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.     

The later prehistory of mainland Southeast Asia

Until the recent expansion of research into the prehistory of mainland Southeast Asia, the development of civilizations employing Indian religious and political concepts had been seen as a major fulcrum in the area's history. The prehistoric sequence in the area is reviewed, with particular attention being paid to evidence for ritual, display, exchange, and ranking behavior within lowland sedentary communities. These date to the two or three millennia preceding Indian contact. It is argued that already by the end of the prehistoric period, there were complex centralized societies with a long tradition of recognizing status differentials among individuals, affiliated groups, and communities. The sequence incorporates the exploitation of rice, and bronze and iron working. The chronology of these innovations is compared with that in China. It is not possible at present to argue for single or multiple origins, but the area of southern China is suggested as a crucial one in further research to resolve these issues.     

Face to Face with Phineas Gage

We present here a reproduction of a daguerreotype of Phineas Gage that came into our possession more than 30 years ago. It is, as far as we know, the only image of this famous patient. We describe how we identified the subject in the image, describe how daguerreotypes are made and set out our comparisons of the image with the Phineas Gage life mask and tamping iron held in the Warren Anatomical Museum, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine.     

郑庄秦石料加工场遗址出土铁器的初步研究

为了解郑庄秦石料加工场遗址出土铁器的成分与制作工艺,采用了金相显微法和湿法化学分析对其中6件残铁器进行了取样分析。通过研究可知:这批铁器具有低锰、低硅的工艺特点,为生铁制钢。     

古代铁旗杆考

旗杆在中国历史悠久,最初多为竹、木、石制,宋元时期,金属旗杆得到广泛应用,清代铁制旗杆开始大量出现。据统计,现存古代铁旗杆49对,主要分布在陕西、河南、山西、甘肃等省。铁旗杆的铸造经历了三个阶段,初期规模较小、结构简单;中期高大雄伟、结构巧妙、工艺精良;晚期虽然也较精细,但规模已大不如前。铁旗杆的产生根源于我国的信仰文化,是清代铸造业发展的结果,同时也与清代商业的发达密切相关。     

山东青州博物馆馆藏西汉时期铁戟表面特征分析

2006年,山东省青州市香山西汉墓墓道西侧的陪葬坑内出土了大量彩绘陶俑、陶器、铁器和铜器。其中,铁戟呈卜字形,严重锈结、矿化。该批卜字形铁戟的形体较小,应属冥器;铜柲帽截面为不规则的五边形,形制有别于汉代考古文献中记载的圆形或椭圆形铁戟柲帽。部分器物上残留有朽木漆鞘痕,或有缠绕物麻绳遗痕,或有织物遗痕。以往在出土青铜器上有时会发现一些织物的印痕,而在铜铁复合器上,此现象则较为罕见。本文采用三维视频显徽镜和激光拉曼光谱对铁戟表面残留遗痕进行了观察和分析,判明了残存遗物的叠压关系及织物结构。铁戟表面从里至外依次为:包覆铁戟的丝织物、髹漆木鞘、木鞘外裹缠麻。     

The Use of Neutron Analysis Techniques for Detecting The Concentration And Distribution of Chloride Ions in Archaeological Iron

Chloride (Cl) ions diffuse into iron objects during burial and drive corrosion after excavation. Located under corrosion layers, Cl is inaccessible to many analytical techniques. Neutron analysis offers non‐destructive avenues for determining Cl content and distribution in objects. A pilot study used prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) and prompt gamma activation imaging (PGAI) to analyse the bulk concentration and longitudinal distribution of Cl in archaeological iron objects. This correlated with the object corrosion rate measured by oxygen consumption, and compared well with Cl measurement using a specific ion meter. High‐Cl areas were linked with visible damage to the corrosion layers and attack of the iron core. Neutron techniques have significant advantages in the analysis of archaeological metals, including penetration depth and low detection limits.     

Chronicles of vadose zone diagenesis: cone‐shaped iron oxide concretions,Triassic Trujillo Formation,Palo Duro Canyon,Texas

Unusual cone‐shaped iron oxide concretions occur in the Late Triassic, lower fluvial sandstone member of the Trujillo Formation at Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas panhandle. In situ concretions are significant because they record both historical information about past processes that occurred within the geologic unit and present‐day information about the ability of the unit to conduct fluids. The dominant orientation of the concretions is cone‐apex up, body radiating down and out, with long axis perpendicular to bedding. Concretion morphologies are associated with the sedimentary texture and primary bedding structure of the host rock and the corresponding hydrologic regime (i.e. advection versus dispersion for iron‐transport behavior). Three lithofacies in the lower Trujillo member exhibit different cone forms. Field observations of cone orientation and morphology suggest vadose conditions for diagenetic precipitation of iron oxide cements, with timing potentially represented by the major pre‐Miocene unconformity.     

Managing a Monitor — the Case of HMVS Cerberus in Port Phillip Bay: Integration of Corrosion Measurements with Site Management Strategies

Abstract

The hull of the former HMVS Cerberus (1926) collapsed two metres during gales in December 1993, leaving the vessel half-submerged. Sunk as a breakwater in 1926, the vessel is one of the few remaining and accessible twin-turret Monitor-style warships from the 1870s. This paper presents the complex history of attempts to stabilize the site and to preserve the wreck. A series of in situ corrosion studies of corrosion potentials, pH, and residual metal thickness have provided a special insight into the processes of decay and have paved the way for future site stabilization. Removal of the four 16-tonne 10 inch Armstrong rifled muzzle loading guns and their in situ treatment alongside the wreck have assisted in relieving some of the stress on the remaining structure. The paper reports on correlations between the corrosion rate and the formation of concretions and how to determine the end point of an in situ treatment for cannon.     

5,000 years old Egyptian iron beads made from hammered meteoritic iron

The earliest known iron artefacts are nine small beads securely dated to circa 3200 BC, from two burials in Gerzeh, northern Egypt. We show that these beads were made from meteoritic iron, and shaped by careful hammering the metal into thin sheets before rolling them into tubes. The study demonstrates the ability of neutron and X-ray methods to determine the nature of the material even after complete corrosion of the iron metal. The iron beads were strung into a necklace together with other exotic minerals such as lapis lazuli, gold and carnelian, revealing the status of meteoritic iron as a special material on a par with precious metal and gem stones. The results confirm that already in the fourth millennium BC metalworkers had mastered the smithing of meteoritic iron, an iron–nickel alloy much harder and more brittle than the more commonly worked copper. This is of wider significance as it demonstrates that metalworkers had already nearly two millennia of experience to hot-work meteoritic iron when iron smelting was introduced. This knowledge was essential for the development of iron smelting, which produced metal in a solid state process and hence depended on this ability in order to replace copper and bronze as the main utilitarian metals.