Once they had control of the techniques for producing iron, the forgers of antiquity had a much cheaper and
More abundant metal than bronze, a “democratic metal” that could be used in numerous applications of all types. The classical Greek and Roman civilizations (600 bce-400 ce) didn’t contribute significant advances in metallurgical techniques. They extended the use of iron, as much for weapons as for tools used by artisans and farmers. The expansion of iron metallurgy and its dominance
This series of drawings shows the variety of processes used in and products produced by metal working over time and across cultures: (1) Nuggets of polished iron ore from Mississippian culture in Kentucky; (2) Nuggets of flaked and rubbed iron ore from Mississippian culture; (3) Nuggets of polished iron ore from Mississippian culture; (4)
Pieces of cold-hammered copper from Great Lakes region; (5) Cooper arrowhead and sheet cold-hammered from Mississippian culture in Ohio and Michigan; (6) Cooper sheets cold-hammered and punched from Mississippian culture in Wisconsin; (7) Copper sheets hammered, crimped and corrugated from northwest coast of North America; (8) Copper cast into form of half-socketed axe or adz from Wisconsin; (9) Bronze hatchet blades from Europe; (10) Cast-iron fish; (11) Forged metal from West Africa; (12) Metal worked on anvil from West Africa; (13) Metal pieces welded together by firing and hammering; (14) Metal pieces riveted together; (15) Metal pieces joined by soldering or brazing.
As a useful metal did not, however, pose an obstacle to the development of the nonferrous metals. Gold, silver, and bronze, besides being used for ornamental and household equipment purposes, were linked to the production of currency, whose growing use was related to the expansion of trade. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc known prior to the classic period, began to be widely used for coinage by the Roman empire. Lead, initially a byproduct of silver production, was extracted and removed from silver by cupellation, and was used extensively by the Romans for water pipes and cisterns. Mercury, obtained by means of distillation of cinnabar and used in Greek and Roman times for gilding, was linked to the recovery and refining of a variety of metals, especially gold and silver, through various techniques of amalgamation.
After the fall of the Roman empire, the territories of western Europe entered a long period of economic decline and probable technological stagnation, including stagnation in metallurgical production. Starting from the ninth century CE, however, manufactured metals were again incorporated into daily life in European societies. Nonferrous metallurgy was concentrated around the rich mines of central and Eastern Europe, with a heavy concentration, in particular, of German miners and metallurgists. Complex systems were introduced for the extraction of minerals in deeper and deeper exploitation, especially minerals with silver content. However, the foundry techniques continued to be very similar to those used in antiquity.
It was in iron metallurgy where progress was more significant. The introduction of hydraulic power to move bellows and hammers (in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries), together with the gradual increase in the size of furnaces, allowed a notable increase in the scale of production, higher yields, and a reduction in costs. The fifteenth century saw the spread of the indirect process based on the new technology of the blast furnace and the production of cast iron. to the achievement of higher temperatures, the new furnaces allowed one to obtain liquid metal, which made possible the use of molds for the production of very diverse items, but especially for the foundry of cannons and other smaller artillery pieces, which would have definitive social and political consequences. Nevertheless, most of the cast iron coming from blast furnaces was still destined for conversion into wrought iron.
World History
