[meteorite-list] Archaeology and Meteorites: Iron

[drtanuki]

Dear List,
   I will be providing more references later
concerning Archaeology and Meteorites.  This article
is about meteoritic iron and terrestrial iron use and
production.  Dirk Ross...Tokyo

The Question of Meteoritic versus Smelted Nickel-Rich
Iron: Archaeological Evidence and Experimental Results

E. Photos
World Archaeology, Vol. 20, No. 3, Archaeometallurgy
(Feb., 1989), pp. 403-421

Abstract
The absence, until now, of evidence for the smelting
of nickel-rich iron ores has led to much speculation
about the respective nature and properties of smelted
nickel-rich iron compared to iron meteorites. The
relevant literature on the latter subject is
critically reviewed. Recently, archaeological evidence
of smelting of nickel-rich lateritic iron ores (bloom,
slag) has surfaced in a second century BC settlement
in north Greece. Experimental smelting of similar iron
ores has shown that there are large variations in the
nickel distribution in the bloom, but only those
sections thereof with a low nickel content could be
worked in a smithy. The heavy losses incurred may have
been one reason why this type of ore was not used more
extensively in antiquity.



 
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