RCIN and OZwRCIN projects

Object

Title: Metal, Swords, and Birds. A Myth Spanning Time, Place, and Cultures

Creator:

Kucypera, Paweł

Date issued/created:

2017

Resource type:

Text

Subtitle:

Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae. Fasc. 30 (2017)

Publisher:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of Polish Academy of Sciences ; Polish Academy of Sciences. Łódź Branch

Place of publishing:

Łódź

Description:

ill. ; 29 cm

Type of object:

Journal/Article

Abstract:

During the late 1950s, a discovery of precipitates interpreted as nitrides in the structure of Iron Age iron objects led to the forming of a hypothesis, in which deliberate nitriding of iron in the distant past was implied. The allegedly purposeful introduction of nitrogen to form compounds with iron was linked to the Þiðriks saga. There, in a fragment devoted to the making of the sword Mimming, Velent the smith feeds domestic fowl with filings from a ground down blade, which he later picks up from the birds’ droppings and reforges into a new weapon of superior quality and performance. Bafflingly, this seemingly unbelievable story appears in faraway lands, in different time periods. The paper presents the context and circumstances of the occurrence of this myth and provides a technological commentary.

References:

Balhausen C. 1958. Notions concerning the Wieland Saga. „Powder Metallurgy Bulletin” 7, 69-72.
Bertelsen H. (ed.) 1905-1911. Þiðriks saga af Bern. „Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur” 34. København.
Bhardwaj H. C. 1979. Aspects of Ancient Indian Technology. A Research Based on Scientific Methods. Delhi, Varanasi, Patna.
Biborski M., Kaczanowski P., Kędzierski Z., Stępiński J. 1982. Miecze obosieczne z cmentarzysk kultury przeworskiej w Chmielowie Piaskowym, woj. Kielce i Gaci, woj. Przemyśl w świetle analizy archeologicznej i badań metaloznawczych. „Sprawozdania Archeologiczne” 33, 99-133.
Biborski M., Kaczanowski P., Kędzierski Z., Stępiński J. 1997. Badania metaloznawcze mieczy z cmentarzyska ludności kultury przeworskiej w Krupicach, woj. Białystok. In: J. Gruba, A. Kokowski (eds.), Kultura Przeworska 3, Lublin, 227-241.
Buchwald V. F. 2005. Iron and steel in ancient times. Historisk-filosofiske Skrifter 29, København.
Buquet Th. 2013. Fact Checking: Can Ostriches Digest Iron? „Medieval Animal Data Network”, http://mad.hypotheses.org/131 [2016-11-05].
Coghlan H. H. 1956-1957. Etruscan and Spanish Swords of Iron. „Sibrium” 3, 167-174.
Davidson H. E. 1994. The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England: its archaeology and literature. Woodbridge, Rochester.
Doan A. S. Jr., Goldstein J. I. 1969. The Formation of Phosphides in Iron Meteorites. In: P. M. Millman (ed.), Meteorite Research. „Astrophysics and Space Science Library” 12. Dordrecht, 763-779.
Föll H. [n.d.]. Iron, Steel and Swords. Script, https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/backbone.pdf [2016-10-15].
Hall M. E. 1995. Viking Age Ironworking: The Evidence from Old Norse Literature. „Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers” 78, 195-203.
Hoyland R. G., Gilmour B. 2006. Medieval Islamic Swords and Swordmaking. Oxford.
Jack K. H. 1951. The occurrence and the crystal structure of α′′-ironnitride; a new type of interstitial alloy formed during the tempering ofnitrogen-martensite. „Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences” 208 (1093), 216-224.
Kędzierski Z., Stępiński J., Zielińska-Lipiec A. 2010. An investigation of nitride precipitates in archaeological iron artefacts from Poland. „Journal of Microscopy” 237 (3), 271-274.
Needham J. 1964. The Development of Iron and Steel Technology in China. Cambridge.
Piaskowski J. 1959. Metaloznawcze badania wyrobów żelaznych z cmentarzysk Wielkopolski z okresu halsztackiego. „Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses” 10, 202-228.
Piaskowski J. 1961. Metaloznawcze badania wyrobów żelaznych z cmentarzysk Wielkopolski z okresu wpływów rzymskich. „Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses” 12, 169-215.
Piaskowski J. 1962. Technologia i pochodzenie wyrobów żelaznych z północnej Małopolski i Mazowsza w okresie wpływów rzymskich na podstawie badań metaloznawczych. „Studia z Dziejów Górnictwa Hutnictwa” 7, 127-172.
Rubinson S. R. 2010. An Archaeometallurgical Study of Early Medieval Iron Technology. An examination of the quality and use of iron alloys in iron artefacts from Early Medieval Britain. PhD thesis typescript, University of Bradford, Bradford.
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Scott B. G. 1990. Early Irish Ironworking. Belfast.
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Relation:

Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae

Volume:

30

Start page:

53

End page:

58

Detailed Resource Type:

Article

Format:

application/pdf

Resource Identifier:

oai:rcin.org.pl:63759 ; doi:10.23858/FAH30.2017.005

Source:

IAiE PAN, call no. P III 348 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P III 349 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P III 368 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

eng

Language of abstract:

pol

Rights:

Rights Reserved - Free Access

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. May be used within the limits of statutory user freedoms

Digitizing institution:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Projects co-financed by:

Ministry of Science and Higher Education ; Activities popularizing science (DUN)

Access:

Open

Object collections:

Last modified:

Apr 9, 2021

In our library since:

Nov 27, 2017

Number of object content downloads / hits:

1768

All available object's versions:

https://www.rcin.org.pl/iae/publication/83464

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