The Prehistory of Metallurgy in the British

Comprehensively revised text of the author's 1962 Metallurgy in Archaeology, covering native metals, copper and copper-based alloys, tin, lead, silver, antimony and the fabrication of non-ferrous metals.

List of Figures

viii

Preface

xi

Introduction

xiii

The native metals

1

(9)

Gold

1

(4)

Composition of natural gold

2

(3)

Native copper

5

(2)

Native iron

7

(3)

Copper and copper alloys

10

(33)

The location of copper ores

11

(2)

The composition of copper ores and its significance

13

(3)

The introduction of smelting

16

(6)

Smelting, melting and refining techniques

22

(4)

The composition of copper-base artifacts

26

(14)

Copper and Early Bronze Age artifacts

26

(4)

Middle and Late Bronze Age artifacts

30

(1)

Classification by minor elements

30

(1)

Metallography of Copper and Bronze Age artifacts

31

(4)

Copper alloys of the Iron Age

35

(1)

The composition of copper alloys of the Roman period

35

(4)

The composition of medieval copper alloys

39

(1)

The corrosion of copper and copper-base alloys

40

(1)

Summary

40

(3)

The production and properties of tin and its alloys

43

(11)

Tin dressing

43

(1)

Tin smelting

44

(3)

Tin ingots

47

(1)

Tin and pewter artifacts

47

(2)

The corrosion of tin and tin alloys

49

(5)

Lead, silver and antimony

54

(27)

Methods of smelting

54

(4)

The recovery of silver from lead

58

(3)

The Roman lead industry

61

(9)

The later lead industries

70

(1)

Typical lead and silver finds

71

(6)

Corrosion products on lead and silver

77

(1)

Antimony

78

(3)

Fabrication

81

(43)

Casting

81

(16)

Stone moulds

84

(5)

Clay moulds

89

(3)

Bronze moulds

92

(1)

Later moulding materials

93

(4)

Crucibles

97

(5)

Crucible slags

100

(2)

Metal forming and plating processes

102

(11)

Beating and turning

106

(3)

Welding and soldering

109

(2)

Tinning, gilding and other plating processes

111

(1)

Techniques of decoration

112

(1)

Production and composition of coins

113

(11)

Coining dies

118

(1)

Die alignment

119

(5)

The coming of iron

124

(31)

Iron ores

124

(4)

Composition of iron ores

125

(3)

Principles of prehistoric and early iron smelting

128

(3)

The preparation of iron ore for smelting

131

(1)

Fuels

131

(1)

Iron smelting furnaces

132

(4)

The `bowl' furnace

133

(1)

The shaft furnace

133

(3)

Slag-pit furnaces

136

(1)

Examples of smelting furnaces and smithing hearths

136

(6)

Tuyeres

141

(1)

Iron and steel objects from the Early Iron Age

142

(13)

Blooms and the effect of carbon and phosphorus

144

(2)

Currency Bars

146

(1)

Chemical composition

147

(1)

Metallurgical structure

147

(2)

Early Iron Age swords

149

(1)

Other artifacts of the Early Iron Age

150

(5)

The Roman Iron Age

155

(24)

Roasting hearths

156

(1)

Smelting furnaces

156

(6)

The developed bowl furnace

159

(1)

Other iron-smelting furnaces

159

(3)

Smithing furnaces

162

(3)

Iron and steel products

165

(10)

Beams and anvils

165

(2)

Blooms and billets

167

(1)

The composition of Roman iron

168

(1)

Wrought iron products

169

(2)

Production and properties of swords

171

(1)

The properties of edge tools

172

(2)

The `steeling' of edge tools

174

(1)

The composition of slags and residues

175

(1)

Summary

176

(3)

Iron in the early medieval period

179

(23)

Ore-pit mining

179

(1)

Roasting

179

(1)

Smelting furnaces

179

(12)

Historical evidence for mining and smelting

188

(3)

Smithies and smithing hearths

191

(1)

Anglo-Saxon and early medieval artifacts

191

(8)

Blooms, billets and gads

191

(1)

Carburizing, nitriding and phosphiding

192

(1)

Swords

193

(2)

Scramasaxes

195

(1)

Spearheads

196

(1)

Arrowheads

196

(1)

Knives

197

(1)

Tools and constructional materials

197

(1)

Inlay and inlaying techniques

198

(1)

Slags

199

(1)

Summary

199

(3)

Water-powered bloomeries: the end of an era

202

(11)

Ore mining

204

(1)

Roasting

204

(1)

Excavated smelting and smithing sites

204

(6)

Historically recorded details of the bloomery process

209

(1)

Late bloomery iron and its composition

210

(1)

Composition of late bloomery slags

210

(1)

Conclusion

211

(2)

The charcoal blast furnace and the finery

213

(10)

The introduction of the blast furnace to Britain

213

(1)

Early British blast furnaces

214

(1)

Metal, ores and fluxes

215

(1)

The finery and the conversion forge

216

(5)

Summary

221

(2)

Fuels and their ashes

223

(5)

Wood

223

(1)

Dung and dung cakes

224

(1)

Peat

224

(1)

Charcoal

225

(1)

Coal and coke

225

(1)

Bone

226

(1)

Vitrified clay and stone

226

(2)

Appendixes

228

(17)

Table A

228

(1)

Table B

229

(1)

Table C

230

(2)

Note on analyses of prehistoric and medieval metals

232

(1)

Table D

233

(5)

Table of elements

238

(1)

Technical glossary

238

(3)

Journals consulted and abbreviations

241

(2)

Principal works consulted

243

(2)

Index

245

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The Prehistory of Metallurgy in the British Isles: 5

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials