Iron smelting or smithery: surveying the uncertain iron working sites in Estonia

Abstract

The article discusses four little-studied ironworking sites in Estonia, where 1-2-day fieldwork was conducted in 2024. The main objective was to collect slag and iron samples for metallographic analysis and radiocarbon dating. Despite the short duration of the fieldwork, significant results were achieved in identifying and characterising ironworking activities at the sites studied. The results show that even small-scale studies can provide valuable information when combined with metallographic and radiocarbon analysis of iron artefacts. The dating of cast iron proved to be important, as there is no evidence of its targeted production in Estonia before the 15th century.