>Apologies for crossposting.....
>
>        In the course of excavating a turn of the 18/19th century slave
>quarter we have uncovered a concentration of material that has been
>identified as possible bloomery slag.  The material in question is grey,
>burnt and slightly porous and in one case has partially vitrified; it is
>rounded and bulbous in form.  We would be grateful for any information
>that you could pass on about bloomery slag (and bloomeries in general),
>especially images.  If you don't want to reply to the group as a whole then
>please respond to [log in to unmask] or snail mail to the address below.
>
>Thank-you
>Alasdair M. Brooks
>Archaeology Lab Supervisor
>Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest
>PO Box 419
>Forest, VA 24551
>
>tel: (804) 525-1806
 
 
In my dictionary, a bloomery is a "hearth for smelting iron in blooms of
pasty consistency by means of charcoal.  Also called chafery."
 
You might check out writings by Peter Schmidt re: traditional iron smelting
methods in Africa, where they've been using this technique for hundreds of
years.  Schmidt deals with both the technological aspects of bloomery
smelting and the symbolic constructs that surround it.  He has many pubs as
well as at least one documentary on the topic.  His material is generally
very well illustrated, and may give you some ideas beyond the mere
technology of the task.  The latest publication I've seen was in "American
Scientist" sometime in 1995.  I believe he's also publised in American
Antiquity.  I'll look for specific refs later this afternoon.
 
Chris Clement
 
Christopher Ohm Clement, Ph.D.
Archaeologist III
South Carolina Institute of
  Archaeology and Anthropology
1321 Pendleton St.
Columbia, SC 29208
(803) 777-8172
(803) 254-1338 (fax)
[log in to unmask]