| Title |
Metallurgical Investigations of Early Iron Age Artifacts Excavated in the Han River Basin |
| Authors |
윤동석(Tong Suk Yun); 신경환(Kyung Whan Shin) |
| Abstract |
The majority of early ironmaking sites in Korea were situated in the valleys of large rivers near rich iron ore deposits. This study examines, for the first time, the metallurgical characteristics of early iron age artifacts excavated from one of the two major river basins in the Republic of Korea. Chemical analysis and metallographic examination have been carried out on both these artifacts and their related ironmaking residues. From these studies, the technological development of this area at that time has been assessed. It has been shown that, 1) Ironmaking originated in this area in the second or third century B.C. 2) White cast irons were produced from molten metal by high temperature reduction. 3) Steels were produced from sponge iron(Low temperature reduction) by puddling (i.e. repeat forging operations) to eliminate slag. 4) Internal carburization of the low carbon steel produced from sponge iron may have been obtained by multiple piling and forging operations. |