Natural Science in Archaeology

6 1 Introduction and History
known to Medieval European alchemists as vitriol. It was an important alchemical
substance, used as a philosopher’s stone. Vitriol also is the old term for the sulfate
minerals of the divalent metals zinc, iron, and copper. Pliny called these minerals
vitrium (glass) because green iron sulfate looked very much like green glass. These
sulfate minerals were used by European and Arab alchemists, hence the name could
stem from the initial letters of a well-known alchemical theory: Visita Interiora
Terrae Rectificando Invennies Occultum Laidem. The Arabs also introduced copper
sulfate (the mineral chalcanthite) as a caustic and emetic.
The word alchemy came down to us through the Arabs who were the guardians
of ancient Greek and Roman knowledge during the Dark Ages. The Arabs supplied
the prefix ‘al’ (meaning the) to chemia [or chymia] from the Greek for to smelt and
to flow. The related word chyma meant ingot. So alchemy likely owes its origin in
part to metals processing and owes its zenith to attempts to transmute base metals
into gold. The so-called seven metals of alchemy were gold, silver, copper, lead,
iron, mercury [quicksilver], and tin. Alchemists also experimented with the minerals
saltpeter, cinnabar, pyrite, orpiment, and galena and the chemical elements
sulfur, arsenic, bismuth, zinc, antimony, and phosphorus.
1.3.1 Classical Authors
During the Classical Period of Greece, no specific mineralogical treatises were written.
Instead, minerals and their uses are mentioned within works of encyclopedic
scope that refer to broader topics such as cosmography, maps, architecture, and
natural history. Although allusions to minerals, their occurrences, or their use can
be found scattered throughout many well-known Classical sources such as Herodotus
and Pausanias, the most comprehensive treatment of minerals can be found
in the sources discussed below. A good treatment of ancient authors’ writing on
mineralogy is given by Moore (1978). An overview of mineral classification from
antiquity through the Renaissance is given by Accordi and Tagliaferro (1981). It
should be noted that prior to 1800 less than 100 valid mineral species had been
named (Mandarino 1977).
1.3.1.1 Theophrastus (ca. 372–287 BCE)
Theophrastus was a Hellenistic Greek philosopher who was born on the island of
Lesbos. He studied in Athens with Aristotle and became his devoted pupil. When
Aristotle retired in 323 BCE, Theophrastus succeeded him as head of the Peripatetic
School in the Lyceum, where he taught for 25 years. A prolific writer, Theophrastus
composed treatises on many subjects. His treatise On Stones, variously known as
Peri Lithon or De Lapidibus, remained a definitive reference on the subject through
the Middle Ages. In this sense, although Theophrastus described only 16 minerals,
he laid the foundation for the science of mineralogy, and the minerals he described