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Minerals
Volume 15
Issue 12
10.3390/min15121274
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Article

Observations Suggesting the Use of Manganese-Rich Oxidized Clay Iron Stone Concretions for Iron Production During the Early Roman Imperial Period in the Inner Barbaricum—A Multi-Method Approach

by
Christian Helmreich
1,2,*,
Florian Kobbe
2,
Horst Kierdorf
3,
Uwe Kierdorf
3 and
Martin Sauerwein
1
1
Institute of Geography, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany
2
Archaeological Open Air and Research Museum NAKUBI, 31275 Lehrte, Germany
3
Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2025, 15(12), 1274; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121274 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 2 October 2025 / Revised: 25 November 2025 / Accepted: 28 November 2025 / Published: 1 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogical and Geochemical Insights into Cultural Heritage Materials)
Versions Notes

Abstract

This article reports results of the geoarchaeological investigation of an early historical bloomery iron smelting site in northern Central Europe. Based on earlier field archaeological and experimental archaeological findings, which date back to an excavation in Sehnde (Hanover Region, Lower Saxony, Germany) in 2017, further experimental archaeological iron smelting experiments (furnace runs) have now provided information about the raw materials used in Sehnde during the Early Roman Imperial Period in Germania Magna (Inner Barbaricum) and the smelting process itself. The results of the present study suggest that no bog iron ore (BIOre) was smelted. Rather, manganese-rich carbonatic clay ironstone concretions (OCISCs) that had been oxidized by weathering and that were very rich in iron were apparently used as ores. Our study provides insights into metallurgical operations in the southern North German Plain during the Early Roman Imperial Period using a sampling and experimental archaeological test design created specifically for the local conditions.
Keywords: bloomery iron workshop; ore; clay iron stone concretions; bog iron ore; Roman Period; Northern Germany; experimental archaeology; XRF; EDS; LIBS; trace elements bloomery iron workshop; ore; clay iron stone concretions; bog iron ore; Roman Period; Northern Germany; experimental archaeology; XRF; EDS; LIBS; trace elements

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MDPI and ACS Style

Helmreich, C.; Kobbe, F.; Kierdorf, H.; Kierdorf, U.; Sauerwein, M. Observations Suggesting the Use of Manganese-Rich Oxidized Clay Iron Stone Concretions for Iron Production During the Early Roman Imperial Period in the Inner Barbaricum—A Multi-Method Approach. Minerals 2025, 15, 1274. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121274

AMA Style

Helmreich C, Kobbe F, Kierdorf H, Kierdorf U, Sauerwein M. Observations Suggesting the Use of Manganese-Rich Oxidized Clay Iron Stone Concretions for Iron Production During the Early Roman Imperial Period in the Inner Barbaricum—A Multi-Method Approach. Minerals. 2025; 15(12):1274. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121274

Chicago/Turabian Style

Helmreich, Christian, Florian Kobbe, Horst Kierdorf, Uwe Kierdorf, and Martin Sauerwein. 2025. "Observations Suggesting the Use of Manganese-Rich Oxidized Clay Iron Stone Concretions for Iron Production During the Early Roman Imperial Period in the Inner Barbaricum—A Multi-Method Approach" Minerals 15, no. 12: 1274. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121274

APA Style

Helmreich, C., Kobbe, F., Kierdorf, H., Kierdorf, U., & Sauerwein, M. (2025). Observations Suggesting the Use of Manganese-Rich Oxidized Clay Iron Stone Concretions for Iron Production During the Early Roman Imperial Period in the Inner Barbaricum—A Multi-Method Approach. Minerals, 15(12), 1274. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121274

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