Alchemy for beginners: social concepts surrounding the artisanal-scale smelting of ochre obtained from mine water treatment

Abstract

Modern scientific chemistry has obscure roots in the dark discipline of alchemy, in which mysticism and practical scientific enquiry were long conflated. Alchemists attempted to configure practical metallurgical observations with philosophical and epistemological speculations into the nature of substances. The underlying tenet of the alchemist was the possibility that through understanding the nature of substances these substances could be changed: from a base to a noble state for instance. A similar change of 'nature' is arguably relevant to the issue of ochre re-use: we can address the problem of worthless materials despoiling the landscape after industrial activity by reconfiguring conceptions of their worth, for instance by taking ochre derived from mine water treatment and producing useable iron. To put our practical smelting of ochre into context, this paper traverses discourses on several themes, including branches of the social sciences together with history and 'crypto-history'. It investigates geographical perspectives in which the key issues are the interaction of local society with its environment, the interdependence of local and global societies, and (leading from these) the recognition of local cultural differences. A brief summary of the alternative histories of ironmaking is presented to highlight the tensions between 'history' and 'heritage'. Through the practical application of 'primitive' ironmaking techniques the concepts of both history and heritage are taken to task. People in societies have always been bound to their environment through extractive and industrial practices. We are interested in how these practices express a sense of place and some actions that can be taken to develop and communicate historical understanding derived from this. We articulate a series of research questions at the intersection of social and physical sciences which are of relevance to the adequate planning of future engagements of local communities in the remediation of forms of pollution which directly affect them.

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