DOI Artikel:
Linke, Friedrich-Albert: Archaeological survey of monuments of early mining and smelting in the Harz Mountains
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.56859#0065
41
also taken. This initially small load grows exponentially once a smelter site has
been located and the sampling starts, substantially reducing the radius of daily
activity of a team.
Additional materials and equipment are transported by car over forest paths to
the vicinity of sites that require more extensive investigation.
The searching of a sediment bank under the water surface is greatly facilitated
by the use of polarising glasses11. These glasses remove interfering reflections
from the water surface.
New sites are often revealed by slags, which have been washed downstream,
their concentration decreasing with increasing distance. Anyone who has
witnessed the floods after a downpour will have learned to appreciate the carrying
capacity of even the smallest stream. Close to the heaps slag fragments display
sharp edges which appear more and more rounded the further the pieces have
been displaced which serves the experienced prospector as an indication of
distance.
The smelter sites are then found on the level where the highest concentration
of slags in the stream occurs.
An inspection of the sediments beyond the point of highest concentration
indicates whether the area has been identified with sufficient accuracy. If no slags
are found further sites upstream are unlikely but even if other sites lie upstream
the slag content of the sediment usually shows a dip before it increases again.
Preferred locations have so far been identified in places where a valley widens or
where two streams join, around a source and in the transition from a plateau to a
steep slope (Fig. 8).
In ideal cases the location of a foundry or smelter site is indicated by vegeta-
tion anomalies, caused by heavy metal contamination of the soil. These anomalies
may be observed even where the slagheaps have been removed because even the
residues of copper compounds are sufficient to prevent re-growth of lush vege-
tation. In such areas of stunted growth, certain heavy metal tolerant plants may
point to the presence of a slagheap (Fig. 7)12.
Vegetation anomalies are not observed on sites were solely iron or lead have
been smelted. In these cases, structures in the terrain such as plateaus, heaps or
trenches may point to the exact location of the desired objects. Where no reco-
11 Polarising glasses are available from suppliers of angling equipment.
These are in the Harz principally Armeria halleri, Minuartia verna ssp. verna and
Silene vulgaris ssp. vulgaris.
also taken. This initially small load grows exponentially once a smelter site has
been located and the sampling starts, substantially reducing the radius of daily
activity of a team.
Additional materials and equipment are transported by car over forest paths to
the vicinity of sites that require more extensive investigation.
The searching of a sediment bank under the water surface is greatly facilitated
by the use of polarising glasses11. These glasses remove interfering reflections
from the water surface.
New sites are often revealed by slags, which have been washed downstream,
their concentration decreasing with increasing distance. Anyone who has
witnessed the floods after a downpour will have learned to appreciate the carrying
capacity of even the smallest stream. Close to the heaps slag fragments display
sharp edges which appear more and more rounded the further the pieces have
been displaced which serves the experienced prospector as an indication of
distance.
The smelter sites are then found on the level where the highest concentration
of slags in the stream occurs.
An inspection of the sediments beyond the point of highest concentration
indicates whether the area has been identified with sufficient accuracy. If no slags
are found further sites upstream are unlikely but even if other sites lie upstream
the slag content of the sediment usually shows a dip before it increases again.
Preferred locations have so far been identified in places where a valley widens or
where two streams join, around a source and in the transition from a plateau to a
steep slope (Fig. 8).
In ideal cases the location of a foundry or smelter site is indicated by vegeta-
tion anomalies, caused by heavy metal contamination of the soil. These anomalies
may be observed even where the slagheaps have been removed because even the
residues of copper compounds are sufficient to prevent re-growth of lush vege-
tation. In such areas of stunted growth, certain heavy metal tolerant plants may
point to the presence of a slagheap (Fig. 7)12.
Vegetation anomalies are not observed on sites were solely iron or lead have
been smelted. In these cases, structures in the terrain such as plateaus, heaps or
trenches may point to the exact location of the desired objects. Where no reco-
11 Polarising glasses are available from suppliers of angling equipment.
These are in the Harz principally Armeria halleri, Minuartia verna ssp. verna and
Silene vulgaris ssp. vulgaris.