Lingots de plomb et barres de fer des épaves romaines des Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône, France) : Questions de traçabilité comparée

Abstract

Ferrous and non-ferrous metal provenance studies are always handled in disconnected ways. In spite of two clearly different metallurgies, there are nevertheless some methodological and analytical similarities. It is precisely through the study of two types of metallic materials, lead and iron produced and commercialized during Antiquity, that certain aspects of the tracing will be discussed and compared between ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Through the research of the origin of lead ingots and iron bars of the Roman wrecks of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, we shall deal with the importance of the geologic knowledge of ores sources, the notions of heritage, partition and pollution of chemical elements through the metallurgical chaîne opératoire, but also with possible convergences of some analytical developments.