Microarchaeological Study of the Achaemenid Throne Legs from the Israel Museum Collection

Abstract

An investigation of the three Achaemenid throne parts housed in The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, reported to be from Samaria, found that they were made of bronze but with ceramic material that adhered to their interior. The purpose of the study was to determine their provenance, provenience and manufacturing techniques. As museum pieces, this had to be done in a minimally destructive manner. The methods employed were pXRF, SEM-EDS and petrography. All three items were cast from a leaded high-tin copper alloy, using the lost wax technique. However, the artefacts were cast in two workshops, neither of which was in the Samaria region. In conjunction with their Achaemenid characteristics, it is likely that the thrones were manufactured as part of the Achaemenid imperial policy, thus, granting royal credence to the individual occupying the throne, perhaps the governor of a province.

Keywords:

• Microarchaeology
• Achaemenid Empire
• Israel Museum
• Samaria
• Bronze Metallurgy
• XRF
• SEM-EDS
• Petrography

Acknowledgments

This study is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Track in Archaeomaterials and Conservation Sciences (TACS) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the IMJ regarding the characterization and conservation sciences of cultural heritage objects from the museum collections. The analyses were made at the Laboratory for Microarchaeology and the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology (IKI), both at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The authors have the pleasant obligation to thank Irit Lev, Hadas Seri and Dana Rubin of the IMJ, and Roxana Golan and Dr. Ana Millionshchick of the IKI. We also wish to thank Dr. Joseph A. Greene of the Harvard Semitic Museum for his helpful comments and information. Lastly, we would like to thank the four anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful remarks.