METALLIC ORE RESOURCES IN THE ITKUL CULTURE OF THE MIDDLE TRANS-URALS DURING THE EARLY IRON AGE

Abstract

The paper addresses the question of ore resources (occurrences and deposits) exploited by the Early Iron Age metallurgists of the Itkul culture in the middle Urals. The main method of the study was the analysis of geological maps and reports, and the analysis of the correlation between the identified ore occurrences and the Itkul culture metal production centers. The results of the study reveal a relationship between the location of the Itkul culture settlement clusters and various types of copper ore (VMS, skarn and stratiform) and iron ore (infiltration and sedimentary ironstone) deposits, which could have been exploited for copper, and iron metallurgy in antiquity. We suggest that the primary smelting of copper ore was performed only in clusters: Polevskoy, Itkulsky, Isetsky and Irtyashsky. The use of ironstone ores is attested in copper metallurgy, where they were added into the charge as fluxes to reduce the viscosity of the slag melt and more efficiently extract copper from the ore. The Itkul metallurgical settlements seem also to have direct evidence of iron smelting. The ironstone deposits of infiltration-sedimentary type, common in the middle Trans-Urals, were apparently one of the main ore sources used. The provided geological maps showing the location of the possible iron and copper metallic resources make it possible to localize areas having the potential for finding new archaeological evidence of ancient mining and primary metallurgical operations. Based on these data, the first early Iron Age iron ore mine was discovered in the Urals.