On Mon, 12 Jun 2000, Tony Brown wrote:
> I am not a metallurgist - so would be very glad if anyone
> can help me over the possibility of peat having been used
> for processing Sn/cassiterite. We have what appears to be a
> record of Roman peat cutting up on Taw Marsh which has one
> of the largest reserves of alluvial Sn on Dartmoor. We also
> have downstream evidence of tin streaming during the
> late Roman period from the area (in this case the Erme
> valley. Could peat have been used for Sn smelting - can the
> temperatures required be reached?
This is likely to be the case, with a temperature of about 1000 degrees.
Tylecote 1986, 224-5 has a short paragraph on the use of peat as a fuel in
pre-modern times, including Dartmoor, and Peter Claughton once gave me a
couple of references regarding peat charcoal production on Dartmoor and
the Lizard (Peter?). May I add to this that peat was probably used in
salt-making in the Fens in Roman times, indicating its use for the Roman
period.
Irene
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Wer die Vergangenheit nicht kennt, kann die Zukunft nicht gestalten.
(Goethe)
Irene E Schrufer-Kolb
School of Archaeological Studies Tel.: +44-(0)1280-823102
University of Leicester FAX: +44-(0)116-252-5005
University Road e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Leicester LE1 7RH http://www.le.ac.uk/ar/ies1/
United Kingdom
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