A new study published in the journal Antiquity unveiled that large amounts of Bronze Age tin may have originated from Cornwall and Devon in southwest Britain, where the richest and most accessible tin ores in Europe are found. The research suggests that farming communities in these regions began mining tin ore deposits around 4,200 years ago. The tin was then traded to ancient kingdoms and states in the Eastern Mediterranean, located over 4,000 kilometers away.
By analyzing tin ingots from ancient shipwrecks and comparing them with tin ores and artifacts from across Europe, archaeologists traced the tin's origins back to Cornwall and Devon. The team employed trace element, lead isotope, and tin isotope analyses to clearly identify the provenance of the metal. "This has significant implications for our understanding of Britain's role in the wider Bronze Age world," said Dr. Alan Williams, according to Antiquity.
The study revealed that tin ingots from three ancient shipwrecks discovered off the coast of Israel and one found off the Mediterranean coast of France originated in southwest Britain. These findings indicate that southwest Britain's tin contributed to the bronze production of major Bronze Age civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean. By alloying copper with around 10 percent tin, ancient societies produced a harder, easier to cast, and more golden-colored metal.
Previous studies had analyzed tin isotopes suggesting a European tin source but lacked conclusive evidence for a British origin. "There has never been a major research project until now that has scientifically analyzed the tin ores and tin artifacts in south-west Britain as well as the tin deposits in Western and Central Europe," said Williams, according to Antiquity.
"The identification of this trade network which is likely to have involved tons of tin being moved annually across the continent radically transforms our understanding of Britain's social and economic relationships with the far larger and more complex societies in the distant past," said Professor Benjamin Roberts, according to Antiquity. He emphasized that this is "the first commodity to be exported across the entire continent in British history."
The researchers suspect that Saint Michael's Mount, a tidal island in Cornwall, served as an ancient tin trading center and smelting hub within the network. A team of archaeologists from Cornwall, including Williams and Roberts, is working to excavate the site, which has long been thought to have been the island of Ictis described by Pytheas and may have been a smelting center and hub in the tin trading network of the time.
Chemical signatures of Cornwall and Devon tin were also found in shaped pieces of tin called ingots retrieved from shipwrecks. By combining the three analytical techniques for the first time on tin ores and artifacts, the researchers were able to clearly provenance the tin to Cornwall and Devon. This discovery indicates that the tin mined in southwest Britain spread through trade routes, supplying societies in northern and central Europe around 3,800 years ago and reaching Eastern Mediterranean societies about 3,400 years ago.
The study's findings challenge previous theories about the sources of tin used in Bronze Age societies, addressing the so-called "tin problem"—the mystery of where these civilizations obtained this scarce but essential metal. Copper is fairly common across Eurasia, but tin can only be sourced from select locations, making its origins a subject of debate among archaeologists.
"By 1300 BCE, virtually all of Europe and the Mediterranean had widespread and consistent access to bronze," the researchers noted, with its use skyrocketing during this period, particularly among the Mycenaeans and Egyptians. They highlighted that up to 200 tons of tin were being traded hundreds of kilometers across Europe and western Asia each year, matching the quantities of copper being moved and processed during the Bronze Age.
The discovery underscored the sophistication of Bronze Age trade networks and the capacity of early British communities to participate in international commerce. Despite lacking cities and writing systems, these communities were engaged in complex economic relationships with distant civilizations. Roberts stated, "The volume, consistency, and frequency of the estimated scale in the tin trade is far larger than has been imagined and requires an entirely new perspective on what Bronze Age miners and merchants were able to achieve."
The researchers believe that the tin would make its way through trade networks between the islands of Sardinia and Cyprus before reaching markets in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
