"J. H. Brothers" wrote:
>
> The fact that Lee is a professional blacksmith, and not an archaeologist, may
> also be a benefit. It is entirely possible that he understands a great deal
> more about the operating characteristics of wrought iron than most
> archaeologists ever will, or can. After all smithing is his business. And
> given the success of Rockbridge, he is one of the most experienced bloomsmiths
> in the world. Sims may have written a Ph.D. on bloomsmithing, but Lee has
> worked a great deal more iron.
For the record, David Sim (singular!) is an extremely experienced
blacksmith - he supported himself in part by blacksmithing for years
before he enrolled for a PhD at reading. If you haven't read his
experimental studies of the time and material requirements to equip a
Roman legion with its standard issue of iron artifacts, you really
should - it's wonderful work.
Dave Killick
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