[MR] Merovingian metalworking (Fwd: [SCA-Laurels] Interesting link for metal geeks)

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This is a technical article on Merovingian  metalworking.  Also at the site 
is an article on impurities in  16th-18th-century Damascus swords.
Ingvild


http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/0508/ehrenreich-0508.html

Here's  the abstract:

The demise of the Roman Empire during the mid-fifth century  A.D.
resulted in the rise of one of Europe's longest ruling families of  the
Middle Ages: the Merovingians. The Merovingian dynasty lasted from  the
mid-fifth to the mid-eighth centuries A.D. and at its height  controlled
states that stretched across France, Belgium, Germany west of  the
Rhineland, and most of Switzerland. Archaeometallurgists used to  believe
that the state of metalworking technology declined after the demise  of
the Roman Empire. To assess the level of sophistication of  metalworking
during this period, a set of 36 iron tools and weapons  were
metallurgically sampled and examined. For comparison, 11 Iron Age,  three
Roman, and four medieval iron artifacts from the same region were  also
sampled. 

Enjoy!

Teleri ferch  Pawl
Ansteorra