On the trail of the tin mystery of the Bronze Age
Mannheim scientists succeed in making a spectacular breakthrough with multi-parameter approach.
Who will solve the puzzle of Bronze Age tin?
The origin of tin ingots from ancient Mediterranean shipwreck disputed - The metal may have come from Cornwall.
¹⁴C is the solution
Radiocarbon (14C) dating is a universally applicable dating method in archaeology as well as in geosciences, biosciences or environmental sciences, as well as in climate and solar research. Especially for organic materials, 14C dating is a universal and precise method for age determination.
Leading international research at CEZA
The Curt-Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry (CEZA) at the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums has repeatedly caused a stir in recent years with spectacular investigations of mummies, Viking finds and on climate change.
Gold from Troy, Poliochni and Ur had same origin
A new laser method allows the examination of famous pieces of jewelry, with which trade relations in the early Bronze Age to the Indus Valley could be proven.
Fascinating review in climate and ecology
Klaus Tschira Foundation supports expansion of the Laboratory for Dendrochronology at CEZA into an international research archive.
Personnel changes
The year 2022 brought some personnel changes for the CEZA. Prof Dr Ernst Pernicka, Managing Director and Senior Director, took over the scientific management of the CEZA again in the middle of the year.
The research project Wölfersheim-Berstadt
During the development of the new housing estate "Über den Holdergärten" in Wölfersheim-Berstadt (Wetteraukreis, Hesse) in 2006, a large early medieval terraced cemetery was discovered, which was almost completely excavated in the following years.
Research trips in times of pandemic: Gold of Mycenae
In 2021, Prof Ernst Pernicka and Moritz Numrich travelled to various European museums to take minimally invasive samples of objects using the innovative portable laser ablation technique (pLA) as part of the research project "Mycenaean gold - investigations into origin, distribution and authenticity" funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation.
CEZA strengthens regional networks
In terms of networking, CEZA benefited greatly from the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in 2022 and was able to strengthen its networking activities through personal contacts as well as re-establish face-to-face dialogue with many institutions and associations.
Ice Age encounter: hippopotamus meets mammoth
New findings from the research project "Ice Age Window Upper Rhine Graben", funded by the Klaus Tschira Foundation, revise previously held ideas about the living environment of the last Ice Age in the Upper Rhine region. It has been shown that hippos lived here until around 32,000 years ago.
1000 years of Europeans in America
Mannheim researchers, as part of an international team, date the earliest activity of Europeans in the Americas for the first time.
