This special issue of Journal of Mining and Metallurgy, Section B: Metallurgy is dedicated to archaeometallurgical studies - a multidisciplinary scientific field connecting archaeology and metallurgy and enlightening historical aspects of metallurgical activities. 

Scientific research, characterization and description of archaeometallurgical artifacts and objects, as well as some theoretical considerations of ancient metallurgical processes, are of great importance for more complete insight into the history of metallurgy. Why? Because the development of metallurgy is one of the most significant achievements in the human historv and therefore the study of early metal production, gives a special glimpse into the lifestyle, culture and conditions in which the ancient people lived and worked.

Such compilation could not be done without active help and generous assitance of the authors. I am grateful to all the authors presented in this issue for their kind collaboration and cooperation.

At the end, I hope that this special issue JMM-B, dedicated to archaeometallurgy, will satisfy both interested groups - metallurgists and archaeologists, and help others in better understanding of this interesting problematic.

Guest-Editor:
Dragana Živković

Title: Beginning of the metal age in the central Balkan according to the results of the archaeometallurgy

Abstract

The gradual development of the primary copper metallurgy in Balkans starts with production of small jewelry pieces and ends with the serial production of massive tools and weapons. It is confirmed that this metallurgy depended on the contemporary mining...

Title: Ancient metallurgical traditions and connections around the Caput Adriae

Abstract

In the last decade several archaeological projects concerning metallurgical tradition and techniques, were carried out on metal finds from various sites around the Northern Adriatic and in the Eastern Alps. The pieces, made of different metals, are dated to various periods...

Title: Prehistoric copper tools from the territory of Serbia

Abstract

Around four hundreds prehistoric copper tools and weapons have been recorded in the territory of Serbia so far. They had been in use for a rather long period of time – from the end of the early phase of the Vinča culture until the Middle Bronze Age and...

Title: A multi-disciplinary approach to the study of an assemblage of copper based finds assigned to the prehistory and proto-history of Fucino, Abruzzo, Italy

Abstract

The project aims to characterize, through a body of archaeometric analyses, an assemblage of copper-based finds known as ‘Fucino bronzes’, most of which lack any finding data. The Fucino bronzes include artefacts that emerged during the...

Title: The traces of Roman metallurgy in Eastern Serbia

Abstract

The archaeological traces of the Roman mining and metallurgy in eastern Serbia are rather frequent but insufficiently studied and published. Three mining-metallurgical regions abounding in gold, silver, copper, iron and...

Title: Early Byzantine metallurgical object at the site Gamzigrad - Romuliana in Eastern Serbia

Abstract

During the last quarter of the 4^th century the settlement in Romuliana became an artisan and commercial center in Imperial domain. In 443 Huns destroyed this settlement during their invasion of the territory of Empire and for the few ensuing decades it was abandoned...

Title: Investigation of archaeometallurgical findings from Felix Romuliana locality

Abstract

Remains of metallurgical activities have been discovered recently at the locality Felix Romuliana near Zaječar (Eastern Serbia), with a lot of slag occurrences and metal findings. Samples, taken from this locality, have been investigated using different characterization methods...

Title: Copper production in Majdanpek in sixties and seventies of the 16^th century

Abstract

In this paper the practice of mine Majdanpek during sixties and seventies of the XVI century has been investigated with an accent on copper production. The attention has been also given to various subjects from...

Some thermodynamic, structural and behavioral
aspects of materials accentuating
non-crystalline states

Edited by J. Šesták, M. Holeček and J. Málek,