engleski

Bloomery works – organisation of an early medieval iron production process

Selected areas of the lowland Drava River Basin in Podravina region (NE Croatia) were subjected to an extensive archaeological survey in order to define locations with possible iron production remains. This was done as part of the activities within the project TransFER: “Iron production along the Drava River in the Roman period and the Middle Ages: Creation and transfer of knowledge, technologies and goods“(IP-06-2016-5047) funded by the Croatian Science Foundation. Based on the results of the archaeological survey, several locations were subjected to geophysical prospection and subsequently excavated. At the Hlebine – Velike Hlebine site an iron smelting workshop with several slag – tapping bloomery furnaces as well as other structures was excavated. The scope of the workshop was assumed through geophysical prospection and confirmed during two excavation campaigns. The workshop is located on a slightly elevated ridge, while the nearest contemporary settlement, Hlebine – Dedanovice site, is situated several hundred meters to the northeast. Within the settlement grounds, two furnaces were unearthed. Preserved bases of these furnaces indicate somewhat different form of construction and spatial arrangement than the furnaces excavated within the smelting workshop. Iron slag preserved within furnaces at the Hlebine – Dedanovice site is relatively scarce as well as fractured and shows different surface morphology than the iron slag from furnaces excavated at Hlebine – Velike Hlebine site. Considering these preliminary results, several questions will be addressed ; do these finds reflect different stages of iron production or different technological solutions for bloomery iron smelting and what can we conclude about the organisation of bloomery iron production process during Early Middle Ages (Early to Mid- 7th. century) in the area of Podravina region.

bloomery iron production ; early medieval period ; bloomery workshop organisation ; archaeometallurgy of iron

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