Early and Middle Bronze Age Metalwork in Cyprus

This volume is a detailed study of the entire assemblage of provenanced, published metal artefacts of Early and Middle Bronze Age date from Cyprus, including those of lead and precious metals. It is accompanied by a custom-built open access database, hosted by the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus, which provides information on the form, context, chronology and, where available, composition of the 3327 objects which form the basis of the study.
  An introductory chapter reviews issues of typology, chronology and recovery bias. Each artefact type is then discussed and extensively illustrated (Chapters 2–14) with an additional chapter on miscellaneous items (Chapter 15). Sub-headings focus on the origin of each type, form and chronology, function and manufacture. Chapter 16 by Andreas Charalambous presents the results of Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry analyses undertaken on 768 copper-base artefacts from a variety of sites. Object composition is also discussed in each chapter, utilising both the results of handheld XRF and additional analytical data acquired by a range of different techniques and sample procedures for a total of 1273 objects.
  The final chapter (Chapter 17) presents a detailed overview of the metal industry in prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus, with a focus on mining and processing, artefact production and distribution, the shift from copper and arsenical copper to tin alloys, the use of precious metals and changing attitudes toward metal and systems of metal value.