Iron Age

The Iron Age is a period when ironworking became widespread, though its dates and significance vary by region. Its transition from earlier periods was gradual and uneven.

Iron smelting: The extraction of metallic iron from iron ore through heating and chemical reduction. Smelting made iron production possible, but early furnaces often yielded workable iron only in small quantities.
Wrought iron: A tough, malleable form of iron containing very little carbon and often some slag. Bloomery iron was commonly consolidated into wrought iron by repeated heating and hammering.
Iron ploughshare: An iron cutting edge fitted to a plough for breaking or turning soil. Iron ploughshares could improve durability, though their agricultural impact differed by landscape and society.
Hallstatt culture: An archaeological culture of central Europe, especially associated with the Early Iron Age. Hallstatt sites provide a prominent archaeological sequence for early iron use in central Europe.
Radiocarbon dating: A method for estimating the age of once-living material by measuring radioactive carbon decay. Radiocarbon results help revise proposed dates for early ironworking and settlement sequences.
Bloomery: A furnace that reduces iron ore into a spongy mass of iron and slag rather than molten metal. Bloomery furnaces were a widespread early method for producing wrought iron.
Carburization: The diffusion of carbon into iron when it is heated in a carbon-rich environment. Carburization could harden iron surfaces and produce steel without melting the metal.
Iron weapons: Weapons made wholly or partly from iron or steel. Iron weapons became prominent, but early iron was not automatically superior to high-quality bronze.
La Tène culture: A later Iron Age archaeological culture of Europe known for distinctive art and material culture. La Tène culture illustrates later Iron Age societies and their wide-ranging material connections.
Archaeometallurgy: The study of ancient metal production, use, and exchange through archaeological evidence. Its analyses distinguish local production from imported objects and test claims about technological origins.

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