This article considers the lack of definition of the social context of metalworking during the earliest phases of metal use in southern England, in the Beaker period and the Bronze Age. Although Beaker and Bronze Age metalwork is widespread across the British Isles, and the chronology for its adoption and use is reasonably well-understood, defining the social context of metalworking has proven to be a more difficult problem to address. Metalworking is often described as a technological process divorced from the conditions of its production (Kuipers 2012), and as Brück (2008, 29) explains, 'Despite significant recent advances in our understanding of the extraction, processing and exchange of copper … our knowledge of both the landscape context and the social context of metalworking is still limited.' This issue is also commented on by Parker Pearson (2011, 68), who acknowledges that we know relatively little about the social context of bronze metallurgy and old questions remain unanswered. Was bronze cast by itinerant smiths or by specialists tied to particular communities? This social context of metalworking during the Beaker period and Bronze Age is not a new question. Britton (1963, 258) writes,
How did the smiths set about their work? Over what regions was production carried out? If we are to understand as much as we might of the life of prehistoric times, then surely we should look at metalwork from as many viewpoints as possible – in this case the manner and setting of its production as well as its classification.
If the underlying dynamics of social and technological innovation, change and continuity are to be more fully appreciated in the Beaker period and Bronze Age, then identifying where and how certain processes or tasks were occurring is a central concern. As Sheridan (2008, 65) notes 'the noble Amesbury Archer would have regaled the Wessex locals with marvellous travellers' tales and impressed them with his arcane knowledge of metalworking.' Indeed, the ability to work and transform materials might have been imbued with special significance and might have created a special status within society (Woodward 2008, 80). Such an interpretation relies on the idea that 'objects and technologies embody certain social and symbolic practices and ideas in a specific cultural place' (Roberts 2008a, 355). This is particularly relevant for Beaker and Bronze Age metalworking: it is important to identify where such processes were occurring, and relate this to social differentiation and material perception within the communities of these time periods.
This article discusses the evidence for copper and bronze working during the Beaker period and Bronze Age, and reflects on the under representation of the physical evidence of metalworking in the archaeological record (in situ furnaces, metalworking hearths and metalworking areas), and the problems of identifying metalworking residues during excavation. This discussion is focused upon post-mining metalworking processes, such as ore processing, smelting, casting, recycling and smithing. For reasons of geological distribution of ores sources, mining sites are geographically constrained and have received targeted research. Conversely, ore preparation, smelting, casting, recycling and smithing (discussed in section 2) are not geographically constrained to ore sources and have the potential to represent wider aspects of Beaker and Bronze Age society. The aim is to consider why so little evidence of metalworking has been recovered from these periods, and to suggest where such metalworking might have occurred. It is acknowledged that this is a speculative discussion, based on the current level of evidence, but if this social context of metalworking is to be understood, then the question of the location of metalworking is fundamental. While the issues outlined during this discussion apply throughout the whole of the British Isles, the evidence presented is biased towards southern England, although examples from outside of this geographic area are used to highlight specific aspects when relevant.
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