Slag Summary

 T90 yielded high quantities of slag in 2018, although more slag was recovered in the 2017 excavations. Very little slag was recovered from the higher strata of the trench, which were associated with the small rectilinear building superimposed over EPOC4’s porch. Most slag was found in loci associated with EPOC4’s plaster-rich floor, Beaten Earth Floor 2 (Loci 12, 14, 19, 20, and Loci 8 and 9 from the 2017 excavations). Additionally, high quantities of ferric slag were recovered from deposits underlying EPOC4’s floor, Locus 13 from 2018 and Locus 10 from the 2017 excavations; these underlying loci also were characterized by high quantities of carbon and crucible fragments, which also indicate metals were processed here. The presence of high quantities of slag, along with crucible fragments and charcoal, in deposits associated with EPOC4’s floor and beneath, indicates that metals were processed in EPOC4’s porch when the building was inhabited, and also preceding the building’s construction.

 Related finds from the same deposits include high quantities of crucible fragments and numerous terracotta tiles with adhered slag. These crucible fragments and tiles speak to the processing and refining of metallic ores in EPOC4.

 All slag recovered from T90 in 2018 was ferric slag. As metallic ores in the region of Poggio Civitate contain both iron and copper, the presence of ferric slag indicates that copper was extracted, likely for bronze production. The presence of bronze artifacts, including a bronze bead (20180025) and a folded bronze sheet (20180029) further indicate that activities associated with bronze production occurred in the environs of EPOC4’s front porch.