Sunday 2nd May - Iron Smelting Established

The excavations today seem to confirm that the site was indeed used for for smelting iron.  Read the update on our website here,
http://www.archaeologygroup.org.uk/home/sabden-fold-bloomery/saturday-2nd-may---iron-smelting-established
Blast Furnace or Bloomery?
Broadly speaking, a blast furnace can be distinguished from a bloomery in that the object of a blast furnace is to produce molten pig iron that runs out at the bottom of the furnace .  In a bloomery the temperature is not hot enough to melt the impure iron "blooms" which are subsequently hammered to remove the impurities and create "wrought" iron.  A bloomery is normally fuelled by charcoal while a blast furnace in modern times is generally fuelled by coke or anthracite.  Abraham Darby was famous for introducing coke in 1709 at Coalbrookdale while George Crane used anthracite in 1837 in the Ynyscedwyn ironworks in South Wales.
The pieces melted iron and the fragments of anthracite we have found at Sabden Fold suggest we have a blast furnace rather than a bloomery.
David M.