COMITE POUR LA SIDERURGIE ANCIENNE de I'Union internationale des sciences prehistoriques et protohistoriques

W. U. Guyan, president R. PleineT, secrctaire

Siege du secretariat : In6titut d 'archeologie. 11801, Prague 1, Letenska 4

Communication 40 Edited by R. Plciner

OBITUARIES: It is with great regret that we report the deaths of two members of the Comite. Docent dr. lnga Sewing, one of the leading Swedish scholars in the field of archaeometallurgy of iron and head of the Archaeoroetallurgical Institute of the Uruversity of Stockholm, died a t the b eginning of the year. She was a pioneer not only of fieldwork connocted with iron-production sites, especially in Dalarna, but also of the adoption of a complex and interdisciplinary approach to the s tudy of many problems related to the earliest history of ironmaking.

694 Archeologicke rozh1cdy XXXIX, Praha 1987

On 3Ist March Dr. G. Vastagh died in Budapes t aged 88. He was a long-time proponent of the analytical examination of materials from iron-smelting sites in Hungary; he cooperated intensively with many nrchaeometallurgists and archaeologist s.

Both scholars p articipated actively in the work of the Comit6 and a ttended many special conferences and symposia.

SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY

Reconnaissances:

INVESTIGATIONS INTO ROMANO-BARBARlAN IRON SMELTING BETWEEN ELBE AND ODER RIVE RS. Mler some remarks on iron production in the northern part of the German Democratic R epublic, reported in previous works by R. Pleiner, Th. Voigt, and F.-J. Ernst , and further reconnaissanccs and digs, the following is an outline of thc present situation.

Fieldwork in Mecklenburg (Districts of Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg), Brandenburg (Potsdam, Frankfurt/Oder, Cottbus), the Altmark, and parts ofSachsen-Anhalt, and in the Berlin area, has revealed 848 slag sites, most of which (apart from undated localities) belong chronologiw cally to the Romano-Barbarian period. The slags, often in the characteristic block form, originated principally in slag-pit furnaces, the geographical distribution of which is to be extended and com­pleted .

Certain iron-smelting areas can be distinguished. A shift in settlement, along with related iron production, can be observed from the north (Mecklenburg) to the south (Berlin, Niederlausitz, Cottbus) in the la te 2nd and in the 3rd centuries AD. During the Ist and 2nd centuries there must have been very extensive iron production in SW Mecklenburg (around H agenow and Greifs­wald, wi lh the Ziese and Peene river valleys) and in the central area of that province (Teterow). Iron was smelted in the E lbe-Havel and Elbe-Schwarza-Elster river areas during the entire Roma­no-Barbarian period; in E Brandenburg and Lower Lusatia (Niederlausitz) the local industry developed on a larger scale in the 2nd century AD.

Only a few excavations have been carried out on bloomery sites. In Mecklenburg (Barkow, Kr. Altentreptow) a sunken-Boored bloomery of the Bohemian Tuklaty type was discovered. A group of unpublished bloomery furnaces with slag-pits come from Wackerow (Kr. Greifswald~ Mccklenburg). A larger site at Lussow (Kr. Ludwigslust, Meckl.) produced a group of 13 unorga­nized slag-pit furnaces; other furnaces havc been reported from Lower Lusatia (Zelz-Bahren, Kr. Forst, and Merzdorf, Kr. Hoyerswerda).

Iron production started in the E lhe-Oder area in the 1st century AD. The end of the in­dustry ill the 4th and in the early 5th centuries AD was connected with the wholesale abandon­ments of the Migration Period. A. Leube, Berlin

E%Cavatioru:

PREHISTORIC IRON SMELTING AT VEEKY SLAVKOV, NORTH SLOVAKIA_ During 1980/82 and in 1985 au excavation took place at the foot of the High Tatra mountain range in a place known as Pod Burichom, NE of Velky Slavkov. The work was carried out jointly by the Prehistori c Seminar of the University at Bratislava and the Tatra Museum at Poprad. The site was close to a hillfort of the Puchov Culture. The dig centred on a low dump (15 X 20 m) on the bank of the Cerveny stream, which produced a 15- 30 cm thick layer of bloomery slag, occurring as lumps or crushed fragments, accompanied by charcoal remains, pieces of wrought iron, and particles of hematite ore. Some undecora ted sherds indicate the Puchov Cul ture. the chronological sprcad of which is the Late La Tene and Romano-Barbarian periods. No furnaces were found in silu; the bloomery site seems to have been intentionally destroyed after industrial activity ceased, possiblY"for ritunl rcasons (a similar situation appears further in the West, in the contemporary Varin site. noted by R.P.) . Some of the slag blocks indicate an internal furnace diameter of 50-60 cms; they must have been free-standing and not of the slag-pit type. At the SW edge of the slag heap irregularly situated holes or pits (10- 15 cms in diameter) were observed, r ed-burnt and filled with pebbles . There were until recently dam systems still visible on the bank

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of the stream~ which were probably connected with ironmaking, although they may originate from the post-medieval period (furnace remains reported within about 400 m).

B. Novotnj, Brati~lava

ROMAN AND AVAR IRON WORKING AND MAKING IN HUNGARY. In course of the rescue excavations of a Roman villa at Petohtiza a smithy was excavated! lying outside a stone building complex, ca 20-30 m from it. A hearth with a stone protecting tnyere panel was discov­ered. Various features and buildings of the villa produced numerous iron objects, among which blacksmith's tools deserve special mention (a part of tongs, hammers, a forged bloom). The smithlng slag waste was principally fayalitic. The excavations were directed by J. GOmori and Mrs G. Gabrieli (Liszt Ferenc Museum at Sopron).

On the southern shore of Lake Balaton, at Zamardi, an Avar period iron smelting furnace and roasting pits were excavated by J. Gomori. The furnace was set into the wall of a working pit which contained many coarse clay twin tuyeres. The situation at Zamiirdi is comparable with that at Tarjanpuszta. investigated previo~sly. It represents the first find to date of an iron-smelt­ing installation south of Balaton. J. GOm<iri. Sopron

Metal/ography:

ROMAN SWORDS FROM ILLERUP INVESTIGATED. A large number of Roman weapons was found outside the Roman Empire in the Illerup Moor in Jutland, Denmark. They date from around AD 200-400. Six swords and three spearheads have been examined metallographically and by wet chemical analysis. Sword 1CLM possessed a hard steel welded-on steel shell (0.8% C); 1BPK has pattern.weldcd st eel cutting-edges, welded to a central low-carbon piece (0.2 % C); 1ADU consists of a pattern-welded steel core (0.3% C and 0.164% P) with welded·on medium steel cutting-edges (0.4 % C); the low·carbon steel core of lAZK, which is much corroded, is covered by pattern.welded bands, the cutting edges containing 0.9% C. Sword 1CLK was manu­factured in a similar way to 1AZK (0.4% C in its edges). Sword lBDT is a particularly splendid example: on one side there is a so-called "palmette-pattern", and the other side, as well as the cutting edges, were forged from hard steel (P, 8% C). so that the surface was sui table to receive inlays of "mosaic work" made up of small bars of pattern+welded steel.

Thc three spearheads were most probably Scandinavian in origin. They are all made of a low+quality iron containing a large amount of non-metallic inclusions. The phosphorus content i. high: 0.280-0.600%. One of the weapons was inlaid with a gold alloy spot (57 % Au, 38 % Ag, 5 % Cu). R. Thorns.", Yard.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1980. 1983 (Supplemenl8 B: Metallurgy of iron as mentioned in unspecialized items)

H.-G. STEFFENS: Archaologische Denkmale und Funde im Landkreis Oldenhurg [In German: Archaeological monuments and finds in the Oldenburg district]. Hildesheim 1980. A group of slag-pit furnace hearths (50 units) at the Staatsforst Stiibbe near Dotlinge (NW Germany) is described. Twenty charcoal-burning pits were observed (Romano.Barbarian period).

W. MENGHIN: Da. Schwert im friihen Mittelalter [In German: The sword in the early Middle Ages]. Stuttgart 1983. This detailed archaeological study contains on pp. 17-18 (fig. 3) comments on three main types of pattern.welded blades used in Frankish spathas (5th-7th centuries AD): Volldamast, Schichtendamast. and Fournierdamast.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1985

A. Specialized items

M. BIBORSKI - P. KACZANOWSKI - Z. KF,;DZIERSKI . J. STF,;PINSKI: Ergebnisse der metallographischen Untersuchungen von romischen Sehwertern aus dem Vindonissa·Museum

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Brugg und aus dem Romermuseum Augst [In German: Results of metallurgical investigations of Roman swords in the Vindonissa Museum Brugg and the Romermuseum Augst, Switzerland). Gesellschaft Pro Vindonissa. Jahresbericht 1985, 45-80. The gladius from Vindonissa is a perfect blade with a hard steel shell , whilst that from Augst was manufacturcd using a " sandwichu

technique, having a hard steel core in the centre. Both were heat-treated (tempered and quench­ed). Another sword from Angst was made of wrought iron alone.

M. N. GESELOWITZ: Metallographic analysis of a spear from the Mecklenburg Collection. Arheoloski vestnik 36, 1985, 131-135. Metallography of an Early La Tene iron spear-head from the tumulus IV at Magdalenska Gora, Yugoslavia. The weapon was forged from purely ferritic wrought iron.

P. KACZANOWSKI (see M. B;borski, above).

Z. IQIDZIERSKI (;b;dem).

L. S. KHOMUTOVA (see N. N. Terekhova, below).

H. LAUMANN: Ein spatlatenezeitlicher Schmiedeplatz von Neunkirchen-Zeppenfeld. Kreig Siegen-Wittgenstein [In German: A Late La Tenc smithy from Neunkirchen-Zeppenfeld). Aus­grabungcn und Fundc in Westfalen-Lippc 3, 1985, 49-57. Traces of a smithy dated to the LDs period were uncovered, including a stone anvil, smithing slags, and stone-settings. A chisel and a fire-spoon came from the nearby dwelling area (fig. 18).

J. STIlPINSKI see M. B;borsk; (above, p. 696).

M. N. TEREKHOVA (Mrs) - L. S. KHOMUTOVA (Mrs): Tekbnologkheskoye ;ssledovanie zheleznykh izdeliy iz antichnych pamyatnikov bliz Novorossiyskn [In Russian: Technological examination of iron objects from ancient mC!numents in the neighbourhood of Novorossiysk). Kratkiye soobcheniya 182, 1985; 28-33. Twenty iron artefacts from the sites of Cemdolina and Shirokaya balka (5th-2nd centuries BC) were analysed. Carburized cutting·edges and all-steel artefacts as well as wrought iron objects are reported.

B. MetalluTgy of iTon as mentioned in otheT publications (1985)

P. DONAT (see Die Slawen, below).

DREVNYAYA RUS' - GOROD, ZAMOK, SELO [In Russian: The early Russia - town, castle, village]. MosJ...'Va 1985. The chapter on Crafts written by B. A. KolCin (pp. 243-297) includes a section on the metal smelting and working in the early MiddJ~' Ages. This summarizes the results obtained during the post-war period in the field of the early metallurgy ofiroo and blacksmithing: bloomery sites, blooms. blacksmiths' tools, and techniques.

B. A. KOLCIN (see Drevnyaya Rus', above).

DIE SLA WEN IN DEUTSCHLAND. Geschichte der slawischen Stiimme westlich von Oder und Neisse vom 6. bis 12. Jh. (J. Herrmann ed.). [In German: The Slavs in Germany]. Berlin 1985. Chapter 7a (pp. 103--108). devoted to iron production among the western Slavs on the territory of Germany, contains summary reports on some important finds connected with smithing (Menz. lin . Tornow), including blacksmith's tongs from Gross Raden (fig. 34: e), and the beginning of locksmiths' work in the 9th-10th centuries AD. Remarkable progress in iron produetion from the 11th century onwards is recorded. The author of the chapter is P. Dona£ .

Z. VINSKI: Marginalia uz izbor karolino1ikog oruzja u jugoistocnoj Evropi. Summary: Marginalia zur Auswahl von karolingischen Warren in Sudosteuropa [Notcs on Caroiingian weapons in south· -eastern Europe]. In: St~ohrvatska prosvjeta III ser., vol. 15. Split 1985, 61-117. Types of Carolingian iron sword ahd lance head from SE Europe are discussed. They include pattern-welded blades, as at Nin-Zdrijac (grave 322, 9th century AD). Biskupija-Crkvina, and possibly the example from the Drava river near Lagrad. Analogies are drawn with pattern· welded sword blades from Antum and from the Maas (a river find near Aalbnrg).

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BIDLIOGRAPHY 1986 (as in June 1987)

J. R. L. ALLEN sec Historical Metallurgy (below p. 699).

A. BARTOSKOvA (Mn): Slovansk~ depoty zeleznych pfedmetu v Ceskoslovensku. Summary: Slawische Hortfunde von Eisengegenstiinden in der Tschechoslowa~ei [Slav iron hoards on the territory of Czechoslovakia] Series Studie Archeo!. ustavu CSAV~ vol. XIII/2. Praha 1986? 127 pp., 27 figures. An archaeological study dealing with early medi~val iron hoards from Czecho­slovakia, consisting mostly of agricultural implements and craftsmen' tools, some of which also contain axe-shaped iron bars. Some hoards are recorded which are solely composed of such bars, occurring principally in hillforis and fortified sites. Chronologically, the hoards come from the pre-Great Moravian and Moravian periods (the latter being the 9th century AD). The reasons for their being deposited are discussed, which apparently differ in individual cases.

K. BIELENIN: Stan i potrzeby badaii nad swi~tokrzyslcim okr~giem starozytnego hutnictwa zelaza [In Polish: Contemporary needs of investigations into the Holy-Crass-Mountains iron producing area in Poland]. In: Stan i potrzeby badan nad mJodszym okresem przedrzymskim i okresem wplyw6w rzymskich w Polsce. Krak6w 1986, 121- 146. This summary of the research results from excavations in this enormous Romano-Barbarian iron-smelting area indicates that the key to an understanding of the economic aspects of the industry lies in a correct interpretation of the so-called unorganized bloomery sites in relation to the organized sites, which show a system­atic layout of the furnace remains. To some extent the two types are contemporary. Up to 1984 4307 bloomery sites, a ll equipped with slag-pit furnaces had been recorded. Further reconnaissance is still necessary in the northern periphery of the region.

S. BLOMGREN . E. THOLANDER, InlIuence of the Ore Smelting Course on the Slag Micro· structures at Early horunaking, usable as Identification Basis for the Furnace Process Employed. Scandinavian Journal of Metallurgy IS, 1986, 151-160. This is a very important study of the fundamental principle of the bloomery process. The question of the possibility of smelting cast iron in bloomery furnaces is considered, based on several special trials. The paper also discusses the types of solid iron particles occurring in early slags and the role of the low (aod wide) shaft by comparison with that of a tall furnace shaft.

S. BLOMGREN see Historical Metallurgy (below p. 699).

B. BRONSON: The Making and Selling of Wootz. a Crucible Steel of India. Archaeomaterials 1, 1986, (pennsylvania) 13-51. The author brings together all the available written sources from antiquity connected with the exislitbce of crucible steel known as wootz, as well as Arabic records of the 8th-;-13th centuries Ap. which indicate that this type of steel was not always considered to be the best. He also discusses numerous descriptions of the wootz steel making from the 17th century onwards by Europeans (about 20 references). Wootz appeared early in the 1st millennium AD, hut the legends attached to it date from the modern period. In his view. wootz steel is not an isolated phenomenon, since it was produced in several areas, from Sri Lanka up to Hyderahad. using different procedures.

R. M. EHRENREICH: Blacksmithing technology in Iron Age Wessex. Oxford Journal of Archae­ology 5/2,1986,165-184. A summary of the metallographical examination of 503 iron artefacts dating from 550-100/50 BC. Different techniques are mentioned and phosphorus contents are discussed. Individual analyses are not reported which means that the rich analytical database cannot be used for further studies.

E. HENNIG : MetallkWldliche Untersuchungen zur Schmiedetechnik .. eiserner" Werkzeuge aus der lati'mezeitlichen Siedluog Widderstatt. [In German: Metallographical investigations into the smithing technology of iron implements from the La Tene period se ttlement at Widderstatt, Central Germany]. Alt-Thtiringen 21,1986,164-208. The investigation was into 31 iron and steel artefacts from an open settlement, dating from the Late Hallstatt to Late La Tene periods, in~ eluding principally knives, and also hammers, plough-shares, scythes, axes etc. About 68 % of implements investigat ed were made of wrought iron or mild (unhardenable) steel; 10% were

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all-steel artefacts, and 19% iron-to-steel welded objects. A single tool (a knife) was carburized on its edge. Quenching was used regularly for very low-carbon steels as well as wrought iron_ Comparisons are made with relevant implement assemblages from oppida in the vicinity (Steins­burg), in Czechoslovakia, and in Austria (Magdalensberg).

HISTORICAL METALLURGY 20/2, 1986. The metallurgy of iron in early times is covered in the following papers: E. Tholander - S. Blomgren: Some aspects of the origin of the blast furnace. 79-86. A contribution to the understanding of the bloomery process: the opinion is expressed that conditions were created in the combustion zone of any bloomery furnace which made the production of cast iron possible. The discontinuity of the bloomery process caused h eavily oxi­dizing conditions in the final stage. so that partly or entirely decarburized solid iron was produced. J. E. Rehder: Primitive furnaces and the development of metallurgy, 87-92: the author indepen­dently corroborates some of the ideas expressed in the previous paper: all primitive low furnaces were essentially capable of developing high temperatures in their combustion zones and so, theo­retically, cast-iron production could have been possible in very early periods. J. R. L. Alien: Interpretation of some Romano-British smithing slag from Awre in Gloucestershire, 97-104. Typologically treated slag drops, containing magnetite particles, and therefore magnetic, which were separated by hammering when the bloom was firstly forged after the breaking out from the furnace.

K. }(AUS: Ein mittelalterlicher Friscbherd aus Lutzmannsburg, Bezirk Oberpullendorf, BurgeD­land [In German: A medieval reheating hearth from Lutzmannsburg]. Leobener grune Refte N. F. 6, Wien 1986, 39-42. A rescue excavation revealed traces of a working pit, into the northern wall of which a furnace was set with a clay front wall and a manipulation gate. The dimensions . and the form are typical of early medieval smelting furnaces of the Slav type; nevertheless, on the basis of the light slagging, poor in iron, the author prefers to interpret this as a reheating installation. The pit floor revealed traces of another furnace, destroyed in course of rebuilding the workshop (11th- 13th centuries AD).

M. 1tIANGIN - J. SCHERRER: Mines et metallurgie du fer dans le Morvan du Nord et les Bas­·Auxois. se rappol't de prospection 1986 et bilan general des recherches 1982-1986. Dijon-Semm en Auxois 1986, 98 pp., 8 figs., 16 maps. Within programme H 27 328 sites were examined, 222 of which are connected with iron ore mining and metallurgy. The most important site found to date i! the Gano-Roman bloomery work at Thoste (Comme Philippe), containing the remains of three furnace groups/smelting areas.

E. MIHOK: Rozbory nalezov vyroby zeleza z doby rimskej a ranneho stredoveku v oblasti Pl'eSo­va. Summary: Analyses of bloomery slags of the Romano·Bnrbarian and Early Medieval Periods in the PreSov district, Eastern Slovakia. Archeologicke rozhledy 38, 1986, 515-522. In this study of the mineralogical and chemical composition of Late Romano-Barbarian slags from PreSov, and those of the Slav p eriod from Nemcovce, the latter are distinguished by the sporadic occurrence of wustite, which is interpreted as evidence of more advanced smelting technology, using, possibly, rather lean ores.

As an appendix: R. Pleiner: Komentar k vyzkumu zeleznych strusek z archeologickych nl­lezu (Comments OD investigation of bloomery slags, reported in the paper by E. Mihok): this introduces some historical corrections and discussion concerning the problems of {ayalite-rich .lag. , pp. 522-523.

R. PLEINER, see I!. Mihok (above).

J. E. REHDER, see Historical Metallurgy (above).

J. SCHERRER, see M.'Mangin (above).

M. SONNECKEN: Dic'mittelalterliche-friihneuzeitliche Eisenerzeugung im Miirkischen Sauerland [In German: Medieval and Early New Age ironmaking in the Sauerland, W Germany]. Westta· lische Geographische Studien 1986, 261- 268. This paper reports new bloomery works discovered after the publication of the monograph (1971), recently reviewed and discussed here. As to the

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UMassenhutten", that from the Haus Rhade (15th century) would have been capable of producing either cast of wrought iron to order, whilst the slags from Meinerzhagen (Wipper river basin) indicate that only cast iron was being produced.

E. STRAUME: Smeden i j ernalderen, bofast - ikke bofnst, hoy eller laY sta tus [In Norwegian: The smith in the Iron Age, itinerant or not itinerant, high or low status]. Universitetes Oldsak­samling Arbok 1984/1985, Oslo 1986,45- 58. A discussion of finds of'blaeksmith's tools in Norway goes on to discuss the social status of the craftsmen. They seem not to h ave been itinerant, but to have belonged to the communities in which they worked.

N. N. TEREKHOVA ~1rs): Technologiya izgotovleniya zheleznykh izdeliy iz mogil'nikn Sultan­-Gora III [In Russian: Manufacturing technology applied on iron artefacts from the cemetery of Sultan Gara Ill]. Kratkiye soobcheniya 186, 1986, 21-25. A cemetery near Kislovodsk (N Caucasus, 6th century BC) produced a short sword of the akinakes type (carburized butting­-edge) and a battle axe with a welded-in core plate. The knife was welded together from two s teel bands and completely marquenched .

E. THOLANDER ,ee S. Blomgren (above p. 698).

B. Metallurgy of iron al mentioned in other publications

L . JANSOVA (Mrs): H razany - Das keltische Oppidum in Bohmen I: Die Befestigung und die anliegende Siedlungsbebauung [In German: Hrazany - a Celtic oppidum in Bohemia I - forti­fication and adjacent settlement complexes]. Several locations close to the fortifications of 11 Central Bohemian oppidum (Late La Tenc period) produced accumulations of typical smithing slag cakes, especially at gates A and B (pp. 47, 79). In addition, a tuyere block, apparently from a soothing hearth, was found (fig. 6& : 6).

R. A. l\1AIER: Eisenaxte vom altslawisch-grossmahrischen Typ aus dem Inn bei Toging im :Museum Alt-Otling (Oberbayern) [In German: Iron axes of early Slav and Great Moravian types from the Inn river found a t Toging, and now in the Altotting Museum, Lower Bavaria]. Germania 64/1, 1986, 180- 183. Very long, thin iron axe-heads, resembling the Slav axe-shaped iron bars.

J. SIEGELOVA (1\1rs): Hethitische Verwaltungspraxis im Lichte der Wirtschafts- und Inventar­dokumente (3 vol.) . [In German: Hittite administrative practices in the light of economic and inventory documents]. Na tional Museum Prague 1986. Several important references to iron or meteoritic iron in tributes, inveniories, transportation documents, and receipts occur in the collection of cuneiform texts studied, ineluding iron bars as well as other types of iron artefact.

R. M. SWOBODA (l\Irs): Die spiitroOlische Befestigung Sponeck am Kaiserstuhl [In German: The late Roman fortification at Sponeek near Kaiserstuhl, SW Germany]. Miinchen 1986. Iron­-working tools from 4th century AD layers (a hammer, 6.1es, field anvils, cf. pI. 9 and 10).

Acknowledgement: The editor wishes to express his thanks to all who have sent reports and papers or books for review, especially to Professor R. F. Tylecote, London, for permission to use abstracts prepared for Historical Metallurgy (HM) for completing some inaccessible items. Dr. H . Cleere, London, kindly read the manuscript of the present issue.