A groundbreaking new study has conclusively shown that southwest Britain was a major supplier of tin to Bronze Age civilizations across Europe and as far away as the Eastern Mediterranean. Using advanced techniques of scientific analysis, researchers have proven that tin mined in Cornwall and Devon more than 3,000 years ago was exported across thousands of kilometers, a discovery that instantly modifies understanding of Britain’s importance in Bronze Age trade networks.
The international research project, led by Dr. Alan Williams and Dr. Benjamin Roberts of Durham University and published in the journal Antiquity, analyzed tin ores and artifacts from across Europe and from four ancient shipwrecks, three off the coast of Israel dating to around 1300 BC, and one off the coast of southern France from around 600 BC. By combining trace element data with lead and tin isotope analysis, the team was able to determine with certainty that the tin found aboard these vessels originated in southwest Britain.
“This means that tin mined by small farming communities in Cornwall and Devon around 3,300 years ago was being traded to ancient kingdoms and states in the East Mediterranean over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away,” said Dr. Roberts in an Antiquity news release. “This is the first commodity to be exported across the entire continent in British history.”
A Long-Standing Question is Answered
For over 200 years, archaeologists have speculated on the origins of tin used during the Bronze Age, a period defined by the widespread use of bronze, a metal alloy comprised of 90% copper and 10% tin. While copper is relatively abundant across Eurasia, tin is far rarer, and finding ancient sources has been difficult. The richest and most accessible deposits in Europe are located in Cornwall and Devon, yet direct evidence linking these mines to Mediterranean civilizations had never before been found.
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“There has never been a major research project until now that has scientifically analysed the tin ores and tin artefacts in south-west Britain as well as the tin deposits in Western and Central Europe,” Dr. Williams noted, which of course explains why the connection between southwest England tin and Mediterranean Bronze Age civilizations remained undetected for so long.
Examples of the tin artifacts sampled (where not otherwise indicated, artifacts are from the Royal Cornwall Museum). (Williams, et.al/Antiquity Publications Ltd.)
Some of this is explained by the fact that the tools of modern scientific analysis have not been available for all that long. With the assistance of this technology, the researchers responsible for the new study were able to establish a clear geological match between British tin and that found in the shipwrecks, in the process revealing the enormous distances over which the Bronze Age tin trade occurred. Tin from the Rochelongue shipwreck off the French coast, dated to about 600 BC, was also traced back to Cornwall, showing that this trade route remained active for centuries.
This evidence supports classical descriptions of Britain as a source of tin, particularly from the explorer Pytheas, who visited the region around 320 BC and wrote of tin being traded from an island he called Ictis. Pytheas described how tin was collected and moved across the sea, then down rivers through France to reach the Mediterranean in just 30 days.
Scholars have long suspected that St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall may be the island Pytheas described, and researchers from the current study plan to excavate the site in search of further evidence.
A Trade Network Spanning Beyond the Horizon
The implications of the study are significant. Far from being isolated, Bronze Age Cornwall and Devon were embedded in an expansive and well-organized trade network that spanned the entire European continent and reached into the heart of ancient empires in the Near East.
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The volume of tin required to support Bronze Age metallurgy was substantial. Given that over 100 copper mines have been identified across Bronze Age Europe, and if tin made up 10% of the alloy, researchers estimate that as much as 200 tons of tin may have been traded annually.
“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 Dr. Roberts. “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.”
Dating the transition to full tin-bronze use in Europe and the Mediterranean. (Williams, et.al/Antiquity Publications Ltd.)
This massive export operation was likely carried out in stages, with tin passing through hands in France, Sardinia, and Cyprus before reaching the cities and palaces of the Eastern Mediterranean. British tin helped enable the production of weapons and tools, but also art, jewelry, and sacred objects that defined the Bronze Age in places like Mycenaean Greece and the Hittite Empire.
The new research provides the first concrete proof that Bronze Age Britain was a crucial link in a vast international supply chain. It positions Britain as a central player in the technological and economic development of the ancient world, and its tin as one of the vital products that helped build early civilizations during a time of profound transformation.
Top image: Old Tin mine (post-Bronze Age) west of St Agnes, Cornwall, England.
Source: John Spivey/CC BY-SA 2.0.
By Nathan Falde
