US EditionHow Britain's long-distance tin trade transformed the Bronze Age
- A new study led by Durham archaeometallurgists revealed that tin mined in Cornwall and Devon was traded to Eastern Mediterranean societies around 1300 BC.
- After decades of debate regarding the ancient tin trade, this breakthrough traced tin ingots recovered from shipwrecks near Israel and France back to southwest Britain through detailed chemical and isotopic examination.
- The research identified unique trace elements, like indium, in British tin deposits and showed these matched tin ingots in Mediterranean shipwrecks, contrasting with other European sources.
- Benjamin Roberts noted that tin supplied from southwestern Britain played a crucial role in allowing societies in the Eastern Mediterranean to shift from using copper to adopting bronze in their metallurgy.
- These findings imply a vast long-distance trade network moving tens of tons of tin annually, reshaping understanding of Britain's technological and economic importance in the Bronze Age.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Mycenaeans Acquired Cornish Tin via Vast Trade Network Reaching Britain 3,300 Years Ago
Salcombe ingots (Bronze Age), British Museum. Credit: Williams / CC BY 4.0 A major study has traced the roots of a long-standing mystery in ancient history: where did Bronze Age societies like the Mycenaeans in the eastern Mediterranean acquire the Cornish tin needed to make bronze? Around 1300 B.C., civilizations across the region began using bronze more widely for weapons, tools, and jewelry. While these cultures had already used small amounts…
Bronze-age Britain traded tin with the Mediterranean, shows new study – settling a two-century debate
Bronze age tin ingot from Salcombe, England. Benjamin Roberts / Alan WilliamsTin was the critical mineral of the ancient world. It was essential to alloy with copper to make bronze, which for many centuries was the preferred metal for tools and weapons. Yet sources of tin are very scarce – and were especially so for the rapidly growing bronze age towns, cities and states around the eastern Mediterranean. Though major tin deposits are found in we…
How Britain's long-distance tin trade transformed the Bronze Age - Tech and Science Post
A new study has revealed that 3,300 years ago, tin mined in south-west Britain was a key resource for major Bronze Age civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean thousands of kilometers away. The findings, based on the analysis of tin ores and tin artifacts, including those from ancient shipwrecks from south-west Britain, southern France and Israel, show that British tin was traded up to 4,000km. Lead researchers Dr. Alan Williams and Dr. Benjam…
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