Phil Patrick Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Well folks, work has seen fit to send me to the mothership in Sarego Italy. I leave this Saturday, gone till friday. My personal goal is to see if I can get a nice group of pics to post, both blacksmithing related or otherwise. Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Please take lots of photos. I can set up a folder for them in the gallery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I'm off to south Sri Lanka this summer for a month-long busman's holiday. Am planning to do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Have a good time and good luck to both of you. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Matt; did you read that article in "nature" a couple of years ago about the monsoon wind powered smelters in Sri Lanka? *Very* interesting if you are into that sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Indeed Thomas I have; Dr Juleff is my archaeometallurgy tutor, and is running this 'busman's holiday'... which is in fact part of the 'Monsoon Steel' project! Most of what we're doing this year is constructing a museum display of the technology. Creating display boards and such, and the centrepiece will be a full-scale replica furnace, made fom the correct (authentic) materials. We will also be performing field surveys of some of the many smelting/furnace sites, and visiting the site where a series of experimental smelts were performed last year. Considering it's a very significant technology of which we know very little and the specialities of Dr Juleff and the department, I could well be writing my dissertation on some aspect of this technology.Ancient Smelter Used Wind To Make High-Grade Steel - New York TimesThe University of Exeter - SoGAER - Department of Archaeology These articles give a little background for the uninitiated. Sorry to hijack the thread like this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 My AFS brother was from Sri Lanka; but I've never had a chance to visit. What a trip you lucky dog! Any chance of getting a sample of a bloom? Please feel free to post cites on the subject as there is a bunch of us backyard bloomery folks hiding out round these parts Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Mate I'd love to get my hands on a bloom or 10, but there will be no smelts this year. Departmental budgets are tight, as always, and to be honest we have enough data for now. I can however try and get you any data you want. Gill has however discussed scale-model furnaces in a wind tunnel... anyone got one spare? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 You know that they say that "you know it's spring in NM when your neighbor's concrete blocks start blowing into your yard..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 That's more than a little interesting Matt. Have you heard anything about hill smelters in ancient Poland? I recall reading about them years ago but have found no other references and don't know if it was fiction or not. Thanks for posting the write ups and please keep us posted. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 No Frosty I have not. A quick Google doesn't seem to bring anything of relevance up. Do you have a link perchance? No problem, I love to share knowledge, and I've gained enough from this fine website I'd better start giving some back BTW I haven't forgotten about those articles I was going to send you, just I've been inundated with work of various sorts recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 I haven't seen anything searching the net either though I haven't really spent any time at it. No link, it's something I read many years before the net and don't recall all that much about them. What I do recall is my visualizations from the description. 40'+ long trench 6-10' wide, roofed over (sand stone?) and steep, 40* or better. The bottom faces into the prevailing wind while the top clears the crest. Charcoal and ore are charged at the top and iron runs out the bottom. Supposedly dark ages perhaps older. I tried opening the links you sent but no joy. My server gets odd at times, I think it's just the net but maybe being so close to the pole Coriolis effect makes the electrons dizzy. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan B Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 looking forward to the pics. There's a lot of beautiful iron work in Italy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.