Technological traditions inferred from iron artefacts of the Xiongnu Empire in Mongolia

Iron objects excavated from sites of the Xiongnu Empire (3rd century BC–2nd century AD) in Mongolia have been examined using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the Xiongnu iron tradition may be characterized by the use of low carbon iron and carbon control by carburization. Cast iron was also used in the Xiongnu Empire, but only in very limited applications and with no convincing evidence of its use for the production of low carbon iron. The Xiongnu iron technology seems to have been established on the basis of the bloomery technique, without much influence from the Chinese style of technology, based on cast iron.     

Large-scale 2nd to 3rd century AD bloomery iron smelting in Korea

Iron production in Korea has traditionally been seen in the shadow of developments in cast iron technology in China, with limited indication for a northern influence via Russia’s Maritime Province. The possibility of the existence of bloomery iron production in ancient Korea has been little explored, and relevant discussion is fraught with speculations based primarily on the early use of cast iron. The recent excavation of a site in South Korea recovered substantial amounts of slag providing direct evidence of bloomery smelting. The accelerator mass spectrometric dating of burnt wood from inside one of the slag pieces showed that the site was in use in the early 3rd century AD or earlier, which is in agreement with the assessment based on ceramic typology. The traits of a bloomery process evident in the slags’ microstructure, shape, composition and excavation context are discussed along with the implications for historical iron technology in Korea, where cast iron and the influence from China have been overly emphasised.     

Dunster and Its Lords

As part of a wider study of the archaeological evidence for slavery in the ancient world, this paper deals with the typology, mechanism, chronology, and distribution of iron age and Roman slave-shackles. These are subdivided into neck-shackles, manacles (for hands), and fetters (for feet). The distribution of iron age examples defines a trading pattern between the Celtic and Roman worlds. The preponderance of Roman types a) on the limes and b) in Gaul and Britain suggests the role of the military in slave-taking on the one hand, and the use of slaves in agriculture on the other. Separate sections deal briefly with the Pompeian material, the physiological evidence for shackles (including Greece), and animal hobbles of iron age and recent date. A catalogue of the material is appended.     

Transitions in cast iron technology of the nomads in Mongolia

Metallurgical study of seven cast iron artifacts recovered from sites of the former Xiongnu (BC 3rd to AD 1st), Turk (AD 6th to 8th), Khitan (AD 10th to 12th), and Mongolian empires (AD 12th to 15th) shows that the earlier Xiongnu and Turk artifacts were made of cast iron alloys of near eutectic composition. The later Khitan and Mongol objects had greatly reduced carbon content in the range of ultrahigh carbon steel rather than cast iron, and contained more than 0.5 mass % silicon as an alloying element. Inclusions high in sulfur, phosphorus or silicon are also present. These differences suggest that Mongolia experienced a technical transition a few centuries before the establishment of the Mongolian empire, which is in agreement with some written accounts. The microstructures of the cast iron artifacts are compared with the related archaeological and documentary evidence. The results suggest that the use of fossil coal in smelting and the state policy of controlling iron production were the major factors responsible for the transition.     

Iron Age iron files from England

There are more than 40 iron files known from the pre-Roman Iron Age in England, of which 26 come from settlements with evidence of manufacturing activities. The files vary considerably in size and form. The coarse-cut files were probably intended for working soft or fibrous materials such as wood or horn, whereas the finer-cut files were probably for working more compact or harder materials, including metals. This corresponds to the metallographic evidence from a sample of 17 files, of which only seven finer-cut ones have been found to be quench-hardened. The discovery of metal particles in five files provides further evidence of use.     

Seventeenth-century Carpentry in Essex

Abstract

It is here argued that there was a decline in the standards of carpentry in the early 17th century. From the six buildings discussed, there is evidence of confusion over the main structural framework and in the minor details. The increasing use of iron bolts and brackets is another feature of this decline.     

Computational simulation of air flows through a Sri Lankan wind-driven furnace

Research carried out in the early 1990s in Sri Lanka, combining field survey, ethno-archaeology and excavation, revealed an extensive iron producing industry dating to the second half of the first millennium AD. The field evidence indicated that this industry was based on a shallow, wind-powered furnace design that represented a radical departure from the accepted bellows-driven, shaft furnace model which has been the epitome of successful pre-industrial iron smelting. Subsequent experimental reconstructions of the process carried out in Sri Lanka established that the furnaces were wind-powered and also that they were capable of producing high quality, hypereutectoid steels. The objective of the current work is to use modern techniques in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to investigate the airflow through and around these furnaces in order to verify the theoretical model of their operation. It also demonstrates the potential application of CFD to the modelling and interpretation of pre-modern pyrotechnologies.     

Iron Working in the Vicinity of Weybridge,Surrey

Abstract

The presence of eighteenth-century iron working mills and the coincidental local, but limited, source of iron in the Weybridge area of Surrey, has led a number of authors to suggest that these mills smelted locally extracted iron ore. The present author has described elsewhere the occurrence of the ore and indicated that extraction was in pre-mediaeval times, probably during the Iron Age. In further support of this theory, the original records of Iron Age archaeological sites in the area are shown to reveal positive evidence of iron working. The history of the iron mills throughout their restricted period of iron working is also described, and at each site a close association between the fabrication of iron, and brass and copper products, where the metal is of undoubted extraneous origin, is evident.     

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN BLOOMERY SMELTING SLAG OF THE IRON AGE AND ROMANO‐BRITISH PERIODS*

This study highlights regional variation in the composition of iron‐smelting slag produced in England prior to the medieval period and attempts to link slag composition to the type of ore smelted. For many sites, the slag compositions were consistent with the use of limonite ore, but there is evidence that siderite ore was smelted at sites in Sussex in the late Iron Age/Romano‐British periods. A compositional comparison of smelting slags and slag inclusions in Iron Age currency bars, using data from Hedges and Salter (1979 ), illustrates the potential of smelting slag compositional data in provenance studies of early iron objects.     

Iron and bronze production in Iron Age IIA Philistia: new evidence from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

A metallurgically-oriented excavation in Area A at Tell es-Safi/Gath yielded evidence for iron and bronze production dating to the early Iron Age IIA. Two pit-like features, which differed considerably from one another in colour, texture and content, were excavated. Evidence shows that each feature represents a different in situ activity related to iron production, inferred by the presence of hammerscales, slag prills and slag. An upturned crucible was found on top of one of the features. Analysis of the crucible slag showed that it was used for bronze metallurgy. Tuyères, both round and square in cross-section, were found in and around the two features. The presence of the two industries together presents a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between copper and iron working. This is especially important against the background of the scarcity of evidence for iron production in the Levant during the early phases of the Iron Age.     

Early use and production of iron in the northern Shaanxi: A perspective on iron objects excavated from the Yuejiazhuang cemetery site

Yuejiazhuang is a cemetery site of Qin people in the Northern Shaanxi, China, and it is dated to the mid-late Warring States Period. Ninety-two iron objects were excavated from the Yuejiazhuang cemetery site, which provide an opportunity to understand the use and production of iron in the Northern Shaanxi. The metallurgical and statistical study has revealed that bloomery iron, cast iron, and steel made from cast iron were adopted in the Northern Shaanxi during the mid-late Warring States Period. In the meanwhile, cast iron and steel made from cast iron became dominant in the Northern Shaanxi.     

Implications of Reappraising the Iron‐Deficiency Anemia Hypothesis

In 2009, Walker and colleagues questioned the validity of the iron‐deficiency anemia hypothesis as an explanatory mechanism for the presence of porotic hyperostosis (PH) and cribra orbitalia. They presented evidence demonstrating that iron deficiency inhibits, rather than promotes, marrow hypertrophy and argued a link between both PH and hemolytic or megaloblasic anemias (including vitamin B₁₂ deficiency). This paper suggests that dismissing the iron‐deficiency anemia hypothesis may be premature, but, if dismissed, may result in unforeseen consequences. Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency and iron deficiency often result from similar proximate causes, i.e. lack of animal protein in the diet and sanitation problems that lead to parasitic or diarrheal diseases, thereby promoting nutrient losses. As a result, vitamin B₁₂ deficiency and iron deficiency commonly co‐occur. In individuals with a co‐occurrence of iron deficiency and vitamin B₁₂ deficiency, a possible inhibition of marrow hypertrophy caused by iron deficiency may prevent the development of PH, despite the presence of (vitamin B₁₂) nutritional deficiency. The implications of dismissing the iron‐deficiency anemia hypothesis are that many skeletal populations may exhibit hidden heterogeneity, i.e. individuals who are the most nutritionally stressed, with multiple nutrient deficiencies, would mimic the non‐stressed individuals and neither would show evidence of PH. However, the inclusion of multiple stress indicators and greater understanding of biocultural context in bioarchaeological analyses may mitigate the potential impacts of hidden heterogeneity in the expression of PH. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

More Evidence for an Advanced Prehistoric Iron Technology in Africa

Abstract

Ethnographic and technological observations of iron smelting among the Raya people of NW Tanzania during 1976 and 1979 have contributed important new evidence for a technologically advanced culture in East-Central Africa. The ethnoarchaeology of Haya iron working shows that the Raya practiced an iron-smelting technology that employed preheating of the air blast—a highly efficient technique—and formed a massive steel altogether different from that known in the European tradition of iron production.

Excavations in 1977 at the KM2 site near Kemondo Bay west of Lake Victoria in Kagera Region, Tanzania, provided abundant evidence for an ancient technology, dating to the first six centuries A.C., that shared many similarities to the living iron-smelting technology. Excavations during 1978–1979 at the KM3 site, also located near Kemondo Bay, yielded physical evidence for the antiquity of the preheated process and provided definitive proof for a technology similar to the process in historical times. These discoveries affirm that one of the most advanced technologies in the ancient world developed in Africa independent of European influence.     

The Offham Chalkpit Tramway: its History and Archaeology

Abstract

Chalk was in considerable demand for agricultural use in the early years of the nineteenth century, and an inclined plane, including a tunnelled section, was built in 1809 to connect the chalkpits at Offham with the newly canalised River Ouse. Tom Evans has examined the Shiffner correspondence to investigate the sources of the iron plateway supplied to the Offham scheme, and Ron Martin, together with other members of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society, has surveyed the field evidence for this interesting industrial survival in rural Sussex.     

At the Transition from Late Medieval to Early Modern: the Archaeology of Three Wrecks from Turkey

During surveys in the Rhodian Straits in 2005–06, the staff of the RPM Nautical Foundation discovered three deepwater wrecks which reflect elements of the transition from late medieval to early modern seafaring. The assemblages, and their plotting on site‐plans generated from photographic evidence, point to the finding of a small oared warship equipped with wrought‐iron carriage‐ and swivel‐guns, a small coasting vessel armed with wrought‐iron swivel‐guns, and a larger merchantman equipped with cast‐iron carriage‐guns. While the features of the smaller vessels do not identify their country of origin, those of the larger merchantman have good parallels with known English wrecks. © 2009 The Authors     

A 5th‐Century‐AD Sewn‐Plank River Barge at St Maria in Padovetere (Comacchio‐FE), Italy: an interim report

This article reports on the remains of a 5th‐century‐AD river barge excavated in 2014 and 2015. Most of the flat bottom and one side are preserved. The barge is at least 20 m in length and 2.9 m across the floor, and is constructed using sewn planks, iron nails and mortise‐and‐tenon fasteners. Both flush‐laid and lapstrake planks are recorded. Archaeological, historical, iconographic and ethnographic evidence is used to propose explanations for features, such as the use of lapstrakes, a possible steering system and platform, and the likely position of a pump, while setting the barge in the context of the North Adriatic shipbuilding tradition.     

Iron Smelting in Sudan: Experimental Archaeology at The Royal City of Meroe

The Royal City of Meroe, ca. 200?km north of Khartoum in the modern-day Republic of the Sudan, was an ancient capital of the Kingdom of Kush. From the 3rd century b.c. to the 4th century a.d., Kushite rulers controlled significant territory from the banks of the Nile at Meroe, in part through their ability to ensure the production of significant quantities of iron. The extensive archaeological remains of Meroitic iron production have been investigated over decades, and recently a series of experimental iron smelts in a replica Meroitic furnace has shed new light on the archaeometallurgical evidence. The data generated during the smelting campaigns has provided an understanding of the type of iron ore used, the construction and operating parameters of the furnace, and the workshop space created by the ancient iron smelters during the later and post-Meroitic times.     

Archaeological and chemical evidence for the earliest American use of raw coal as a fuel in ironmaking

The archaeological discovery of bituminous coal in the tipple area and the subsequent analyses of specimens of the iron ore, charcoal, limestone, slag, and cast iron from the Eaton (Hopewell) blast furnace built in 1802 indicate that raw coal was used in combination with charcoal as a fuel in American iron smelting at least thirty years before it was used alone. Further, its use in this combinatory manner marks the earliest as yet attested to in the New World.     

Early Metal in South India: Copper and Iron in Megalithic Contexts

In South India early metal artifacts, usually associated with megalithic sites, include both copper and iron. Although in some cases copper artifacts predate those made of iron, there is no evidence of an extensive metallurgical tradition based on copper and its alloys. Typological studies have had limited success in explaining the megalithic sites and the production and consumption of metal, while other approaches have not explicitly addressed the social contexts of metal production. While there emerge some suggestive patterns from the archaeometallurgical evidence to date, understanding the role of metal production and consumption in megalithic contexts means reevaluating traditional paradigms about the nature of these sites and about how metal technologies develop.     

WB1复合气相缓蚀剂对清代带锈铁质钱币文物的保护研究

气相缓蚀剂应用于带锈铁质文物保护是一种简单有效的方法。本研究通过对WB-1气相缓蚀剂处理前后带锈钱币的形貌检测,并结合XRD、XPS、SEM等手段对该缓蚀剂在带锈钱币表面的成膜方式进行了分析研究。结果表明,WB-1气相缓蚀剂能通过化学吸附作用在带锈铁质钱币表面形成一层保护膜,阻挡有害离子向铸铁文物内部的渗透,并促进带锈铁质钱币表面锈层组分向更为稳定的组成转变。WB-1气相缓蚀剂对带锈铁质钱币具有良好的保护效果,且不改变文物外观,符合文物保护要求。