Silver production at al-Radrad: archaeometallurgical analysis of ore, slag and technical ceramics from early medieval Yemen

The zinc-lead-silver deposit of al-Jabali, about 65km north-east of Sana'a in Yemen, has been identified as the location of the late antique/Islamic period silver mine al-Radrad. Exploitation of the mine is known from the account of al-Hamdani, an Arab geographer of the tenth century AD. The al-Jabali area has been the focus of geological and archaeometallurgical surveys, and extensive metallurgical remains have been discovered. Samples of ore, slag and technical ceramics were collected for archaeometallurgical analysis. The technology of silver production is discussed in relation to the historical record, and elemental and lead isotope characterisation of ore and slag provides a basis for future provenance studies.