Icelandic Sod Walled Bloomery Furnaces - Based on the remains at Háls

Individual Experiment Details
Numbers fit into main experiment sequence.

#26 - Icelandic 1 October 8, 2007	Written Report	Smelt Sequences experimental data	Theoretical Set Up field drawing
			Base Constrution Construction Details Front Elevation field drawings	Smelt in Progress video clip
#27 / D13 - Icelandic 2 October 27, 2007	Written Report	Smelt Sequences experimental data	Base Construction Front Elevation Top View field drawings
#38 / D16 - Icelandic 3 Work Dynamic Test October 12, 2008	Written Report detailed overview	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Existing / Elevation field drawings	Front / Plan / Section theoretical layout
#39 / D17 - Icelandic 4 November 8, 2008	Written Report short overview	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Plan & Elevation field drawing

a gap here for the Vinland project

#51 / D27 - Return to Icelandic May 26 , 2012	Brief Report blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Layout Front Elevation field drawings	Bellows Test experimental data
#60 / D28 - Icelandic 6 - 'Grass Sod' Fall 2014 to Summer 2015	Experiment Concept blog posting	Furnace Build blog posting	Front Elevation field drawing	Input = Output experimental data
	Experiment Overview blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Recovered Mass field drawing	Recovered Bloom blog posting
#61 / D29 - Icelandic 7 'Grass Sod' October 12, 2015	Detailed Overview DARC - Neil Peterson	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation Base Construction field drawings
#70 / D30 - Icelandic 8 - 'Full Sod Build' Schweitzer / Amaranth October 29, 2016	Experiment Overview detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace Outline field drawing Front Elevation reconstructed	Design & Intial Construction blog posting

a gap here for other experiments / projects, including the Stone Block furnace (below)

#88 / D33 - Icelandic 9 Clay Test (P3-A) June 2021	Brief Overview blog post	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace Plan Furnace Elevation field drawings
#89 / D34 - Icelandic 10 - Clay Repeated (P3-B) September 2021	Brief Overview With new air system builds blog post	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace Repairs Elevation field drawing
#98 / D40 - Icelandic 11 - Return to Icelandic November 2024	Experimental Outline detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace layout field drawing

Other Icelandic Furnaces

#82 - Stone Block Furnace System Test June 2019	Furnace Construction field drawing	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing
#83 - Stone Block Slag Bowl Test October 2019		Smelt Sequence experimental data	Base Setup field drawing furnace re-used
		Smelt Sequence experimental data	furnace re-used
# 87 / D32 - '65 for 65' October 2020	Experiment Overview detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace Details field drawing

Related Narrated Conference Presentations

Now with 70% Less Clay! Experiments with Viking Age Icelandic Turf walled Iron Smelting Furnaces This presentation was part of the 'virtual' 2021 EAC12 Conference Experimental Archaeology. Prepared with the assistance of Kevin P. Smith and Neil Peterson. Video on YouTube
Icelandic Sod Walled Iron Furnaces, based on the Archaeology at Háls, Iceland This narrated Powerpoint style presentation was delivered (as recorded video) at the 2025 International Congress on Medieval Studies. This is an extension of the presentation above to include the November 2024 smelt, the last in this series. Video on YouTube
Westward Viking - Iron From Norway to Iceland ... to Vinland This presentation was prepared for the 'virtual' 2020 Woodford Furnace Festival Video on YouTube Equipment problems prevented delivery

Other formal reports / unpublished papers

Into Phase 3 Continuing experiments with iron smelting based on Hals, Iceland This commentary is a re-evaluation of the Icelandic series, looking again at the archaeology, now with an additional 15 years of iron smelting experience. This includes discussion of how we are approaching the next series of experiments, testing elements suggested by the Viking Age furnace complex at Hals, Iceland : Prepared Summer 2021 Continue to : Phase 3
Stacking Up On constructing clay furnace walls This report is a consideration of what has been learned from the construction of a large number of clay mixture furnaces over the last two decades. This includes some observations that relate back to the continuing experimental series based on the Viking Age furnaces excavated at Hals, Iceland. : Prepared August 2021 Continue to : Stacking Up
Archaeology, Experience and Experiment : Further tests of Icelandic iron smelting furnaces with contributions by Neil Peterson and Rey Cogswell This is an expanded version of the formal paper submitted for inclusion in the upcoming volume Can These Bones Come to Life?, including additional photographs - combining a number of individual reports prepared over 2021. Continue to : Archaeology, Experience & Experiment
Experiments with Viking Age, Icelandic, turf walled iron smelting Furnaces : 2007 - 2016 in collaboration with Neil Peterson This is a 2021 modified version of the more complete formal paper, currently under preparation, not including the section to be contributed later by Kevin P. Smith. Presented here is a 'web integrated' text, describing in considerable detail the individual experiments, and including a larger series of images than are likely to be seen in the future published paper. Continue to : Experiments with Icelandic

Available Video from Individual Experiments


Stone Slab with Blow Hole Icelandic 1 - October 2007	Icelandic 4 November 2008	Icelandic Work Dynamic Test Icelandic 3 - October 2008

Supporting Publications

		Icelandic Sod Walled Bloomery Furnaces based on the remains at Háls Prepared with the assistance of Neil Peterson ISBN : 978-1-0691597-0-0 December 2024 This 123 page report details 11 experimental bloomery iron smelts, running from 2007 to 2024. It describes how the archaeology at Hals was interpreted into a possible working system and provides an overview of how individual elements were tested and combined for sucessful iron production, with 44 images and 13 illustrations. (8.5 x 11", colour) Kindle Edition Amazon Paperback
		'20 Years Before the Blast' Experimental Bloomery Iron Smelting 2001 - 2024 with Neil Peterson ISBN : 978-1-0691597-5-5 March 2025 This 212 page volume is a survey of 101 iron smelting tests by the author and his working team, presented in a more formal academic style. Includes assessments of furnace builds, air systems, ore types and bloom qualities. There are overviews of four major experimental series; iron smelt in Vinland, Icelandic turf walled furnaces, the Turf to Tools project, and Norse Bellows equipment. 8 1/2 x 11 paperback format, 99 colour colour photographs, 25 illustrations, 48 charts and graphs. companion to 'Basics of Bloomery Iron Smelting' Kindle Edition Amazon Paperback

Now with 70% Less Clay!