How Copper Smelters Accidentally Sparked the Birth of the Iron Age

How Copper Smelters Accidentally Sparked the Birth of the Iron Age

Copper smelters once used iron oxide to refine copper, unintentionally advancing the path toward iron metallurgy. Research conducted at Cranfield University provides new insight into the shift from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, suggesting that copper smelters experimenting with iron-rich rocks may have unintentionally paved the way for the invention of iron. The [...]

Copper Workers' Experiments Might Have Helped Usher In Iron Age - Archaeology Magazine

Hematite mineral CRANFIELD, ENGLAND—The development of iron metallurgy was one of the most pivotal moments in human history, as it allowed for the creation of stronger tools and weapons. Yet scholars have long debated about exactly how, when, and where this technological advancement took place. According to a statement released by Cranfield University, it may have been Bronze Age copper smelters who first helped spark the invention of iron. A te…

Discovery in Georgia Reveals How Bronze Age Smelters Sparked the Iron Age

Archaeologists uncover groundbreaking evidence from Georgia’s Kvemo Bolnisi site showing Bronze Age copper smelters deliberately used hematite