Me again!
I agree that we have not found any remains of actual bellows from Roman
bloomery sites. However, a ceramic vessel found at Cranbrook (Kent) seems to
have been used as a pressure equalizer - again, see Cleere & Crossley for
reference.
Henry
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Hutchison" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Arch-metals" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2000 5:13 AM
Subject: Re: Experimental bloomery
> Lee
>
> I do not disagree with anything you are doing except any comparison with
> archaeological furnaces. I think that you may have a process that is more
> like an early water-powered bloomery. I don't think we know a lot about
how
> those worked either.
>
> If you want to see why Ronnie used low flow rates shut down your blower
and
> get yourself a bellows and see how much air you can blow with that for any
> length of time. They were trying to simulate early iron age furnaces. Then
> think about how your bellows is made and consider whether a bellows in
> antiquity would have been as efficient. Certainly a couple of goatskins
> underfoot will not work so well. No-one has yet found any part of a
bellows
> at one of these sites, so the use of wooden
> boards must be conjecture, and ceramic blowing vessels unlikely.
>
> Increasing the temperature and therefore slagging of the lining will
> increase the silica load on the furnace. By how much and whether it would
be
> significant it is difficult to say. The inserted tuyere should move the
> highest temperatures away from the wall, as should higher blowing rates.
>
> Peter Hutchison
>
>
>
>
>
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