Tag: Iron oxide
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How a 3,000-Year-Old Workshop May Unravel the Iron Age Origins
New clues from a 3,000-year-old workshop The Iron Age transformed human civilization with durable tools, improved farming, and new forms of conflict. Yet the origin story of how iron became central to technology remains debated. A fresh examination of a 3,000-year-old site in southern Georgia—Kvemo Bolnisi—offers compelling evidence that iron may have entered metallurgical practice…
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How Copper Smelters Accidentally Sparked the Iron Age
Uncovering a Hidden Link Between Copper and Iron The idea that the Iron Age began with a single, momentous breakthrough is being challenged by new evidence from Cranfield University. Researchers revisited a 3,000-year-old workshop at Kvemo Bolnisi in southern Georgia and uncovered a surprising twist in the story of metallurgy: iron oxide particles were present…
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Iron Emergence from Copper: Kvemo Bolnisi Discovery
Unearthing Kvemo Bolnisi: A 3,000-Year-Old Copper Workshop In the southern Caucasus, the Kvemo Bolnisi site in Georgia preserves a workshop dating back roughly three millennia. When archaeologists excavated the area in the mid-20th century, they unearthed caches of hematite, an iron oxide mineral, and extensive slag—byproducts of metal production. Based on those finds, the original…