Oxhide ingot

As oxhide ingots copper ingots are referred to in the outline shape of strained bovine hides, which were during the Mediterranean Late Bronze Age ( between 1600 to 1000 BC ), widely used as a commodity. The ancient ingots weigh between 20-35 kg and are almost pure copper.

Occurrence

Oxhide ingots come in Assyria (major Kurigalzu ), Egypt (Pi -Ramesses ), in the Levant, Cyprus, Hattusa, Greece ( Mycenae and Crete (Hagia Triadha ) ) in Sozopol in Bulgaria and Illyria, in southern Italy, Sicily ( Cannatello ) and Sardinia (metal Hort ago by Serra Ilixi ) at Nuragus. The ingots of Serra Ilixi were provided with iron brands that have built the Aegean syllabary.

Important discoveries have come from the shipwreck of Uluburun and Cape Gelidonia. In Qantir in the Nile Delta, the fragment of a oxhide ingot was found. The corresponding layers dated to the 13th century. According to analyzes of lead isotopes, the metal is probably from the area of Apliki in northwest Cyprus.

Focus of dissemination are Sardinia and Cyprus.

Chronology

The earliest known bars come from Crete and dated to Late Minoan period. In the Aegean, the ingots probably produced in Cyprus BC no longer occur from the 11th century. In Sardinia, these bars were used until the 10th century.

Copper Trade

The ingots and pottery finds show early trade contacts in the Mediterranean area.

Pictorial representations

A pictorial representation of oxhide ingots found in the grave of the Egyptian Nb Imn (top relief Manufacturers 1385-1370 BC), where the primary metal or alloy is shown. In Enkomi in Cyprus a horned god ( spätzyprisch phase III) is shown on a oxhide ingots.