stamped lead ingots from the coast of...

The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology (1994) 23.2: 119-128

Stamped lead ingots from the coast of Israel

Sean A. Kingsley Dor Maritime Archaeology Project, Grove Garth House, Fellbeck, Harrogate HG3 5EN, North Yorkshire, UK

Kurt Raveh Dor Maritime Archaeology Project, POB 350, Zichron Ya’acov 30900, Israel

Introduction Towards the end of November or the beginning of December 1988, a group of part-time fishermen stumbled upon the vestiges of a wrecked vessel along the coast of Israel. Metallic items encountered on the seabed were apparently deemed sufficiently interesting to warrant the abandonment of the fishing trip in order to concentrate on the more lucrative task of salvage. Fortunately, four lead ingots and two sounding-leads removed from the site were brought to the attention of the Center of Nautical and Regional Archaeology Dor (CONRAD) before the melting-down process was instigated, and the artefacts were immedi- ately purchased at scrap value“]. No information concerning the character of the wreck was available at this point, nor could the extent of site disturbance be ascertained. The only details obtainable indicated that the six artefacts origi- nated from a single context, allegedly located at either Akko or Ma’agan Michael[*].

Despite the detrimental circumstances under which the ingots surfaced, they are intrinsically significant as unparalleled sub-types of the classic Roman lead ingot. This was semi-cylindrical in shape during the Republican era and became more like a truncated pyramid during the Imperial period, at least in the case of examples originating from Spanish and British mines (Whittick, 1931; Domergue, 1966: 63). Amongst a relatively extensive collection of lead, copper and tin ingots gathered from vari- ous points along the Israeli coast, the Roman form so clearly defined archaeologically in the western Mediterranean is almost entirely absentf3]. A further rare feature of the present

1057-2414/94/020119+ 10 $08.00/0

group is the Greek inscription stamped on two of the bases, a distinction so far unrecorded in either the western or the eastern Mediterranean on this type of ingot. A third member of the group bears a Latin stamp of comparable size and shape to the other two.

To augment the negligible information available about the assemblage, a meeting was arranged in November 1992 between the fishermen responsible for the original catch and the present authors, from which the following scant details emerged. All six artefacts were extracted from a single wreck at a depth of less than 5 m. Scattered pottery vessels, miscellaneous lead and bronze objects, and a large length of lead with a cross-bar extending along its width were observed on the seabed, strongly indicating a wreck formation as opposed to an assemblage of jettisoned material. The lead bar has been identified, through cross-reference with artefacts stored at the Center of Nautical and Regional Archaeology, Dor, as a detachable lead stock which was apparently not decorated with any marine motifs. The fishermen’s reluc- tance to comment about the general location of the site probably underlines the potential of future illicit salvage and may be an indication that it lies close to Dor where the present writers have been directing underwater surveys. Whether the wreck is at present extensively or negligibly disturbed remains unclear.

Catalogue Ingots Although the ingots are not exactly alike, a number of features are comparable. The sides are all near-vertical while the ends of each rise

0 1994 The Nautical Archaeology Society

NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 23.2

A - I s

Figure 1 . Drawings of a side, the backs, and bases of the four lead ingots. Scale 1 : 10. (All accompanying drawings and photographs: Sean A. Kingsley.)

inward diagonally from a flat base to a gently inclined back. Base and back are in no case exactly parallel and the ingots are therefore all asymmetrical, a result of casting in an irregu- larly designed mould. The surfaces are rough, and, in the cases of ingots A, B and D, uneven protrusions and steps exist on the backs and sides, of which the ridge on the back of ingot A is the most pronounced. Dual stamps occur at random points on the bases of three of the group. Absence of lamination and striations suggests casting at a rather high temperature, considerably in excess of the melting point of lead, by a single tapping operation. The pres- ence of ‘flats’ within the lead (cf. Whittick, 1961: 106) is concealed by a light accretion layer.

The similarity of the dimensions, shape, and stamps bearing Greek letters suggests that ingots A, B and D comprise a homogeneous group from a single origin, if not even a single workshop. An alternative source is likely for the shorter, narrower ingot C, which is the only piece within the group stamped in Latin.

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Ingot A (Figs 1 ( A ) and 2 ) The top of the mould in which the lead was cast was uneven and has resulted in a rounded, elongated protrusion running lengthways along the middle of the ingot’s back. The base is stamped twice, each composed of different Greek letters (Figs 3 and 4). Each stamp is rectangular: one stamp (31 x 20mm) contains gamma, beta, beta, and the second stamp (31 x 18 mm) contains a gamma, beta, kappa. Dimensions: length 447 mm, width 113 mm, height 82 mm, weight 29.4 kg.

Ingot B (Figs 1 ( B ) and 2 ) One edge of the ingot is sliced, probably by the fishermen in an attempt to ascertain the metal type. The two stamps on the base (Figs 3(B) and 4) are composed of the same Greek letters as those on ingot A. Each is rectangular: one stamp (23 x 20mm) contains a beta and a kappa, and the second (31 x 20 mm) contains gamma, beta, beta. The former stamp appears open-ended on one side, a consequence of unevenly pressing the die onto the lead.

S. A. KINGSLEY & K. RAVEH: LEAD INGOTS FROM ISRAEL

Figure 2. View of a side and the back of ingot A (top) and ingot B (bottom).

Dimensions: length 438 mm, width 112 mm, height 60 mm, weight 25.05 kg.

3. Ingot C (Figs I ( C ) and 5). The principal difference between ingot C and the other members of the group is a shorter length and narrower width. The flat base bears two Latin stamps (Fig. 3(C): one (33 x 16mm) contains COL, the second

(23 x 16 mm) contains CO. Dimensions: length 389 mm, width 84 mm, height 89 mm, weight 18.5 kg (provisional).

4. Ingot D (Figs I ( D ) and 5). One side of the ingot has a slight protrusion. The base is flat and entirely unstamped. Dimen- sions: Length 425 mm, width 113 mm, height 58 mm, weight 23.25 kg.

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Figure 3. Greek stamps from ingot A (Left) and ingot B (middle). Latin stamps from ingot C (right). Scale 1: 1 .

Figure 4. Close-up view of one stamp on the base of ingot A (right) and ingot B (left).

Sounding-leads I . Sounding lead A (Figs 6 and 7). An unusually heavy, large weight whose sides descend almost vertically. The suspension lug is flat on top and patterned with angular incisions stemming from a long linear incision. The lug is separated from the main body of the weight by a horizontal platform shoulder into which the

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lower curve of the tethering hole is slightly recessed. The sides flare gently outward from this shoulder. Five nail holes with square aper- tures (6 x 6 mm) are evenly spaced around the base of the sounding lead. The lowest occurs 32mm above the edge of the base which is simple, concave with no traces of nail penetra- tion. Height 223 mm, base diameter 131 mm,


Figure 5. View of a side and the back of ingot C (top) and ingot D (bottom).

piercing diameter 35 mm, base depth 22 mm, weight 18.72 kg.

diameter 123 mm, piercing diameter 27 mm, base depth 23 mm, weight 10.0 kg.

2. Sounding lead B (Figs 6 and 7 ) . A bell-shaped sounding lead with a square lug. The body curves gently outward from a rounded shoulder. Five nail holes with square sections pierce through the outer edge of the weight into the simple, concave base. The lowest of the nail holes is placed 7 mm above the edge of the base. Height 166mm, base

Discussion Before a lead isotope analysis is performed and further information coaxed from the wary fishermen, any statement concerning the chronology and original production location of the ingot group must be considered tentative. For the moment, a number of general comments may be postulated.

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Figure 6. Sounding lead A (left) and sounding lead B (right).

If the fishermen’s assertion that no lead ingots other than the four reported here could

Figure 7. Sounding lead A (left) and sounding lead B (right).

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be seen amongst the wreckage is reliable, then transportation as reserve lead for on-board domestic repairs, as suggested for the three ingots from the Madrague de Giens wreck of 70-50 BC (Laubenheimer in Tchernia, Pomey & Hesnard, 1978), is the most probable inter- pretation of the group’s function. This scenario contrasts with the bulk movement of lead ingots as part of a composite cargo typified by wrecks at Ses Salines, Comaccio, Cabrera, and Cadiz, amongst others (Parker, 1974; Berti, 1986; Colls, Domergue & Guerrero Ayuso, 1986; Vallespin Gbrnez, 1986).

The association of a detachable lead stock with the wreck confirms a general Hellenistic or Roman date for the ingots in question. Com- parable anchor parts recorded from sites along the Israeli coast are dated numismatically between the 2nd-1st century BC (Zemer, 1981: 63). A more extensive chronology, ranging between 150 BC-AD 300 may be applied to the


Mediterranean as a whole (Haldane, 1985: 557).

The two sounding-leads are of no further assistance in more precisely defining the par- ameters of the wreck and ingot’s date: the form is indicative of Oleson’s problematic Class 6 for which no dating evidence is yet available. Since the earliest dated examples and first literary mention of a lead sounding-weight are confined to the 2nd century BC (Oleson, 1989: 39), the present material is unlikely to pre-date this century. The most interesting feature of the two sounding-leads is the weight of example A. At 18.72 kg it greatly exceeds the 13.4 kg example from Cape Taormina which is considered the heaviest piece so far recorded in the Mediterranean (Oleson, 1989: 30).

Despite the obvious hazards inherent in cor- relating the dimensions of a vessel on the basis of the size of a sounding-weight, the discrep- ancy between the weight of sounding-lead A and many others retrieved from Israeli waters (Kapitan, 1969-71: 51-61) seems sufficiently wide to propose that both weights, and indeed the lead ingots, were employed on a type of craft significantly larger than the majority of vessels whose remnants have so far been examined along this segment of the Mediterranean.

With the pattern of recognized ingot-carrier wrecks and terrestrial finds firmly concen- trated in the western Mediterranean, between England and Spain, the present group are an anomaly in terms of both distribution and typology. As far as can be ascertained, no other isolated example or collection derived from shipwrecks are recorded in Israel, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, or Egypt. The closest geographical assemblages are North African: Cap Spartel in Morocco; Cherchel A in Algeria; and Mahdia in Tunisia (Parker, 1992: 106, 139 & 252).

An unusual aspect of the ingot group is the primitive nature of the casting, finish, and premeditated shape when compared with the standardized, well-executed examples of the Roman Republican and Imperial periods known from Spain, France, England, Italy, and Corsica, in particular. Although the similarity of the dimensions and stamps on ingots A, B and C suggest the three emanate from the same mould, the crudeness of the casting is positively inferior to the technology usually

associated with Roman examples. The rectangular stamps (relating to production or circulation control) are also basic, and far less complex than the sets of founders’ marks and palm-leaf, dolphin, dolia, or shell emblems impressed onto the backs of ingots, the sec- ondary die-stamps, and incisions denoting the weight of the object, all of which are common attributes of the Roman form. Occasional examples carrying no distinctive markings (Besnier, 1920: 2 1 1 ; Vallespin Gomez, 1986) are a category in the minority.

Whether or not the crudity of the present group is a reflection of chronology is a compel- ling issue. Certainly, placing stamps on the base while the lead was semi-molten so that the markings would be concealed when the ingot stood in an upright position, is a radical depar- ture from the highly visible founders’ marks positioned on the backs, and subsidiary stamps located on the sides, of Roman ingots.

The appearance of ingots off the coast of Israel impressed with Greek letters may favour an opinion that the group is transitional in date between the elliptical Porticello type of 415-385 BC (Eiseman & Ridgway, 1987: 54), examples on les Magnons B of the 4th-2nd century BC (Parker, 1992: 251), both of which bear Greek letters, and the Roman Republican ingot. The total absence of Greek stamps on any single example within the vast repertoire of Roman ingots, in addition to the similarity between the stamped letters on the present group and those on bronze Hellenistic ingots of the late 2nd century BC from Megadim on the Israel coast (Misch-Brandl, et al., 1985: 14), may support an intermediate date.

Alternatively, the ingots could perhaps be indicative of Roman production during the Imperial period at one of the many state- controlled mines about which little is yet com- prehended (cf. Boulakia, 1972). Despite the employment of Greek letters within the stamps, the closer physical similarity of the ingots to the British and Spanish truncated pyramid-shaped type, as opposed to the Republican example with a rounded back, may favour an Imperial date in the 1st or early 2nd century AD. This preference is enhanced by the rectangular stamps’ close stylistic comparison with those impressed with ‘MBA’ on ingots 12 and 13 from Lavezzi A, a shipwreck of the first half of

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the 1st century AD (Laubenheimer-Leenhardt & Gallet de Santerre, 1973: 117).

The application of Greek to the present ingots, in this case, may be coincidental rather than relevant to chronology: the Greek lan- guage remained the ‘lingua franca’ of the eastern Mediterranean into the Byzantine period (Mazar, 1987-88: 15-17) and could reflect the circulation of lead by a merchant or agent based within this part of the Mediterranean. The earliest examples of Latin inscriptions in Roman Palestine appear on milestones and are restricted to the second half of the 1st century AD (Isaac, pers. comm., July 1993t41). If ingot C pre-dates the establishment of official milestones in this specific region, the stamp would represent an extremely early manifestation of Latin. Until additional comparative data from the eastern Mediterranean clarifies the character of the group, this cautious later chronological estimate is more acceptable.

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Acknowledgements The examination of the material described in this paper was accomplished through the generosity of the Schussheim Foundation, Haifa (principal supporter), the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society, the Palestine Explo- ration Fund, and the Academic Study Group in London, all of whom contributed to S. Kingsley’s fieldwork at Dor. Prof. Benjamin Isaac from the Classics Department at Tel Aviv University identified the Greek letters stamped on the ingots and provided essential comment and source about the introduction of Latin into Roman Palestine. Ehud Galili, marine inspec- tor of the Israel Antiquities Authority, showed us the state collection of ingots stored at Neve Yam. Hy Goldenberg assisted while the material was weighed. Thanks also to the staff of the Center of Nautical and Regional Archaeology Dor. The assistance of all the above is greatly appreciated.

Notes [I] The ingots and sounding-weights were received by Kurt Raveh, the founder and director of the Center of

Nautical and Regional Archaeology Dor between 1976 and 1990. The find was subsequently reported to Sean Kingsley, who prepared a preliminary identification of the ingots. The present paper was initiated on the basis of an examination of the material during the 1991 survey season of the Dor Maritime Archaeology Project. Ingot C and both sounding-weights are at present on exhibition at the Center.

[2] Ma’agan Michael (literally Michael’s Anchorage in translation from the Hebrew) comprises a natural chain of three islets close to the shore, midway between Straton’s Tower, Caesarea and Dor. Vessels incapable of reaching the more reliable facilities at the latter locations seem to have taken emergency refuge at Ma’agan Michael during storms. Similar to other kurkar rock outcrops rising above the water-line along the coast of Israel, these islets were a potential hazard to mariners.

In addition to the well-preserved wreck of c. 400 BC excavated at this location by the Center of Maritime Studies, Haifa (Linder, 1992; Rosloff, 1991), a number of other undocumented wrecks from this site have been reported to the present writers: a group of Late Bronze Age ox-hide ingots, a wooden hull of uncertain date, and a second Persian wreck of the 6th-4th centuries BC with basket-handle amphoras apparently stacked within a hull. Examples of large late 3rdearly 4th century AD amphoras, of Hof haCarmel form (Raban, 1969-71: 76-8). also occur at Ma’agan Michael.

[3] Ingots retrieved from the shallow waters of Israel during the last two decades include a wide variety of types: late Bronze Age ingots; five tin ingots and copper ox-hide ingot from Hishule Carmel (Galili er al. 1986); four hump-backed lead ingots bearing incised signs from Sdot Yam (Galili & Artzy, 1989; Galili er al., 1993: 65-66); and eight bar-shaped tin ingots and two other hemispheric ingots (one sawn in half) alongside five smaller lead ingots each pierced with a single hole and incised with signs from Kfar Samir (Raban & Galili, 1985: 326-9). Several tin ingots with trapezoidal sections, illegally salvaged from a site incorrectly considered to be located off the coast of Moshav Habonim a few kilometres north of Dor, are incised with Cypro-Minoan script. Some one and a half tons of copper ingots were apparently melted down from the same site (Raban, 1981: 24-25).

A lead ingot was included within the Ma’agan Michael wreck (Linder, 1992 34), and a Byzantine site (DWl) examined at Dor in 1991 (Raveh & Kingsley, 1992) yielded a semi-circular lead ingot truncated at both ends. Sixteen square bronze ingots within an amphora holding about 100 kg of bronze objects destined for recycling were retrieved from a late 2nd century BC wreck off Megadim (Misch-Brand1 er al., 1985: 14; Galili, 1992: 27-8). Three of the group have been stamped with a circular die bearing two Greek letters. The only lead ingots resembling the classic Roman form have been documented in the south and main bays at Dor. All three examples are entirely unstamped.

[4] The first Latin inscriptions documented in the region of Roman Palestine occur on milestones: the earliest example of AD 56 is from Wadi Ghadir (Goodchild, 1949 120). Another from Afula in Judaea was established in AD 69 (Isaac & Roll, 1976).

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Note added in proof Since going to press several additional sources at Bonifacio between 20-30 AD (Liou & have come to our attention which reinforce a Domergue, 1990: 47). A second comparable date for the ingots and sounding leads toward piece was excavated within Dramont D, the middle or second half of the 1st century wrecked off the south of France between the AD. In particular, parallels to the bell-shaped second and last quarter of the 1st century AD Sounding Lead B have been discovered in (Fiori & Joncheray, 1973: 86-7; Joncheray, Sud-Lavezzi 2, an 11.2 m long vessel wrecked 1973: 40; Joncheray, 1975: 10).

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