AEGEAN METALLURGY IN THE BRONZE AGE

The jigsaw puzzle of the mettalurgy and metalworking of the Aegean is slowly being completed. It is being filled in by new finds, new methods, and analyses that point to new possibilities. The pieces of the puzzle are still difficult to assemble: our knowledge is frequently fragmented, both geographically and chronologically. Nevertheless it is now possible to arrive at a minimum series of technical events in a chronological and geographical sequence, not just a sequence of abstract technological development, following a continuous and linear concept. The effort is rather directed to plotting the evidence in chronological, technical and geographical correspondence, albeit with a number of gaps, regressions and delays.