EMAP_2012_Report_6_1.pdf (7.3 MB) - The Heritage Council

part of seasonal activities or hosted a number of smiths who travelled the tuath, perhaps
from their own workshops, repairing and making objects. Clearly maintenance of tools was
represented on many sites by whetstones but this does not necessarily imply manufacture
(Comber 2008, 119). The self-sufficiency argument for early medieval settlements may be
stretched too far given the archaeological evidence for a large range of sites with low levels
of ferrous metallurgy or none at all. Smelting, charcoal making and bloomery sites outside
settlements fitted somewhere in this hierarchy.
Some archaeometallurgists have also come up with schemes indicating different levels of
iron-working activity. While they do not neatly equate with arguments about the position of
metalworking in the law tracts they do provide important criteria for ranking activity. Young
uses the size of smithing hearth cakes to place sites within four broad categories (Young
2011, 127-128). His first category comprises sites which are primarily engaged in producing
and repairing artefacts citing the example of the univallate settlement at Moathill, Navan. This
type of site had Smithing Hearth Cakes of less than 0.6kg with 90% weighing less than 1kg.
The second group comprised those where smithing and smelting took place which includes
sites such as Gortnahown 2, Parknahown 5 and Woodstown 6. These had less of the small
smithing hearth cakes and more of the larger types. A third category was sites showing a
wide range of practices from raw bloom to smithing and finished artefacts such as Clonfad
and Clonmacnoise. His final group were sites which were specialised bloomery sites where he
includes some of the isolated examples such as Ballinglanna north 1. These had very large
smithing hearth cakes which were typically above 1kg. It would seem quite likely that other
archaeometallurgists who have different views on the size of smithing hearth cakes and the
type of iron-working they represent may see alternative ranges and levels of use.
2.7: Conclusion
The EMAP 2012 review of metallurgy shows the scale and variety in evidence for early
medieval Irish ferrous metallurgy. The routine involvement of specialists has meant that
archaeologists have greater awareness of the potential of metallurgy in early medieval
archaeology. It also means that there is greater recording and sampling of metallurgical
residues and features. There is still considerable disagreement over the stage of process
demonstrated by different metallurgical residues and over the technology and construction of
furnaces. The identification of workshops and associated structures and residues is
demonstrating the range of such sites outside of the traditional ‘high status’ sites. It further
indicates that there were a range of sites engaged in specialist ferrous metallurgy as a key
part of their daily lives. Analysis of residues from metallurgical remains, even where there
were no furnaces or smithing hearths within the excavated area, is helping provide a better
picture of the type of iron-working practiced at a range of settlement sites. A more contextual
understanding of the date and nature of iron-working sites is necessary as ferrous metallurgy
at many of the sites within the EMAP sample may only have taken place once or twice over
long spans of occupation. Through collection of this data we are reaching a better
understanding of the variety of sites engaged in metallurgy there is still a need for greater
clarity on the procurement, economy and production of iron on settlement sites during the
period.
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