Nancy,
I am not sure about Islamic nails, as the only Islamic nails I have
examined have been rather odd, but that is another story. As for Roman to 19th
century British nails the technique remained basically the same and is
illustrated in Tylecote 'The Early History of Metallurgy in Europe' Longman,
1987 ISBN 0-582-49195-9. page 262. Unfortunately he does not give a description
of the nail iron itself, but those I have seen and have seen illustrated have
been double headed, consisting of a bar which expands at either end to roughly
circular or square head. These ends have a central square hole for the shaft of
the nail. Tylecote's illustration shows a nail iron with a flat section, but I
have also seen in both the archaeological record, and in use, versions with a
slightly domed profile on the striking side around the hole for the nail shaft.
Chris Salter
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