<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">According to historical sources in the basin of Mała Panew River there were at least 56 water-powered iron smelters from 14th-19th century. Now only two metallurgy plants work in the area. Many of the former smelting settlements ceased to exist. Historical data on the smelting industry in the area are often scarce. The aim of the study was to reconstruct the history of ferrous metallurgy from (1) the remains of wooden historical buildings, (2) remains of charcoal kilns and (3) deposits from former smelter pond. Results show that Regolowiec smelting settlement existed already in the 17th century (at least several decades earlier than historical written sources suggest) and was later re-paired after destruction caused probably by floods. Charcoal used for iron smelting in the ironworks in Brusiek on the Mała Panew River was burnt at the turn of the 18th century. This is in accordance with historical sources indicating particular prosperity of the metallurgy in that period. Upstream of the ironworks in Brusiek in the first half of the 17th century a large pond existed flooding the floor of the Mała Panew valley. Study has shown that the pond was at least 100 years older than historical sources have indicated. </abstract>

According to historical sources in the basin of Mała Panew River there were at least 56 water-powered iron smelters from 14th-19th century. Now only two metallurgy plants work in the area. Many of the former smelting settlements ceased to exist. Historical data on the smelting industry in the area are often scarce. The aim of the study was to reconstruct the history of ferrous metallurgy from (1) the remains of wooden historical buildings, (2) remains of charcoal kilns and (3) deposits from former smelter pond. Results show that Regolowiec smelting settlement existed already in the 17th century (at least several decades earlier than historical written sources suggest) and was later re-paired after destruction caused probably by floods. Charcoal used for iron smelting in the ironworks in Brusiek on the Mała Panew River was burnt at the turn of the 18th century. This is in accordance with historical sources indicating particular prosperity of the metallurgy in that period. Upstream of the ironworks in Brusiek in the first half of the 17th century a large pond existed flooding the floor of the Mała Panew valley. Study has shown that the pond was at least 100 years older than historical sources have indicated.

Historical water-powered ferrous metallurgy reconstructed from tree-rings and lacustrine deposits (Mała Panew basin, southern Poland)

Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland

Family Kolping Association, Leśna 8, 47-110 Kolonowskie, Poland

Forest District Koszęcin, Sobieskiego 1, 42-286 Koszęcin, Poland

Geochronometria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

According to historical sources in the basin of Mała Panew River there were at least 56 water-powered iron smelters from 14th-19th century. Now only two...

Historical water-powered ferrous metallurgy reconstructed from tree-rings and lacustrine deposits (Mała Panew basin, southern Poland)

Publicado en línea: 20 may 2015

Páginas: -

Recibido: 26 ago 2014

Aceptado: 05 feb 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/geochr-2015-0004

© 2015

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.