>M. B. Donald in 'Elizabethan Copper' suggests the use of peat and coal as a
>fuel with a higher proportion per load of the former.
>
>I have found this very interesting as the early results of analysis of fuel
>residues discovered from 16th century contexts of excavations here in Combe
>Martin also show the use of peat and coal, possibly culm (poor quality
>anthracite) from the Bideford beds.
>
Trevor,
Beware making connections between copper smelting practice and that for lead
in the 16th century. The former was a multi stage process, moving from ore
through a matte to metal; lead smelting could, using the new (ore hearth)
technology of the period, be a one stage process. The new lead technology
also had the advantage over its predecessors in being able to utilise a
wider range of fuels - later practice used both peat and coal as fuel. What
we are seeing at Combe Martin may be early experimetation with those fuels.
And another point - Bideford anthracite was not poor quality - favourably
reported on when used to smelt lead at Combe Martin in the late 1840s
reverberatory furnaces. The term 'culm' can be confusing - see recent
discussion on the use of the term in Scotland and North America. Bideford
anthracite was comparible with Pembrokeshire anthracite but was usually
found in limited lenticular, steep dipping, deposits and was frequently
crushed by geological movements (as was that in Pembs.).
Peter
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Peter Claughton, Blaenpant Morfil, Rosebush, Clynderwen,
Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
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University of Exeter - School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies
(Centre for South Western Historical Studies)
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