Brislington Community Museum


Smithing hearth bottom



Smithing hearth bottom
Click ^ for larger image.


This dome of iron slag is one of a cluster of about ten similar objects found in a 20m radius. Its size and shape is consistent with the build up of waste metal at the bottom of a smithing hearth, and this diagnosis has been confirmed by metallurgical analysis.

It is very difficult to date slag, and these smithing hearth bottoms (or cakes) may be found as early as the Iron Age. However, the number of them found at the site suggests iron was abundant, which indicates a more recent date. As such, they were probably deposited between the 17th and 19th centuries. The ironworking may have been associated with Eastwood Farm.

It, like the others, was found with the flat side uppermost, resting on its characteristically domed underside.

Material: metal

Period: Post Medieval

Find spot: Eastwood Farm, Brislington, ST 6371

Exhibit contributed by Dave Setter & Rod Webb

Text written by Ken Taylor, 2012

Photographer: Ken Taylor

Acquisition number: 120224a6





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