It would be most interesting to see a few pictures of those
"Propfen". Are there any available somewhere?
Anders
>----Ursprungligt meddelande----
>Från: [log in to unmask]
>Datum: 18-11-2009 16:10
>Till: <[log in to unmask]>
>Ärende: Re: slag rods/tubes on archaeological sites
>
>Dear all,
>
>I guess we may be talking of different things, but I thought
I might use
>this occasion to query about some slightly similar pieces for
which I don't
>find any satisfying explanation. We repeatedly found some clay
rods a few
>centimetres long in slag assemblages of gallo-roman smithies
in Switzerland
>(I know of at least 6 individuals from three sites in
Switzerland). The
>surfaces are blackish and slagged on a very shallow surface.
They have an
>oval or rectangular section of perhaps three or four
centimeters; one
>extremity generally shows a slight bulge. The pieces are
altered on all
>surfaces of this extremity, which was obviously exposed to a
certain heat,
>although the alteration is restricted to the surface. One of
these pieces
>was analysed some time ago by Marianne Senn; the surface was
strongly
>enriched in iron, and the clay seemed to be similar to that
used for crucibles.
>
>Similar pieces have been found in quite large numbers in the
Viking site of
>Haithabu, and two or three others are known from two French La
Tène sites. I
>guess there might be many others, but they are quite difficult
to identify
>in large slag assemblages; besides of the particular
morphology, the
>material looks just like the usual sandy-clayey slags; like
these, they are
>probably quite friable.
>
>The pieces I know of are always clearly associated to smithies
in sites
>devoid of smelting activities. In german, they have been
called "Propfen" or
>"Zapfen". Obviously, they were used to block some rectangular
or ovoid
>opening (an air inlet?) on one side of the hearth exposed to
the fire; but
>why would there be a need to block an air inlet in a smithing
hearth (and
>what is more, from the inside)? Although they seem to be very
rare, I find
>it astonishing to find such pieces all over the time from Iron
Age to
>medieval times. I just can't figure out to what particular
practice they
>could be associated; I wonder if somebody could come up with
some
>explanation for these objects…
>
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