Metals of antiquity Metals of antiquity The metals of antiquity are the seven metals which humans had identified and found use for in prehistoric times: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury. These seven are the metals from which the modern world was forged; until the discovery of arsenic in the 13th century, these were the only known elemental metals, compared to the 86 known today. The metals of antiquity generally have low melting points, with iron being the exception. While all the metals of antiquity but tin and lead occur natively, only gold and silver are commonly found as the native
The Unbeheaded King Xylar and Othomae. As usual, the political constraints under which the protagonist labor are at least as important as the fantastic element. The decidedly unromantic, even hardscrabble circumstances under which he must achieve his goals leaven the fantasy with a strong sense of reality, and highlight de Camp's unusual reversal of the genre's stereotypical rags to riches theme. The Unbeheaded King The Unbeheaded King is a fantasy novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, the fourth book of his Novarian series and the third in the "Reluctant King" trilogy featuring King Jorian of Xylar. It was first published as