Uploaded January 2021 | Updated September 2026, 12 hours ago
Slag-pit furnaces were very typical for the central European region in the Roman period.
This type of furnace has two main parts, slag-pit under the ground and shaft over the ground. To build this furnace we used bricks and clay.
After 6 hours of work, we can finish the smelting process, during this time we used about 35 kg of hematite ore and about 40 kg of charcoal.
This type of furnace is disposable. To extract the iron bloom the shaft must be destroyed.
When the shaft is removed we do initial compaction of iron bloom in situ using a mallet,
After that, the iron bloom is removed and transported to a wooden anvil for the main compaction. In this experiment, we had some problems separating iron bloom from slag block, usually, it is easier. We got 6 kg iron bloom and about 2 kg gromps.
#iron #smelting
Slag-pit furnaces were very typical for the central European region in the Roman period.
This type of furnace has two main parts, slag-pit under the ground and shaft over the ground. To build this furnace we used bricks and clay.
After 6 hours of work, we can finish the smelting process, during this time we used about 35 kg of hematite ore and about 40 kg of charcoal.
This type of furnace is disposable. To extract the iron bloom the shaft must be destroyed.
When the shaft is removed we do initial compaction of iron bloom in situ using a mallet,
After that, the iron bloom is removed and transported to a wooden anvil for the main compaction. In this experiment, we had some problems separating iron bloom from slag block, usually, it is easier. We got 6 kg iron bloom and about 2 kg gromps.
#iron #smelting
