METAL WORKING EVIDENCE FROM HOUSESTEADS ROMAN FORT, NORTHUMBERLAND
Author(s): David Dungworth
This report examines the evidence for metal working from a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain. The evidence, which consists of slag, crucibles, moulds, and metal, provides the strongest evidence yet recovered for the production of copper alloy military equipment within a Roman fort in Britain. The scale of production is difficult to assess because of the delicate nature of some of the material (in particular the moulds) and the circumstances of its deposition and subsequent disturbance. However, the survival of such a wide range of debris and the large quantities of crucible all point to production on a scale above that of occasional manufacture and repair. Samples of crucible, metal, mould and slag have been analysed qualitatively (EDXRF) and quantitatively (SEM-EDS). In addition to providing information on the nature of the objects which were made, these data have been used to explore the ways in which the different elements in a copper alloy (copper, zinc, tin and lead) behave during melting and casting.
- Report Number:
- 109/2001
- Series:
- CfA Reports
- Pages:
- 36
- Keywords:
- Metal Working-Fe Metal Working-non Fe
