From Ebla to Ugarit. Lead ingots in the Levant and Anatolia during the Bronze Age

The article deals with an analysis of lead ingots retrieved in Northern Levant and Anatolia during the Bronze Age. An overview of the use of lead in the Ancient Near East, combining information gathered from the texts and from the excavations, is followed by the presentation of the archeological evidence in a diachronic sequence, focusing especially on data coming from Kültepe (Middle Bronze) and Ugarit (Late Bronze). The exploitation of Anatolian lead-silver ores and the extraction of silver by cupellation probably caused the circulation and storing of lead ingots, such as revealed by the evidence from the Northern Palace of Ras Ibn Hani, where a large quantity of metal was found.