|
|
|
The excavations
uncovered numerous structures including mud brick walls and furnaces, in
addition to ceramics, coins, copper alloy debris, glass fragments, slags, ashes,
corroded iron alloy fragments, charcoal and environmental remains such as animal
bones and seeds. The majority of remains were found in an area with a
high concentration of crucible fragments and furnace debris, the so-called
crucible pit. Surface finds which
were possibly related to iron processing, as they were magnetic, were also
collected from adjacent piles of debris. The workshop and
domestic area consist of various rooms and a courtyard. The courtyard is lined
with fired bricks in a diamond pattern with a border. A wall separates the
presumed domestic area and courtyard from the workshop. The
proximity of the domestic dwellings to the industrial area, together with the
relatively small number of furnaces and the quantity of industrial remains
indicated a permanent workshop, possibly run by a family. There appears to have
only been two phases of construction and the comparatively shallow depth of
deposits suggest that the workshop was in use for less than a century and
probably closer to fifty years. |
| © Anna Feuerbach Ph.D 2002 moltenmuse@att.net |