# Silver Isotopes in Silver Suggest Phoenician Innovation in Metal Production
## 4 Results
### \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag and the Archaeological Context  
The 45 silver items analyzed for Ag isotopes can be grouped into three different time periods: Middle/Late Bronze Age transition, \(-1650\)-\(1550\) BCE (\(11/45\)), Iron Age IIA-B, \(-950\)-\(700\) BCE (\"Phoenician\"; \(28/45\)) and Iron Age IIC, \(700\)-\(586\) BCE (\(6/45\)).  
The \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag values coupled with \({}^{206}\)Pb/\({}^{204}\)Pb ratios (Figure 4) indicate that Phoenician silver (red circles; Iron Age IIA-B) originated from three sources (Sardinia, Iberia and Anatolia) and have a wide \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag range from \(-1.6\) to \(+1.1\). The Middle/Late Bronze Age samples originate from Anatolia and/or the Aegean and have, in general, negative \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag (between \(-1.4\) and \(-0.1\)), and the Iron Age IIC silver items are from the Aegean and have even more negative \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag values (between \(-1.4\) and \(-1.9\)). Hence, strictly speaking, all analyzed hoards contain silver produced from primary hypogene ores that did not undergo significant fractionation [36].  
Within the Ag isotopic range of hypogene ores, we differentiate here between the narrow range \(0\pm 0.5\,\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag, which is considered within the \(\pm 2\sigma\) range of \(0\,\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag, namely unfractionated, and any value beyond that, which underwent some extent of fractionation. Silver of \(0\pm 0.5\,\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag was probably not exposed to weathering; hence, this silver probably originated from primary deeper ores than silver with \(0.5\leq\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag or \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag \(\leq-0.5\).  
Thirteen of the samples fall within the range of \(\pm 0.5\,\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag. These items originate from Sardinia (4/13), Iberia (5/13), the Aegean/Anatolia (1/13) and Taurus, Anatolia (3/13). The remaining 32 items plot beyond the range of \(\pm 0.5\,\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag, namely, the silver in these items underwent some fractionation. These include silver from Sardinia (1/32), Iberia (11/32), the Aegean/Anatolia (10/32), Greece, Laurion (6/32) and Taurus, Anatolia (4/32). Based on these results, as in previous studies, we did not find any correlation between the origin of the silver and their \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag value [37; 38; 39; 40; 41].  
Figure 4: \({}^{206}\)Pb/\({}^{204}\)Pb versus \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag in silver items from Bronze and Iron Age South-Levantine hoards. The results are marked according to the different time periods: yellow squares—Middle/Late Bronze Age transition; red circles—Iron Age IIA–B (Phoenician); blue rhombuses—Iron Age IIIC. For Pb isotopic ratios and the content, context and chronology of the hoards, see [6; 26; 31; 33].  
There is, however, a clear distinction between fractionated and unfractionated (0 \(\pm\) 0.5) \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag according to their archaeological context: Twelve out of 13 samples that fall in the range of \(\pm\)0.5 \(\varepsilon^{109}\)Ag are from Phoenician silver hoards (dating between ~950 and 800 BCE). Moreover, while a large portion of the Phoenician silver did not undergo Ag isotope fractionation (12/28 sampled items), non-Phoenician silver mostly underwent Ag isotope fractionation (16/17; Figure 4). The results indicate, therefore, that Phoenicians also exploited deeper, less weathered ore sources, reaching unaltered ore minerals.