The multidisciplinary approach (archaeology and archaeometry) to bloomsmithing activities in France: examples of results from the last twenty years

Abstract

Over the last twenty years, archaeological and archaeometrical research implemented in France has made it possible to define the various stages of the chaîne opératoire in iron and steelmaking as well as the indicators that are linked to them (archaeological structures, wastes). These studies reveal that the chaîne opératoire may (or may not) split in space and time, but may also contain varying degrees of intensity (mini-maxi production). This implies that the production sites can be from different natures: they may include partial or complete chaîne opératoire, and are part of a social context (e.g., rural, urban, specialized, or domestic craft). The relationships within the chaîne opératoire create links between the sites and form a technological, economic, and social network through trade in semi-finished and manufactured products. The evolution of these networks must be studied by taking into account the cultural and political contexts of each period to draw up a coherent understanding of this organization. The determination of site activities (smelting, refining, elaboration, consumption, recycling), as well as intensity, allow a dynamic cartography of these activities, both synchronic and diachronic, to be realized. The physicochemical linkages between the ore, the smelting slag, the post-smelting slag, and the metal produced make possible an eventual understanding of the connection between sites that are part of the same exchange network. This in turn reflects the regional development of metallurgical organization and the trade in iron semi-products and manufactured goods. The typological attribution (morphology, level of impurities, iron/carbon composition, phosphorus contents, etc) of semi-products worked on the forging sites also makes it possible to refine the vision of what circulate and of what the sites acquire. Thus, an archaeological and historical study of these data can structure the relative image we have of these relations in the various periods.

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