” The sculpt from Rocha do Vigio and the context where it was found program that iron metallurgy including the production and tempering of steel were most likely native developments of decentralized small neighborhoods in Iberia, and not due to the impact of later colonization processes. This likewise has consequences for the historical evaluation of iron metallurgy and quartzite sculptures in other regions of the world,” describes Araque Gonzalez.
The study Stone-working and the earliest steel in Iberia: Scientific analyses and speculative replications of final bronze age stelae and tools has actually been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Iberian pillars of siliceous quartz sandstone could just be dealt with tempered steel.
The historical record of Late Bronze Age Iberia (c. 1300-800 BCE) is fragmentary in numerous parts of the Iberian Peninsula: sporadic remains of settlement and almost no detectable burials are matched by traces of metal hoarding and stays of mining activities. Taking this into account, the western Iberian stelae with their representations of anthropomorphic figures, animals, and chosen things are of special importance for the investigation of this age.
Until now, studies of the actual rocks from which these stelae were made to get insights into using tools and materials have been the exception. Araque Gonzalez and his coworkers examined the geological composition of the stelae in depth. This led them to discover that a considerable variety of stelae were not as had actually been assumed made from quartzite, however silicate quartz sandstone. “Just like quartzite, this is an exceptionally hard rock that can not be dealt with bronze or stone tools, however only with tempered steel,” states Araque Gonzalez.
Sculpt discovery and archaeological experiment validate using steel.
Analysis of an iron chisel discovered in Rocha do Vigio revealed that Iberian stonemasons from the Final Bronze Age had the needed tools. The researchers found that it consisted of heterogeneous yet amazingly carbon-rich steel. To verify their findings, the researchers likewise carried out an experiment including an expert stonemason, a blacksmith, and a bronze caster, and tried to work the rock that the pillars were made of utilizing chisels of various products.
The stonemason could not work the stone with either the stone or the bronze chisels, or even utilizing an iron chisel with an untempered point. “The people of the Final Bronze Age in Iberia were capable of tempering steel. Otherwise, they would not have had the ability to work the pillars,” concludes Araque Gonzalez as an outcome of the experiment.
Recommendation: “Stone-working and the earliest steel in Iberia: Scientific analyses and experimental replications of final bronze age stelae and tools” by Ralph Araque Gonzalez, Bastian Asmus, Pedro Baptista, Rui Mataloto, Pablo Paniego Díaz, Vera Rammelkammer, Alexander Richter and Giuseppe Vintrici, 10 February 2023, Journal of Archaeological Science.DOI: 10.1016/ j.jas.2023.105742.
The study was moneyed by the German Research Foundation.
Utilizing geochemicalanalyses, the researchers were able to prove that stone stelae on the Iberian peninsula that date back to the Final Bronze Age feature complex engravings that could just have been done utilizing tempered steel. “Just like quartzite, this is a very difficult rock that can not be worked with bronze or stone tools, but just with tempered steel,” says Araque Gonzalez.
The scientists discovered that it consisted of heterogeneous yet remarkably carbon-rich steel. The stonemason might not work the stone with either the stone or the bronze chisels, or even using an iron chisel with an untempered point. “The individuals of the Final Bronze Age in Iberia were capable of tempering steel.
Using geochemicalanalyses, the researchers were able to show that stone stelae on the Iberian peninsula that date back to the Final Bronze Age feature complex inscriptions that might only have actually been done using tempered steel. Credit: Rafael Ferreiro Mählmann (A), Bastian Asmus (B), Ralph Araque Gonzalez (C-E). University of Freiburg
A global and interdisciplinary team, led by Dr. Ralph Araque Gonzalez, an archaeologist from the Faculty of Humanities in Freiburg, has verified that steel tools were in use in Europe almost 2900 years ago. Through geochemical analyses, the team identified that stone stelae found on the Iberian peninsula from the Final Bronze Age consist of detailed engravings that might only have actually been produced utilizing tempered steel
This finding was further supported by metallographic analysis of an iron sculpt from the exact same period and area (Rocha do Vigio, Portugal, ca. 900 BCE), which revealed that it had the required carbon content to be categorized as correct steel
The result was likewise confirmed experimentally by carrying out trials with chisels made from numerous materials: just the chisel made from tempered steel was suitably capable of engraving the stone. Until just recently it was presumed that it was not possible to produce suitable quality steel in the Early Iron Age and definitely not in the Final Bronze Age, which it just came to be widespread in Europe under the Roman Empire.