Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2007, Qupperneq 69

Ancient ironmaking in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland
% C %P %S %Mn %Si
Metallic pieces, Belgsá 0.32 0.027 0.02 0.12
”Mixed” ” 0.47 0.073 0.039 0.08 0.53
Table 7. Analsyis of metal fragment from Belgsá.
MnO FeO Si02 AI203 CaO P205 Sum R
1.86 57.63 30.23 4.98 2.52 0.49 99.73 1.64
The oxides MgO, BaO, K20 and Ti02 are omitted because they are present in amounts well below 1 %.
Table 8. Analysis of slag from Sandartunga.
% C %P %S %Mn %Si
Metal, Þjórsárdalur 0.195 0.020 0.018 0.02 0.14
Table 9. Analysis of metal from Sandartunga.
Lab. Ref. Site Type of wood Age BP Age calibrated
T-13103 Belgsá Betula 920 +- 35 AD 1040-1175
T-13104 Lundur 855 +- 40 AD 1165-1240
T-13105 Vidivellir 975 +- 45 AD 1015-1155
T-13106 ■ 930 +- 45 AD 1030-1170
T-13107 Ormstadir 840 +- 40 AD 1170-1255
T-13108 ■ 835 +- 50 AD 1170-1275
T-13109 " 975 +- 40 AD 1020-1155
T-13111 Refsmyri 520 +- 40 AD 1405-1435
T-13112 Geirsstadir 1040 +-45 AD 985-1025
Table 10. Radiocarbon dates from ironworking sites in Iceland (after Margrét Hermanns-Auðar-
dóttir).
in the red-hot state and immediately
struck with an axe. The present author has
also presented the idea that such blooms
with a relatively smooth surface and the
shape of a “French cheese” were beaten
and compacted inside the furnace with
a wooden pole (Espelund 1999/2005).
Such blooms were named fellujárn in the
Icelandic law text from 1281. The moder-
ate 20% increase in price from blástur- to
fellujárn corresponds well to such a sim-
ple treatment. A survey of European split
blooms has recently been presented by
Pleiner (2000:239).
Finds in Þjórsárdalur
Only single samples of slag and metal
from the site Sandartunga can be present-
ed. As seen in figure 10, the site at present
is desert-like, very different from fertile
Fnjóskadalur. The analysis of a piece of
slag from Sandartunga gave the following
result as shown in Table 8. The value R =
1.64 is remarkably low, expressing a good
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