From the bloomery furnace to the blast furnace: The iron working complex of Valle delle Forme at Bienno, Brescia, northern Italy (mid 13th to mid 15th century)

Costanza Cucini · Maria Riccardi · Marco Tizzoni

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Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts Metallurgical Processes and Thermodynamics Iron and Steelmaking Processes

Abstract

The Lombard Iron District lies in the Alpine valleys of the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia in northern Italy. Its iron ore is high in manganese, low in sulphur and without phosphorus. This area played a key role in the development of the Alpine/Lombard blast furnace. Valcamonica, in the province of Brescia, is part of this district. Some years ago, four iron smelting and forging sites were excavated in this valley in the territory of the village of Bienno. One site belonging to the late medieval times was explored where there was a blast furnace with its forge and its annexes. This paper aims to discuss the spatial organization of this site, its parts and its waste with reference to the Lombard literary and archival sources. The other three sites were earlier; one belongs to the late Roman Imperial period (early 5th century) and shows the intentional production and decarburization of cast iron while two sites belonging to the Lombard period (7th century) had bloomeries.

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