Oxhide ingots

Budd, P., Pollard, A.M., Scaife, B. and Thomas, R.G. (1995a). Oxhide ingots, recycling and the Mediterranean metals trade. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 8 1-32. 

Scaife, B., Budd, P., McDonnell, J.G. and Pollard, A.M. (1999). Lead isotope analysis, oxhide ingots and the presentation of scientific data in archaeology. In Metals in Antiquity, ed. Young, S.M.M., Pollard, A.M., Budd, P. and Ixer, R.A., BAR International Series 792, Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 122-133. 

Stos-Gale, Z.A., Maliotis, G., Gale, N.H. and Annetts, N. (1997). Lead isotope characteristics of the Cyprus copper ore deposits applied to provenance studies of copper oxhide ingots. Archaeometry 39 83-123. 

Some have adduced that the widespread distribution of copper oxhide ingots is evidence of a vigorous external Late Bronze Age trade in Cypriot copper. They assume, however, that all such ingots were made of Cypriot copper, a fact not hitherto either proved or disproved. What is the position revealed by the pottery finds If we equate finds of Cypriot pottery overseas, as reviewed by Catling (60), with Cypriot trade, then in Late Cypriot I times the Cypriots continued to develop their trade with the Levant and Egypt while their relations with the West remained insignificant. 

Samples from four different oxhide ingot fragments have been analyzed out of the total of 11 fragments found in the Mathiati hoard, as well as samples from four different fragments found at Skouriotissa together with tuyere and crucible fragments. All this material is in the Nicosia Museum... 

Figure 12. Lead isotope compositions of copper oxhide ingot fragments from Mathiati and Skouriotissa, Cyprus. (Reproduced with permission from ref. 3. Copyright 1986 University of Birmingham.)...

Figure 13. Lead isotope compositions of copper oxhide ingots from Ayia Triadha, Crete, in relation to the lead isotope fields for ores from Cyprus and Ergani Maden, Anatolia. The fields outlined by hatched lines are not yet firmly...

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