The Shadow in the Smithy

The work of a blacksmith leaves various kinds of debris. Well known are hearth-bottom slags, pieces of bloom, or forged iron and hammer-scale. Archaeologically, these materials can be used for identifying the remains of blacksmith' workshops. Detailed analysis of microscopic residue like hammer-scale and slag spheres shows that they can be divided into different types corresponding to the different smithing processes such as bloom-consolidation, forming, welding, etc. It is, therefore, possible to identify the processes that took place in a given workshop. In a recently excavated workshop dating to about 1020 [1], in successive years the floor was levelled out by the addition of a layer of sand that preserved the previous layer of debris on the floor. Analyses of several hundred samples by combining archaeometallurgy, archaeobotany, and dendrochronology have yielded a detailed record of the use of the workshop until it was demolished in 1025. By mapping the spatial distribution of charcoal and microscopic debris like hammer-scale and slag spheres, it has proved possible to identify the position of an anvil, and by material dragged from this area, it is possible to trace paths made by the artisans when moving around the workshop. In one area close to the anvil the charcoal was crushed, and the concentration of hammer-scale was low. This seems to represent the shadow of the blacksmith himself, crushing the charcoal as he stands there with glowing hammer-scale deflected away from the anvil by his apron. A similar approach also can be used for less well-preserved workshops.