In search of the invisible hearth: An experimental perspective on early Levantine iron production

Conclusive evidence has surfaced for the production of iron objects in urban workshops in the Southern Levant during the early Iron Age. While nearly a dozen sites with metallurgical debris and technical ceramics dating to the 10th–8th c. BCE have contributed to the visibility of the craft, in situ high-temperature installations remain enigmatic in the archaeological record. Our ability to reconstruct the chaîne opératoire of iron production processes within each working context is restricted by the lack of this critical data. In this study we employ methods of experimental archaeology in order to investigate and interpret an assemblage of vitrified technical ceramics found in an early Iron Age metal workshop at the site of Tell es-Safi/Gath situated on the border between the southern coastal plain and the Judean foothills of Israel. As part of a broader research framework, iron smelting experiments were carried out in a simple, clay-built bowl furnace. Materials analogous to the archaeological ceramics were employed to address high temperature alterations occurring in a single installation. Using structural mineralogical and chemical analyses (FTIR, pXRF and SEM-EDS) we characterize the experimental and archaeological technical ceramics to identify the processes that affect and transform these materials during iron production activities. Results were then utilized to interpret production processes and the implementation of technical ceramics in ironworking at Tell es-Safi/Gath. Based on our observations, we address the specialized preparation of technical ceramics in early ironworking, possible reasons for the alteration and preservation of metallurgical installations following their abandonment and attempt to improve the interpretation and classification of vitrified ceramic waste from ancient metallurgical contexts.