Dear Minkoo,
This sounds very much like what Christine says...Is it possible that this kiln was used in order to transform wood into charcoal for use as charcoal?? In Greece, they used to make make shift kilns which produced charcoal for selling as such and in this case the charcoal that we find has a very diffirent hardness (much much harder) and texture (it is not brittle in the same way normal charcoal burnt on site is). This wood have been very convenient to use in houses where openings are not too large I suppose as it does not make as much smoke as fresh wood.
Just an idea...
Best,
Anaya
Christine Hastorf <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Minkoo,
>
> this sounds like the wood has burnt at a very high temp such that is is
> vitrified.
> the cells are melted.
>
> I hope all is well, spring has arrived here!
>
> Christine
>
> Minkoo Kim wrote:
> > Dear All,
> >
> > I am analyzing wood charcoal from ancient ceramic kiln, and have
> > noticed that some wood charcoal remains (although they looked
> > carbonized) were extremely hard. They were so hard that I could not
> > even break with sharp razor. When I managed to break them open, most
> > of them showed shiny sections that looked as if they were glazed. I
> > suspect this is probably related to the temperature of the kiln for
> > which the wood was used as fuel. I would greatly appreciate if
> > someone can explain whether kiln chamber temperature is related to
> > charcoal condition.
> >
> > Best,
> > Minkoo
> >
>
> --
>
> Department of Anthropology
> University of California-Berkeley
> Berkeley, CA. 94720-3710
> USA
>
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