Prehistoric copper pyrotechnology in the south-eastern Swiss Alps: an overview on previous and current research

Abstract

Since 2013 new archaeological studies undertaken by the Dept. of Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Zurich have revisited previous research carried out since the 1970s in the Oberhalbstein region (Canton Grisons, Switzerland). The aim is to add an important area to the existing infor- mation regarding the production and use of Alpine copper during the Bronze and Iron Ages. South-eastern Switzerland is a key area because the existing information on prehisto- ric copper mining is still rather limited compared to Austria and northern Italy where corresponding projects have been ongoing for several decades. Hardly any traces of prehisto- ric mining and smelting structures have been recorded in detail, and prominent hypotheses – such as those regarding the origins of Early Bronze Age finished products discovered at the cemetery in Singen (D), or numerous bronze arte- facts dating from the 2nd and 1st millennia BC from the Swiss Plateau and from central and southern Alpine areas - still remain unconfirmed.