British Isles Iron Production during the Roman Occupation - Essay Example

The Evidence Concerning the Chain of Operation in Iron Production in the British Isles during the Roman Occupation Between 43 and 410 AD, the Romansinvaded and established their reign in Great Britain (Ireland 2008). This period saw the wide spread use of iron-made goods, and wood products among other items made of locally available materials. Even before the Romans occupied the British Isles, the locals are known to have engaged in iron mining, smelting and trade. Some of the iron products that the Roman occupants made during their stay in the British Isles included plates, weapons and working tools. This paper seeks to discuss the production of iron during the period of the Roman invasion in British Islands. One of the most famous iron production points in the British Isles was the Ashdown Forest according to Ireland (2008). The place was clearly a vital part of the Wealden iron industry having been in operation from pre-historic periods. Considering that its geology that was made up of sandstone Ashdon Beds and clay mad it easier for the extraction of iron. The place was also favorable in that there was enough wood that would be used during the smelting process (Ireland 2008). Furthermore, the soft sandstones could be carved to form valleys and lakes that would eventually provide water for powering the forges and furnaces. The process of identifying the iron mines depended on the availability of wood used for smelting fuel which was abundant in British Isles. This was because iron ores were found everywhere in the country and iron quite inexpensive (Burnham 1997). Britain emerged to be a right place for getting iron which was required for making war machines used by the Romans. The Romans constructed most f the underground mines found in Britain. Iron was mined in open pits as well as underground fields with slaves bearing the weights of the work involved in the mining or the ore. Iron Ore Mining and Smelting After extracting the ore from the mine it was the crushed and washed according to Burnham (1997). Once the iron ore had been mined from the open pits, they had to be cleaned before undergoing further processing. The iron oxide was then left after washing and later was smelted through the bloomery method. Charcoal was used for heating up the iron to about 1500 degrees Celsius and the resulting slag was removed and dumped (Burnham 1997). After the iron was smelted, it was transferred to forges where it underwent reheating and then used in the formation of weapons and other items. Later, the blast furnace was introduced in the industry and took a preeminent position in the smelting of the ore according to Burnham (1997). The blast furnace was initially being used in northern France and it was operated by immigrant workers who were well skilled in its operation. It was larger and had a structure which was more robust compared to the bloomery (Hodgkinson 2011). The blast furnace needed more ore, charcoal and water power to operate the bellows. The furnace was operated at higher temperatures meaning that the iron produced was of a different type. Production of Iron Objects The creation of iron-made objects was done using different methods. The refined metal was taken to the forgery where it was formed into various shapes under intense pressure and impulsive loads. Later in the 1540s, some individuals started applying the casting process to make goods (Hodgkinson 2011). Casting proved to be more profitable, less labour intensive and more convenient for the production of iron products. When making Samian ware the casting process was used. When creating a mould, a model of any shape was made and then compressed in clay to form a mould (Lambrick and Robinson 1979). Molten metal would then be poured into the mould, usually made of wax or clay, and later extracted upon cooling. After the metal had been poured into the aperture, similar pieces would be formed. From this process, a line of uniform objects could be created making the process become much similar to mass production practiced din many industries today. The individual artisans’ innovativeness played a great role in the creation of unique handcrafted objects according to Lambrick and Robinson (1979). This was the work of rural small-scale metal workers applying local techniques. In transportation of the Forest’s iron products to London, the highly populated agricultural regions of South Downs and the coastal plains of Chichester, the Romans could have used the trunk road between Lewes and London according to Ireland (2008). The road was partially made of iron slag from the local Bloomeries. The iron products transported to London and other roman provinces were not finished products but semi finished. They were to be finished in the respective destinations and distributed overseas. Archeological Evidences Before the invasion in 43 AD, the Romans had already occupied the southern coast of Britain and established Bloomery production in the region. It is believed that the Roman-era bath building that was poorly built at Garden Hill proved that there existed continuity in indigenous way of life and desire to imitate the Roman way of life. The Romans considered Romney Marsh as the only route they could use to reach the iron resources in the east of Weald. They used Brede and Rother rivers as transport routes to move from the Eastern Weald (where iron existed) to the sea and back. Although the British people were the first to establish the iron industry through the Iron Age people, the Romans became the first to expand it in the mid of the first century AD. Archeologists had problems in proving whether the Romans were really in the East of Weald because of the frequent landslides at the site which caused disruption of the fossils. However, recent excavations have given more information on the stay of the Romans in the region. The British Isles have numerous archaeological evidences that show the large scale excavations, trade routes and the process of smelting of metals (Salway 2001). The late Iron Age is associated with the Romans and believed to have taken place in two adjacent sites, which are, west of Cunobeline Way and Sheepen (Salway 2001). The earliest proofs are some large and smaller ditches, pits or post holes and three ovens of the Iron Age. Also, in the early Roman dates large numbers of rectilinear ditched enclosures were established. The enclosures were bounded by huge ditches and occupied by a series of substantial ditches. Most of the findings including military objects from these regions were associated with the Neronians and some of them were believed to have been used for ritual activities. With great excavations and proper biological analysis, archeologists have been able to provide proof for the existence of Iron Age land use and settlement of Romans and their shifting patterns of settlement on the floodplain and gravel terrace of the valley of Thebes (Salway 2001). The storage groups and waste or dumping ditches on the gravel terrace represented the original early Iron Age settlement. While the building and slag that existed in the site did not indicate the overall settlement pattern but rather proved that there was small scale iron working. The occupation of the Romans in the site was proved by the changes in fabric and pottery styles, farming methods and the shifting patterns in their settlement (Mattingly 2006). During the middle Iron Age, they constructed three farmsteads which were made of small ditched enclosures and stock pens. The farmsteads were made on the open fields whereas other enclosures especially for the stock were constructed on the gravel terrace. The farmsteads were constructed in wet open grasslands in the floodplains so as to be used for pasture. Conclusion The Roman invasion of British Islands in the period between 43 AD and 410 AD was characterized by the mining, smelting, production and trade in iron goods. The mining which was mainly done by slaves involved the use of manual labor, the workers having to use crude tools to excavate the ground from the top and also beneath the earth’s surface. Once the ore had been retrieved from the ground, it was cleaned, ground and refined using heat fuelled by charcoal. The metal was later forged or cast into products and sold locally or to other parts of present Great Britain. There are several archeological evidences that reveal the nature of work involved at the time of the Roman Invasion of the British Isles. Some of the most evident include traces of the slag left after the refining process in some parts of Weald. While the presence of slag may not conclusively show the process used in the production of iron products, it actually reveals that the ore underwent a refining process that involved heating the metal to liquid form. Other evidences include ancient ovens, ditches, military products, pottery, blast furnaces, bloomeries and shifting settlement patterns in the Isles. The cast products and forged products reveal the processes that were used did in the actual production of the specific items of the time. Reference List Burnham, C. (1997) "Roman Mining at Dolaucothi: the Implications of the 1991-3 Excavations near the Carreg Pumsaint". Britannia 28 325-336. Hodgkinson Jeremy (2011). Wealden Iron Research Group. Retrieved from http://www.wealdeniron.org.uk/hist.htm [Accessed 24th March, 2011] Ireland S. (2008) Roman Britain, A Sourcebook, (3rd ed.) London . Lambrick G. and Robinson M. (1979) “Iron Age and Roman riverside settlements at Farmoor, Oxfordshire”. CBA Research Report No 32 Oxfordshire Archaeological Unit: Report 2 Mattingly, D. J. (2006). An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire. London: Penguin Salway P. (2001) A History of Roman Britain. Oxford Read More