| Abstract: |
Introduction: The relationship between the geological origin and the chemical composition (especially of trace element levels) is well established for a variety of archaeological materials. The relation is closest and most definite where the material was used directly, as with obsidian, but it can still be traced, as with bronze, where much chemical processing has taken place. The success of such a study depends upon the distinctions pre-existing in the various sources under consideration, and the extent to which these are modified or lost by subsequent chemical operations, such as smelting, or physical operations such as alloying or re-cycling. In this paper we show that the same methods can be used successfully on iron artefacts. The ubiquity of iron ores requires that the archaeological context of the study must be carefully chosen to restrict the number of sources under consideration as far as possible. The complexities of the smelting processes, especially with regard to the chemistry of the slag, and the likelihood of a separate smithing process, can help to confuse the issue
though, for the same reasons, analysis of the iron and its inclusions can yield information on such processes. It is probably for these reasons, as well as the unattractive appearance of a long-buried iron tool, that very little attention has been paid to the sourcing of iron. The study by Haldane (1970) was interesting, but inconclusive. Those by Piaskowski (1970) have had little general applicability. However, in the last few years there has been more interest in the subject as is shown by the work of Charles and Todd (1977, 1978) and Salter (1976).
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