Roman Iron Production

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

La question de la réparation des objets notamment métalliques dans les domaines de Gaule gallo-romaine est régulièrement reprise par les archéologues et les historiens parce qu’elle amène à s’interroger sur l’autosuffisance du domaine et sur la spécialisation des activités artisanales et agricoles. A travers trois angles d’approches complémentaires – les objets réparés, les équipements d’entretien et les forges de maintenance) – nous proposons de reprendre ce sujet pour montrer notamment la longue vie des objets métalliques maintes fois remis en état ainsi que la différence forte qu’il faut établir entre entretien et réparation ; le premier étant fait à froid et souvent sur le lieu de travail, le second à chaud en se fondant sur des infrastructures plus lourdes implantées ou itinérantes au cœur d’un marché large.

The watching brief revealed no evidence of any large scale bloomery within the excavated areas. It is likely that metal working evidence may be located closer to the river Esk and to the woods to the south; both areas were located just outside the monitored area. It was notable that there was no residual metal working waste found across the site. The stratigraphic matrix of the site was incredibly clean, no residual pottery or other domestic waste was observed within the silty sandy alluvial soils. To the south of the site was evidence of a paleochannel and a gravel deposit, both were situated in the exact locations determined during the 2007 geophysical survey. 

The earliest archaeological evidence on site was contained within a small, bloomery/burned post hole that revealed a backfill rich in burned oak charcoal and iron smelting tap slag.  The tap slag was dated to between 1322-1500. Another cobble filled pit was found within a similar archaeological level to the burned pit/post hole but contained no dating evidence. The tap slag is dated to the period contemporary with Danby Castle and it is likely there was a connection between both sites due to the absence of any other large institution.

A drainage system that had undergone two phases of improvement was observed traversing the site from east to west, as indicated on the 1853 Ordnance Survey Map. A 17th-18th century stone capped drain was later improved with additional 19th century parallel clay field pipes.  Further to this, at ground level, directly above the drainage system, a clay lined ditch had been dug to further accommodate the flow of water down from the moors towards the river Esk.  This drainage system is likely associated with Danby Lodge.

Chronology of the bloomery fields of the Iron Age is a very complex and interesting subject. Usually it can be established by radiocarbon analysis of the organic debris, mainly charcoal fragments, found at the bot­ tom of slag­pit furnaces or by dating archaeological material collected from the sites during excavations. Both methods however, based on very limited material, often provide only broad time frames for the occu­ pation of the sites. In Mazovian Centre of Metallurgy, where several large bloomery fields were located very close to or even within the Iron Age settlements, frequently a number of slag­pit furnaces were recorded in stratigraphic relations with other archaeological features. The chronology of those features could be estab­ lished more precisely by analysing their archaeological contents. The aim of this paper will be to discuss the chronological implications for the slag­pit furnaces found in such relations. The results of this assessment will be compared with se...

3 camps romains se sont succédé à Strebersdorf entre 10/20 et 50 après J.-C. Le camp I de troupes mixtes est le plus grand (145×150 m, 2,17 ha), tandis que le camp II d'auxiliaires est plus petit (105×150 m, 1,57 ha). Un 3 e camp encore plus petit (75×90 m, 0,67 ha) semble avoir fonctionné ensuite dans le courant du I er s. après J.-C. (Pl. 51). Tous se superposent et sont installés à l' est de la voie nord-sud dite de l'ambre qui relit Savaria/Szom-bathely à Scarabantia/Sopron. Des fourneaux en rapport avec le début de l' occupation des camps ont aussi été identiés directement à l' est et au sud de ces der-niers. En plus, entre la voie et les camps se développe entre la n du I er s. et le IV ème s. une agglomération de bord de route dans laquelle de petits fours ont aussi été identi és. Dans ces contextes, 1499 éléments métallurgiques 675 ont été découverts. Pratiquement uniquement asso-ciés à l' occupation des camps, ils sont essentiellement composés de déchets de réduction directe du minerai en bas fourneau (790 scories coulées pesant plus de 61 kg) et de petits fragments de fer pratiquement brut (523 gromps pesant plus de 15 kg). Or, ce métal est évidemment un matériau stratégique pour les armées romaines. La question de son travail à Strebersdorf et de son approvisionnement sous la forme de matière première ou d' objets nis est donc une question de premier ordre d'autant que les camps sont sur la route de l'ambre, sur une voie de communication majeure entre les mondes romain et barbare. La découverte de ce corpus métallurgique plutôt aty-pique dans ce contexte militaire pose par conséquent plusieurs questions que cette contribution vise à éclai-rer : quelles sont la ou les activités métallurgiques réali-sées dans les camps romains et quelle est leur ampleur ? Comment expliquer la présence d'autant de fer brut sur le site ? Ont-ils une liation avec la ou les activités métallurgiques exécutées in situ ? À partir des réponses apportées à ces questions sur la base d'une approche in-terdisciplinaire, nous proposerons une réfexion sur le rapport entre occupation militaire romaine limitrophe et production et commerce de l'acier.

Roman glassfindings from Hüttenberg in Carinthia (Austria), part 2.
In: Cech Brigitte, Die Produktion von Ferrum Noricum am Hüttenberger Erzberg. Die Ergebnisse der interdisziplinären Forschungen auf der Fundstelle Semlach/Eisner in den Jahren 2006–2009. Austria Antiqua 6, Wien 2017.

Chronology of the bloomery fields of the Iron Age is a very complex and interesting subject. Usually it can be established by radiocarbon analysis of the organic debris, mainly charcoal fragments, found at the bottom of slag-pit furnaces or by dating archaeological material collected from the sites during excavations.  In the Mazovian Centre of Metallurgy, where several large bloomery fields were located very close to the Iron Age settlements, frequently a number of slag-pit furnaces were recorded in stratigraphic relations with other archeological features. The chronology of those features could be established more precisely by analyzing their archaeological contents. The aim of this paper will be to discuss the chronological implications for the slag-pit furnaces found in such relations. Results of this assessment will be compared with series of radiocarbon measurements from the Mazovian Centre which haven’t been published so far.

 orwort des Herausgebers vorWort DeS reihenherauSgeBerS Die Reihe Austria Antiqua der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Archäologie (ÖGA) setzt sich schon im ersten Jahr ihres Bestehens mit einem zweiten Band fort, der die Ergebnisse der von Univ.-Doz. Dr. Brigitte Cech erfolgreich initiierten und durchgeführten Forschungen der Jahre 2003-2005 auf dem Hüttenberger Erzberg zum Inhalt hat. Während der Drucklegung dieses Bandes arbeitet das Team von Frau Cech nun schon im sechsten Jahr auf der Fundstelle Semlach/Eisner und darf sich über weitere, teils sensationelle Entdeckungen zu Technologie, Organisation und Soziologie des römischen Bergbaues und der Eisenverarbeitung freuen, die wohl ebenfalls in naher Zukunft monographisch publiziert werden dürften. Insbesondere die für die römische Vergangenheit Österreichs so wichtige Fragestellung nach dem Wesen des ferrum Noricum, dieser Stahl ähnlichen, von alpinen Kelten entwickelten Eisenproduktion, die den Ostalpenraum schon im 1. Jahrhundert v. Chr. zu einem für den Mittelmeerraum führenden High-Tech-Exportraum werden ließ, erhält durch die Forschungen auf dem Kärntner Erzberg bei Hüttenberg entscheidende Impulse.

Archaeological research on the production of ferrum Noricum – Noric steel – in Hüttenberg, Carinthia, Austria started in 2003. To date, six furnaces, ten smithing hearths, an ore roasting pit, the remains of a charcoal kiln, as well as beam slots and post holes of wooden buildings and stone foundations of houses were uncovered. According to the current state of research, iron smelting at the site started in the 1 st century BC and lasted until the beginning of the second half of the 4 th century AD. The presence of buildings on the site, as well as finds of pottery sherds, fragments of glass vessels and animal bones show that the workers and administrators lived on the site.

Between February and April 2014, an archaeological evaluation was undertaken at Summersales, Crowborough, East Sussex in advance of the creation of a burial site for Crowborough Town Council. Five evaluation trenches were placed to pick up specific areas, relating to the creation of a pond, an area of hard-standing and an area for contemplation as well as two targeted parts of the field proposed for burial plots. The southern sector of this field had already been evaluated by the Assistant County Archaeologist, Greg Chuter, in 2011 and had revealed a medieval field boundary with few artefacts recovered. It was suggested that the north part of this field may contain archaeology relating to iron working, as a small stream borders it to the north boundary, lying amongst a small parcel of woodland which lies beyond the boundary for the area of study.
Firm evidence was revealed of iron working activity in at least two areas, which includes iron smelting and smithing hearths. At least one area has been dated to the medieval period in the western field which consisted of spreads of slag material which contained medieval pottery sherds. This medieval pottery is extremely rare in this particular area of The Weald, with none known to the specialist who analysed these sherds which are dated to 13th to 14th/early 15th centuries. Activity in the central zone consisted of a small smithing hearth filled, in part, with hammerscale and two Late Iron Age pottery sherds. This area contained more spreads of slag material as well. The eastern field contained a single hearth feature of no definite date.
Following on from the evaluation excavation a full magnetometer survey was carried out which revealed the full extent of the industrial activity across the field. The western field contains at least two bloomery furnaces, the central zone has another 5 possible bloomery furnaces as well as other associated activity and the eastern field appears to have a solitary furnace positioned adjacent to the northern edge of the field alongside the stream. In addition there is a row of possible pit features which appear to demarcate the boundary of the central and eastern zones which effectively alienate the western field. Therefore there is a strong possibility that the central and eastern zones may represent one integrated working area suggesting a different phase of activity which may be unrelated to the medieval western zone.

Die Reihe Austria Antiqua der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Archäologie (ÖGA) setzt sich schon im ersten Jahr ihres Bestehens mit einem zweiten Band fort, der die Ergebnisse der von Univ.-Doz. Dr. Brigitte Cech erfolgreich initiierten und durchgeführten Forschungen der Jahre 2003-2005 auf dem Hüttenberger Erzberg zum Inhalt hat. Während der Drucklegung dieses Bandes arbeitet das Team von Frau Cech nun schon im sechsten Jahr auf der Fundstelle Semlach/Eisner und darf sich über weitere, teils sensationelle Entdeckungen zu Technologie, Organisation und Soziologie des römischen Bergbaues und der Eisenverarbeitung freuen, die wohl ebenfalls in naher Zukunft monographisch publiziert werden dürften. Insbesondere die für die römische Vergangenheit Österreichs so wichtige Fragestellung nach dem Wesen des ferrum Noricum, dieser Stahl ähnlichen, von alpinen Kelten entwickelten Eisenproduktion, die den Ostalpenraum schon im 1. Jahrhundert v. Chr. zu einem für den Mittelmeerraum führenden High-Tech-Exportraum werden ließ, erhält durch die Forschungen auf dem Kärntner Erzberg bei Hüttenberg entscheidende Impulse.