Medieval Iron Production

Among their wealth of publications, Reg Morton and his assistant, Joyce Wingrove, issued a number of interim reports on the constitution of early bloomery slags. Two such reports detailed the procedures and methods which they used in the chemical and microstructure analyses of slags relating to the Roman period (Morton & Wmgrove 1968, 1969). A supplementary report describing a computer model which could be used to analyse and catalogue the results for comparative reference against future analysis of slags from other sites was published by Bullas and Morton in 1969.

Until recently, archaeological evidence for medieval iron production has been very sparse. In the past decade, several sites with traces of iron production have nevertheless been found in the Silkeborg area, especially during developerfunded excavations. The finds include eight iron smelting furnaces and several slag heaps, i.e. heaps of accumulated waste related to iron production such as slag, charcoal, and fragments of iron smelting furnaces. The newly acquired archaeological material provides a unique opportunity to shed more light on medieval iron production. In the past few years, several lines of evidence including assessment of the archaeological material and written sources, radiocarbon dating, and metallurgical and charcoal analyses have been investigated as part of the research project "Iron production in central Jutland during the medieval period and Renaissance" (Christensen et al. 2023; Nielsen et al. in prep). In this article we present the results of charcoal analyses from six different sites that provide valuable information about the types of wood used, species variability within and between sites, and how organized the iron production was. It is the first published anthracological study of fuel use related to Danish medieval iron production.

NINA Rapport Dette er en ny, elektronisk serie fra 2005 som erstatter de tidligere seriene NINA Fagrapport, NINA Oppdragsmelding og NINA Project Report. Normalt er dette NINAs rapportering til oppdragsgiver etter gjennomført forsknings-, overvåkings-eller utredningsarbeid. I tillegg vil serien favne mye av instituttets øvrige rapportering, for eksempel fra seminarer og konferanser, resultater av eget forsknings-og utredningsarbeid og litteraturstudier. NINA Rapport kan også utgis på annet språk når det er hensiktsmessig. Som navnet angir behandler temaheftene spesielle emner. Heftene utarbeides etter behov og serien favner svaert vidt; fra systematiske bestemmelsesnøkler til informasjon om viktige problemstillinger i samfunnet. NINA Temahefte gis vanligvis en populaervitenskapelig form med mer vekt på illustrasjoner enn NINA Rapport. Faktaarkene har som mål å gjøre NINAs forskningsresultater raskt og enkelt tilgjengelig for et større publikum. De sendes til presse, ideelle organisasjoner, naturforvaltningen på ulike nivå, politikere og andre spesielt interesserte. Faktaarkene gir en kort framstilling av noen av våre viktigste forskningstema. Annen publisering I tillegg til rapporteringen i NINAs egne serier publiserer instituttets ansatte en stor del av sine vitenskapelige resultater i internasjonale journaler, populaerfaglige bøker og tidsskrifter.

Apart from these two centres, there were smaller metallurgical areas in Poland, located in Silesia, in the region of Opole, Brzeg and Wołów. Th e fi rst study of slag in the region of the Holy Cross mountains was initiated by Professor M. Radwan and systematic archaeological investigation began in 1955 [1]. Th e study of collected materials (slag blocks, parts of wall of the smelting furnaces), the steel made at that period, numerous experiments and the modern metallurgical knowledge have enabled the reconstruction of the furnaces and the metallurgical process itself dating back to the period under the Roman infl uence [1,2]. Th e furnace typical of Holy CrossMountains region: the slag-pit furnaces had a cylindrical shaft which was 1.2 to 1.5 m high and an internal base diameter of approximately 0.5 m. Th e shaft of the furnace was built over a pit in the ground.

Geophysical survey of two low mounds in a field to the east of Iron Acton was undertaken following their recognition as bloomery mounds. Each mound is approximately 10x15 m and marked by darker soil than the surrounding area. The slag assemblage includes dense cakes of tapped slag, irregular granular slag masses and thin dense concavo-convex sheets of slag with rusty upper (concave) surfaces. This assemblage indicates that smelting was being undertaken, but not bloomsmithing. Associated finds of pre-early modem age were limited to a single fragment of "puddingstone" quernstone. The geophysical data are strongly influenced by the modern ploughing and lack clear evidence for furnace survival

Archaeological and geophysical investigations at Veøy indicate that iron production was of great significance for the place’s economy and prosperity during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. Both soil samples and magnetic susceptibility indicate that large areas were used for iron-related activities. Radiocarbon dating shows that these activities continued from the rise of the town in the 10th century until its abandonment in the 15th. The expansion in the 10th and 11th century coincides with increasing number of iron and charcoal production sites around the Romsdal Fjord. Metallurgical analyses of the slag from Veøy indicate use of iron from the surrounding region, being further refined at Veøy until the mid-13th century, when local iron extraction ceased. From the last centuries, we still have traces of smithing and charcoal production, but primarily in the form of forging. We hypothesize that this late activity was rather based on imported iron, introduced along with the charcoal pits as a new way of producing charcoal in the region, as seen at Sørøya.

Oppdragsgiver: Statens vegvesenløpet av fire uker i juni/juli måned 2017 utførte Arkeologisk museum en undersøkelse av lokaliteten ID 178225, bosetningsspor utetter Årsvollveien, gnr. 64, bnr. 7 i Sandnes kommune. Tiltakshaver var Statens vegvesen som planlagte for en gang og sykkelvei etter fylkesvei 327. Resultatene ble to bygninger og et område med spredte kokegroper

This article examines the spatial, temporal and socio-economic relationships between pits and ‘spatial divisions’ on Dilling. Pits is a collective name for various embedments that are dug into the ground. ‘Spatial divisions’ are roads, paths, ditches, fences, and fenced cattle paths – structures that can be said to delimit or divide the landscape into different zones. In total, 258 pits were examined that varied in size between 0.5 and up to over 5 metres. In addition, 5 roads, 18 paths, 7 fenced cattle paths, 11 fences, and 54 ditches have been investigated. A significant part of this article is the attempt to determine the function of the pits and to assess whether there were differences in time and location at Dilling. The results show that the small pits were usually single-phased and preferably were used for waste disposal. The large pits, on the other hand, had several phases. First, they were used for collecting clay to use in e.g. house walls and ceramics, secondly, in fertilization strategies and thirdly, in the last phase, as waste pits. The ‘spatial divisions’, especially the roads and fences, show how the landscape was structured and divided, but at the same, the structures were not perpetual, but part of dynamic processes that could change according to current situations.

Bilaga 1. Provtagningsplatsernas lägeskoordinater Bilaga 2. Vattenkemiska analysmetoder Bilaga 3. Analysresultat för vattenkemi-tabeller Bilaga 4. Analysresultat för vattenkemi-figurer Bilaga 5. Ämnestransporter och arealspecifika förluster-tabeller Bilaga 6. Ämnestransporter-figurer Bilaga 7. Syrgas-och temperaturprofiler-figurer Bilaga 8. Växtplankton-biovolymer Bilaga 9. Bottenfauna-tätheter och biomassor Bilaga 10. Resultat från provfiske inkl kvicksilver-och metallhalter i fisk-7-Under perioder med stabil temperatur skiktning uppträder ibland dåliga syrgasförhållanden framförallt i de mer näringsrika sjöarna fr o m Södra Barken och nedströms i vattensystemet. Med undantag för tillfällen med förhållandevis låga syrgashalter i de mindre sjöarna i den övre delen av åsystemet, är syrgasförhållandena överlag goda i Kolbäcksåns sjöar. Kolbäcksåns sjöar och vattendrag har i allmänhet en god buffertkapacitet. Endast i den övre delen av vattensystemet förekommer period vis låga pH-värden och låg alkalinitet i bl a Pellabäcken och Saxen, vilka ligger i några av de få områden inom vatten systemet som inte kalkas eller har kalkats tidigare. Metallföroreningsmönstret i sjöarnas vatten och de metallmängder som transporteras igenom vattensystemet följer varandra väl. Saxen är den mest metallförorenade sjön, med förhöjda halter av koppar, zink, bly och kadmium, vilket beror på den tidigare gruvdriften i Saxdalen. Saxens påverkan på resten av Kolbäcksån varierar mycket mellan olika metaller, men generellt kan man säga att de mer lättrörliga metallerna zink och kadmium har en större och mer vidsträckt påverkan än mer svårrörliga metaller som bly och koppar, vilka tenderar att stanna kvar lokalt i sjöns sedimenten. Förhöjda halter av flera metaller återfinns även stundtals i Stora Aspens botten vatten i samband med dåliga syrgasförhållanden och låga pH-värden i augusti. Legeringsmetallerna krom, nickel, kobolt och volfram tillförs vattnet framförallt i systemets nedre industritäta del. Växtplanktonbiovolymerna i Kolbäcksåns sjöar var i år överlag på en förhållandevis normal nivå. De högsta biomassorna uppnåddes som vanligt i de näringsrikaste sjöar i systemet, dvs Trättens södra bassäng (Trätten S), Stora Aspen och Östersjön. Kisel alger var generellt sett den viktigaste planktongruppen, men även guld-och rekylalger utgjorde ett betydande inslag. Cyanobakterier (blågrönalger) var däremot vanliga i St. Aspen. Årets bottenfauna sammansättning i sjöarnas strandzoner (litoral) uppvisade i år färre antal taxa, men med en artsammansättning som är normal för sjöarna. Även tätheterna på sjöarnas djupbottnar (profundalzoner) var överlag lägre i år jämfört med de höga tätheterna under fjolåret. Provfiskeresultaten och metallanalyserna visar sammantaget på likartade resultat jämfört med den tidigare undersökningen 1996. Totalt erhölls 2 734 fiskar fördelade på 12 arter. De vanligaste arterna var abborre och mört, vilka fångades i samtliga sjöar. Andra vanliga arter var gers, björkna och braxen, medan nors, siklöja, gös, lake, gädda, asp och löja förekom i mer begränsad omfattning. Tre exemplar av den rödlistade arten asp fångades i Östersjön. Endast tre stycken gäddor fångades, varför kvicksilveranalyserna kompletterades med prov från gös och abborre. De största fiskfångsterna såväl antals-som viktmässigt erhölls i de två mest näringsrika sjöarna Östersjön och Stora Aspen. I dessa sjöar utgjorde karpfiskar (vitfiskar) hälften eller mer av vikten i näten, vilket är vanligt i näringsrika sjöar. Kvicksilverhalten i abborrmuskel från Övre Hillen var något högre än halten i fisk från de övriga sjöarna. Halterna i abborre som är större än ca 20 cm från denna sjö är nära det gällande gränsvärdet för saluförande på 0,5 mg/kg. Jämförelsevis höga halter av koppar, zink, kadmium och bly återfanns i abborrlever från Saxen, vilket överensstämmer med de höga halterna av dessa metaller i Saxens sediment. I sedimentundersökningen 2001 noterades även förhöjda halter av nickel, kobolt och volfram i St. Aspen och sjöarna nedströms, vilket även speglas i jämförelsevis högre halter av nickel och volfram i fisken från St. Aspen, Åmänningen och Östersjön.

This essay is about two areas called Hackås and Myrviken, situated in the middle of Sweden around the lake Storsjön. In Hackås we can see traces after an early agrarian settlement, and in Myrviken we find Jämtlands largest concentration of ironmaking sites from around 400 AD. There are no clear evidence of the agrarian settlement in Myrviken, and only two ironmaking sites in Hackås. These two economies functioned at the same time, but were clearly separated. My purpose is to discuss if it was the farmers of Hackås who made iron in Myrviken, or if it was somebody else. Omslagsbild: Trasnäsudden i Funäs, Myssjö, så som den såg ut den 23e december 2013. I bakgrunden syns Myssjönäset och sedan Hoverberget, som givit namn åt Bergs kommun (Flemström 1983:14).

I mai 2019 ble det gjennomført en forskningsundersøkelse i en nausttuft og tuft (ID 38824) på Nergård, Bjarkøy. Det ble gravd en 10 x 0,5 m sjakt på tvers av nausttufta mellom veggvollene og sjakter på 5 x 0,5 m og 1 x 0,5 m i en tuft langs vestsiden av nausttufta. Nausttufta har estimerte ytre mål på 33 x 13 m og indre mål på 29 x 5,5 m. Naustkronologi består av to hovedbruksfaser basert på stratigrafien og 14C dateringer. Første fase var bygging av stornaust i vikingtid datert til 862-992 e.Kr., og som kan være knyttet til Bjarkøyætta og muligens til Bjarkøyhøvdingen Tore Hund. Vikingtidsdateringen kan kobles stratigrafisk til en dobbel stolperekke i en 1,2 m bred grøft i midten av den vestre veggvollen. Stolpehullene er 50 cm dype og 30 cm i diameter med kraftig steinskoing. Den andre bruksfasen er datert til høymiddelalder, basert på 14C dateringer fra den vestre veggvollen som spenner perioden 1184-1282 e.Kr. Kontinuitet i naustbruk fra vikingtid er sannsynlig. Konstruksjonsendringer med oppbygging og utvidelse av veggvollen, samt tildekking av stolpehullene, ble utført i middelalderen. Et lag med okermaling og båtsaum datert til 1200-tallet er tolket som spor etter gjenbruk av båtbord / båtskrog til veggkonstruksjon. Det er også mulig at ombygging av naustet har en sammenheng med bruken som leidangsnaust tilhørende en av de 13 skipreider i Hålogaland på 1200-tallet. Tufta ved siden av naustet har en estimert størrelse på 26 x 8-11 m. To smale og grunne langsgående grøfter som er synlig på overflaten i tufta tilhører aktivitet som er adskilt fra, og seinere enn, hovedbruksfasen. Et funnholdig lag opptil 20 cm tykt ble avdekket med en nedgravd steinsatt grop 1,3 m i diameter og 35 cm dyp 14C datert til 1025-1150 e.Kr. En båtsaumkonsentrasjon lå ved og i gropa, i tillegg til et knivblad, en klinkhammerhode og et bryne. Verktøy og båtsaum i gropa kan indikere at tufta hadde en funksjon relatert til bygging og vedlikehold av båter tilknyttet naustet. Datering fra gropa viser til kontinuitet i bruk av begge strukturene mellom vikingtid og middelalder

Oppdragsgiver: Statens vegvesen, region vestTo delområder av det større kulturminneområdet "Gauselskogen" Id 90536 rett øst for Fv 44/Gauselveien i Stavanger kommune ble gravd ut om våren 2016. Mens det nordlige delområdet viste seg til å være fullstendig funntomt, ble det oppdaget kokegroper og røyser i det sørlige delområdet. Kokegropene og én røys ga dateringer til førromersk jernalder, mens en annen røys ble datert til eldre bronsealder. Meget overraskende var dateringer fra den tredje røysen, hasselnøtteskall fra røysens bunn og en nedgraving ble datert til mesolitikum. Det ble ikke funnet gjenstandsmateriale som bidro til tolkningen av røysenes funksjon, som dermed forblir usikker. Strukturene kan være både spor etter gravlegginger eller agrariske aktiviteter. Uansett viser funnene til en lang tradisjon av menneskelige aktiviteter ved Gauselskogen

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.

Oppdragsgiver: Asbjørn TengesdalI denne rapporten presenteres resultatene av utgravningen som Arkeologisk Museum, Universitetet i Stavanger (AM) foretok på Tengesdal gnr. 81 og bnr. 4 i Bjerkreim kommune på forsommeren 2015. I tidsrommet 18.05.15 - 02.06.15 ble det avdekket 1044 m2 like ved dagens gårdstun. Bakgrunnen for undersøkelsen er en plan for tilrettelegging og bygging av et tredje våningshus på gården. Tiltaket kom i konflikt med førreformatoriske bosetningsspor (Askeladden ID177381) og på bakgrunn av dette ble det fattet et dispensasjonsvedtak etter kulturminneloven med vilkår om en utgravning forut for byggestart. Den arkeologiske undersøkelsen ble gjennomført av Arkeologisk Museum i perioden 18.05.15 – 02.06.15. Den undersøkte lokaliteten ble påvist ved Rogaland Fylkeskommunes registrering i 2014. Utgravningen ga resultater i form av bosetningsspor/anlegg fra eldre bronsealder og eldre førromersk jernalder på lokalitet ID 177381. Det ble utført paleobotaniske undersøkels...

Na arheološkom nalazištu Sušine kraj Virja u Podravini, tijekom 2013. godine provedena su geofizička istraživanja magnetskom metodom na površini od 10.700 m 2 te potom i arheološka iskopavanja na pomno odabranoj površini od 300 m 2 s ciljem dobivanja što preciznijih podataka o prepoznavanju i izgledu dijelova talioničke radionice na lokalitetu. Istražen je prostor na kojem se odlagao otpad iz radionice, nekoliko arheoloških cjelina identičnog izgleda za koje se pretpostavlja da su ostatci peći te naseobinski elementi iz prapovijesti i ranoga srednjeg vijeka. Oba provedena istraživanja su se međusobno nadopunjavala te predstavljaju veoma dobar uzorak za buduća interdisciplinarna istraživanja ove vrste arheoloških nalazišta.

Na arheološkom nalazištu Sušine kraj Virja u Podravini, tijekom 2013. godine provedena su geofizička istraživanja magnetskom metodom na površini od 10.700 m 2 te potom i arheološka iskopavanja na pomno odabranoj površini od 300 m 2 s ciljem dobivanja što preciznijih podataka o prepoznavanju i izgledu dijelova talioničke radionice na lokalitetu. Istražen je prostor na kojem se odlagao otpad iz radionice, nekoliko arheoloških cjelina identičnog izgleda za koje se pretpostavlja da su ostatci peći te naseobinski elementi iz prapovijesti i ranoga srednjeg vijeka. Oba provedena istraživanja su se međusobno nadopunjavala te predstavljaju veoma dobar uzorak za buduća interdisciplinarna istraživanja ove vrste arheoloških nalazišta.

Na arheoloskom nalazistu Susine kraj Virja u Podravini, tijekom 2013. godine provedena su geofizicka istraživanja magnetskom metodom na povrsini od 10700 m2, te potom i arheoloska iskopavanja na pomno odabranoj povrsini od 300 m2 s ciljem dobivanja sto preciznih podataka o prepoznavanju i izgledu dijelova talionicke radionice na citavom lokalitetu. Istražen je prostor na kome se odlagao otpad iz radionice, nekoliko arheoloskih cjelina identicnog izgleda za koje se pretpostavlja da su ostaci peci te naseobinski elementi iz prapovijesti i ranoga srednjeg vijeka. Oba provedena istraživanja su se međusobno nadopunjavala, te predstavljaju veoma dobar uzorak za buduca, interdisciplinarna istraživanja ove vrste arheoloskih nalazista.

Maintenance of adequate permeability in the lower zone of a blast furnace is crucial for stable and efficient furnace operation. Permeability in the lower zone is influenced by the changing levels of hot metal and slag in addition to other operational factors. Thus, accumulation of liquids in the hearth and inadequate drainage will lead to deterioration in permeability, thereby limiting wind acceptance and furnace productivity. Therefore, the knowledge of the liquid level in the hearth and factors influencing drainage would be helpful for ensuring high permeability. Effort has been made in the present study to analyse the effect on liquid level of casting parameters such as casting rate (CR), production rate, gun up to knock out time (GKT), slag delay, cast duration (CD) and number of casts (NC). The relationships between casting parameters, liquid level and permeability resistance in the lower zone have been derived mathematically based on material balance. From known casting parameters, the liquid levels have been estimated. The prediction of liquid levels by the model was in good agreement with the furnace data on permeability resistance. In order to maintain high permeability in the lower zone, the optimum values of GKT, NC and CR for different production rates have been suggested to the plant.

Tuyere liners – an unusual inventory of Moravian early medieval ironworks?
Among the most numerous relics of the activity of ancient ironworkers found during archaeological excavations of their workshops are the production waste in form of slag. Less common (but still numerous in Western Moravia) are tuyeres – ceramic tubes that allow blowing of air into the iron furnace hearths and at the same time protect the mouths of the bellows from high heat. In metallurgical workshops, ceramics enabling dating is also present. Several pieces of tools, fragments of tuyere shields or panels, grinding wheels and the ironworks‘ own products – blooms – have been found as well. It seems that some of the researched West Moravian bloomery workshops also contain another type of technical ceramics not present (or not recognised) elsewhere – tuyere liners – ceramic tubes of a conical shape facilitating the mounting of the tuyeres into the furnaces or hearths. The aim of the following text is to briefly highlight these artefacts, their possible use during the metallurgical process and, through their description, to facilitate their identification by other researchers.

Handling, mapping, and analysing large quantities of fuzzy data is a challenge. Scientifically determined provenances of raw materials in archaeologically retrieved finds are generally not very specific but point to smaller or larger regions of origin. When a dataset comprises several hundred probable and approximate geographical records representing a vast number of partly over lapping regions of provenance, it is difficult to comprehend the dataset and even harder to analyse and illustrate the results. This article presents data models and methods to solve this challenge using a dataset of approximately 1,800 scientifically determined provenances of raw materials from archaeo logical finds retrieved within southern Scandinavia, primarily from 200-1200 CE. The materials are often everyday durables, such as iron, wood, and ceramics. The aim is to find new methods to gain insight into resource flows from, into and within geographical areas through quantitative GIS analysis of the scientifically determined provenances.

Following twenty or so excavation campaigns on the Castel-Minier site (Pyrénées, Ariège, France), this is a chance to present the chronological sequence in which this deposit was exploited, from the 10th century to the end of the 16th century. This programmed archaeological operation, supported over the long term by the State and local authorities, has uncovered more than eight areas of metallurgical activity, including three hydraulic workshops. It highlighted the multiplicity of operating chains, from extraction to the production of pure metal or alloy semi-finished products, involving more than seven different types of ore.

A collection of 38 articles on Archaeology, Historical Arcaheology, Historical Osteology, History and Art History by authors in Sweden, Denmark and Germany, an introduction and also a bibliography as a tribute to retired reader Anders Odman at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University.

ON THE TRAIL OF MEDIEVAL IRON SMELTING
As part of the research project ’Iron
production in Central Jutland during the
Medieval period and the Renaissance’, we
have searched for new iron production
sites and excavated numerous test pits.
In this paper we share the insights gained
through this work regarding which
methods are preferable for locating iron
production sites, as well as an assesment
of the preservation conditions of them.
In addition, the design of the medieval
iron smelting furnaces is described based
on finds excavated by Museum Silkeborg
within the past approx. 10 years.

A Roman-Period bloomery smelting site had been excavated in the Lahn valley at Wetzlar-Dalheim in central Germany during 2006–2012. The production unit consisted of a big rectangular workshop pit with 13 slag pit-furnaces, two waste dumps and a small sunken hut. The stratigraphical sequence, along with abundant pottery and small finds, allows the dating of short-lived smelting activity to a time slot around the third quarter of the first century AD. As a first series of radiocarbon measurements from in-slag charcoal samples resulted in a bewildering date range from the Iron Age right back into the Neolithic, a second dating series has been undertaken. This time exclusively charcoal samples taken from the bottom of the furnace pits have been analysed. The resulting dates fit to the archaeologically derived dating. It is clear that the 14C content of the in-slag charcoal samples must have been altered already during the process in antiquity. With none of the analysed dates younger tha...

HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives| 4.0 International License "Valley of the First Iron Masters". Recent research on Iron Age iron production and its significance in the

The technology of bloomery iron production in Latvia is a little-studied topic. Only a few excavations have been undertaken, mostly during the 1950s and 60s in connection with hydropower development along the river Daugava. Sources from archives and collections have been reviewed, re-studied and re-interpreted in the light of current knowledge, as part of the TechTrans research project. Visual studies have also been performed to clarify whether the slag was tapped, as previously interpreted, or whether production could be related to the more common slag-pit technology. Archaeometallurgical samples from four of the excavated sites have been analysed to obtain information on the technology, development, processes and the quality of production. The results of this study are set in the context of the technical development of bloomery practice in neighbouring regions to identify influences that may have affected the development of bloomery iron production in Latvia during the Iron Age an...

La dendrochronologie offre la possibilité de déterminer la période de construction d'un élément architectural en datant l'abattage des arbres qui y sont mis en oeuvre. Des échantillons de bois ayant conservé leur cambium sont datés à l'année près, permettant de définir les phases d'abattage ayant été nécessaires à la construction des édifices. À travers six exemples étudiés en Belgique au laboratoire de dendrochronologie de l'IRPA, le présent article explique comment l'information dendrochronologique peut également être utilisée pour améliorer notre compréhension de l'approvisionnement, premier maillon de la chaîne opératoire, intimement lié au déroulement de la construction. Un échantillonnage dendrochronologique avisé, combiné à des observations archéologiques, permet de dater et de retracer avec précision l'évolution de la construction de grands ensembles architecturaux, de comprendre le chantier avant et après un évènement marquant comme un incendie ou une destruction, de restituer les aménagements intérieurs successifs et les espaces de circulation, mais aussi d'appréhender indirectement le travail réalisé en amont et pendant le chantier. L'établissement de datations précises fournit des informations précieuses sur les sources d'approvisionnement et leurs gestions (provenance locale ou importation, abattage programmé ou opportuniste, essences exploitées, nombre de coupes successives, calendrier d'abattage, etc.). Les études dendrochronologiques permettent également d'observer la diversité des ressources forestières du territoire se retrouvant dans les charpentes et d'aborder la relation entre qualité du bois et adaptations structurelles des fermes de charpente. ABSTRACT. Dendrochronology enables to determine the construction period of an architectural element by dating the felling of the trees used. Samples of wood that still contain waney edge are dated to the year, allowing to precisely define the felling phases necessary for the buildings construction. Through six examples studied in Belgium at IRPA's dendrochronology laboratory, this article explains how dendrochronological information can also be used to improve our understanding of the wood supply, the first step in the chaîne opératoire, intimately linked to the construction process. Careful dendrochronological sampling, combined with archaeological observations, allows: i) to date and establish accurately the construction evolution of large architectural ensembles, ii) to understand a building site before and after a significant event such as a fire or a destruction, iii) to reconstruct the successive interior fittings and circulation spaces, etc., but also iv) to indirectly apprehend the work carried out upstream and during construction. The use of precise dates provides valuable information on the sources of wood supply and their management (local or imported origin, programmed or opportunistic felling, species exploited, number of successive cuts, felling schedule, etc.). Dendrochronological studies also allow to enlighten the relation between wood quality and the structural adaptations of the trusses as well as the diversity of forest resources on the Belgian territory being found in our roof structures. MOTS-CLÉS. Dendrochronologie, Charpente, Datation fine, Approvisionnement du bois, Échantillonnage.

A Roman-Period bloomery smelting site had been excavated in the Lahn valley at Wetzlar-Dalheim in central Germany during 2006-2012. The production unit consisted of a big rectangular workshop pit with 13 slag pit-furnaces, two waste dumps and a small sunken hut. The stratigraphical sequence, along with abundant pottery and small finds, allows the dating of short-lived smelting activity to a time slot around the third quarter of the first century AD. As a first series of radiocarbon measurements from in-slag charcoal samples resulted in a bewildering date range from the Iron Age right back into the Neolithic, a second dating series has been undertaken. This time exclusively charcoal samples taken from the bottom of the furnace pits have been analysed. The resulting dates fit to the archaeologically derived dating. It is clear that the 14 C content of the in-slag charcoal samples must have been altered already during the process in antiquity. With none of the analysed dates younger than the archaeologically fixed date of the bloomery production unit, it is obvious that a contamination with fossil carbon must have taken place. The wide and inconsistent date range suggests that fossil carbon has entered the metallurgical system within the furnace in an uncontrollable manner. The observed phenomenon has wide implications for other metallurgical sites with high temperature processes under strongly reducing conditions. Charcoal samples from such sites, especially from inside slags, might be contaminated to an unpredictable degree and produce seemingly older dates. A first review of previously published data series calls for a reconsideration of the reliability of radiocarbon dates from metallurgical slags. radiocarbon dating-methodology-charcoal samples-slag-fossil carbon V průběhu let 2006 až 2012 byla v údolí řeky Lahn ve Wetzlar-Dalheimu ve středním Německu odkryta lokalita s doklady výroby železa z doby římské. Výrobní jednotka sestávala z velké dílenské jámy obdélníkového půdorysu se třinácti pecemi se zahloubenou nístějí, dvěma odpadními haldami a malou polozemnicí. Stratigrafická posloupnost spolu s hojně přítomnou keramikou a drobnými nálezy umožňují datovat krátkodobou výrobní činnosti do zhruba 3. čtvrtiny 1. stol. n. l. Jelikož první série radiokarbonových měření provedená na kouscích dřevěného uhlí, které uvízlo ve strusce, vymezila ohromující časový úsek od doby železné až po neolit, byla provedena druhá datovací série. Tentokrát byly analyzovány výlučně vzorky dřevěného uhlí, které byly odebrány z nístějí pecí. Výsledné datování vykazovalo shodu s datováním archeologickým. Vzhledem k tomu, že kontaminaci po exkavaci můžeme vyloučit, je zřejmé, že obsah 14 C ve vzorcích dřevěného uhlí musel být změněn už při výrobním procesu v průběhu starověku. Široký a nekonzistentní časový interval naznačuje, že fosilní uhlík vstupuje do metalurgického systému v peci nekontrolovaně. Pozorovaný fenomén má velký dopad na další lokality s doklady metalurgických aktivit, při kterých vysokoteplotní procesy probíhaly za silně redukčních podmínek. Vzorky dřevěného uhlí z takových lokalit, zejména pak uhlíků ze strusek, mohou být kontaminovány nepředvídatelným způsobem a zapříčinit zdánlivě starší datování. První přezkoumání dříve publikovaných datových řad vyzývá k přehodnocení spolehlivosti údajů z radiokarbonového datování metalurgických strusek. radiokarbonové datování-metodika-vzorky uhlíků-struska-fosilní uhlík

The 1862 municipal laws and the charters of 1874-Byggnads-och Brandstadga för rikets städer, change the basis for what constitutes a city. A process and an important factor to the disintegration of the traditional city is the emergence of a large urban settlements outside of the cities, such as administrative hybrids, "köpingar" and "municipalsamhällen". Until local government reform in 1971, there was an ambition to preserve the status for cities, "köpingar" and "municipalsamhällen". But the older idea in which city and countryside are different, changed after the reform in 1971. Somewhere in the process, these rural urban areas, including "municipalsamhällen", change importance. Rural urban areas, is often characterized by a static picture, but can accommodate diversity and variation. The main focus of the paper is "municipalsamhällen", which we know little about, and in a historic context, it has relevance to what and how we value these locations. Today there is an urban prevail. Therefore, the local context is important for regional and national planning. If the towns are becoming depopulated and laid down, what connects the country then? The paper aims to identify, describe and explain the process of change that occurred in the localities with the basis of two case studies and discourse analysis. By highlighting the locations illustrated, something that has not always been represented in the historiography is shown. The case studies consist of two original stationssamhällen. The sites are Älmhult in Småland and Glimåkra in Skåne. The study will seek additional support for results in a number of selected locations that will stand as places of example. By broadening the scope of the investigation and with the knowledge that places of example contribute to the creation of a better foundation and a greater knowledge base for the survey. In this study, the theoretical basis is the urban norm, the knowledge and its organizing and collective memory. The survey shows that there are prominent similarities between the two case studies development. The infrastructural investment that took place, with the railway construction, has a significance for the expansion in the society, which also is a general pattern in the country. These locations are to some extent unique in their stages of development, but is in large a part of the larger attempt, which takes place in Sweden. "Municipalsamhällen" loses its importance with time. What the survey shows is that the big society conversion has affected the built environment in both case studies, but both places are characterised by the ideals at the "municipalsamhällets" formation. For a sustainable development, various opportunities must be discussed. More and more issues are discussed on national and regional levels which make those who have not been seen or heard-lost in the crowd. Those who finally suffer are the smaller municipalities in the periphery.

Utgravning av en lokalitet på Sand på  nordsiden av Tjeldøya i 2021, hvor ca. 1290 m² ble maskinelt flateavdekket og undersøkt. Det ble påvist 18 kokegroper, en nedgravning og to lag av ukjent funksjon. Lokaliteten blir tolket som ett kokegropfelt, hvor av 10 av kokegropene ble snittet og dokumentert. Også én nedgravning og to lag ble undersøkt. Kokegropfeltet er datert til førromersk jernalder. Undersøkelsen kan vise til dannelsen av ett maktsenter på Sand i denne perioden samt den yngre kokegropen kan vise til kontinuitet.

Innhaldsforteikning FORORD KAPITTEL 1 RESULTAT OG MÅLOPPNÅING (Gro Anita Bårdseth) 1 KAPITTEL 2 IT-FUNKSJONAR I PROSJEKTET (Gro Anita Bårdseth, Per Erik Gjesvold og Christer Tonning) 19 KAPITTEL 3 METODISKE ERFARINGER (Gro Anita Bårdseth og Christer Tonning) 37 KAPITTEL 4 LANGHUS FRA ELDRE ROMERTID, MISSINGEN. FORSLAG TIL REKONSTRUKSJON (Helge Schjelderup) 43 KAPITTEL 5 NATURVITSKAPLEG SYNTESE (Paula Utigard Sandvik) 61 KAPITTEL 6 KULTURHISTORISK SYNTESE (Gro Anita Bårdseth) 7

Man atempts to know and see what is not visible with the naked eye goes back to the far past. By the combination of concave and convex lenses, in the 16th century, Dutchman Janssen made the first ever-increasing instrument. Robert Hooke was first used to illuminate objects using artificial light and gave a first description of plant cells still afar 1665. Henry Clifton Sorby, in the 1960s, was the first to apply a microscope in metal testing. Today, microscopes are used daily for the testing purity of metals and alloys, the presence of nonmetallic inclusions, the microstructural phase present in the alloys as a result of various forms of heat treatment. This paper gives an overview of the possibilities of light microscopes in the testing of metal materials.

This paper presents results of recent research by the Archaeology Team of the Basque Country Mining Museum aiming to contribute to a better understanding of the technology of medieval bloomery iron smelting in the Basque Country region. A mainstay of this technology is found in a particular kind of smelting furnace, presumably of wide use during the later Middle Ages, but likely to have originated much earlier. A complete series of radiocarbon (14C) dates from charcoal used as fuel indicates that the bulk of the industry that survives was concentrated in the Late Middle Ages; but also that the iron resources were exploited earlier by means of similar economic and technological strategies and points to a time frame which would cover from the 5th century BC to the 14th century AD. Intensive archaeological work has revealed almost 350 ironworks framed within this chronology. Overall, these sites represent relatively small-scale smelting sites, typically located in the mountains, equipped with a single furnace, and identifiable on the surface by the presence of large slag heaps. The paper reconstructs the engineering parameters of this process through microscopic analysis of an assemblage of technical materials such as slag, furnace walls and pieces of ore recovered from archaeological interventions in six sites ranging in date from pre-Roman to late medieval. The results show that, in spite of the chronological span, there was a common technological procedure in smelting bloomery iron, using a particular type of sunk funnel-shape tap furnace, as well as a common economic strategy for organizing the production, as small-scale ironworks next to the ore deposits where smelting and bloom consolidation were carried on.

catchment area is located in Northeastern Silesia, Poland, and belonged to the southwestern distribution area of the Przeworsk culture from the younger pre-Roman period until the younger Roman period. It is estimated that iron smelting was introduced to this area with the emergence of the Przeworsk culture, circa the 2nd century BCE. Certain cultural and environmental requirements must have been met in order for this technology to spread to this area. Within the framework of interdisciplinary research, the archaeological context of an archaeological site as well as the natural archives were investigated to explore the preconditions and to describe the beginning of early iron smelting in this region. Bog iron ore; early iron smelting; formation; human-environmental interactions; landscape archaeology; pre-Roman Iron Age; Przeworsk culture.