Orgin of Slag from Early Medieval Age Furnaces in Nitra
Julius Dekan, Marcel Miglierini, Danica Stassikova Stukovska
DOI:
Abstract
Two types of archaeological artefacts from remains of Early Medieval Age furnaces excavated in Nitra are analysed. They are supposed to originate from slag of glass and iron production. Employing Mossbauer spectrometry, iron crystallographic sites are identified and compared. In all samples, Fe2+ and Fe3+ structural positions were revealed. Some of the archeological artefacts including those that were supposed to originate from glass production show a presence of metallic iron and/or magnetic oxides. Based on the results of Mossbauer effect measurements performed at room temperature as well as 77 K (liquid nitrogen temperature) analytical evidence is provided that the iron sites identified are not as those usually encountered in glasses. Consequently, a conclusion is proposed that neither of the investigated furnaces was used for glass production.