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Iron bloom from Žďár nad Sázavou in the light of questions of phosphoric iron in medieval cutlery
Hošek, Jiří ; Malý, K. ; Zavyalov, V.
The examined bloom came from the North of Žďár nad Sázavou, formerly a 13th century medieval town abolished between 1262 and 1276. The bloom was uncovered in pit No.551 (pieces of slag and remnants of furnace were found besides the bloom) situated in the area with traces of metallurgical activities. Investigation of the object revealed that the bloom consisted of inhomogeneous phosphorus-rich metal which presumably was not intended for ordinary treatment. The bloom may be a result of unsuccessful smelting either a semiproduct of a material intended for special purposes. The phosphoric iron was used in production of luxury medieval knives for example. With regards to problems to evidence local luxury knife-making, the semiproducts with elevated phosphorus content could attest an appropriate background for a local luxury-knife production.
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Iron Bloom from the defunct medieval village of Polom (district of Blansko)
Merta, J. ; Hošek, Jiří
The site of the former medieval village of Polom is situated in the margin of an old ironworking district in the centre of Moravian Karst. The only mention about Polom as a living village comes from 1432 (later documents from 1526, 1548, 1560 and 1597 already mention the village as a desolated one). According to the ceramic material (surface prospecting) we can suppose the village existed from the 13th to the 15th centuries. Its extinction is most likely associated with the year-long siege of the neighbouring New Castle during the war between kings Jiři of Poděbrady and Matthias Corvinus. It seems, according to the geography of the surrounding areas, that Polom was an agricultural village. However, recently an iron bloom was unlawfully excavated in the site.
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Catalogue of metallographic examinations of iron objects from medieval sites
Hošek, Jiří
The article introduces the catalogue, which has been prepared in the Laboratories of conservation CAS Prague and which should help archaeometallurgists and archaeologists gain a basic orientation in the archaeometallurgical research into Bohemian and Moravian medieval iron objects that has been carried out to date. Since a number of such metallographic examinations have already been published it was decided above all to insert sites and objects from the 13th to 15th centuries in the first part of the catalogue. The metallography of objects from the medieval village of Pfaffenschlag is shown here as example of how the single sites are treated there.
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New archaeological finds from Horská Kvilda
Hošek, Jiří ; Kudrnáč, Jaroslav
Several iron objects and pieces of slag, including a 14th to 15th centuries war-knife and horseshoe, were found in an area of medieval gold mines near Horská Kvilda in 2002. The war-knife had a blade of high quality with a butt-welded and quenched cutting edge, the handle was presumably made of horn and a guard piece was lily-shaped. There is no doubt that this weapon belongs among the more precious and decorated pieces and we can assume its relation to a higher social environment. The horseshoe (suitable for front hoofs) wasn’t provided by steel (in order to improve its abrasion resistance) and thus ranks among simple products.
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