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MEDIEVAL SILVER PRODUCTION AROUND SIJILMÂSA, MOROCCO
Author(s) -
Baron S.,
Souhassou M.,
Fauvelle F.X.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/arcm.12546
Subject(s) - smelting , ancient history , archaeology , geography , archaeological evidence , history , metallurgy , materials science
Sijilmâsa (south‐east Morocco) was one of the most strategic cities in a far‐reaching exchange network, that is, the Trans‐Saharan trade, linking the Maghreb with West Africa during the medieval period (from the 8 th to the 15 th century CE). It was also one of the most important gold and silver monetary workshops at the time. If gold came from West Africa, we know from written sources that silver was produced in Morocco, although archaeological evidence of silver mining and smelting has remained elusive. Thanks to a thorough analysis of the lead isotopic data from silver mining districts in Morocco and from ores and slags of our study, we were able to refine the tracing of our materials and provide tangible evidence of medieval mining in the close hinterland of Sijilmâsa city.