Metallurgical Slags as Traces of a 15 th century Copper Smelter

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science

Ironworks were located in the river valley floors as the water was the source of energy for the metallurgical technology. Trees growing in river valleys were a source of wood for charcoal production. Over the past centuries, ferrous metallurgy contributed to the transformation of the valley floor relief. Also the structure of the sediments was transformed. The subject of historical water-powered metallurgy in Poland is a poorly researched area from the perspective of natural sciences. The main research aim of this project, is a historical reconstruction of the scarcely recognized metallurgical activity, based on geomorphological, sedimentological and palaeobotnical changes in the environment. The project has two components complementary to each other. First part involves desk-based research during which digital data from air laser scanning is processed to determine the occurrence and distribution of potential forms related to the historical metallurgy, and an analysis of historical sources will be undertaken. In the next step, first fieldwork, and then the preparation of samples for radiocarbon and anthracological analysis will follow. During the fieldwork part, research will be carried out on an area of chosen river basins of the southern and central Poland. The research will be based on the geomorphological analysis in the places where potential or identified metallurgical centers were placed, along with the excavation of deposits and sampling for further analysis, both in the charcoal kilns and the former smelter ponds. If it proves possible, it is planned to expose the deposits in the weirs. Preliminary research contradicts the low invasiveness of historical metallurgy in the environment. According to the preliminary studies of the authors, it is known that in studied river valleys and adjacent areas, traces of former charcoal kilns have been found at a large scale (tens of thousands of forms). DEM images generated from airborne LiDAR data allow simple and relatively quick identification and inventory of the remnants past charcoal production. The large number of charcoal kilns, and the vast area they cover, indicate that the past charcoal production has had a significant impact on the environment of studied area. Analysis of the species composition of charcoals collected from kilns has shown the presence of pine wood mainly. Also the unexpected results of the first radioisotopic charcoals dating from the charcoal kilns, with dates of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, provide a particularly strong motivation for examining more forms in order to find equally spectacular results and to confirm a new perception of the beginning of water-powered metallurgy in Poland.

2019

Ironworks were located in the river valley floors as the water was the source of energy for the metallurgical technology. Trees growing in river valleys were a source of wood for charcoal production. Over the past centuries, ferrous metallurgy contributed to the transformation of the valley floor relief. Also the structure of the sediments was transformed. The subject of historical water-powered metallurgy in Poland is a poorly researched area from the perspective of natural sciences. The main research aim of this project, is a historical reconstruction of the scarcely recognized metallurgical activity, based on geomorphological, sedimentological and palaeobotnical changes in the environment. The project has two components complementary to each other. First part involves desk-based research during which digital data from air laser scanning is processed to determine the occurrence and distribution of potential forms related to the historical metallurgy, and an analysis of historical ...

The early medieval basin of silver and lead metallurgy is partly situated in the catchment area of the Przemsza and Brynica rivers in Southern Poland. The above basin stretches from Olkusz in the east to Bytom and Tarnowskie Góry in the west. In the north it reaches Siewierz and Przeczyce, and in the south -Trzebinia, Chrzanów and Jaworzno. The archaeological sites relating to silver and lead metallurgy that were discovered in this area date back to the second half of the 11 th century. The lie of the land is that of a varied horst plateau in which the depressions were fi lled in with quaternary sands. It has also been strongly anthropogenically transformed. In the mentioned area the highest levels of pollution of metal processing were observed during the Early Middle Ages. The increase in the level of pollution caused by processing metals was closely related to a multi-stage development of the the Piast Monarchy leading to the increase in the demand for metal products. This article will describe primary chemical processes which occur during lead and silver smelting and which produce pollution.

Archeologické rozhledy LXX-2018

Socioekonomické determinanty výroby železa na polských územích v době římské Fenomén hutnických center převorské kultury Szymon Orzechowski Metallurgical activity of the peoples living in the area known as Germania Magna is characterized by an extensive and ad hoc nature which clearly is different from the centralized Roman production model. In the so-called Barbarian parts of Europe however, there were regions where there was a specialized and identifiably large mass production of iron. On Polish lands three such centres were active-in the Holy Cross Mountains, in West Masovia and in some regions of Silesia. The presence within a single cultural unit of several large metallurgical centres functioning on the basis of different organizational patterns is a unique phenomenon and warrants reflection upon the causes of their creation and the meaning of production for their neighbouring areas. These enormous logistical projects indicate the existence of yet unknown to us interdependent social structures of large work teams in the population, evident over a period of several generations. Their reconstruction can help us understand at least some aspects of the social and economic life on Polish lands towards the end of antiquity. ancient metallurgy-Przeworsk culture-metallurgical centres-social structures Hutnická činnost lidí žijících v oblasti známé jako Germania Magna se vyznačuje rozsahem a ad hoc cha­ rakterem, který se jasně odlišuje od centralizovaného římského modelu výroby. V tzv. barbarských částech Evropy však existovaly regiony, kde probíhala specializovaná masová výroba železa. Na polských územích působila tři taková centra-ve Svatokřížských horách, v západním Mazovsku a v některých oblastech Slezska. Přítomnost několika velkých metalurgických center v rámci jedné kulturní jednotky, fungujících na základě různých organizačních vzorů, je jevem výjimečným a opravňuje k úvahám o příčinách jejich vzniku a o vý­ znamu výroby pro sousední oblasti. Tyto obrovské logistické projekty naznačují existenci dosud neznámé vzájemně závislé sociální struktury velkých pracovních týmů po dobu několika generací. Jejich rekonstruk­ ce nám může pomoci pochopit alespoň některé aspekty společenského a ekonomického života na polských územích v době římské. starověké hutnictví-převorská kultura-metalurgická centra-sociální struktury Enormous progress that has taken place in archeo-metallurgical research in recent years, has also led to a very worrying phenomenon which is associated with the gradual dehuma-nization of the discipline. Fascinated with the opportunities offered by natural sciences, we gradually lose sight of man and the complex socioeconomic and political processes which created the reality surrounding him, and decided about the development of the field of economy that interests us-metallurgy. The archaeological community has ceased to

The main purpose of the interdisciplinary research described in the present paper is to determine the characteristics of ground environment changes in the Main Market Square area, and to compare these with analyses of metal artefacts. The elemental composition of metal artefacts and the degree of contamination of archaeological layers make it possible to consider both as specific indicators , including being geoindicators that are helpful in establishing the chronology of layers. Metal-artefact samples come from archaeological layers originating from different parts of the Great Weigh House. Layers were sampled, both in this region and also in a neighbouring area at the entrance to Bracka Street — trench A. They were collected from an area of archaeological excavations, which were carried out in the years 2005–2010, reaching down to a depth of 4 meters. All artefacts come primarily from cultural layers and structures-probably linked to workshops in the early medieval settlement which functioned in the area of the Main Market Square in the 12 th and early 13 th century. However, archaeological analysis of historical material allowed us to more precisely date metal artefacts to the turn of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, which was confirmed by analysis of the ra-diocarbon age of a sample from Room R of the Great Scales, from layer 109. Average concentrations (mg/kg) of Pb of 128454 and Cu of 108610 were determined in this sample to the AAS, which significantly exceeded of the most concentration values characteristic of the layers from the Great Weigh House.

In this paper will be shown the main problems of research on a centre of mining and metallurgy of silver and lead on the border of Silesia and Lesser Poland. In the light of recent discoveries we can see the work between the XI and XVI centuries. The resort has not created much of the settlement clusters due to the characteristics of the deposits. Given the research of the recent years, we can see a new image of the territories on the border between Silesia and the Lesser Poland in the early Middle Ages. The archaeological research conducted in the past few years confi rm what the written sources conveyed about the local silver and lead mining. Origins of the silver used in minting production in the 12 th , and maybe even 11 th century, can be answered as follows: one of the sources of the Piasts silver was located near today's Bytom, Będzin and Sławków.

Since the 12th century in the Silesian-Cracovian area, lead, litharge, and silver have been produced by the pyrometallurgical processing of Pb-Ag-Zn ore. Slags and soils contaminated with heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cd, Fe, Mn, As) were the subject of this research. Samples were collected during archaeological works in the area of early medieval metallurgical settlement. The main goals of the analyses (Scanning Electron Miscroscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Electron Probe Microanalyzer (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)) were the determination of the mineralogical composition of furnace batches and smelting temperatures and conditions. In soils, the anthropogenic phases enriched in Pb, Zn, Fe, Mn, P, and primary minerals like goethite, ferrihydrite, sphalerite, galena, smithsonite, minrecordite, cerussite, gypsum, anglesite, jarosite, and hemimorphite were identified. The soil from former metallurgical settlements contained up to 1106 mg•kg −1 Pb, 782 mg•kg −1 Zn, 4.7 mg•kg −1 Cd in the fine fraction. Much higher heavy metal concentrations were observed in the waste products of ore rinsing, up to 49,282 mg•kg −1 Pb, 64,408 mg•kg −1 Zn, and 287 mg•kg −1 Cd. The medieval smelting industry and Pb-Ag-Zn ore processing are marked by highly anomalous geochemical pollution (Pb, Zn, Cd, Fe, Mn, Ba) in the topsoil. The methods of mineralogical investigation, such as SEM-EDS or EMPA, can be used to identify mineralogical phases formed during metallurgical processes or ore processing. Based on these methods, the characteristic primary assemblage and synthetic phases were identified in the area polluted by medieval metallurgy and mining of Pb-Ag-Zn ores, including MVT (Mississippi Valley Type) deposits. The minerals distinguished in slags and the structural features of metal-bearing aggregates allow us to conclude that batches have included mostly oxidised minerals (PbCO 3 , ZnCO 3 , CaZn(CO 3) 2 , FeOOH), sulfides (PbS and ZnS) and quartz (SiO 2). The laboratory experiment of high-temperature heating of the examined slags showed that smelting temperatures used in the second half of 13th century were very high and could have reached up to 1550 • C. The results indicate, that geochemical and mineralogical methods can be used to obtain important information from archaeological sites, even after archaeological work has long ceased.

Minerals

The article presents the history of iron ore mining and production in present-day Poland and takes into account mining and production techniques and the influence of mining on the development of the surrounding areas. Examples of development are presented for the most important iron ore mining centers established since the period of the so-called Roman influences—Lower Silesia in the region of Tarchalice and the Świętokrzyskie region in the area of Góry Świętokrzyskie (Świętokrzyskie Mountains). The oldest traces of underground iron ore mining in Poland date back to the 7th–5th century B.C., and iron production dates back from the 1st century B.C. in the Częstochowa region where economically significant iron ore exploitation started in the 14th century and lasted until the 20th century. Studies showed that the development of iron ore mining in today’s Poland was associated with significant events in the country’s history, for example, with the expansion of a network of fortified cas...

Archives of Metallurgy and Materials, 2009

The paper looks at the history of copper exploitation and smelting from ancient times. Historical background serves the purpose of presenting research issues associated with archaeological samples gained through excavations at the Market Square in Krakow, that is semi-products deriving from the copper and ore recovery process. Copper imported from the area of the present-day Slovakia was given the greatest importance in medieval Poland. Krakow then played a key role in the European copper trade. In the 15th century, a copper smelter in Mogila near Krakow handled raw copper rafination. Availability of raw materials enabled rapid development of foundry. Traces of activities associated with metal (mostly copper and lead) preparation for trading and production date back to the 13th century; the peak period was the 15th century. The said materials expand the database of metallographic analysis of archaeological materials and provide opportunities for comparison of local finds with domestic and European collections; this in turn will contribute to better understanding of old metallurgical and foundry processes. Keywords: copper, archaeometallurgy