ESTIMATING THE ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AN IRON SMELTING SITE IN BEREKET, SW-TURKEY

摘要

In the territory of ancient Sagalassos (SW Turkey), metallurgical waste is found at different localities. During previous surveys, an iron smelting site was found uphill of the Bereket Valley, 20 km SW of the monumental Hellenistic to Byzantine city of Sagalassos. The site consists of two adjoining depressions separated by a narrow plateau. The first depression displays a slag heap of -110 m~2. Most slag were identified as tapslag. Chert fragments and limonite minerals were found in the second depression. This area is identified as an ore dressing site. Ore and slag were qualitatively analysed using a Bruker Tracer III-SD handheld portable X-Ray Fluoresence device (HH-pXRF). The chemical composition of the ore and slag were compared to other metallurgical waste in the territory of Sagalassos in order to provide information on potential distributions and exchange patterns. Bereket distin-guishes itself by elevated Cr-values compared to the other sites and little to no exchange of raw material between sites is observed. A production estimate was made for the site to quantify the scale of the production. To estimate the sustain-ability of the iron production, wood consumption is compared to other wood consuming activities in the territory. The ecological impact of the Bereket iron production seems to be minor compared to other craft productions in the territory. This study offers insight into the economic and ecological importance of small iron smelting sites in the Sagalassos territory.