Abstract
In the archaic period, the land of Ionia became the main cultural and intellectual centre of the Aegean world. Within its flourishing scientific and philosophical productions, a more practical téchne occupied one of the central position: It was the metallurgy, which is best represented by the person of Glaucus of Chios, the inventor of iron welding, and the artificer of a splendid silver bowl for the Lydian king Alyattes.
Moreover, according to the literary sources, the Ionians were also well conscious of the highly developed metallurgy of neighboring regions in western Anatolia. However, the material imprints of this technological knowledge and its genesis were rarely studied, although it formed a background against which the new scientific and philosophical traditions of the "Ionian Enlightenment" were generated.
It is therefore the main objective of this paper to define the technology of metals in the archaic Ionia in the light of complex material and textual evidence. Based on a broader diachronic, cross-disciplinary analysis, the study aims to examine the evolvement of this technology within the specific regional context and to ask whether international connections of Ionia effected its evolvement and broadening.
First, the archaeological material of the period prior to the bronze/iron transition (13th-12th ct. BC) will be examined to understand the technological preconditions within the region - this part of the paper based on the results of an actual project on the Aegean-Anatolian Interface.
The bronze/iron transmission and the interrelated change of symbolic and ideological comprehension of the metallurgy in the society will be spotlighted by the following study of the recent finds dated to the 11th -10th ct. BC.
Finally, focusing on the evidence from the archaic period, two main questions arise: can a close examination of the archaeological, archaeometallurgical and textual data from the region displays a metallurgical knowledge packet specific for the Ionian "ideascape", and what do this specific product of "Ionian Enlightenment" means along the East Aegean - West Anatolian contact zone?