Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I recall the earlier literature on this
(and I'm thinking particularly of the Polish work) the term was "grompie"
or "grompje" and referred specifically to small round drops of previously
molten cast steel or cast iron that had formed during bloomery smelting
and had solidified within the furnace. What Carl seems to be referring to
are small bits of bloom that have failed to consolidate into a coherent
mass. If "grompie" has the specific meaning that I outlined above, then I
think that we should find another term for the orphan bits of bloom.
----------------------
David Killick
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology,
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0030.
Phones: office (520)621-8685; laboratory 621-7986; fax 621-2088
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