A CASE of mistaken identity could solve the mystery of how ancient
metalworkers fashioned intricate jewellery. Ceramic pots that archaeologists
thought were used to strain curds may actually have been Bronze Age Bunsen
burners.
Jewellery dating to 1500 BC often features delicately soldered knots and
scrolls of wire. How metalworkers produced such details has been a puzzle,
because anyone trying to solder over an open fire would have burnt their
fingers.
Jacqui Wood, an archaeologist who runs the Cornwall Celtic Village, a
reconstruction of a Bronze Age settlement, has studied a ceramic pot in the Lake
Ledro Museum in northern Italy with its sides riddled with holes. 鈥淲hen I looked
inside the pot, I saw it was almost vitrified,鈥� she says. This shows that it had
been heated repeatedly.
Advertisement
Thinking that the pot might be a lantern, Wood lit a rush light underneath
it. Immediately a flame about 20 centimetres high leapt from the top. When Wood
put a slate over the top of the pot, the flame kept burning inside, as air could
still circulate through the walls. 鈥淭his could be very useful for soldering,鈥�
she says. 鈥淵ou can put it on a bench and cover it until you need it.鈥�