Dear Alessandro,
Some years ago, I studied preindustrial iron ore transport in Switzerland
and found transport distances from around 5 up to 15 km, sometimes combined
with high altitude gradients (english version in: MAGNUSSON Gert Ed., The
Importance of Ironmaking, Papers presented at the Norberg Conference on May
8-13, 1995, Jernkontorets Bergshistoriska Utskott H 58, Stockholm 1995,
387-396 - extended german version also available).
The longest (linear !) transport distance of c. 20 km I found between
Valtellina and Grisons; here, iron ore was transported on horseback through
difficult, alpine terrain (SCHLÄPFER Daniel, Der Bergbau am Ofenpass,
Ergebnisse der wissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen des Schweizerischen
Nationalparks N.F. 7 Nr. 1, 159 p., Zürich 1960 - see pp. 31-37).
Of course, seaborne transport is clearly cheaper and much more efficient,
therefore comparisons are difficult to establish. You will take into account
(among other influential variables) that the timber resources of the island
of Elba would not have been sufficient to feed an extended iron industry, I
presume.
Yours
Cornel Doswald
On Mon, 3 May 1999, CORRETTI ALESSANDRO wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I am employed as an archaeologist at Scuola Normale Superiore - Pisa.
> I am interested in ancient iron working on Elba island and Tyrrhenian
> area, expecially in early iron age, Etruscan and Roman times.
> Some years ago I made a survey over most part of the island,
> finding (or re-finding) more than 160 iron reduction sites; only few of
> them could be dated on the basis of sherds found among the slags. I have
> seen that the biggest iron reduction sites on the shore were of II-I
> cent. B.C., while the smaller, inland reduction sites were of medieval
> age (XII-XIV century A.D.).
> These data were preliminarly published in:
> A. Corretti, Metallurgia medievale all'isola d'Elba, Firenze,
> All'Insegna del Giglio, 1991;
> A. Corretti, Indagine preliminare sull'attivita' di riduzione del ferro
> in eta' romana all'isola d'Elba, "Geo-Archeologia", 1988-1, 7-39.
> Since that time other scholars have studied iron working in this area
> both in ancient and in medieval times, and have produced good books and
> articles about this subject; however, I hope my contributes can still be
> useful. I will be glad to enter in contact with people interested in
> these arguments.
> I have noted that Elban ore has been found at some distance from the
> mines and from the main reduction sites (i.e. ancient Populonia and
> modern Follonica): it has been found at Pisa, VI cent. B.C.; Genova,
> V-IV cent. B.C.; maybe Bientina (in the inland of Pisa), VII-VI cent.
> B.C. (but there are still some doubts about this datum).
> As far as I know, iron ore usually doesn't travel so much: trade of
> iron generally takes place as iron-bar, or iron-ingots trade.
> Do You know of iron ore trade in ancient times? (of course I mean
> travelling of iron ore between different communities, on a regional
> scale, excluding very local transport among the territory of the same
> community).
>
> Best wishes
>
> Alessandro Corretti
> Scuola Normale Superiore
> Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7
> 56126 PISA
>
> tel.: ++39/50/509331
> fax: ++39/50/563513
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>----------<
Cornel Doswald
Antonigasse 14 / CH-5620 Bremgarten
Tel./Fax +41 (0)56 633 87 57
E-mail (home): [log in to unmask]
E-mail (work): [log in to unmask]
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