Scientists have reconstructed Eastern Mediterranean silver trading over a period that includes the historical dates of the Trojan War and the founding of Rome. They also included the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Geochemical evidence was found by numismatists from Australia, Israel, and France that pre-coinage silver trading continued throughout the Mediterranean in the Late Bronze and Iron Age periods. The supply did not slow down except for a few occasions. Silver was found in the entire north-eastern Mediterranean and even the Iberian Peninsula.High-precision isotopic analysis was used by the team to determine the ore source of tiny lead traces in silver Hacksilber. Hacksilber, irregularly cut silver bullion that includes broken silver ingots and jewellery, was used as a means of payment in southern Levant during the second millennium to the fourth century BCE. It was used in international and local transactions. The value of the hacksilber was determined by weighing it against standard weights. It was found in archaeological excavations of the area, usually kept in ceramic containers. Because there was no silver in the Levant, it had to be imported.Dr. Liesel Gentelli presented the research at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference and stated that "Even before coins, there was international trade and Hacksilber wasn't one of those commodities being traded for goods."The Hacksilber was analyzed at 13 sites, ranging in date from 1300 BCE to the present-day Israel and Palestine Authority. They also found samples from Ekron, En Gedi and Megiddo, which is also known as Armageddon. They compared their findings to ore samples and found that the majority of Hacksilber was from the Southern Aegean (Macedonia Thrace, Illyria) and Balkans. Some were also found to be from Spain and Sardinia.Liesel Gentelli, lead researcher (cole normale suprieure de Lyon France), said:"Previous researchers believed silver trade was over after the Late Bronze Age societal collapse, but our research shows otherwise. We found that the exchanges between the Levant and the Aegean were never stopped. People from the Eastern Mediterranean were still connected. It is possible that the silver was brought to the Levant by trade or plunder.Silver scarcity can be seen around the Bronze to Iron Age transition (around 1300-1100 BCE). Some hoards from this period reveal unusually high copper contents in the silver. This would have been to compensate for the absence of silver.Although we can't compare our findings regarding the silver trade with specific historical events, our analysis shows that Hacksilber trade was important from the beginning of the Trojan War to the founding of Rome in 753 BCE. Some scholars also date Hacksilber trade to the 12th century BCE. We can also trace the Iron Age to 586 BCE which saw the destruction of Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. We see that coinage was gradually introduced, first through the discovery of many archaic coins, and then through a transition to a monetary system in the southern Levant around 450 BCE, which made Hacksilber's trade less important. This work shows the crucial economic role Hacksilber played during the Bronze and Iron Age economies.Dr Matthew Ponting (Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Materials, University of Liverpool) commented:This important work confirms our understanding about trade and exchange routes in Early Iron Age Levant. It is exciting to see how trade routes could have been investigated more broadly and to find out more about the preferences of alloys during this crucial period of history.###This is not a work by Dr Ponting. It is an independent comment.
