Archaeometallurgical Characterization of Two Lombard Early Medieval Bloomery Slags from Ponte di Val Gabbia I Site (Northern Italy)

Paolomarco Merico · Michela Faccoli · Daniele La Corte · Giovanna Cornacchia

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Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts Metallurgical Processes and Thermodynamics Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis

Abstract

An archaeometallurgical characterization of two iron smelting tap slags recovered from the early medieval site of Ponte di Val Gabbia I (Brescia, northern Italy) was performed. The main goal was to infer from the slags the working conditions of the ancient bloomery furnace in terms of temperature and oxygen chemical potential. The petrology of both slags was investigated by light optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, while their chemical compositions were measured via scanning electron microscopy coupled with X-ray dispersive spectroscopy. High-resolution Raman micro-spectrometry was used to confirm the identification of the mineralogical phases. The software Rhyolite-MELTS was used to compute the liquidus temperatures of the two slags, which were found to be 1120 °C and 1146 °C. These temperatures approximate the working temperature of the bloomery furnace. A thermodynamic-based approach was adopted to estimate the redox conditions of the reducing atmosphere of the smelting furnace, revealing that the two slags formed in different redox environments. Specifically, the resulting oxygen chemical potentials were −382.61 kJ/mol and −243.80 kJ/mol at the liquidus temperatures of 1120 °C and 1146 °C, respectively.

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References

2020Archaeometallurgy – Materials Science Aspects 2010Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of high-medieval lead–silver smelting slags from Wiesloch near Heidelberg (Germany)—an approach to process reconstruction 2016Experimental smelting of iron ores from Elba Island (Tuscany, Italy): Results and implications for the reconstruction of ancient metallurgical processes and iron provenance 2011Characterization of an iron smelting slag from Zimbabwe by Raman microscopy and electron beam analysis 2009Copper production at Baratti (Populonia, southern Tuscany) in the early Etruscan period (9th–8th centuries BC)2022By the hand of the smelter: tracing the impact of decision-making in bloomery iron smelting 2020Towards better reconstruction of smelting temperatures: Methodological review and the case of historical K-rich Cu-slags from the Old Copper Basin, Poland 2020Mineralogical Characterization of Slags from the Oiola Site (Biscay, Spain) to Assess the Development in Bloomery Iron Smelting Technology from the Roman Period to the Middle Ages

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