Exploring ironmaking practices at Meroe, Sudan—a comparative analysis of archaeological and experimental data
| Autor: | Michael F. Charlton, Jane Humphris |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Humphris, Jane [0000-0001-6963-2143], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
010506 paleontology
Archeology Engineering Resource (biology) 060102 archaeology business.industry Slag Excavation 06 humanities and the arts 01 natural sciences Archaeology 4301 Archaeology Anthropology visual_art Smelting visual_art.visual_art_medium 0601 history and archaeology Iron production business 4303 Historical Studies 43 History Heritage and Archaeology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| DOI: | 10.17863/cam.40825 |
| Popis: | Recent excavations of a Late to Post-Meroitic furnace workshop at Meroe, Sudan prompted questions concerning the use of some of its unusual design features and the nature of ironmaking practice. To begin addressing these questions, four iron smelting experiments were conducted in a purpose-built workshop modelled from the archaeological remains. Some of the goals of the campaign included identification and testing of potential ore and technical ceramic resources as well as the production of slag with characteristics that mirrored those of the archaeological deposits. The primary objective, however, was the further development of a model for Late to Post-Meroitic direct process iron production. Comparison of the microstructural and chemical characteristics of the archaeological and experimental ironmaking residues leads to a rejection of hypothesised ore sources adjacent to Meroe, support for hypothesised technical ceramic resource locations and a failure to replicate Late–Post-Meroitic smelting slag. However, the comparison also makes a strong contribution to the developing model of smelting practice at Meroe by emphasising the need to create more consistent redox conditions within the furnace, greater standardisation in preparing technical ceramics and the use of relatively lean ores (≈ 60 wt.% Fe). |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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