THE RECONSTRUCTION OF A 7th c. AD SMITHY IN CENTRAL ITALY

Archaeometallurgy in Europe, Proceeding of the 5th International Conference, Miskolc, Hungary, B. Torok, A. Giumlia-Mair (eds), 2021

During the construction of a gas pipeline in the Po plain 10 km to the East of Milan in Northern Italy, the remains of an agricultural and iron production settlement belonging to the Roman period were found. In 2017 and 2018, the National Archaeological Service explored the site. This area of the Po plain belonged to the Roman town of Milan/Mediolanum, which was a capital of the Western Roman Empire from 286 until 402 CE. This site was close to the road linking Mediolanum with Brixia and its iron-rich mines, and to the waterways (the Adda and Lambro rivers) which lead to Lake Como and to other iron mines in that area. The remains of the ironworks belong to the second phase of the operating chain in direct iron metallurgy (bloomery smelting and smithing), i.e. the forging phase. In the late Roman period, there were forges on this site transforming the semi-finished products (consolidated blooms and billets) into finished objects. The large amount of slag discovered was studied macroscopically. It consisted of plano-convex bottom (PCB) slags, glassy clayey slags (SAS) and iron fragments detached and scattered during forging. Ten specimens of PCB slags were selected and analysed using a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS). The smiths followed a standardised, well-controlled and constantly repeated procedure. Unfortunately (for the smiths), the high temperatures employed caused some of the metal to pass into the slags. The plano-convex slags are very dense and compact, and are much alike in their dimensions and their morphological and technological characteristics.

Aspects of Ancient Metallurgy, A. Giumlia-Mair ed.

The excavations carried out on the site of Zambana el Vato, province of Trento, Italy, dated to the 7th-5th century BC revealed the structures of a 5th century metal workshop in which both copper-based alloys and iron were worked. This paper presents the results of 119 analyses carried out by XRF on the copper-based finds recovered on the site, discusses their significance, the use of the various alloys, special working techniques and working habits of the artisans. Among the finds there are both cast and hammered pieces. The analyses have shown that alloys used for thin sheets are better purified and contain much less trace elements than other alloys. For personal ornaments, such as for example brooches or decorative pins better quality alloys-mostly containing more tin than other items-were employed. On the contrary, for everyday metal objects or small mechanical parts any kind of available alloys were used.

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2018

The unusual discovery of a potter's workshop suddenly destroyed by a firing-cum-collapse event at Montebello Vicentino (northeastern Italy), dated to the Late Iron Age (ca. late fifth-fourth centuries BC), offers the unique possibility of studying two parallel operational sequences or chaines opératoires of ceramic manufacturing in this period, by direct analysis of the various base materials and products lost during destruction. Raw materials (prepared clay batch, sand, and other temper inclusions), unfired vessels knocked to the ground by the collapse, and samples of fired pottery were comprehensively characterized by petrographic and mineralogical analysis. Comparisons with similar ceramic products found at nearby settlements of Montebello can also better define the differences between production which was actually taking place at the workshop at the moment of destruction and previous work, as documented by sherds found at the same site.

2003

The excavation of site III at Ponte di Val Gabbia (Brescia, Northern ltaly) has unearthed a semi-subterranean hut used as a forge (Figs. g-t & 9-z). Nearby there were smelting furnaces for the local hematite. Amongst the few finds there was a lump of pig iron (about 3.5 kg in weigh$ and a miner's chisel. This chisel was made of tempered steel obtained from the decarburisation of pig iron. These finds show that in the Late Roman period pig iron was intentionally produced to make steel tools.

In the years between 2008 and 2012, as a result of a building conversion, it has been carried out a set of archaeological excavations in the western district of Chinzica, in Pisa. Th e archaeological investigations allowed us to bring to light a complex workshop area, designed to produce and sale glassware and metal items, chronologically framed in the period between the beginning of the thirteenth century and 1406 the year that witnessed the fl orentine conquest and the consequent destruction of the workshops. Set in the northern sector, sealed by a thick layer of iron slag, it has been identifi ed an entire shop, apt for the production and sale of copper alloy and iron items. Th e whole organization of the craft ing process can be reconstructed thanks to the detection of smelting furnaces, forges areas, areas for workbenches and goods storage. The numerous finds -particularly those related to the clothing accessories – show off the complete manufacturing process by off ering an insight into the techniques of the copper alloy processing. Of particular interest are the many clay crucibles and fragments of clay molds for mass production that testify to a highly specialized activity that could meet high-volume production. The exceptionality of the ceramic context found in association with the productive areas grants us the opportunity to date the techniques and tools used in metalworking, as well as allowing a thorough analysis of the socio-economic impact of pisan blacksmiths in the city's economy.

Historical Metallurgy, 2019

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Archaeometallurgy in Europe 2007, Proceedings on CD, 2007

Archaeometallurgy in Europe III. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference. Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, 2015

Recent excavations carried out at the Università Cattolica in Milan and at the Seminario Vescovile in Verona supplied significant evidence of Roman metalworking, thus enhancing our knowledge of various aspects of this industry in the area. Slags found testify several kinds of metalworking processes: iron working, bronze casting, brass-making (in Milan) and silver refining (in Verona). Significant technological informations came from a largescale bronze casting at Verona. Amounts of clay investment moulds for large objects were found along with casting pits, hearths and slags which provide a new insight of the casting techniques used at that time. A few assemblages of much smaller clay moulds used to make parts of vessels and other small objects were found in Milan, thus allowing a comparison between the materials employed and the skills required for the two productive processes. Moreover, the width of both excavations allowed a better understanding of the layout of the manufacturing areas within the pattern of urban development, enhancing our knowledge of roman workshops’ structures. Metalworking evidence has been studied with a multi- disciplinal approach which has taken into account not only archaeometrical analyses, but also ethnoarchaeological parallels and the study of the written sources. The aim was not only to understand technological aspects, but also to have an insight of their social and cultural environment.