The Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex: Re-assessing the Emergence of Ancient Kedah

This article proposes new historical perspectives arising from the findings in the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex, Kedah, by the Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2009. Excavations in the complex unearthed the remains of iron smelting sites, wharves and other brick structures, dating back to the 2nd/3rd century AD. The discoveries of furnaces, tuyeres and iron slag attest to Sungai Batu’s role as the centre for primary iron production, employing the bloomery method. The study suggests that Ancient Kedah appeared as one of the hubs for the trans-Asiatic trade network with the rise of the iron industry, while its economic complexity grew steadily in successive centuries. The early emergence of Ancient Kedah was a development synchronous with the later phase of the Indian-Southeast Asian exchange network between the 2nd to the 4th century AD when inter and intra-regional trade intensified. Due to its favourable geological features, strategic location with a suitable ecozone, as well as being a thriving centre for primary iron production, Ancient Kedah emerged as an important harbour. It was this trading and industrial past, the article will argue, that contributed to the rise of other economic hubs within Ancient Kedah, such as Pengkalan Bujang and Kampung Sungai Mas, which eventually developed into entrepôts after the 5th century AD.

MYTHS, RITUALS AND RESTRICTIONS OF THE AFRICAN IRON INDUSTRY IN THE 18th CENTURY: THE CASE OF TAAVISA IN NSO’ GRASSFIELDS OF CAMEROON

The peculiarity of the African iron industry is its cultural dimension; where in, symbolism was evident in virtually all the stages of the production chain. With the use of archival, secondary and oral sources, this paper investigated the Taavisa slag heap which revealed that smelting residue was cleared to create space for a royal cemetery and a hut constructed over the grave of Fon (king) Sanggu of Nso’ around 1750. Sanggu was probably the seventeenth Sovereign of the Nso’ Dynasty at Kovifem, who died while in refuge on the peripheries of his kingdom, subjected to Chamba and later Fulani raids. Taavisa was a retreat spot in several situations and developed into a rest palace for reigning Fons of Nso’. Given its strategic location, smelting, pre-forging and sanctity which emanated from iron works, this old iron working site became a place of honour and thus mutated into a shrine. Thus, multidimensional values attached to Taavisa account for Nso’ seizure of the area and subsequent expansion towards its southern boarder Fondoms (Kingdoms). A new element therefore adds to symbolisms attached to the African iron industry that is: a smelting site turned into a royal cemetery.

Locating Charcoal Production Sites in Sweden Using LiDAR, Hydrological Algorithms, and Deep Learning

Over the past several centuries, the iron industry played a central role in the economy of Sweden and much of northern Europe. A crucial component of iron manufacturing was the production of charcoal, which was often created in charcoal piles. These features are visible in LiDAR (light detection and ranging) datasets. These charcoal piles vary in their morphology by region, and training data for some feature types are severely lacking. Here, we investigate the potential for machine automation to aid archaeologists in recording charcoal piles with limited training data availability in a forested region of Jönköping County, Sweden. We first use hydrological depression algorithms to conduct a preliminary assessment of the study region and compile suitable training data for charcoal production sites. Then, we use these datasets to train a series of RetinaNet deep learning models, which are less computationally expensive than many popular deep learning architectures (e.g., R-CNNs), allowing for greater usability. Together, our results demonstrate how charcoal piles can be automatically extracted from LiDAR datasets, which has great implications for improving our understanding of the long-term environmental impact of the iron industry across Northern Europe. Furthermore, our workflow for developing and implementing deep learning models for archaeological research can expand the use of such methods to regions that lack suitable training data.

Analysis of the monopolization level of raw material exports of Ukraine

The formation of a competitive national economy of Ukraine is hindered by a weak system of monopoly control. The activities of oligarchic clans stimulated political lobbying, illegal influence on the management of independent enterprises, their raider capture, which led to a slowdown in Ukraine’s technical progress, an increase in the hidden economy and a decrease in its efficiency. The current trend of increasing exports of raw materials and the monopolization of major export industries makes Ukraine’s economy even more dependent on the activities of several monopolists. The aim of this work was to analyze the level of monopolization of the main Ukrainian export categories – agricultural and iron industry production. Methods of this study were based on analysis of literature of the national authors, systematization and generalization of data of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and other open sources. The study found that the agricultural sector of the Ukrainian economy has a dual structure – corporate (agricultural holdings) and individual farms (family farms and households), which are characterized by different directions of development. The analysis of the regional presence of agricultural holdings showed that the largest landowners cultivate land plots in almost all regions of Ukraine. At present time in the agro-industrial sector of Ukraine corporate landowners control 18.4% of arable land, exist in the form of vertically integrated holdings specializing in the cultivation of export-oriented crops. The study found that specific location of minerals explains the geographical location of iron industry enterprises in Dnipro, Donetsk, Poltava and Zaporizhia regions. However, the geography of the place of registration of these holdings or their parent companies includes Cyprus, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The group of companies Metinvest occupies an informal monopoly position in the market of ore mining and steel production in Ukraine. Thus, the main items of Ukraine’s exports are under control or are significantly influenced by a small number of vertically integrated holdings, which may indicate a low level of competition. In these circumstances, one of the most important functions of the state in this area is to maintain a competitive environment and limit monopolies. At the same time, the lack of quality legislation does not allow the state to fully regulate and influence the real situation in the country.

The global iron industry and the Anthropocene

Iron ore is the most mined metal and the second most mined mineral in the world. The mining of iron ore and the processing of iron and steel increased sharply during the 20th century and peaked at the beginning of the 21st century. Associated processes along the iron ore cycle (mining, processing, recycling, weathering) such as the massive displacement of rock, the emission of waste and pollutants, or the weathering of products resulted in long-term environmental and stratigraphic changes. Key findings link the iron ore industry to 170 gigatons of rock overburden, a global share of CO2 with 7.6%, mercury with 7.4%, and a variety of other metals, pollutants, and residues. These global changes led to physical, chemical, biological, magnetic, and sequential markers, which are used for the justification of the Anthropocene. The potential markers vary significantly regarding their persistence and measurability, but key findings are summarised as TMPs (Technogenic Magnetic Particles), SCPs (Spheroidal Carbonaceous fly ash Particles), POPs (Persistent Organic Particles), heavy metals (vanadium, mercury, etc.), as well as steel input and steel corrosion residues.

Iron Technology and Its Regional Development during the Eastern Zhou Period

The appearance of the cast iron industry was one of the most technological innovations in ancient China. Nonetheless, how iron technology shaped the historical development during this critical period has not yet been fully investigated. This chapter first reviews evidence dating to the Spring and Autumn period regarding the appearance of bloomery iron and cast iron industry. Archaeological evidence suggests a simultaneous development of cast iron in multiple states during the first half of the first millennium BCE. Regional variations between these two centers were also present. The chapter further explores regional variations in the development of the iron industries during the Warring States period on the basis of frequencies and types of iron objects from burial data in the Jin, Qin, and Chu regions. The regional comparison suggests that the total amount of iron objects in the Qin state was much less than the assemblage in the three Jin states; the latter should belong to the manufacturing core given the frequencies and types of iron objects in tombs. Moreover, the local iron industry of the Chu state distinctively focused on the manufacture of weapons compared to former two states. In sum, the regional variations in iron industry should be the foundation for further addressing the social significance of iron technology in ancient China. In addition, the iron industry in the Qin state during the Warring States period should be more carefully scrutinized in the future because it might have been operated on a relatively smaller scale than presently understood.