Blacksmithing Through the Ages: Earning Their Name
The dawn of the Iron Age began around 1200 BC and marked the beginning of the end of the Bronze Age. During this time, blacksmithing as we know it began to develop, and blacksmiths earned their name. Like the Bronze Age, The Iron Age earned its title because of increased production and usage of the metal it was named after: iron. Advances on and off the battlefield began to change everyday life once iron production began.
“As the Hittite people scattered from their homeland and settled in regions throughout Asia and Europe, they took their knowledge of ironworking with them.”
While civilizations throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa experienced an Iron Age, none began at the same point and each developed differently. Because of this, it is hard to pin specific dates on the Iron Age, and it should be broken down into two distinct periods: the Early Iron Age and the Late Iron Age. This article will focus on the Early Iron Age, from around 1200 BC until 600 BC.
Around 1200 BC, the spread of ironworking seemed to occur, rather suddenly, in several civilizations. The cause of this seemingly quick shift is unknown, but historians feel it is related to the collapse of the Hittite Empire. As the Hittite people scattered from their homeland and settled in regions throughout Asia and Europe, they took their knowledge of ironworking with them. Around this time, wrought iron appeared in areas where only bronze had previously been used. It cannot be coincidental that both the spread of the Hittites—the civilization first credited with ironworking—and the appearance of wrought iron throughout the world occurred at similar times.
RELATED: THE BRONZE AGE BLACKSMITHS
Wrought iron is an iron alloy that has a low carbon content. It is formed when the iron is heated to the proper temperature, at which point it can be worked with tools while still hot to create a shape. Weapons and tools made from wrought iron are tough and malleable and do not require molds like bronze. Instead, wrought iron could be hit with hammers and other tools into the desired shape.
(Image credit: Medium.Com)
The heat source is one of the most critical components needed for ironwork. Firepits of the bronze age did not produce enough consistent heat to smelt the iron out of the ore successfully. During the Iron Age, blacksmiths began using charcoal furnaces, called bloomeries, for the blooms of iron they produced during the smelting process. Bloomeries were usually made from stone, or sometimes clay, and had pipes, called tuyeres, that allowed the blacksmith to control airflow via bellows. These bloomeries allowed for more consistent heat and created successful smelting techniques. While these charcoal pits were not hot enough to melt iron, the spongey mass or bloom produced was a workable iron that could be extracted and worked into shape.
But, just because people at this time learned to smelt and work iron to create weapons and tools did not mean there was an immediate shift from bronze. A properly cured bronze sword was still stronger than an unproperly treated iron sword. Iron in the early Iron Age was only work-hardened, not quenched. This meant that iron weapons were only slightly better than bronze weapons. There are many stories, some told by Polybius and Plutarch, of armies going into battle with inferior iron weapons that bent after only a couple of swings, causing soldiers to stop and straighten their swords.
The first iron weapons and tools may have had their negative points, but their value was in the availability and ease of extraction. Iron ore was, and still is, very easily accessible. Where bronze needed to be created, iron only needed to be extracted. Once this process was learned, iron weapons and tools could be produced faster and in more significant numbers. More iron meant more weapons, more soldiers, and the ability to conquer more land.
“The first iron weapons and tools may have had their negative points, but their value was in the availability and ease of extraction.”
Off the battlefield, there were advancements in tools and farming technology. Here the blacksmith would have also been needed. Farming tools needed to be solid and durable for harvesting, planting, and hunting. Field tools such as hoes and ards (early plows) were all produced with iron heads that lasted longer and allowed for more land to be utilized.
Perhaps one of the most important iron tools for this time was the axe. Charcoal is created when wood is burned at high heat and with minimal exposure to oxygen. Bloomeries relied on charcoal to create enough heat to smelt the iron. In order to harvest enough wood at the pace required, strong axes would have been a necessity. Iron heads proved strong enough to get the job done and, if one broke, it could easily be replaced.
(Image credit: Art History Project)
The Early Iron Age was a time of learning and creating for many civilizations. Ultimately, the increase in iron production meant stronger weapons and tools that lasted longer. The work of the blacksmiths in the Early Iron Age would set the stage for more significant advances in the Late Iron Age. But even in the early days, iron began to change the world. It took time, but by 500 BC, nearly all equipment, weapons, and tools were made from iron, not bronze. As the Iron Age progressed, blacksmiths learned more and more about the properties of iron and continued to improve upon that knowledge.
The use of iron was few and far between at this time, however, and for good reason. Iron was hard to supply and would have been expensive to trade. Pure iron can only be found in meteorites that fall from the sky, and those are rare. Iron-ore is the most abundant source of iron, but for the iron to be extracted successfully, it needs to be smelted out of the rock. Smelting iron would have been difficult and time-consuming for early blacksmiths who had no access to furnace technology and had not yet fully embraced bloomeries.
Want to know more? Check out our previous article here and stay tuned to BRUTE de FORGE for our next installment in our series Blacksmithing Through The Ages. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll never miss a thing.
About the Author
More from Amanda
