Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2007, Page 51

Ancient ironmaking in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland
Figure 1. Routes by the Norsemen after year
1991: íslenskur Söguatlas, by permission.
uniform dimensions. In each of the com-
munities Vinje and Fyresdal in Telemark,
Vestre Gausdal/Dokka in Oppland and
Ámot, Hedmark some 100 bloomery sites
have been registered, leading to an estimat-
ed total of some 10,000 in South Norway
(Martens et al. 1988, Espelund 2004 b,
Larsen 1991, Stene & al. 2005). The slag
was tapped at or above ground level. It is
black and dense, not expressing gas evolu-
tion during solidification (in contrast to the
“Evenstad” process, in use from about AD
1400-1800). The blooms produced were
named blásturjárn and fellujárn, accord-
ing to Jónsbók, a law issued by king Mag-
nus Lagaboter in Norway and approved by
the Allthing in Iceland in the year 1281.
Such blooms, weighing some 5 to 10 kg
can be found in the museum of Oldsak-
samlingen (now KHM) in Oslo (Martens
1979, Espelund 1998/99) and also in the
National Museum in Reykjavík.
Modern ironmaking is in princi-
ple easy and very efficient due to smelt-
Pink area uninhabited. After Júlíusson & al,
ing taking place in two steps and involv-
ing liquid metal. A high output is secured
in the first step while the required qual-
ity is the aim of the second step. In con-
trast small scale ironmaking leading in a
single step directly to iron that could be
forged was difficult, barely replicable
in our times. Therefore the value of the
metal was high and much prestige was
connected with ironmaking. As a conse-
quence, ironmaking and smithing in fairy
tales are often attributed to goblins.
For an archaeometallurgist who
has studied ironmaking in Norway, Ice-
land provides a very valuable supplement
to ongoing research. The continuity in
technology seems to prove that immi-
grants from Norway brought the method,
documented in Norway from Meroving-
ian time, to their new homeland. The
raw materials were a bit different, and it
appears that the process itself underwent
modifications. The sites lie mostly close
to farms, expressing an integration into
1000.
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