The supply of copper to the settlement of Leceia (Portugal) and the Estremadura region during the third millennium BC

Bibliographic Data

ID23312181
AuthorsPedro Valério (0000-0002-3726-6975, University of Lisbon, corresponding author), João Luís Cardoso (0000-0001-8432-1052, Câmara Municipal de Lisboa), L C Alves (0000-0001-5369-5019, University of Lisbon), António Monge Soares (0000-0001-7112-0649), António M Monge Soares
Year2026
Volume74
Pages105960
Publication date2026-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105960
OpenAlexW7169791042
LanguageEN
References cited27

The Chalcolithic settlement of Leceia (Portugal) has one of the largest collections of copper artefacts and metallurgical debris in the Portuguese Estremadura. However, the absence of ores and smelting remains suggests that local metallurgical operations were related to the production of artefacts. In fact, the metal assemblage includes several fragments of flat axes, most of them with traces of sectioning, which may have been used as ingots. In order to validate this hypothesis and to identify the copper sources used, elemental, microstructural and Pb isotope characterisation of five axe-ingots was undertaken. The assemblage turned out to be composed of copper with varying amounts of arsenic (0.08–2.94 wt%) and oxide inclusions (Cu 2 O and Cu-As-O). Some inclusions containing distinct contents of Bi, Sb and/or Sn were also identified, indicating the exploitation of different sources of copper ores. Pb isotope ratios displayed a cluster of four samples ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb: 18.2378–18.3444) and one outlier with low radiogenic lead ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb: 17.6625), signatures that compare well with those previously obtained for local artefacts and prills. Euclidean distances identified ore deposits in the Spanish provinces of Huelva and Cordoba as potential suppliers of copper, particularly the supergene copper ores from the mines of Rio Tinto, Cabezadas del Sandino, Preciosa and Quita Pellejo, all of which are located a considerable distance from the settlement of Leceia. Other probable copper sources are located in the mining districts of Linares-La Carolina and Los Pedroches, situated even further away from the Portuguese Estremadura. Consequently, the copper axe-ingots of Leceia, like the previously analysed local artefacts, provide evidence of long-distance trade relations with south-central Iberian Peninsula, which appear to be shared with coeval settlements in Estremadura, such as Vila Nova de São Pedro and Zambujal.

Assemblage (archaeology) · Beaker · Chalcolithic · Copper · Pebble · Settlement (finance) · Smelting · Supergene (geology) · Archaeological and Geological Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · X-ray Spectroscopy and Fluorescence Analysis

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