Iron in Archaeology: Early European Blacksmiths (Pleiner 2006)

Book of Abstracts from the conference 'Iron in Archaeology: Bloomery Smelters and Blacksmiths in Europe and Beyond', which took place in Prague from May 30 to June 1, 2017.

Newly discovered Avar iron production centres were excavated in the large areas of motorway construction in Transdanubia. There are two important periods of iron production in this part of Pannonia: the earlier one is connected with the middle and late periods of the Avar Empire, from the 7th to 8th centuries AD up to the Carolingian period in the 9th century. The later period began with the founding of the Hungarian state in the 10th century. Up to the present two sites where furnaces were found from both periods are known. The rst result of the most recent archaeometallurgical research is that Avar ironmaking was more signicant in Pannonia than previously thought. These extensive centres of iron production and smithing (possibly of weapons) may have been directly in the zone in which the Avars came together, to organize campaign against Byzantium on the line of the main Roman roads. A further question relates to the origins of Pannonian Avar iron metallurgy. Our present knowledge suggests that iron production has no local antecedents from the Roman period. One of the results of the new excavations is correction of dating of the supposed Roman age furnace at Sopron to the 11th12th century.

Plas Tan y Bwlch Occasional Paper No. 3, eds Peter & Susan Crew, Abstracts of the International Conference, 19th - 25th September 1997, 1997

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 range from the Iron Age through to the Medieval period and with three papers on early blast furnaces.

INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICA NATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGY, 2022

The emergence, spread and development of iron working in the Carpathian Basin is an essential and interdisciplinary research field, an important stage of which being the results of the archaeometallurgicalarchaeomaterial examinations presented in this article. The excavation site of Regöly (Hungary) represents a special source from the earliest Iron culture of the Carpathian Basin, and using the results of metallographic analysis our aim is to place the examined objects in their proper context with regard to the process of iron working. One fragment found in the tumulus of Regöly during the excavation 2011–2012 has been presumed part of an iron bloom; this may be the earliest example of iron working in the Carpathian Basin (630–600 BC). From both an historical and technological point of view this raises several questions. One aim of our study is to characterise the fragments in order to figure out what kind of processing has been applied and ultimately see how the ‘iron bloom’ fragment can be connected in any way to the other iron objects found at the site. Examinations were carried out by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) on both the iron objects and the bloom fragment. Metallographic analysis revealed a very specific microstructure, indicating that the bloom fragment is not a direct product that came directly from the bloomery furnace; it could be a secondary or even tertiary product (prefabricated) instead. However, regarding the bloom fragment, there is evidence of a forging method. During the tests, slag inclusions were also examined. The results from Regöly were also compared with other finds from a Celtic workshop-type site (Bükkábrány, 320–200 BC). Although a direct connection between the examined iron objects and the iron bloom fragment (as possible raw material) cannot be confirmed, the iron artefacts and fragments of Regöly might easily have been made from some basic material as represented by the fragment of an iron bloom or bar. Even though the find from Regöly does not definitively provide the earliest evidence for iron smelting technology in the Carpathian Basin area, it does give evidence for some form of iron forging from a semi-finished product.

Praehistorische Zeitschrift, 2020

From among a dozen or so hoards from the Hallstatt C period from the lands of today’s Poland consisting solely of iron objects, three found in western Lesser Poland near Krakow have not yet been exhaustively discussed (one is a new find). This article is intended to fill this gap by presenting deposits from Kokotów-Strumiany (Wieliczka distr.), Maszków, and Młodziejowice (Kraków distr.) against the background of similar finds that at the beginning of the Iron Age entered the landscape of metal deposition. Their distribution follows a specific manner. In the Odra River basin (Silesia and southern Wielkopolska), similarly as in the Hallstatt culture, the custom of depositing metal hoards, especially with respect to iron objects, had disappeared at the beginning of the early Iron Age in favour of rich furnishing of burials in metal. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the area covered by direct Hallstatt influence, this tradition continued to flourish, not resisting the inclusion of new metal in thesaurization rituals. Only the latter zone yielded ‘pure’ iron hoards, and these are a reflection of syncretic phenomena: maintaining centuries-old cultural norms and fascination with a ‘new bronze’.

Iron Age Crafts and Craftsmen in the Carpathian Basin. Proceedings of the International Colloquium from Târgu Mureş. 10–13 October 2013. Edited by Sándor Berecki. Editura MEGA Târgu Mureş 2014., 2014

Plas Tan y Bwlch Occasional Paper No. 4, eds Peter & Susan Crew, Abstracts of the Second International Conference, 17-21st September 2007, 2007

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.

Monographies Instrumentum 50, 2014

Some years ago, Brigitte Cech developed the concept for the Hüttenberg Conference Early Iron in Europe - Prehistoric and Roman Iron Production, focussing on European early iron production, a field of study where tremendous progress was being made but which did not enjoy the visibility it deserved. Hüttenberg, a small village in the mountains of southern Austria seemed the ideal place for this conference. In September 2008, after careful planning and preparation, 102 delegates from fifteen different countries presented 52 oral papers and 34 posters, covering different aspects of iron production from the beginnings of iron technology to the Middle Ages. The 22 papers assembled here give both an overview and fine detail. They are arranged in a broad geographical sweep across Europe and finishing with a few more technical and less geographically-focused papers. Taking Hüttenberg as the starting point, this sweep first goes north with three papers on early iron in Germany, then on through the Netherlands into France, moving back south to Switzerland and into Italy. A second sweep starts in Great Britain and takes in Scandinavia as well, before the book then finishes with the technical papers on smithing wastes and the role of manganese oxide in bloomery iron smelting, bringing the circle to a full close back to Hüttenberg and the famous ferrum Noricum.