The 2018–2019 excavation of the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Shanxi

A series of excavations were conducted at the Xiwubi site during 2018–2019, yielding abundant copper metallurgy remains dating to the Erlitou and Erligang cultural periods. Archaeological features include remains of smelting furnaces, charcoal kilns, houses, and refuse pits. A variety of artifacts were retrieved, ranging from copper ores, fragments of smelting furnaces, crucibles, and slag to objects made of pottery, stone, and bone. It is the first copper metallurgy site found in the Zhongtiao Mountains in the vicinity of the heartland of the Xia and Shang dynasties. Characterized by early dates, large scale, and advanced specialization in copper metallurgy, the excavation of the Xiwubi site provides substantial materials for the study of mining and use of copper ore resources by the Xia and Shang dynasties, as well as interactions between copper metallurgy and the destiny of the royal courts.

KAJIAN POTENSI DAN PENGEMBANGAN PENGUSAHAAN ARANG KAYU DI DESA RANGGANG LUAR KECAMATAN TAKISUNG KABUPATEN TANAH LAUT PROVINSI KALIMANTAN SELATAN

The objectives of this study were to inventory the number of charcoal kiln and the people who work on it. Knowing the factors of production business of making charcoal contained in Ranggang Luar Village, which included: raw materials, technology, manufacturing and yield, and provide a policy direction to the sustainability of wood charcoal business. Determination of the sample interviews to obtain a detailed profile related to utilization of wood charcoal is purposive sampling which was chosen first on a charcoal maker community. Sample of the respondents for interviews taken from the relevant authorities, village’s chief and purposively of the number of households (families) in the village of charcoal maker in every RT.Ranggang Luar Community who has the business of wood charcoal is numbered 98 people. Charcoal kilns spread almost evenly on Ranggang Luar Village, the number of furnace reached 478 pieces. The size of kiln in Ranggang Luar Village is 4.5 m in circumferenceand 2.5 m in high. The capacity of kilnand production of charcoalwere 15 tonnesand 3.05 tonnes, respectivelywith the average of yield was20.3%.Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menginventarisir jumlah dapur arang serta masyarakat yang mengusahakannya. Mengetahui faktor produksi usaha pembuatan arang kayu yang terdapat di Desa Ranggang Luar, yang meliputi: bahan baku, teknologi, pembuatan dan rendemen dan memberikan suatu arah kebijakan untuk keberlanjutan usaha arang kayu.Penentuan sampel wawancara untuk mendapatkan profil detail terkait pengusahaan arang kayu dilakukan secara purposive sampling dimana dipilih terlebih dahulu pada masyarakat pembuat arang kayu. Sampel responden untuk wawancara diambil dari instansi terkait, kepala desa dan secara purposive dari jumlah kepala keluarga (KK) pembuat arang di desa pada setiap RT. Masyarakat Desa Ranggang Luar yang menjadi pengusaha arang kayu adalah berjumlah 98 orang. Terlihat tungku arang menyebar hampir merata pada Desa Ranggang Luar, banyaknya tungku mencapai 478 buah. Ukuran keliling tobong yang digunakan pada Desa Ranggang Luar 4,5 m dengan tinggi 2,5 m. Kapasitas muat kayu (bahan baku) untuk tobong yang digunakan dan rata – rata akan menghasilkan arang secara berurutansebanyak 15 ton dan 3,05 ton arang, dengan rata – rata rendemen dari satu dapur arang sebanyak 20,3 %.

Charcoal kilns as a source of data on the past iron industry (an example from the River Czarna valley, Central Poland)

Charcoal was the primary fuel used for iron smelting and processing until the end of the 19th century. It was produced through burning piles of wood called charcoal kilns. The aim of the study was to identify and record traces of charcoal kilns related to past ironworks in the valley of the River Czarna (Małopolska Upland, Central Poland). Detailed analysis was conducted in areas adjacent to historical centres of iron processing in Maleniec, Kołoniec and Machory. A quantitative analysis of the traces of charcoal kilns in the topography was done based on DEM from airborne LiDAR. Soil profiles were analysed at the sites where traces of charcoal kilns were identified from DEM. Radiocarbon dating and palaeobotanical analyses were performed for selected charcoal from kiln remnants. In the study area we identified over 11,500 charcoal kilns. The radiocarbon age of these charcoals indicate that the charcoal kilns under study were used in the 15th, 18th and 19th century. Thus the results suggest that the iron industry in the studied area is c 100 years older than the historical written sources indicate. Palaeobotanical analyses show that coniferous trees were used for charcoal production. The large number of traces of charcoal kilns and their wide spatial distribution indicate that past charcoal production has had a significant impact on the environment and landscape change in the River Czarna valley and adjacent areas.

Historical water-powered ferrous metallurgy reconstructed from tree-rings and lacustrine deposits (Mała Panew basin, southern Poland)

According to historical sources in the basin of Mała Panew River there were at least 56 water-powered iron smelters from 14th-19th century. Now only two metallurgy plants work in the area. Many of the former smelting settlements ceased to exist. Historical data on the smelting industry in the area are often scarce. The aim of the study was to reconstruct the history of ferrous metallurgy from (1) the remains of wooden historical buildings, (2) remains of charcoal kilns and (3) deposits from former smelter pond. Results show that Regolowiec smelting settlement existed already in the 17th century (at least several decades earlier than historical written sources suggest) and was later re-paired after destruction caused probably by floods. Charcoal used for iron smelting in the ironworks in Brusiek on the Mała Panew River was burnt at the turn of the 18th century. This is in accordance with historical sources indicating particular prosperity of the metallurgy in that period. Upstream of the ironworks in Brusiek in the first half of the 17th century a large pond existed flooding the floor of the Mała Panew valley. Study has shown that the pond was at least 100 years older than historical sources have indicated.

The Ritual Stratigraphy of Monuments that Matter

This article focuses on one of the two big mounds at Haugar in Tønsberg, Norway, and the role they played in the constitution of the Norwegian kingdom. The monument we will discuss is dated to the ninth century AD. We argue that the stratigraphy represents the rituals performed. There are no finds of grave-goods, but the mound contains an enormous layer of charcoal. Our ambiguity towards designating all mounds as ‘graves’ seeks to open a wider range of explanations of the symbolism in these constructions commonly defined as graves. The monuments look like symbolic charcoal kilns, necessary to the smith's iron-making. Are the symbolic charcoal kilns a materialized association of a ritual transformation of the society, embedding death, monument, charcoal and iron? According to Snorri Sturlason, two of the sons of Harald Hårfagre (Finehair), the first king of Norway, were buried in these mounds in the tenth century AD. An examination of the medieval writer Snorri illuminates the political motives and the ideological use of the mounds in the 1230s among the elite in Norway.