Fuelling the blacksmiths furnace : a multidisciplinary study into the use of ‘smithy’ coal in the iron-working industry of a late medieval harbour system, Bruges (Belgium)
- Author
- Paulina Biernacka (UGent) , Wim De Clercq (UGent) , Elisa Bonduel (UGent) , Patrick Barnard, Duncan Mc Lean, Rick Harding, Maxime Poulain (UGent) , Jan Trachet (UGent) , Stijn Dewaele (UGent) and Johan De Grave (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- Large amounts of iron slag were discovered during archaeological excavations in the late medieval harbour of Hoeke (Municipality of Damme, Belgium), one of the main outer harbours of Bruges. This waste product indicates the presence of 13th‐ to 14th‐century pre‐industrial metalworking activities, such as blacksmithing, which involved the production of iron objects and the repair of ships, as historically documented on this site. Besides the waste products from iron working, fragments of coal were also discovered within the same deposits, both as separate pieces and included in the slags, suggesting that coal was used as a fuel during these activities. This discovery resulted in a multidisciplinary study applying geochemical, palaeontological, and historical analyses that allowed to identify the provenance of the coal (Northumberland‐Durham Coalfield) as well as to provide new insights into maritime coal trade during this period. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of pre‐industrial craft practices in the Bruges harbour system and expands the knowledge of the fuel sources used in the late medieval harbour's iron‐working activities.
- Keywords
- coal, medieval harbours of Bruges, smithing
Downloads
-
(...).pdf
- full text (Published version)
- |
- UGent only
- |
- |
- 13.81 MB
Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01JB16Y5XQ6VPEZMM5MJVZ0WNX
- MLA
- Biernacka, Paulina, et al. “Fuelling the Blacksmiths Furnace : A Multidisciplinary Study into the Use of ‘smithy’ Coal in the Iron-Working Industry of a Late Medieval Harbour System, Bruges (Belgium).” ARCHAEOMETRY, vol. 67, no. 3, 2025, pp. 682–98, doi:10.1111/arcm.13036.
- APA
- Biernacka, P., De Clercq, W., Bonduel, E., Barnard, P., Mc Lean, D., Harding, R., … De Grave, J. (2025). Fuelling the blacksmiths furnace : a multidisciplinary study into the use of “smithy” coal in the iron-working industry of a late medieval harbour system, Bruges (Belgium). ARCHAEOMETRY, 67(3), 682–698. https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.13036
- Chicago author-date
- Biernacka, Paulina, Wim De Clercq, Elisa Bonduel, Patrick Barnard, Duncan Mc Lean, Rick Harding, Maxime Poulain, Jan Trachet, Stijn Dewaele, and Johan De Grave. 2025. “Fuelling the Blacksmiths Furnace : A Multidisciplinary Study into the Use of ‘smithy’ Coal in the Iron-Working Industry of a Late Medieval Harbour System, Bruges (Belgium).” ARCHAEOMETRY 67 (3): 682–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.13036.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Biernacka, Paulina, Wim De Clercq, Elisa Bonduel, Patrick Barnard, Duncan Mc Lean, Rick Harding, Maxime Poulain, Jan Trachet, Stijn Dewaele, and Johan De Grave. 2025. “Fuelling the Blacksmiths Furnace : A Multidisciplinary Study into the Use of ‘smithy’ Coal in the Iron-Working Industry of a Late Medieval Harbour System, Bruges (Belgium).” ARCHAEOMETRY 67 (3): 682–698. doi:10.1111/arcm.13036.
- Vancouver
- 1.Biernacka P, De Clercq W, Bonduel E, Barnard P, Mc Lean D, Harding R, et al. Fuelling the blacksmiths furnace : a multidisciplinary study into the use of “smithy” coal in the iron-working industry of a late medieval harbour system, Bruges (Belgium). ARCHAEOMETRY. 2025;67(3):682–98.
- IEEE
- [1]P. Biernacka et al., “Fuelling the blacksmiths furnace : a multidisciplinary study into the use of ‘smithy’ coal in the iron-working industry of a late medieval harbour system, Bruges (Belgium),” ARCHAEOMETRY, vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 682–698, 2025.
@article{01JB16Y5XQ6VPEZMM5MJVZ0WNX,
abstract = {{Large amounts of iron slag were discovered during archaeological excavations in the late medieval harbour of Hoeke (Municipality of Damme, Belgium), one of the main outer harbours of Bruges. This waste product indicates the presence of 13th‐ to 14th‐century pre‐industrial metalworking activities, such as blacksmithing, which involved the production of iron objects and the repair of ships, as historically documented on this site. Besides the waste products from iron working, fragments of coal were also discovered within the same deposits, both as separate pieces and included in the slags, suggesting that coal was used as a fuel during these activities. This discovery resulted in a multidisciplinary study applying geochemical, palaeontological, and historical analyses that allowed to identify the provenance of the coal (Northumberland‐Durham Coalfield) as well as to provide new insights into maritime coal trade during this period. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of pre‐industrial craft practices in the Bruges harbour system and expands the knowledge of the fuel sources used in the late medieval harbour's iron‐working activities.}},
author = {{Biernacka, Paulina and De Clercq, Wim and Bonduel, Elisa and Barnard, Patrick and Mc Lean, Duncan and Harding, Rick and Poulain, Maxime and Trachet, Jan and Dewaele, Stijn and De Grave, Johan}},
issn = {{0003-813X}},
journal = {{ARCHAEOMETRY}},
keywords = {{coal,medieval harbours of Bruges,smithing}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{682--698}},
title = {{Fuelling the blacksmiths furnace : a multidisciplinary study into the use of ‘smithy’ coal in the iron-working industry of a late medieval harbour system, Bruges (Belgium)}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.13036}},
volume = {{67}},
year = {{2025}},
}
- Altmetric
- View in Altmetric
- Web of Science
- Times cited: