Tuyere

An iron-smelting site in Dörfl (Burgenland, Austria) produced
approximately 175 tuyères. The tuyères from slag heap
Nr. 1 are all nearly identically shaped, and have reduced
wall thickness and almost no defects in their workmanship.
The tuyères are smooth inside, round, and were made by
an experienced hand. The smelting site was used in several
phases. At first, there was intensive production by an experienced
group that was later replaced by people, who, it
seems, acquired their knowledge by watching the experienced
group and then continued the iron production in a
less experienced way. Our experiments show furthermore
that a total of 1.7 tons of wrought iron was produced and
that the use of the technique of blowing through the oven
breast is likely. The similarity with the furnace in Nemeskér
(Hungary), as well as dating by thermoluminescence, places
the smelting site in a direct Avar-Slavic cultural tradition
and dates it to the mid-9th century.

Un diagnostic d’archéologie préventive réalisé à la Bastide Neuve II (Velaux, Bouches-du-Rhône) a livré dans une structure foyère de l’Âge du bronze ancien un objet conique perforé en céramique que l’on retrouve classiquement sous l’appellation de tuyère dans la littérature francophone. Cette nouvelle découverte est l’occasion de faire le point sur ces objets en Europe occidentale. Si leur rôle dans la chaîne opératoire métallurgique est confirmé par leurs contextes de découvertes (atelier de réduction ou de fusion du cuivre et de ses alliages, sépultures de métallurgistes…) leur fonction précise sera discutée. Leurs caractéristiques morphologiques permettent en effet d’en dégager trois types principaux. Pour deux d’entre eux nous proposons une différence fonctionnelle correspondant, d’une part, à des buses de chalumeaux et, d’autre part, à des buses de soufflets, auxquelles se rattache l’exemplaire de la Bastide Neuve II. La répartition de ces deux types d’objets au Bronze ancien permet alors d’alimenter le débat sur l’origine et la diffusion de techniques métallurgiques en Europe occidentale.

Abstract
A diagnosis of archeology conducted at the Bastide Neuve II (Velaux, Bouches-du-Rhône) delivered in a fire pit of the early Bronze Age a conical and perforated ceramic’s object which is usually named tuyere in the French’s literature. This new discovery is the opportunity to take stock of these objects in Western Europe. Their role in ancient metallurgy is confirmed by their funding contexts (workshop of reduction or fusion of copper and its alloys, burials of metalworkers…) but their function will be discussed. Their morphological characteristics allow identifying three main types. For two of them we propose a functional difference corresponding to blowpipe’s nozzles and bellow’s nozzles, which the last one matches with the Bastide Neuve II’s model. The distribution of these two types during the early Bronze Age allows making hypothesis about the origin and diffusion of metallurgical techniques in Western Europe.

Based on residues of ironworking and non-ferrous metalworking from the settlement mound Feddersen Wierde the authors re-evaluate W. HAARNAGEL's ideas concerning the organisation of metalworking. Distribution and quantity of the finds are interpreted as indicating a rather small scale metalworking without a marked differentiation between the working of iron and non-ferrous metal. The idea of a specialised metal handcraft has been rejected in favour of polytechnically skilled craftsmen. They would either have worked as craftsmen and farmers (agricultural polytechnics), or they would have practised several crafts (polytechnically skilled professional craftsmen).

Inhalt:
Auf Grundlage der Funde zur Eisen- und Buntmetallverarbeitung von der Wurt Feddersen Wierde wird W. HAARNAGELs Auffassung zur Organisation der Metallverarbeitung neu bewertet. Die Verbreitung und Menge des Fundmaterials werden dahingehend interpretiert, daß das Ausmaß der Metallverarbeitung gering und keine ausgeprägte Trennung zwischen Eisen- und Buntmetallverarbeitung vorhanden war. Die Vorstellung eines spezialisierten Metallhandwerks wird zugunsten polytechnisch begabter Handwerker aufgegeben, die entweder Handwerk und Landwirtschaft betrieben (bäuerliche Polytechniker) oder mehrere Handwerke nebeneinander ausübten (polytechnisch begabte Berufshandwerker).