Recreation of ancient iron smelting process

Shirajiv Sirimane in Samanalawewa

Then known as Thambapanni and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, today, only a few would know that Sri
Lanka was one the major exporters, a trading country with international harbours, and possessed
unknown engineering techniques to build major reservoirs, monuments, buildings and other facilities
which even today remain a wonderful mystery.
The ‘Daily News Business’ from today will publish a series of findings of this pre historic era,
reminiscing the rich business culture our ancestors possessed.
Readers too could feed us with information to shirajivs@gmail.com or to business@dailynews.lk

Legend says that when King

Tutankhamen died, around 1400 BC, he was buried with one of the most lavish funerals of all time. When it
was discovered in 1922, the tomb contained more gold than the Royal Bank of Egypt at the time.
Tutankhamen had with him a truly royal weapon an iron dagger with a hilt and sheath of gold decorated with
rock crystal.

The dagger blade had not rusted in more than 3000 years and we do not know how it was forged. A set of 16
small iron chisels was also buried with the king.

This gives some idea of the value of iron at the time. (Tutankhamen’s tomb also contained a dagger with a gold
blade: when artifacts from the tomb went on a world display tour, the golden dagger went along, but the iron
dagger were too precious to risk and stayed in Cairo!)

One of the greatest discoveries of ancient history was fire which helped people to consume cooked food and
also use it for many other purposes. One could say that finding iron too was one of the greatest assets for the
ancient civilization as it helped them to make tools to protect them from animals and also innovations and also
to mould tools for agricultural purposes and help to create engineering marvels.

History says that ancient Sri Lanka too possessed a unique technique to manufacture iron and there is evidence
that these were exported to many countries including Rome to mainly manufacture weapons.

The ancient Sri Lanka used a soil, rich with iron deposits and used a tree called “Yakada Maran” to make
charcoal and built a harness with clay to burn this soil.

The high winds were used for the heating process and with small holes in the make shift kiln the ancestors
managed to achieve 1400 C of heat to melt the iron rich soil and mould iron. Even today many abandoned
furnesses are seen idling in the Samanala Wewa area proving that this process was successfully carried out
thousands of years ago. The discovery of metals was not so widespread, although smelting seems to have been
independently discovered in the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia or may be in Sri Lanka.

Theories and riddles

There are many riddles connected with ancient metallurgy, starting with how smelting was discovered at all.
The campfire theory holds that ores were accidentally used to build stone enclosures around cooking fires and
that people noticed new metals appearing from the ashes.

This process may have worked for lead and mercury, which are easily smelted from their ores at low
temperatures. However, temperatures are not high enough in campfires to smelt copper and certainly not iron.
Another possibility is that people experimenting with mineral pigments discovered accidentally that they
contained metals.

This theory is attractive because iron and copper minerals are also brightly-coloured natural pigments and it
furnishes a likely setting for people to tinker with various methods and observe the results. But the most likely
setting to discover smelting is one where high temperatures are routinely applied, preferably under oxygen
poor conditions, where ore minerals were likely to be placed and where the process would be repeated often
enough for people to observe cause and effect clearly. Such a place was known in ancient times: pottery kilns.
Before the development of the blast furnace, iron smelting was achieved by the reduction at temperatures
below the melting point of the metal, forming an agglomerated ‘bloom’ of low-carbon iron and slag.

The forced-draught (bellows-operated)

shaft furnace known from archaeological studies is usually regarded as the pinnacle of this early smelting
technology. Examples of natural-draught furnaces, in which gas buoyancy in a shaft of sufficient height
induces a draught adequate to drive the smelting process, are also known, but are generally regarded as
disappointingly inefficient by comparison.

Furnace in Samanalawewa
The furnaces are all situated on the western margins of hills and ridges, where they are exposed to the strong
monsoon winds. Field trials using replica furnaces confirm that this furnace type uses a wind-based air-supply
principle that is distinct from either forced or natural draught or show also that it is capable of producing high-
carbon steel. Data collected from a study in the area over four monsoons (1990-92 and 1994) reveal a pattern
of near-mono-directional, high-velocity winds of mean speed 31.5 kmh-1.
Prevailing winds are west-northwest and west, although incident winds vary with local topography. Furnace
used in smelting trials, reconstructed from archaeological data, comprising two elements; a semi-permanent
rear wall and a temporary front wall. The rear wall is aligned north-south and curves westwards at each end to
terminate with upright stones.

The front wall, constructed between the two upright stones, is rebuilt with each smelt. From archaeological
examples, furnace lengths (north-sough axis) shows little variation, averaging 0.4 m. Furnace height, from base
to rim of rear wall, is no more than 0.5 m.

The supporting framework of sticks incorporated here into the front wall was the only feature for which there
was no archaeological evidence. The front wall is designed to withstand the aggressive acting of vitrification
and slag formation during smelting and to be broken at the end of the smelt. Greatest durability is imparted by
the prefired, reused tyres at the base where molten slag collects.

These tyres had already been used in the conventional manner, that is, as refractory conduits through which air
entered the furnace. Using wind-pressure Multiple tyres are generally equated with non-bellows furnaces. The
re-used tuyeres also act as a self-tapping mechanism, allowing slag to flow out of the furnace.

Here the front wall was constructed abutting both rear wall and upright stones, whereas in archaeological
examples it abuts the upright stones only.

The stones thus serve as buffers between the two walls, helping to leave the rear wall free of damage in all but
the extreme ‘comers’.

Peninsular India, including Sri Lanka, is known for its rich ferrous archaeometallurgy references, particularly
those in classical and Islamic literature, to India as a source of high-quality steels have attracted considerable
interest. Given the assumed limitations of bloomery smelting, such steels are regarded (with few exceptions) as
necessarily the product of secondary refining processes.

In South Asia, high-carbon crucible steels are well documented from the eleventh century AD onwards; a form
of such a steel, known as wootz was the raw material of medieval Indo-Islamic ‘Damascus’ awords. The
investigation of the technology of Samanalawewa now indicates that comparable steels were produced
directly, and in substantial quantities, in sophisticated ‘frontal’ smelting furnaces driven by wind-pressure.

The uncommon CSR

The Colombo Dockyard, (CDL)and SR Steel along with Institute of Engineers of Sri Lanka in a qnique ground
breaking and pace setting CSR initiative invested over Rs. 5 million to unearth the mystery of smelting of the
ancient era. They brought down a UK Professor Dr. Gillian Juleff who is an export in this regard and also
investein men meterial and money to reincarnate this project. The chief mentor behind this project, CEO, CDL,
Managala Yapa said that they do not get any material benefits from this initiave but wanted to re create local
ancient technology and once again project it to the world.
The Daily News Business was also invited to witness the historic process, which was a success. The team of
dedicated people from these institutions along with some staff from eh Ceylon ElectricityBoard spent months
doing research to re create the best site for the smelting process, preparing charcoal, rebuilding a kiln, finding
special tiles to act as wind gaps to the kiln and to build many other infrastructure needed to repeat history. The
event began with chanting of seth pirith and later two kilns which were built just a few feet from a original kiln
was filled with stew dust, straw and Yakada Maran tree charcoal. When it was lit up, the heated iron deposited
charcoal was added, the team rested for a few hours.

In the evening the temperatures reached over 1000 degrees and the following day when the flame died down
the kiln wall was broken and the iron was taken out ending a historic process.

History says that iron manufactured thus was transported to Magamtota harbour in Hambantota and was
exported mainly to build weapons and tools!!
- See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/business/recreation-ancient-iron-smelting-
process#sthash.DGbVKAVx.dpuf