Abstract
INCREASING attention has, within the last few years, been devoted to Roman remains in Britain, and a great deal of interest centres round such metallic remains as have survived from this period. Iron was always manufactured by the so-called “direct” process, that is, iron ore was reduced with charcoal direct to the metal without the intermediate formation of pig iron. The method was very wasteful, and in the further working of the metal so much oxidation took place that frequently the whole of the metal disappeared, the finished article consisting almost entirely of the hard ferrosoferric oxide, the remainder being slag or other impurity. This was the case with certain “iron” nails from the Roman villa at Folkestone which were forwarded to me by Mr. S. E. Winbolt.
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FRIEND, J. Could the Romans in Britain Weld Iron?. Nature 116, 749 (1925). https://doi.org/10.1038/116749a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/116749a0
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