Abstract
A metal object found on the surface at the ‘Atlit Castle was identified as a book fitting. Although such mounts could have served other functions, such as inlays, belt or girdle mounts, this artifact was probably an anchor-plate, part of a book clasp for a medieval codex, possibly of religious content, bound in a leather cover. Visual testing inspection and SEM-EDS analysis of the book fitting have shown that the item was made of a heterogeneous composition of copper alloy. This book fitting joins a growing corpus of metal artifacts from the Latin East, establishing a metallurgical database for future comparative analysis of book fittings and similar artifacts. The identification of the item as a book fitting, and its plausible dating as a piece of medieval book furniture, supports its origin in the Frankish occupation of the site.
Keywords
archaeometallurgy, ‘Atlit Castle, Château Pèlerin, book fitting, copper alloy, medieval Latin East, microstructural characterization
Recommended Citation
Shotten-Hallel, Vardit and Ashkenazi, Dana
(2023)
"A Medieval Book Fitting(?) from the ‘Atlit Castle,"
'Atiqot: Vol. 110, Article 20.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/2948-040X.1095
Available at:
https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol110/iss1/20