Site 346:
Unit B-4: Copper Smelting Furnace:(G. Mumford, based on Report by C. Gilbert)The surface mapping revealed a circular patch of ash and cinder in Unit B-4, which represented the remnants of a furnace. This unit was assigned to Christopher Gilbert. Larry Pavlish placed ten corings in Trench I of unit B-4. Five corings (nos. 3 and 7-10) in the area of the furnace were prevented by the cement-like slag within this smelting installation. The remaining corings (nos. 1-2 and 4-6) and excavation work revealed that the Unit B-4 furnace had been placed directly upon virgin sand. The shallow soil deposition and relatively consistent cultural material suggests that this furnace was used over a brief period of time. However, the presence of wind blown sands between heavy deposits of ash suggest that the furnace was used between several wind storms, perhaps over the course of one or more years. The surface remains in Unit B-4 reveal at least two other substantial areas of cement-like cinder, indicating other, nearby copper smelting furnaces. The site supervisor (C. Gilbert), suggested a possible rotation sequence in the use of these furnaces.
C. Gilbert’s excavation of furnace in Unit B-4, Site 346 (Photo: P. Carstens).
Site 346: selected plans of furnace excavations in Unit B-4 (Field drawing: C. Gilbert; inking: G. Mumford). |
South Sinai
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| The only definite architectural
features in Unit B-4 lay within the furnace, which contained an east-west line of stones.
This lay above a heavy ash and cement-like layer, which in-turn lay over the corner of a
low wall of stones (two courses) that extended NW-SE and E-W, forming the corner of a
rectangular area. The stones positioned in these walls measured mostly under 20 cm, and
had shattered in many cases. The furnace also contained distinct, irregularly shaped
compartments with curvilinear walls made up of cement-like sand, ash, and pebbles. The
compartments ranged from 30 to 60 cm in diameter and depth, and compare well with similar
features found in Units C-3 and C-4 to the northeast. The unit C-3 compartments were
smaller, more uniform, and were composed of the same material (albeit not burnt).
Site 346: west section of furnace in Unit B-4 (Field drawing: C. Gilbert; inking: G. Mumford).The furnace in B-4 appears to have been used in copper processing. Copper slag was found in virtually every layer and deposit, including a few dense deposits of copper at the northern side and at the west side of Unit B-4. In addition, some sherds contained copper stains on their surfaces (i.e., crucible fragments). In future, one might compare and contrast the New Kingdom smelting installations found at Serabit el-Khadim and Timna with those discovered at Tell Markha (346).
Site 346: north section of furnace in Unit B-4 (Field drawing: C. Gilbert; inking: G. Mumford). |
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Unit C-3 (installation associated with furnaces):A 2 metre wide trench was placed across the eastern end of the mound, along the west side of Units C.2, C.3, and C.4. The western sides of Units C.2 and C.4 revealed sterile sand below the light surface scatter of artifacts, while Unit C.3 (and the neighbouring ends of Units C.2 and C.4) lay above a deeper part of the mound. Zoe McQuinn, who excavated Unit C.3, uncovered multiple depressions sunk into a hardened, cement-like sand layer. These installations were associated with copper smelting furnaces that lay to the immediate north in Unit C.2 (excavated by S. Parcak) and in Unit B-4 (excavated by C. Gilbert). These series of depressions probably functioned as cooling holders for crucibles (or moulds) within which the molten copper was contained.
Z. McQuinn’s excavation of sunken
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Collecting, recording, and processing artifacts:(G. Mumford, incorporating pottery report by R. Hummel) After plotting and removing all surface pottery and other artifacts, several areas were selected for excavation within Units B.4, C.2, C.3, and C.4. All surface materials and sand were sieved from these areas, until reaching more sterile sand 5-10 cm, or more, below the surface. In the much less productive sub-surface layer only one in five buckets of sand was sieved.
Parcak, Donnelly, and Gilbert sieving
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| All team-members participated in the sieving and sorting.
This produced numerous flakes, some stone tools, marine shells, sea urchin spines, fish
bones, coral, and copper nodules. The adjacent winter waterfall area (no.1) contained a
band of chert, which would have provided a source for stone tools in antiquity; the hills
immediately to the west also yielded numerous flints and sporadic evidence of stone tool
production.
Lithics from bulldozer heaps beside Site 346 (Photo: P. Carstens).
Shells from Site 346, being studied by D. Donnelly (Photo: P. Carstens).
Coral from Site 346, being studied by D. Donnelly (Photo: P. Carstens). |
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| An investigation of the bulldozer heaps beside the road
cutting through the site, yielded some large granite grinding stones and two rectangular
basalt slabs with smoothed tops. These items probably assisted in the copper refinement
process, being used as crushing stones. Other stone tools represent grinding stones and
pounders for processing grain.
Granite slab fragment from bulldozer heap beside Site 346 (Photo: G. Mumford).
Stone implements from bulldozer heaps beside Site 346 (Photo: P. Carstens). |
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| Many copper nodules appeared across the mound’s surface,
especially within the area immediately beside the copper smelting furnaces. The absence of
slag heaps would suggest that copper was being refined at this site, perhaps whilst miners
waited for the return voyage back to Egypt.
Copper slag from the surface of Site 346 (Photo: P. Carstens). |
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| Most of the potsherds collected from Area 346 came from the
modern surface. 5% of the entire corpus of potsherds consisted of Nile Valley and delta
fabrics and represented a limited number of forms. The Nile Silt vessels were dominated by
simple bowl forms, with a few rims from jars. The simple bowls had been burnished
frequently and had a red slip coating. Identical red slipped and burnished bowls appear
commonly in Dynasty 19. Although a few bowl rims displayed traces of soot, smoke stains,
and root marks, the preserved rims were too small to determine the vessels' functions
(e.g., lamps, cooking pots, or sherds stained secondarily).
G. Mumford and R. Hummel sawing pottery profiles (Photo: P. Carstens).The majority (95%) of the potsherds from Area 346 had been produced locally in South Sinai and consisted of two main fabric types. About 50% of the local wares contained very coarse, buff, handmade moulds resembling the traditional form of Egyptian/Pharaonic bread moulds. The frequent appearance of green stains, and in many cases actual copper nodules, on the surface of the moulds, implied that they had been used in the copper extraction or refinement process (evidenced within Area 346).
Pottery jar rims from surface of Site 346 (Photo: G. Mumford). |
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| The remaining half of the local fabrics was composed of a
fine marly clay, which yielded a pale rust colour after firing. The exterior surface of
most of these vessels displayed a cream slip and in many cases incised decoration. Bowls
with in-curving sides appear to contain more examples with incised decoration. Amongst the
jar rims, the most popular type contained a collared rim, but further work is required to
date these vessel forms. Other specific vessels, such as decorated jars, had parallel
forms (i.e., found by the SCA) dating to the Roman Period at Wadi Gharandel and elsewhere
in South Sinai.
Pottery crucible/mould bases from surface of Site 346 (Photo: G. Mumford). |
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During the 2001 reconnaissance season, G. Mumford and S. Parcak conducted a foot survey of a 1-2 km stretch along the base of the eastern hills, until the point where El-Markha Plain opens eastwards forming the northern edge of the plain proper. Two pottery scatters were located along these foothills, between 1-2 km south of Site 346. The scatter contained identical pottery to the forms at 346 and reflected the southward passage of miners en-route to the copper and turquoise mining region. A parallel surface survey conducted by L. Pavlish and P. Carstens adjacent to the shore-line, did not yield any further pottery scatters.
Pottery jar rims from Sites 346-a and 346-b, 2 km south of 346 (Photo: G. Mumford). |
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