023

Appl Spectrosc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the Minier Valley (France, Aveyron), an archaeological site excavation has led to the discovery of 25 kg of lead (Pb) slag, found in a secondary position. On a macroscopic level, these slags can be classified into two distinct categories, vitreous black and porous gray. This clear visual differentiation has been previously documented at other Pb–silver (Ag) metallurgy sites dating from the 12th century to the 14th century in Europe, and more particularly in the workshops of Mont Lozère, located approximately 80 km away from Le Minier. However, to date, scant evidence exists regarding the specific metallurgical process that produced this slag. This study presents the results of the analysis of 218 Pb slags (Supplemental Material) using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). This method does not appear to be ideally suited for investigating this type of artifact, as it does not provide quantification of oxygen content. Nevertheless, it can be used to quickly identify trends and determine whether the two identified facies exhibit dissimilar chemical compositions. The results indicate that, based on the elemental compositions of the slags, no discernible distinction can be made to categorize them into two separate groups, both in bivariate and multivariate analyses. Consequently, it can be inferred that the gray and black slags originate from a single process executed within the same type of furnace. Scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive spectrometry analyses on selected samples demonstrate that variations in metal content are considerably exaggerated by pXRF, but that the trends observed are confirmed. The use of pXRF is therefore a relevant tool for determining whether or not Pb–Ag slag is the result of the same process. However, this initial approach needs to be refined by other analyses to confirm whether the smelted ores are of local origin and to be able to better define the details of the metallurgical process used.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency of Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Distinguishing Lead Slag

Tomczyk,

Minvielle Larousse

2023

Appl Spectrosc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In that sense, it should be underlined that mining activity is also attested in the neighbouring valley of L'Argentière during this period (Py et al, 2014). This early stage of Medieval mining activity in the high Durance valley occurred at the same time in the Upper Harz region (central Germany) and Lombardy (northern Italy) (Menant, 1987;Braunstein, 2003).…”

Section: Complementarity Between Felling Phases and Radiocarbon Datamentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Working habits in medieval silver mines located in Alpine mountain areas are poorly documented in textual archives. The manuscripts of Ardesio (13th c.) in the Province of Bergamo (Valseriana, Italy) are the exception (Barachetti, 1980;Menant, 1987). They reveal that miners did not work in mines permanently but only during very short periods of time, since a period of work of less than 15 days was not taken into account for seigniorial royalties.…”

Section: Further Arguments For Seasonal Mining Activity In the Faravementioning

confidence: 99%

“…When a miner (and associate) obtained a vein ore, he worked day and night with his co-workers. Menant (1987) explained that this concentration of work and effort led to the creation of teamwork, indispensable to the mine and for dividing the year between agropastoral and mining activities. Our data obtained for the Faravel mines suggest a similar organisation of mining activities with short seasonal campaigns carried out mainly after the bulk of agropastoral works and before of the arrival of the snowpack.…”

Section: Further Arguments For Seasonal Mining Activity In the Faravementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

New insights on the chronology of medieval mining activity in the small polymetallic district of Faravel (Massif des Écrins, Southern French Alps) derived from dendrochronological and archaeological approaches

Shindo

Py-Saragaglia

Ancel³

et al. 2019

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

New insights on the chronology of medieval mining activity in the small polymetallic district of Faravel (Massif des Écrins, Southern French Alps) derived from dendrochronological and archaeological approaches. A B S T R A C TA large amount of well-preserved timbers was found during several archaeological excavations of the Faravel mining site (Southern French Alps, between 1950-and 2150 m a.s.l.). 232 of these timbers were sampled for dendrochronological analysis and 67% of them were dated. These 156 larch (Larix decidua Mill.) series, crossdated against existing reference chronologies, were averaged for a site chronology spanning from 777 to 1243. From this dataset, 33 timbers with (almost) complete sapwood allowed us to obtain tree felling years with seasonal resolution. The chronological distribution of these felling years highlights nine distinct mining phases that occurred between 1059 and 1243, revealing a discontinuous exploitation of the study site during the medieval period. In addition, the presence of late wood in the vast majority of complete samples, demonstrates that logging mainly occurred during late fall and early winter. These results, combined with historical, palynological and archaeological investigations, plead for short, seasonal, and low-intensity, mining campaigns, mainly carried out after the bulk of agropastoral activities using rudimentary techniques with limited impact on the forest cover.

show abstract

The exploitation of silver deposits in early medieval Europe: some documentary, economic and social problems

Minvielle Larousse

2024

Archaeometry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Focusing on Southern Europe, this article sheds light on the mining landscape of the early Middle Ages. Based on the current state of historical and archaeological knowledge, the article raises a number of questions that can be extended to other European regions. The documentary problem shows that the scarcity of sources is due to a less developed mining historiography of the early Middle Ages. The few references show that it was not a question of ignorance, nor of the terrain, nor of the potential, nor of the techniques, taking into account the work in Melle and in the Harz. The study of production from the angle of an economic problem forms the basis of a hypotheses for selective and centralized exploitation during the Carolingian period and of an unbridled mining boom from the early 11th century. Even with the current paucity of documentary evidence, it is reasonable to assume that early medieval societies did not choose to exploit all the resources available to them. Finally, there is the social question. Who was behind the work and trade in ingots? The model of elite dirigisme will be discussed and it will be suggested that the role of the elite be reduced in favour of other actors such as entrepreneurs. Finally, the article argues for the extension of archaeological research to production areas in order to date operations, establish reference systems for ores and read archaeological remains from a social perspective.

show abstract

Pour une histoire médiévale de l'entreprise minière en Lombardie

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Efficiency of Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Distinguishing Lead Slag

Efficiency of Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Distinguishing Lead Slag

New insights on the chronology of medieval mining activity in the small polymetallic district of Faravel (Massif des Écrins, Southern French Alps) derived from dendrochronological and archaeological approaches

The exploitation of silver deposits in early medieval Europe: some documentary, economic and social problems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About