African steel making 2000 years ago

[bigdummy]

http://www.der.org/films/tree-of-iron-preview.html

[OK]

I wondering if this is the same documentary PBS ran back in the late 1980s or early '90s. I am on dial up, or I would more than guess whether it is or not. The entire village participated, from gathering wood to digging the pit and creating the many several tuyeres and the baby bellows some spent the night sharing, singing. All for the yield of less than a couple of pounds of fine grade steel (iirc). A very different crucible effort than the caves for making wootz

There are a few pages on the net regarding these and I am being a little lazy in plodding through bookmarks to share.

The same types of broadcasts had also included a great one on the making of a Japanese sword.

Great stuff that seems to recycle and reappear from time to time. Some of these have even been redone in later productions of the same themes.

How big is it? Maybe I'll let it download for a few hours.

Cheers

GC

[bigdummy]

Here is an old article about it... I think this came out in the 1970s so you may be right.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... 79,00.html

[OK]

If not, quite similar. There is one site I should dig up again, as it shows a great diagram of the pit and more or less the assembly directions/specs. There is another complete article that comes up on JSTOR but I don't have the access there.

Cheers

GC

[Monster Zero]

This sounds very similar to Japanese steel making.

I'll look up some diagrams/instructions I have at home.

[Magnus Hagelberg]

sounds about the same way mongols where using Kilns up in mongolia.. at least that's what the residues after the Khans City indicates.