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Assessing the personal space of the metalworker

Effie Photos-Jones (Scottish Analytical Services for Art and Archaeology)
Allan Hall (department of archaeology, university of glasgow)

Abstract

Archaeometallurgical studies, having for long focused on aspects of technology, have examined the smith purely on the basis of what he manufactures, i.e the metal, the slag and the means he uses to that end, the raw materials and the furnace installations. We suggest that it is his workshop, with its elusive boundaries and layout, which reflects the smith as well as his metalwork/waste. We present our methodology for accessing the personal space of the metalworker by looking not simply at the metal waste but also at the properties of the soils of the features surrounding his key installations, as an indicator of his activities. Combined magnetic susceptibility, phosphates and heavy metals analyses can reveal unexpected information regarding the smith's working habits, his frustrations and learning curve experiences, also the dynamics of the craft, in the sense that it is not a static and unflexible process.