Paleometallurgy Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The 18th century water-powered ironworks at Agoreggi, in the Basque country, was reconstructed based on contemporary historical records and archaeological investigations. In 1994-1999 three campaigns of experiments were carried out with the aim of reproducing the scale and technology of the iron production. This paper is a fully illustrated description of the experiments and, in particular, of the practical problems of the air delivery system and the use of the copper tobera (tuyere). In 1999 six agoas (blooms) were made of varying quality and size, the largest being a 30kg ferritic agoa smelted from 140kg of ore, but this is only about half the scale of the 18th century production.
It subsequently transpired that the mouth of the tobera used for the experiments should have been 170% larger, thus allowing more air to be blown into the furnace, and the making of agoas closer to the 18th century size. See Crew 2013, 'Twenty five years of bloomery experiments...', pages [46-48], for an overview of the experiments and a brief discussion of the tobera problem.

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- Experimental Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Industrial History, Industrial Heritage

In 1987 to 1989 15 experiments were carried out, smelting bog-iron ores in a low shaft furnace. The data from XP13 to XP28 are presented, with quantifications of the smelting and of the refining to billets and bars. Analyses of the bog ores are given. Metallurgical analyses, micrographs and P maps of the blooms from XP22 and XP23 are given, and analyses of the billet from XP17 and the bar from XP16. Line traces for P, As, Co and Ni, across the XP16 bar show the segregation of the P and the surface enrichment of As and Ni.

- by Peter Crew
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- Experimental Archaeology, Archaeometry, Archaeometallurgy, Paleometallurgy

This PPT was presented at the 2009 'World of Iron' conference. It is a comparative study of bloomery iron made from different ores, refined to bars and forged to knives, looking at the metallography and the slag inclusions. This conference presentation has a wider range of images than could be used in the 2013 published version. The second file has a descriptive text.

- by Peter Crew
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- Experimental Archaeology, Archaeometallurgy, Paleometallurgy, Ironworking

Full excavation of this small hillfort produced remarkable evidence for ironworking, both smelting and refining, in the late Iron Age, with a second phase of activity in the 2nd/3rd century AD. At the time the 1200kg of slag was the largest quantity recovered from any early site in Britain. The chronology is based on radio-carbon dates and a suite of archaeomagnetic determinations

- by Peter Crew
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- Archaeology, Palaeoenvironment, Iron Age Britain (Archaeology), Archaeometallurgy

This abstract presents pollen diagrams from peat bogs near to the Llwyn Du and Gelli Goch medieval bloomeries. They show variation in the tree pollen assemblages and microscopic charcoal, which can be linked to the ironworking activity at these sites. Geochemical data from a nearby upland peat bog is also presented, showing elevated lead concentrations during the Roman period and significant pollution from various metals during more recent time.

- by Peter Crew
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- Palaeoenvironment, Environmental Archaeology, Medieval Wales, Paleometallurgy

Danebury is one of the more extensively excavated hillforts in Britain and the nearly 500 iron objects found are one of the largest assemblages from a single Iron Age site in Britain. Both currency bars and pieces of bulk iron, in the form of billets, were imported to the site. Fragments of cut currency bars show that they were being worked at Danebury. The possible sources of the different types of iron, and the objects made from them, are discussed in detail.

- by Antoine Darchambeau and +1
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- Paleometallurgy, Gallo-roman archaeology, Votive offerings, Gallo-roman sanctuaries
- by Kewin Peche-Quilichini and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology
- by Kewin Peche-Quilichini and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology
- by Kewin Peche-Quilichini and +4
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- Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Pottery (Archaeology), Ceramic Technology

Current research on a wide range of ironworking topics was summarised in 47 papers from 13 European countries, with other papers on Africa, India, Israel and Jordan. Topics include excavations, experiments, archeometallurgy, palaeoenvironmental studies, history and ethnography, with a date range from the early Iron Age through to the 18th century.

- by Peter Crew
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- Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Palaeoenvironment, Early Medieval Archaeology
- by Silvia Mustață
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- Roman Iconography, Roman Dacia, Paleometallurgy, Roman Bronze Vessels

Current research on a wide range of ironworking topics were presented in 51 papers from 15 European countries, with other papers from Estonia and Africa. Topics include excavations, surveys, experiments and archaeometallurgy, with a date... more

Nous étudions dans cet ouvrage les archers dans l'armée romaine. Nous établissons leur visage de la fin de la République romaine jusqu'à Trajan à travers les sources littéraires, épigraphiques et archéologiques. Nous examinons par la suite l'efficacité de leurs armes et tentons de montrer qu'elles peuvent refléter un véritable travail technique grâce à une étude métallographique, complétée par des analyses physico-chimiques, du mobilier de pointes de flèche découvert au Puy d'Issolud (Lot), l'antique Uxellodunum: l'objectif principal étant la caractérisation, pour ces armes, des structures métallurgiques, des distributions, des morphologies et compositions des phases et des constituants présents. Il est dès lors possible d'imaginer les différents protocoles d'élaboration et les traitements thermo-mécaniques développés par les forgerons pour leur mise en forme et d'apporter de nouveaux éléments à l'histoire des techniques de la forge en relation avec l'armée romaine et plus particulièrement avec les corps et l'armement des archers.

- by Guillaume Renoux
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- Archaeology, Roman History, Roman Army, Paleometallurgy

After a brief survey of the medieval bloomeries in Snowdonia, the late 16th century blast furnace, at Dol y Clochydd, is described in some detail, with the historical evidence, a site description and details of the 1984 season of excavation.
A note is appended to the paper, with more recent references to both the bloomeries and Dol y Clochydd.

- by Peter Crew
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- Historical Archaeology, Industrial Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Wales

A description and a critical appraisal of twenty-five years of ironworking experiments are presented. Initially the experiments were designed to answer specific questions raised by excavations at prehistoric sites in Snowdonia, where bog-ores with both high and low phosphorus were smelted in small diameter furnaces. Later excavations at a medieval site, where Mn-rich bog-ores were smelted on a large scale, raised new questions which were also examined. Other experiments used sideritic ironstones and hard-rock ores, from the east Midlands, Cumbria and Dean. A project at a reconstructed 18th century water powered bloomery in the Basque country is also described. Particular topics examined include the nature of the furnaces, the bellows and blowing rates; the ore, charcoal and clay types, quality and treatment; and the operating conditions, the products and the losses of material through the refining process. Models deriving from the experimental data and their application to the archaeological sites are presented. A number of general questions are highlighted and suggestions made for further work in experimental ironworking.

- by Peter Crew
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- Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Industrial Archaeology

Recent research in the Niari Basin, located along the southern border of the Republic of Congo, has revealed several copper production sites ranging from the 13th to 19th century CE. The evidence in this area, specifically at Mindouli, Mfouati, Boko-Songho, includes various production remains such as furnaces, tuyères, smelting slags and crucibles, as well as different types of copper ingots or artefacts (See Nikis, On Copper production in western central Africa in 2nd millennium AD, this conference).
This region further has several copper-lead-zinc deposits that are not thoroughly characterised. In the context of a broader technological study of the copper metallurgy in the region, several of these ores have been analysed for their chemical and lead isotope composition. The results of these analyses are discussed in this presentation, with specific emphasis on the distinct features of each deposits - Mindouli, Mfouati and Boko-Songho - pertinent to copper provenance issues.
Against this geological background, results of the chemical and lead isotope analysis of copper objects – primarily ingots – as well as other production remains from the archaeological sites are further presented. Combining this line of evidence with archaeological and historical evidence, complemented by a first reconstruction of manufacturing process, new and significant insights are given on the production of copper in the Niari Basin. Thereby, the potential of this research as a pilot study for forthcoming work on the copper trade in a wider regional context are outlined.

- by Thierry De Putter and +3
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- Paleometallurgy, African Archaeology, Copper extraction and production

This experiment, blown at a fast rate with a high charcoal consumption, unexpectedly produced a block of cast iron, but it the normal position of a bloom. The experiment is described in detail, with analyses of the Mn-rich bog ores used, of the slags and of the cast iron, with a series of macro and microphotographs. The discussion examines the role of manganese and whether or not it might have been reduced to the metal.

- by Peter Crew and +3
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- Experimental Archaeology, Metallurgy, Archaeometry, Archaeometallurgy
- by Miguel Valério and +1
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- Semitic languages, Hittitology, Anatolian Archaeology, Akkadian Language

Abstract: New evidence for metallurgy in the Late Neolithic in the Upper Rhine valley:
the finds from Colmar “Aérodrome” und Eckwersheim “Burgweg”
The Upper Rhine Valley does not belong to the core regions of the late Neolithic metallurgy,
even if metal is occasionally found in contexts of the Michelsberg and Munzingen
cultures. Two recent findings made in Alsace reveal important information concerning the
beginning of copper use in the Upper Rhine Valley. These new discoveries prompted us to
collate and study all the Neolithic copper artefacts previously found in Alsace and in
neighbouring areas and, where possible, to carry out new metallic trace-element analysis.
The aim of this study was to get a better understanding of the context and importance of that metallurgical industry in the Rhine valley based on two new discoveries. This work
suggests that we were already dealing with an established copper processing in Alsace and
the neighbouring areas in the (late) Neolithic, which had strong links to the Neolithic
metallurgy centre on Lake Zurich and Lake Constance.

- by Shlomo Guil
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Archaeology of Ancient Israel, Levantine Archaeology
- by Estelle Ottenwelter and +2
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- Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Heritage Conservation, Early Medieval Archaeology

This paper describes the scientific investigation of the raw materials, iron products, slags and slag inclusions from a bloomery smelting and bloom forging experiment. The smelt used a high alumina sideritic ore, a clay-built shaft furnace and a blowing rate of around 200 litres per minute. The smelting slag produced was viscous and frothy, most similar in composition, microstructure and morphology to slag from medieval bloomeries smelting similar ores. Unusually, the slag contained magnetite rather than the typical wüstite, in the form of dendrites which were often nucleated on euhedral spinel crystals. The distinctive microstructure and composition of the smelting slag allowed inclusions of this slag to be differentiated from others which were formed and modified during smithing from bloom to bar. The silica to alumina and the silica to lime ratios in the bloom and bar slag inclusions were lower than in the smelting slag. A series of materials balance calculations indicates the influence of different proportions of furnace lining, fuel ash and ore on the smelting slags and the inclusions.

- by Peter Crew and +1
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- Experimental Archaeology, Archaeometry, Archaeometallurgy, Ancient Technology (Archaeology)
- by Bertrand Poissonnier and +3
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- Neolithic Archaeology, Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology, Bell Beakers (Archaeology), Paleometallurgy
- by Florian Tereygeol
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- Cultural Heritage, Archaeometry, Paleometallurgy, Ancient Metallurgy
- by Fencke Emilie and +4
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- Rural Settlement, Paleometallurgy, Late La Tène Period

Two large Roman iron bars, found in a 1920's excavation of a rectilinear smithing site, are described in detail for the first time. The bars are similar is size and weight to some of those in the St-Maries-de-la-Mer wrecks, found in the Rhone delta, and are argued to be one of the standardised forms of Roman trade iron, possibly imported from the Forest of Dean or South Wales. The European, British and Welsh archaeological and epigraphic evidence for Roman iron production and trade is discussed and illustrated.
This revised version has additional references with hyperlinks and new colour illustrations of the Sousse mosaic and the Augusta Raurica tombstone.

- by Kewin Peche-Quilichini and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology)

Résumé
Le rôle du développement de la métallurgie du fer dans la mise en place des transformations sociétales du Hallstatt D et de La Tène A1 est ici questionné en tentant d’aborder les particularités régionales au sein d’un fond culturel commun à l’ensemble du complexe Nord-Alpin occidental. Tout d’abord, les activités de réduction du minerai de fer se localisent très majoritairement en dehors de l’espace Hallstattien occidental, à l’ouest et au nord-ouest. En revanche, les activités de forge se localisent essentiellement dans le complexe Nord-Alpin. C’est au moment de l’apparition des « résidences princières » (du Hallstatt C2 au Hallstatt D2 suivant les secteurs) que les premières traces d’activités de forge sont notables. Ce n’est ensuite qu’au Hallstatt D3 qu’apparaissent des centres de production importants et des sites d’habitats présentant des activités de forge à demeure.
En raison de leur proximité plus ou moins directe avec les centres de production primaire de fer, certaines « résidences princières » peuvent davantage profiter des richesses engendrées. La grande majorité des productions de fer brut étant en dehors des espaces contrôlés directement par les élites hallstattiennes, les réseaux d’échanges qui se développent à cette période permettent à d’autres régions de profiter de cette économie en plein essor.
Il apparaît donc que le fer joue un rôle important dans le développement des sociétés fortement hiérarchisées entourant les « résidences princières » mais que ce rôle ne se joue pas au niveau d’une exploitation locale du minerai mais plutôt dans la maîtrise des réseaux d’échanges de fer brut ou grossièrement compacté (demi-produits bipyramidés) et dans sa transformation en produits manufacturés.
Abstract
The role of the development of iron metallurgy in the implementation of societal transformations in Hallstatt D and La Tène A1 is questioned here by attempting to address regional particularities within a cultural background common to the entire Northwestern Alpine complex. First of all, the iron ore reduction activities are mainly located outside the western Hallstattian area, to the west and northwest. On the other hand, forging activities are mainly located in the North Alpine complex. It is at the time of the appearance of the "princely residences" (from Hallstatt C2 to Hallstatt D2 depending on the sector) that the first traces of forging activities are notable. It was not until Hallstatt D3 that important production centers and residential sites with permanent forging activities appeared.
Because of their more or less direct proximity to centers of primary iron production, some "princely residences" can benefit more from the wealth generated. The great majority of raw iron production being outside the areas directly controlled by the elites, the exchange networks that developed during this period allowed other regions to benefit from this booming economy.
It thus appears that iron played an important role in the development of the highly hierarchical societies surrounding the "princely residences". Nevertheless, this role is not played at the level of a local exploitation of the ore but rather in the control of the exchange networks of raw or roughly compacted iron (bipyramid semi-finished products) and in its transformation into manufactured products.

- by Sylvain Bauvais
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- France, Iron Age, Paleometallurgy, Early Iron Age

Studies of iron archaeometallurgy have, up until the present, been essentially concerned with smelting activities, to the detriment of forge. These studies have been predominantly carried out in regions with a strong tradition of iron and steel making during the antique and medieval periods. Taking this into consideration, this study examines a region with poor knowledge of metallurgy and treats the organization of forge activities during a lesser-studied period in which iron seems to have played a determining role in the structuring of socio-economic systems.
The activities have been examined using a multidisciplinary approach which crosses archaeological and archaeometric methodologies. More precisely, certain elements can be treated using traditional archaeological methodology while other more opaque elements must be examined using different techniques, namely scientific approaches to the study of materials. This consists in large part of slags, scraps, and other metal objects. The internal texture of these objects represents the fossilization of the techniques applied during their creation. In other words, these internal textures are a veritable “grammatical structure” that allows us to decipher the objects in question and provide them with a larger sense that goes beyond the commonly held attitude that they are merely “sterile” materials (as with slags) or “worn-out” materials (as with corroded metal).
Beyond these aspects, the present study explores the organization of iron and steel making as a global system, examining the societal components (economic, social, and symbolic), environmental components (potential resources), and a technical component. The five centuries studied here reveal a succession of changes that complete the picture of these societies using a technological approach that is rarely used. The study commences at ancient La Tène with a general artisan production for the elite and moves to an omnipresent production and increasing specialization in which the primary material, shortly before the conquest, was centralized in the oppida and certain villages. This study has identified inter and intra regional exchange circuits of the primary material (the raw masses from smelting, semi-products), in relation with the segmentation of the chaîne opératoire (smelting/forge) and the building of a societal hierarchy in the periods examined. On this point, a new type of semi-product (socket bars), observed in workshops, constitutes a true regional technical system.
The study of 88 inventoried sites (20 of which have been studied through archaeometry, translating to 145 elements, 15 sites examined in a macrographic way, and 53 through bibliographic research) has allowed for an important updating of the archaeological map of iron and steel making in the north of France. This provides new perspectives in the interpretation of economic and social changes from those that have been common over the past few centuries

- by Sylvain Bauvais
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- Late Iron Age (Archaeology), France, Paleometallurgy, Bassin Parisien
- by Jérôme Spiesser and +1
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- Rural History, Paleometallurgy, Instrumentum domesticum, Archeozoology
- by Estelle Ottenwelter
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- Archaeology, Early Medieval Archaeology, Archaeometry, Ancient jewellery

A B S T R A C T Determining the provenance of non-ferrous metals is a major issue in archaeology and history. The classical method using Pb isotopes shows several limitations, and new isotopic tracers need to be developed in archae-ometallurgy. Recently, Fe isotopes were found to be promising for iron metal tracing. In this context, we evaluated the pertinence of Fe isotopes as a new tool for provenance studies of non-ferrous metals. We collected slag and furnace lining samples from the Imiter silver mine in Morocco (Anti-Atlas), where many archaeological remains attest ancient lead-silver production. Their mineralogical composition was investigated by optical microscopic observations, SEM-EDS and EPMA. Besides, we measured both Pb and Fe isotope compositions of these samples by high resolution MC-ICP-MS after wet sample decomposition and purification chemistry. The occurrence of Ag, Pb, Cu and Ag/Pb metallic beads in the slag samples and their high Fe content suggests that these metallurgical materials result from the exploitation of Ag-rich polymetallic ores associated with gossan formations. Isotopic analyses of these slags highlighted their heterogeneous Pb isotope compositions and homogeneous Fe isotope composition. This points to the exploitation of two distinct ore sources with different Pb but similar Fe isotope compositions, despite the Fe isotope variability often encountered in metallic ores worldwide. Hence, Fe isotopes provide a complementary approach to trace lead-silver products from Imiter. Overall, the combination of Pb and Fe isotope analyses constitutes a promising method for further provenance investigations of non-ferrous metals.

- by Sandrine Baron
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- History, Stable Isotopes, Mining History, Paleometallurgy

161 late medieval copper-based day-to-day items have been analysed, mostly consisting of small artefacts such as dress fittings. The items were all recently excavated from a 14th century AD metallurgical workshop located in Paris. Eight well-defined copper alloys have been identified that refer to various constraints, the most important one being economics. According to the model proposed, most of the alloys were obtained by dilution of a fresh brass master alloy by scrap metal containing small amounts of zinc, tin and lead. Pure lead was added separately in relatively large quantities, with a limit of 6 wt% Pb marking the boundary between leaded and unleaded alloys. It has been found that the less the cost of the artefact, the more the fresh brass is diluted. For the medium-size castings such as cast vessels, alloys containing large quantities of lead or alloys rich in antimony were used. Such complex alloying strategy pertains more to a small industrial-like plant organisation rather than to craftsman activity, as further supported by a variety of archaeological and historical evidence.

- by Nicolas Thomas
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- Paleometallurgy
- by Julien Mantenant
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- Archaeology of Mining, Roman Gaul, Paleometallurgy, Archeometry
- by Kewin Peche-Quilichini and +2
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- Archaeology, Metallurgy, Metalwork (Archaeology), Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology)

This bibliography has been organised on a broadly thematic basis, by topic or by site, though there is inevitably a degree of overlap. It includes a number of conference presentations, in PPT format, which give additional illustrations to support the published versions. It also includes papers by other authors, which relate to our sites and projects, especially environmental studies, by Tim Mighall and his colleagues, and studies of the experimental and archaeological slags, by Mike Charlton.
Where possible links are given which lead directly to the relevant pages on the academia.edu site. Copies of papers which do not have links can be supplied on request (crew.peter.susan@gmail.com). This bibliography will be updated periodically.

Synthèse des données archéologiques connues du Mali et du Niger, allant du IIIe millénaire av. J.-C. au Ier millénaire apr. J.-C.

- by Mertxe Urteaga
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- Archaeology, Medieval History, Basque Studies, Medieval Archaeology

In Rehren, Hauptmann & Muhly (eds), Metallurgica Antiqua: In Honour of Hans-Gert Bachmann and Robert Maddin (Bochum: Der Anschnitt Beiheft 8), 1998, 163-170

XRF analyses of a sequence of slags from smelting, bloom refining and smithing show the systematic changes in major and trace elements. A materials balance for XP27 is presented, showing the influence of the clay on the slags. A... more

- by Peter Crew and +1
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- Experimental Archaeology, Archaeometallurgy, Paleometallurgy, Ironworking