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Sampling and Recording Consultancy
...Related to Irish Industrial Sites, as an example...
The proliferation of excavations in Ireland over the last few years, undertaken for the construction of various motorway schemes, have provided the Irish archaeological community and the public-at-large with a plethora of new data regarding metal making and working at all periods. By new data, we refer to both new dates as well as technical information by which to characterise and interpret the materials evidence, the features associated with metal making/working installations, the workshops and their relation to settlements, burial grounds etc.
The elucidation
of the metals industry, the subject of archaeometallurgical studies, has
relied on the scientific characterisation of metals and metallurgical waste
and the furnaces from which they derived. The research agenda has been
driven by questions of technology and provenance, while
the focal point of the investigation became the artefact, whether
raw materials, finished object, or waste (slag).
Since the late 1990's at SASAA, we have developed a methodology for the study of the metals industry which has shifted the emphasis from the artefact to the feature/context. We examine and analyse the context with a similar methodology/ analytical tools as if it were an artefact... i.e., we look at its typology, its “properties” and the chemical make-up of its soils and aggregates.
On SASAA's webpages, we provide guidance for sampling and recording of Irish "industrial sites" of any period and particularly with regards to metal-making and working. These pages offer the possibility of acting as a repository of Irish industrial features and materials.
SASAA recommends screening tests and analyses (T&A), which aim to quantitatively characterise relevant and related contexts/features.
We also recommend industrial waste analyses and metal artefact analyses which can be carried out independently on any materials (e.g. metal, slag, ceramics, etc.).
Please email us at...
askthespecialist@sasaa.co.uk with specific queries, or enquiries@sasaa.co.uk for more general information
We will respond to all email enquiries within 24 hours