Lågteknisk järnhantering i Jämtlands län

The bloomery furnace technigue suited the kind of society existing in Jämtland and Härjedalen during prehistoric times and right down to the nineteenth century. This theses is based upon different sources in order to study the importance and changes in iron production in the area. The ancient monuments inventory has made it possible to deduce in which areas ironworking was conducted on a significant scale. Written sources and place names do not really contradict the inventory findings in any way, but some areas appear to be under-represented. Altogether we have 431 known sites in Jämtland and 290 in Härjedalen. On 19 of theese archaeological investigations have been made. Three main types of furnace occur in the material: 1. clay-lined pit furnace, 2. clay-lined shaf furnace and dry-stone walled pit furnace. The third type is most common in both Jämtland and Härjedalen. The radion carbon method gives us an undirect data for the operation of blommery furnaces. This indicates two main horizons for the ironworking, a prehistoric horizon, spanning from 200 B.C. to 1200 A.D., and a more recent horizon between about 1050-1850. The older horizon is shore-bound and mainly confined to Storsjön. The great majority of the later sites are in forest areas, directly adjoining wetlands. Situated in an attempt to reconstruct models of the iron working a retrospective approach has been adopted in order to identify the social sphere. The iron production during the Migration Period in Jämtland probably formed part of a redistributive system in which this area were exploited from Medelpad, Hälsingland or Tröndelagen. This has been considered previously, in view of the large number of spadeshaped billets.
Med sammanfattning på engelska