Iron at Taanach and Early Iron Metallurgy in the Eastern Mediterranean

A group of iron artifacts with a terminus ante quem of ca. 925 B.C. from Taanach in Palestine was studied metallurgically in order to see if they would yield any evidence pertinent to understanding the technological background of the early Iron Age. The results suggest that by the late tenth century blacksmiths supplying northern Palestine were able to produce carburized iron (steel), which is a product superior to bronze. Complementary studies of iron artifacts from Philistine sites did not reveal such consistent technical achievements. The technical data, combined with archaeological and historical material from Palestine and other areas of the eastern Mediterranean, allow preliminary conclusions on the factors promoting a shift from bronze-based to iron-based metallurgy: political fragmentation provided a climate in which local industries developed, based on the exploitation of local raw materials. Ironworking was one of these industries.