An iron holk ax with a steel blade and an iron ax used for hunting and firewood dating to over 2,000 years ago. These are some of the discoveries made by archaeologists in the arctic parts of Europe. All areas where the finds were made are adjacent to lakes and watercourses. – They produced steel and they had advanced blacksmithing skills at this time. Our findings overturn the description of history both on a Swedish level, but also globally, says Carina Bennerhag, archaeologist at the Norrbotten Museum who now holds a doctorate in the history of technology. Collaboration between researchers The discoveries are a collaboration between Luleå University of Technology’s research in the history of technology, archeology and archaeometallurgy. Chemical analyzes show that the iron ore came from lakes and marshes in the region. In the furnaces that were built of clay and fired with charcoal, production could amount to 80 kilos of iron. That it occurred so early and so far away from the supposed center of iron and steel production in ancient Europe, the Roman Empire, has previously been unknown. That it was hunters and gatherers who possessed these advanced skills, and not an agricultural population, also goes against the usual historical view. The northern iron and steel makers were also more stationary than historians and archaeologists previously thought. Not just the Romans – It has been thought that only the Romans could do it 2,000 years ago. It was probably not knowledge that came from the Roman Empire, but knowledge that came from the east, it is established that this region had a lot of contacts to the east, says Kristina Söderholm, professor of technology history at Luleå University of Technology. The research group has found around 40 places where steel was produced in northern Europe. Half of them are in Norrbotten. The research will continue and a larger number of sites are expected to be found in Finland. The researchers will now investigate why so many ancient hunter-gatherer societies in a large geographical area and at about the same time chose to devote themselves to iron and steel production.
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