GREECE CRETE LASITHI KAVOUSI CHRYSOKAMINO

Led by professor Betancourt, a team of archaeologists found evidence for copper smelting at Chrysokamino as early as the end of the Early Bronze Age, ca. 2000 BC. The Minoans gained renown in the ancient world for their bronze work, but it had been assumed that ingredients for bronze, copper and tin were imported to the island. The new discovery shows that copper was smelted in Crete - using ores imported by ship, probably from the Cyclades.

The site of Chrysokamino lies on a small exposed promontory often swept by violent winds. It was used at least from the Early Minoan III - Middle Minoan IA periods as indicated by the pottery found at the site (maybe even since the Final Neolithic according to some sherds). - The analysis of the metallurgical remains and of the organic residue of the pottery tells an exciting story: the copper ores smelted at Chrysokamino contained arsenic, producing highly toxic gases during the smelting operations. Exposed to low-dose arsenic over long periods of time will have caused chronic illness of the workers. Although the underlying cause would have remained unknown to the Minoan workmen, the pottery shows strong evidence of the making of a number of remedies to treat these symptoms.