Raw Materials, Innovation, Technology of Ancient Cultures - RITaK / Die kaiserzeitlichen Bunt-und Edelmetallfunde von Kamen-Westick

Kamen-Westick is among the most important Roman period settlements in Westphalia. In spite of a long history of research, however, the site has barely been analysed. In this publication, Patrick Könemann presents the extensive assemblage of non-ferrous and precious metal artefacts of the 1st to 5th centuries A.D., which comprises both Germanic and imported Roman objects. Here and elsewhere east of the Rhine, Roman non-ferrous and precious metal objects were reworked and and turned into Germanic products. The author hence focuses in particular on "metal recycling" at Kamen-Westick and present results based on archaeological and archaeometallurgical methods. Compared to other Roman period sites in the area between the Ruhr and Lippe, the Roman metal imports from Kamen-Westick are of exceptional quality and quantity. Therefore, the site's inhabitants could fall back on a wide range of raw materials. Indigenous metallurgists evidently recycled Roman imports with specific characteristics, as revealed by archaeometallurgical analyses: the choice of material was first and foremost determined by its suitability for smithing. In addition, research shows that the composition of locally produced objects correlates with the alloys of Roman metal vessels. The working of non-ferrous metals at Kamen-Westick is indicated by scrap metal, casting residues and the remains of a mould and crucibles. A comparison with other Roman period sites with evidence for non-ferrous metal working suggests that this craft was organised in a similar way at an inter-regional scale. However, Warburg-Daseburg is so far the only site at which the complete production sequence, from scrap metal to finished product, could be documented.
 
Kamen-Westick zählt zu den bedeutendsten Siedlungsfundstellen der römischen Kaiserzeit in Westfalen. Trotz ihrer langen Forschungsgeschichte ist sie bisher aber kaum ausgewertet. In dieser Publikation legt Patrick Könemann das umfangreiche Buntmetallfundspektrum und Edelmetallfundspektrum des 1. bis 5. Jahrhunderts n.Chr. vor, das germanische und importierte römische Objekte umfasst. Hier wie auch anderswo im rechtsrheinischen Raum arbeiteten Germanen römische Buntmetallobjekte und Edelmetallobjekte um und fertigten daraus eigene Güter. Daher befasst sich der Autor insbesondere mit dem Phänomen "Metallrecycling" in Kamen-Westick und präsentiert seine auf archäologischen und archäometallurgischen Methoden beruhenden Ergebnisse. Die römischen Metallimporte aus Kamen-Westick ragen hinsichtlich ihrer Qualität und Quantität deutlich unter den kaiserzeitlichen Fundstellen zwischen Ruhr und Lippe heraus, somit konnten die Bewohner der Siedlung auf ein umfangreiches Rohstoffangebot zurückgreifen. Die einheimischen Metallurgen recycelten offenbar römische Importe mit spezifischen Eigenschaften wie archäometallurgische Analysen darlegen: Maßgeblich stand bei der Materialauswahl eine gute Schmiedefähigkeit im Vordergrund. Die Untersuchungen zeigten ferner, dass die Zusammensetzung der einheimischen Objekte vor allem mit Legierungen römischer Metallgefäße korreliert. Die Buntmetallverarbeitung lässt sich in Kamen-Westick anhand von Altmetall, Gussabfällen und dem Rest einer Gussform sowie Tiegeln belegen. Der Vergleich mit weiteren kaiserzeitlichen Fundstellen, wo Buntmetallurgie nachgewiesen werden konnte, deutet auf ein überregional ähnlich organisiertes Handwerk hin. Jedoch konnte die Produktionskette vom Altmetall bis zum Fertigprodukt bislang nur in Warburg-Daseburg vollständig erfasst werden.

Kamen-Westick is among the most important Roman period settlements in Westphalia. In spite of a long history of research, however, the site has barely been analysed. In this publication, Patrick Könemann presents the extensive assemblage of non-ferrous and precious metal artefacts of the 1st to 5th centuries A.D., which comprises both Germanic and imported Roman objects. Here and elsewhere east of the Rhine, Roman non-ferrous and precious metal objects were reworked and and turned into Germanic products. The author hence focuses in particular on "metal recycling" at Kamen-Westick and present results based on archaeological and archaeometallurgical methods. Compared to other Roman period sites in the area between the Ruhr and Lippe, the Roman metal imports from Kamen-Westick are of exceptional quality and quantity. Therefore, the site's inhabitants could fall back on a wide range of raw materials. Indigenous metallurgists evidently recycled Roman imports with specific characteristics, as revealed by archaeometallurgical analyses: the choice of material was first and foremost determined by its suitability for smithing. In addition, research shows that the composition of locally produced objects correlates with the alloys of Roman metal vessels. The working of non-ferrous metals at Kamen-Westick is indicated by scrap metal, casting residues and the remains of a mould and crucibles. A comparison with other Roman period sites with evidence for non-ferrous metal working suggests that this craft was organised in a similar way at an inter-regional scale. However, Warburg-Daseburg is so far the only site at which the complete production sequence, from scrap metal to finished product, could be documented.