Arrowheads and chainmail fragments from the Crusader Al-Marqab Citadel (Syria): First archeometallurgical approach

ABSTRACT

Selected iron arrowheads and samples of iron and copper-based chainmail fragments from the medieval citadel of Al-Marqab (Qal’at al-Marqab, Margat, Syria) were examined by the Archaeometallurgical Research Group of the University of Miskolc (ARGUM) using various methods. The examination includes X-ray screening, optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and microhardness tests, in order to determine the composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of the finds and the manufacturing processes (e.g., traces of forming and probable heat treatment) used by Crusader and/or Mamluk metalworkers. Although the highly saline and humid atmosphere of the coastal environment of the fortress was detrimental to the iron and even to the copper-based objects, the complex examination has been very useful to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the material characteristics of the finds. The results indicate different kinds of manufacturing processes were employed on the arrowheads made of wrought iron, and a typical technique for making the links of the chain. In terms of application, two kinds of arrowheads were unearthed. The widened leaf-shaped ones, which might have been made for the use of crossbows, are fully corroded and often cracked lengthwise. In addition, two types can be found among these wide leaf-shaped arrows, those that are slightly smaller and those that are bigger. During the manufacture of thinner spiked-shaped armor-piercing arrowheads, sufficiently hard raw materials (such as pieces of bloom containing a relatively high amount of carbon or recycled iron) or wrought iron were available for the smiths. In the case of wrought iron, obtained from bloomery process, the hardness of the material could be improved by different methods (forge-hardening or cementation), which mostly depended on the master’s professional knowledge and preference.

KEYWORDS:

• Archeometallurgy
• arrowhead
• bronze
• chainmail
• iron
• medieval
• metallography
• microscopy
• microstructure
• SEM-EDS

Acknowledgments

The SHAM is a joint project of the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of the Syrian Arab Republic (DGAM) and the Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPCU) of Hungary with many institutions and individual colleagues joining the work under the directorship of Edmond el-Ajji (DGAM), Marwan Hasan (DGAM), Balázs Major (PPCU). The main sponsor of the program in the year of the discovery was the MOL Hungarian Oil Company and its partner, the INA Syria.