THE USE OF GEOLOGICAL METHODS FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ANCIENT SLAG FROM THE EXCAVATION OF A ROMAN CEMETERY AT CARTHAGE, TUNISIA

The purpose of this research is to analyze metallurgical slag utilizing geological methods in order to answer archaeological questions regarding the nature and extent of the Roman metals industry in Carthage from the 2nd through the 7th centuries AD. Slag, excavated from the Yasmina cemetery by the University of Georgia Classics Department, was sampled from museum storage in Carthage. Slags from the processing of iron and copper were found. Field characterization of the slags was based on weathering patterns and magnetic character: iron slags are rusty and slightly magnetic, copper slags are nonmagnetic and green when weathered. Other criteria including texture, density, color, porosity, and streak color were used to group the slags prior to sampling. Petrographically, iron slags contain abundant fayalite and wustite. Copper slags contain lesser amounts of fayalite, plagioclase(?) and abundant droplets of copper. Electron microprobe analyses of the interstitial metals, along with an analysis of mineral assemblages, will provide data regarding the metals smelted and/or smithed, the temperature ranges at which these furnaces operated, and the efficiency of the process. With this information the archaeologist can better interpret the role of the Carthaginian metal industry relative to that of the empire as a whole.