Regional Variations in Bloomery Smelting Slag of the Iron Age and Romano‐british Periods*

Paynter, Sarah

doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2006.00256.x

Cited by 60 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Ca-rich minerals, such as augite, hedenbergite and monticellite, formed due to the enhanced Ca content in the melt, which could have originated from several sources such as ore, ash, furnace lining or an addition of lime fluxes 13 . The use of sideritic ore for the iron production was proved by the preserved carbonate structures in sample I (Figure 3d).…”

Section: Mineral Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The siderite ore known from the vicinity of the archaeological site, i.e., Savske jame, Jesenice, occurring as veins between dolomite and limestone 14 could have eventually contributed to the higher lime levels. Concerning the furnace or smith's hearth linings, a lime-rich furnace lining might have resulted in the formation of lime-rich slag even if the smelted ore contained little lime 13 . A high quantity of pores is characteristic for the samples within the group.…”

Section: Mineral Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of roman slag from the archaeological site near Mošnje (Slovenia)

Kramar¹,

Lux²,

Pristacz³

2015

Mater. Tehnol.

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Roman slag from the archaeological site near Mo{nje (NW Slovenia) was studied with respect to its mineralogical and geochemical characteristics. Samples were analysed with light microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS) and Raman microspectroscopy. A chemical investigation was carried out using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-ES) to determine the major elements. The investigated slags are recognized as iron slags, grouped into two main classes according to their chemical and mineralogical compositions. The first group is characterized by high Fe2O3 and low SiO2 contents and the second by high CaO and SiO2 and low Fe2O3 contents. The phase occurrence obviously depends on the chemical composition as the first group mainly consists of fayalite, wüstite and magnetite, and the second one of augite, leucite, hedenbergite, monticellite and kirschsteinite. Keywords: slag, archaeometallurgy, iron slag, Roman slag, archaeological site near Mo{nje (Slovenia) V prispevku je obravnavana rimska`lindra z arheolo{kega najdi{~a Mo{nje (SZ Slovenija), pri kateri smo dolo~ili mineralno in kemijsko sestavo. Vzorci so bili analizirani s svetlobno mikroskopijo, rentgensko pra{kovno difrakcijo, SEM-EDS in ramansko mikrospektroskopijo. Kemijska sestava glavnih elementov je bila dolo~ena z ICP-ES. Preiskana`lindra dokazuje, da izvira iz pridelave`eleza na tem podro~ju. Glede na mineralo{ko in kemijsko sestavo lahko delimo`lindro na dve skupini. Za prvo skupino je zna~ilna visoka vsebnost Fe2O3 in nizka vsebnost SiO2, za drugo pa visoki vsebnosti SiO2 in CaO ter nizka vsebnost Fe2O3. Kemijska sestava vpliva na mineralne faze; tako je za prvo skupino zna~ilen fajalit, wustit in magnetit, za drugo pa avgit, levcit, hedenbergit, monticelit in kirschsteinit.

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Section: Mineral Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mineral Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of roman slag from the archaeological site near Mošnje (Slovenia)

Kramar¹,

Lux²,

Pristacz³

2015

Mater. Tehnol.

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“…Major and trace elements were converted to oxides by stoichiometry, and the results normalised to 100%. In order to check the accuracy of the results, three standard reference materials were analysed alongside each type of sample (BCS 301, ECRM 681, and Swedish Slag (Kresten and Hjärthener-Holdar 2001;Paynter 2006) for slag and ore samples (cf. Table 2); SARM 69, NIST 76a and ECRM 776 for ceramic samples).…”

Section: Bulk Chemical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The exploitation of manganese-rich ‘ore’ to smelt iron in Mwenge, western Uganda, from the mid second millennium AD

Iles

2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Perhaps the high manganese contents of the local ores hold the key to their production of superior iron; slag inclusions in iron objects may indicate the geographic extent of how far this iron was traded (cf. Paynter 2006;Blakelock et al 2009). …”

Section: The Addition Of Manganese As a Separate Fluxing Agentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Childs 1991;Killick 1991;Schmidt 2001;Veldhuijzen 2005;Paynter 2006;Rehren et al 2007;Iles and Martinón-Torres 2009;Humphris 2010 and many others). Yet research that has taken up the challenge to explain this variation has been limited:…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing the iron production technologies of western Uganda: reconciling archaeometallurgical and ethnoarchaeological approaches

Iles

2012

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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The local production of iron was an important technology in eastern Africa up until the later twentieth century, when the use and reuse of imported iron overtook vernacular smelting industries and cemented their decline. Prior to this, the utilisation of local ores had produced iron for agricultural implements, household tools and weapons, serving the needs of many generations of farmers and herders across the region.The smelters of western Uganda enjoyed a particularly esteemed reputation in recent history, especially among their neighbours in Buganda, yet prior to this research little was known about the technologies upon which this reputation was fostered. This thesis presents the results of six months of fieldwork in Uganda and subsequent archaeometallurgical analysis, which together revealed the complexities of smelting in western Uganda between the fourteenth and twentieth centuries.Exploring this new archaeometallurgical dataset has indicated that some iron producers in Mwenge (a particularly iron-rich region of western Uganda) were selecting manganese-rich ores with which to supplement the iron ores in the smelt, imparting a tangible effect on the process and outcomes of these smelting episodes, hypothetically increasing the metal yield and improving operating parameters.Although such harnessing of beneficial manganese-rich minerals was an unexpected and unusual finding, technological reconstructions of these smelts highlighted several other interesting features, including the consistent use of grog temper in technical ceramics, the occasional use of banana pseudostems, and variations in furnace style.Combining these discoveries with existing ethnoarchaeological and ethnohistorical data, and building upon social approaches to iron technologies, it was possible to explore some of the possible reasons for this variation, adding colour and time-depth to the understanding of iron production within this region.4

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Regional Variations in Bloomery Smelting Slag of the Iron Age and Romano‐british Periods*

Cited by 60 publications

References 10 publications

Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of roman slag from the archaeological site near Mošnje (Slovenia)

Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of roman slag from the archaeological site near Mošnje (Slovenia)

The exploitation of manganese-rich ‘ore’ to smelt iron in Mwenge, western Uganda, from the mid second millennium AD

Reconstructing the iron production technologies of western Uganda: reconciling archaeometallurgical and ethnoarchaeological approaches

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