The production and trade in copper and bronze was one of the major features of the complex societies in the Near East and Mediterranean during the third to first millennia B.C. While finished metal objects are common finds from the period, ancient metal ingots and hoards of scrap metal, as well as archaeological evidence of metallurgical activities, are often more important sources of information for how ancient technology and trade functioned. Shipwrecks, particularly those found off the coast of Turkey at Uluburun and Cape Gelidonya, as well as mining and smelting sites in the Mediterranean region, provide invaluable information on the production and trade of copper and tin, the main ingredients of bronze. In this thesis, I examine the evolution of the copper trade in the eastern and central Mediterranean, particularly during the Late Bronze Age, when ‘oxhide’ ingots were widely exported. Finds of oxhide ingots have increased dramatically in recent years, and no synthesis of all of this newly available evidence is currently available. I attempt to analyze this new evidence in relation to older finds and research, with a particular focus on the cargo of the Uluburun shipwreck, the largest collection of Bronze Age metal ingots from a single site in the Mediterranean. The history of oxhide ingot production is complex, but by the Late Bronze Age Cyprus was supplying much of the copper used to neighboring regions, with revolutionary effects on societies in Cyprus and elsewhere. The archaeological evidence shows that oxhide ingots are early examples of a standardized industrial product made for export by emerging state-level societies during the second millennium B.C. and fueled the development of international trade, metallurgical technology, and complex social institutions in a variety of Mediterranean societies from Egypt and the Levant, Greece, Cyprus, to Sardinia in the central Mediterranean.

The Uluburun shipwreck was discovered in 1982 when a Turkish sponge diver informed the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) of his discovery of metal biscuits with ears. INA archaeologists recognized this as a description of oxhide ingots, a clear indication of a Late Bronze Age site. This find was of considerable interest as very little is known about seafaring, long distance trade, and ship construction during the Late Bronze Age, except for a glimpse provided by the Cape Gelidonya shipwreck excavated in 1960 by George Bass. The site at Uluburun revealed only a handful of disarticulated ship fragments; nevertheless, a meticulous study of these timbers and the distribution of the cargo and shipboard items on the seabed resulted in a hypothetical, but carefully guided, reconstruction of the ship and the lading of its cargo. The artifacts recovered from the Uluburun shipwreck are unlike those discovered on land in quality of preservation as well as the quantity found. Items pertinent to this study include 354 copper oxhide ingots (approximately 10 tons), 152 copper bun ingots (nearly 1 ton), 110 tin ingot fragments (approximately 1 ton), 175 glass ingots (approximately 0.3 tons), 150 Canaanite jars (approximately 2 tons if filled with water), 10 large storage jars (pithoi) (approximately 3.5 tons if filled with water), approximately 51 Canaanite pilgrim flasks, 24 stone anchors (3.3 tons), nearly 1 ton of ballast stones, and the hull remains itself. Two computer programs, Rhinoceros and PHASER, were used to visually model the artifacts and ship in three-dimensions and to systematically test various hull shapes and lading arrangements in a range of hydrostatic conditions. Tests showed that a hull measuring 15 x 5 x 2 m would be capable of carrying the estimated 20 tons of cargo and shipboard items recovered from the wreck at a draft of 1 m, with sufficient freeboard to allow six passengers to stand on one side of the vessel without compromising the stability of the ship. / Institute of Nautical Archaeology