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Tomb 100 at Cabezo Lucero: new light on goldworking in fourth-century BC Iberia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Alicia Perea  and
Barbara Armbruster
Alicia Perea
Affiliation:
Grupo Arqueometal, Instituto de Historia, CCHS, CSIC, Albasanz 26–28, 28037 Madrid, Spain (Email: [email protected])
Barbara Armbruster
Affiliation:
UMR 5608, CNRS, Université de Toulouse le Mirail, 5, Allées Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse, France (Email: [email protected])
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Extract

A goldsmith's toolkit found in an Iberian tomb reveals ground-breaking details about the manufacture of the gold ornaments for which this culture is renowned. Two blowpipes for joining gold with a high precision jet of air unlock the techniques of brazing, granulation and filigree. The authors go on to propose that the buried man was no ordinary craftsman, but a member of the warrior class in control of producing the treasures of the age.

Keywords

IberiaIron Ageprincely burialgoldworkingtoolkitblowpipecontrol of production
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 327 , March 2011 , pp. 158 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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