Metallographic examination of Iron Age tools from Somerset
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Published
Jan 28, 2022
Abstract
Nine files and three hammerheads were examined by metallography. The tools, all or most of which date to the later pre-Roman Iron Age, are from four different sites in Somerset: Glastonbury Lake Village, Meare Village East, Meare Village West, and Harn Hili. Carbon compositions were found to be generally low, though three tools comprised high-carbon steel in the areas examined. Six files and two hammerheads had been quenched. The results are compared with those from Iron Age tools examined previously from other sites in Britain.
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References
Bulleid A and Gray H St G 1911, The Glastonbury Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Relics Discovered, 1892-1907, Vol 1 (Taunton).
Bulleid A and Gray H St G 1917, The Glastonbury Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Relics Discovered, 1892-1907, Vol 2 (Taunton).
Bulleid A and Gray H St G 1948, The Meare Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Re lies from the Eastern Half of the West Village, 1910-1933, Vol 1 (Taunton).
Burraw I 1981, Hillfort and Hili-top Settlement in Somerset in the First to Eighth Centuries A.D. (Oxford: BAR BS 91).
Carr F 1969, Heat Treatment and Metallurgy of Files. (Sheffield).
Coles J M 1987, Meare Village East: The Excavations of A. Bulleid and H.St.George Gray 1932-1956. Somerset Levels Papers 13.
Coles J and Minnitt S 1995, 'Industrious and fairly civilised': The Glastonbury Lake Village. Somerset Levels Project and Somerset County Council Museums.
Cunnington B Hand Cunnington ME 1913, 'Casterley Camp Excavations', Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 38, 53-105.
Davenport AT (ed) 1979, Formable HSLA and Dual-Phase Steels (New York).
Ehrenreich R M 1991, 'Archaeometallurgy and archaeology: Widening the scope', in PD Glumac (ed), Recent Trends in Archaeometallurgical Research, MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology 8(1) (Philadelphia), 55-61.
Fell V 1985, 'Examination of an Iron Age Metalworking File from Gussage All Saints', Proceedings Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 107, 176-8.
Fell V 1990a, Pre-Roman Iran Age Metalworking Tools from England and Wales: their Use, Technology, and Archaeological Context. Unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Durham.
Fell V 1990b, 'Metallographic examination of the hammer-head (No. 7) from Burial 9', in G M and G N Aitken, 'Excavations at Whitcombe, 1965-1967', Proceedings Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 112, 75-6.
Fell V 1993, 'Examination of four Iran Age ferrous hammerheads from Bredon Hill (Hereford and Worcester), England', Historical Metallurgy 27(2), 60-70.
Fremont C 1920, Files and Filing ('La Lime' trans G Taylor) (London).
Gray H St G 1902, 'The "Walter Collection" in Taunton Castle Museum', Somerset Archaeology and Natural History 48(2), 24-78.
Gray H St G 1910, 'Notes on Archaeological Remains found on Ham Hill, Somerset', Somerset Archaeology and Natural History 56(2), 50-61.
Gray H St G 1966, The Meare Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Relics from the Eastern Half of the West Village, 1910-1933, Vol 3 (ed MA Cotton) (Taunton).
Gray H St G and Bulleid A 1953, 'The Meare Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Relics from the Eastern Half of the West Village, 1910-1933, Vol 2 (Taunton).
Haldane W 1970, 'A study of the chemical composition of pre-Roman ironwork from Somerset', Bulletin Historical Metallurgy Group 4(2), 53-66.
Hencken T C 1938, "The Excavation of the Iron Age Camp on Bredon Hill, Gloucestershire, 1935-1937', Archaeological Journal 95, 1-111.
Howard H 1983, The bronze casting industry in later prehistoric southern Britain: a study based on refractory debris. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Southampton.
Manning W H 1985, Catalogue of the Romano-British Iron Tools, Fittings and Weapons in the British Museum. (London).
Morris E L 1987, 'Later Prehistoric Pottery from Ham Hill', Somerset Archaeology and Natural History 131, 27-47.
Mortimer C and Starley D 1995, 'Ferrous and non-ferrous metalworking', in J Coles and S Minnitt, 'Industrious and fairly civilised': The Glastonbury Lake Village, 138-141.
Ottaway P 1992, Anglo-Scandinavian Ironwork from 16-22 Coppergate (London: The Archaeology of York 17/6).
Pleiner R 1980, 'Early Iron Metallurgy in Europe', in T A Wertime and J D Muhly (eds), The Coming of the Age of Iron (New Haven and London), 375-415.
Rees A 1819, The cyclopaedia; or Universal dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature, Vol 14 (London).
Rollason E C 1973, Metallurgy for Engineers, 4th ed (London).
Salter C J 1984, 'Metallurgical aspects of the ironwork', in B Cunliffe, Danebury: an Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire. The excavations, 1969-1978: Vol 2 The
finds (London: CBA Research Report 52), 433-6, microfiche 13:B1-C7.
Samuels L E 1980, Optical Microscopy of Carbon Steels. (Ohio).
Scott B G 1990, Early Irish Ironworking (Belfast).
Spratling MG, Tylecote R F, Kay P J, Jones L, Wilson C M, Pettifer K, Osbome G, Craddock PT and Biek L 1980, 'An Iron Age bronze foundry at Gussage All
Saints, Dorset: Preliminary assessment of technology', in E A Slater and J O Tate (eds), Proceedings 16th International Symposium on Archaeometry, 1976 (Edinburgh), 268-292.
Tylecote R F and Gilmour B J J 1986, The Metallography of Early Ferrous Edge Tools and Edged Weapons (Oxford: BAR BS 155).
Tylecote R F and Thomsen R 1973, 'The segregation and surface-enrichment of arsenic and phosphorus in early iron artifacts', Archaeometry 15(2), 193-8.
Bulleid A and Gray H St G 1917, The Glastonbury Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Relics Discovered, 1892-1907, Vol 2 (Taunton).
Bulleid A and Gray H St G 1948, The Meare Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Re lies from the Eastern Half of the West Village, 1910-1933, Vol 1 (Taunton).
Burraw I 1981, Hillfort and Hili-top Settlement in Somerset in the First to Eighth Centuries A.D. (Oxford: BAR BS 91).
Carr F 1969, Heat Treatment and Metallurgy of Files. (Sheffield).
Coles J M 1987, Meare Village East: The Excavations of A. Bulleid and H.St.George Gray 1932-1956. Somerset Levels Papers 13.
Coles J and Minnitt S 1995, 'Industrious and fairly civilised': The Glastonbury Lake Village. Somerset Levels Project and Somerset County Council Museums.
Cunnington B Hand Cunnington ME 1913, 'Casterley Camp Excavations', Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 38, 53-105.
Davenport AT (ed) 1979, Formable HSLA and Dual-Phase Steels (New York).
Ehrenreich R M 1991, 'Archaeometallurgy and archaeology: Widening the scope', in PD Glumac (ed), Recent Trends in Archaeometallurgical Research, MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology 8(1) (Philadelphia), 55-61.
Fell V 1985, 'Examination of an Iron Age Metalworking File from Gussage All Saints', Proceedings Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 107, 176-8.
Fell V 1990a, Pre-Roman Iran Age Metalworking Tools from England and Wales: their Use, Technology, and Archaeological Context. Unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Durham.
Fell V 1990b, 'Metallographic examination of the hammer-head (No. 7) from Burial 9', in G M and G N Aitken, 'Excavations at Whitcombe, 1965-1967', Proceedings Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 112, 75-6.
Fell V 1993, 'Examination of four Iran Age ferrous hammerheads from Bredon Hill (Hereford and Worcester), England', Historical Metallurgy 27(2), 60-70.
Fremont C 1920, Files and Filing ('La Lime' trans G Taylor) (London).
Gray H St G 1902, 'The "Walter Collection" in Taunton Castle Museum', Somerset Archaeology and Natural History 48(2), 24-78.
Gray H St G 1910, 'Notes on Archaeological Remains found on Ham Hill, Somerset', Somerset Archaeology and Natural History 56(2), 50-61.
Gray H St G 1966, The Meare Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Relics from the Eastern Half of the West Village, 1910-1933, Vol 3 (ed MA Cotton) (Taunton).
Gray H St G and Bulleid A 1953, 'The Meare Lake Village: A Full Description of the Excavations and the Relics from the Eastern Half of the West Village, 1910-1933, Vol 2 (Taunton).
Haldane W 1970, 'A study of the chemical composition of pre-Roman ironwork from Somerset', Bulletin Historical Metallurgy Group 4(2), 53-66.
Hencken T C 1938, "The Excavation of the Iron Age Camp on Bredon Hill, Gloucestershire, 1935-1937', Archaeological Journal 95, 1-111.
Howard H 1983, The bronze casting industry in later prehistoric southern Britain: a study based on refractory debris. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Southampton.
Manning W H 1985, Catalogue of the Romano-British Iron Tools, Fittings and Weapons in the British Museum. (London).
Morris E L 1987, 'Later Prehistoric Pottery from Ham Hill', Somerset Archaeology and Natural History 131, 27-47.
Mortimer C and Starley D 1995, 'Ferrous and non-ferrous metalworking', in J Coles and S Minnitt, 'Industrious and fairly civilised': The Glastonbury Lake Village, 138-141.
Ottaway P 1992, Anglo-Scandinavian Ironwork from 16-22 Coppergate (London: The Archaeology of York 17/6).
Pleiner R 1980, 'Early Iron Metallurgy in Europe', in T A Wertime and J D Muhly (eds), The Coming of the Age of Iron (New Haven and London), 375-415.
Rees A 1819, The cyclopaedia; or Universal dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature, Vol 14 (London).
Rollason E C 1973, Metallurgy for Engineers, 4th ed (London).
Salter C J 1984, 'Metallurgical aspects of the ironwork', in B Cunliffe, Danebury: an Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire. The excavations, 1969-1978: Vol 2 The
finds (London: CBA Research Report 52), 433-6, microfiche 13:B1-C7.
Samuels L E 1980, Optical Microscopy of Carbon Steels. (Ohio).
Scott B G 1990, Early Irish Ironworking (Belfast).
Spratling MG, Tylecote R F, Kay P J, Jones L, Wilson C M, Pettifer K, Osbome G, Craddock PT and Biek L 1980, 'An Iron Age bronze foundry at Gussage All
Saints, Dorset: Preliminary assessment of technology', in E A Slater and J O Tate (eds), Proceedings 16th International Symposium on Archaeometry, 1976 (Edinburgh), 268-292.
Tylecote R F and Gilmour B J J 1986, The Metallography of Early Ferrous Edge Tools and Edged Weapons (Oxford: BAR BS 155).
Tylecote R F and Thomsen R 1973, 'The segregation and surface-enrichment of arsenic and phosphorus in early iron artifacts', Archaeometry 15(2), 193-8.
How to Cite
Fell, V. (2022). Metallographic examination of Iron Age tools from Somerset. Historical Metallurgy, 29(1), 1-11. https://hmsjournal.org/index.php/home/article/view/445
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How to Cite
Fell, V. (2022). Metallographic examination of Iron Age tools from Somerset. Historical Metallurgy, 29(1), 1-11. https://hmsjournal.org/index.php/home/article/view/445