From the beginning of the investigations into Early Medieval bloomery iron smelting by Darrell Markewitz and members of the Dark Ages Re-creation Company, there was a significant problem. The region around the testing site at Wareham, Central Ontario does not have geography that contains any natural iron ores. For this reason alone, this team has likely used more different types and sources of iron ore than almost any other long duration group of experimenters.

Starting in 2008, Robert 'Gus' Gissing had started research into analogs composed primarily of powdered red iron oxide (Fe2O3). This would lead to the team developing what came to be called 'DARC Dirt', both using red (DD1) and black oxides (DD2 - Fe3O4). The basic method is to mix the oxide powder with 10% whole wheat flour, add water to form a paste, then let this dry in the sun before breaking into small pieces. Beyond easy availability (any ceramics supplier) the analog also has physical properties similar to natural bog iron ores, without the problem of sulphur content. A number of variations on this basic recipe have been tested over the years, primarily differing amounts of silica (S) or hammer scale (F) added, for a total of 14 mixes in all. The standard would become the simple and consistent DD1 (red + 10% flour) which has an available elemental iron content at 55%.

Commentaries on Development and Variants
these links are off this web site

Specific Test Smelt Reports
Overview Report / Smelt Sequence / Furnace Layout / Variant
There is often additional information available with the main Smelt Records.

Only those tests using a full amount of a single mixture are included here.
Smelts using primary bog iron ore are included for comparison (in italics)
It should be noted that most of these smelts also involve other test aspects.
Details on the specific proportions of mixtures and their total elemental iron content is found on the Experimental Data tables.

Some of these links will take you off this web site.

#1 - Smelt in Vinland June - 2001	Written Report as scanned text  one / two / three		Furnace image	Primary Bog Iron Ore L'Anse aux Meadows
#2 / D1 - Boxed Bowl 'Vinland' May 25 - 2002	Brief Written Report		Furnace image	Primary Bog Iron Ore St Lunaire
#30 - Smeltfest 08 March 15 - 21, 2008	An Overview draft - taken from Blog	Smelt Two Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1S red / flour / silica
#32 / D14 - 'DARC Dirt' - 2nd Test April 13, 2008	Written Report draft - taken from blog	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1S red / flour / silica
#35 - Iron Smelting at Thy (Heltborg Museum - Denmark) April 29 - May 4, 2008	Symposium Overview illustrated report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	Primary Bog Iron Ores 'Swedish' / Heltborg / Guldager
#36 / D15 - 'DARC Dirt' - 3nd Test June 14, 2008	Written Report draft - taken from blog	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1S red / flour / silica
#40 / D18 - Vinland 1 May 30, 2009	Written Report short overview	Smelt Sequence   experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD2S black / flour / silica
#42 / D20 - Vinland 3 November 7, 2009	Written Report detailed overview	Smelt Sequence experimental data		DD2S black / flour / silica
#43 / D21 - Vinland 4 June 12, 2010	Written Report detailed overview	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1s red / flour / silica
#44 / D22 - Vinland 5 August 23 , 2010	Blog Posting brief report	Smelt Sequence   experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD2S black / flour / silica
D25 - DARC at CanIRON 8 July 28, 2011	Written Report detailed overview	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace image	DD1Fd red / flour / scale
#51 / D27 - Return to Icelandic May 26 , 2012	Brief Report blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Layout Front Elevation field drawings	DD1Sb red / flour / silica
#52 - Earth, Air Celtic Demonstration August 11, 2012	Brief Report blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1Fd red / flour / scale
#53 - International Congress on Medieval Studies - Demonstration May 11 , 2013	Brief Report blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation scaled drawing	DD1Fe red / flour / scale
#56 - Turf to Tools  Prototype Smelt June 14, 2014	Smelt Overview blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1M red / flour / special mix
#60 / D28 - Icelandic #6 - 'Grass Sod' Furnace Fall 2014 - Summer 2015	Experiment Overview blog posting	Furnace Build blog posting	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1Fa red / flour /scale
#61 / D29 - Icelandic #7 - 'Grass Sod' Furnace October 12, 2015	Detailed Overview DARC - Neil Peterson	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation Base Construction field drawings	DD1Fa red / flour /scale
#62 - Production Smelt May 22, 2016		Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing
#64 - ARTEfakty Smelt One Proszkow Poland September 9, 2016	Experiment Overview blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	Primary Bog Iron Ores Harres / Guldager
#65 - ARTEfakty Smelt Two Proszkow Poland September 11, 2016	Experiment Overview blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	Primary Bog Iron Ores Harres / Guldager
#70 / D30 - Icelandic #8 - 'Grass Sod' Schweitzer / Amaranth October 29, 2016	Experiment Overview detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace Outline field drawing Front Elevation reconstructed	DD1 red / flour
#71 - Norse Bellows Test / Demo ReARC, Williamsburg VA November 19, 2016		Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1 red / flour
#72 - Norse Iron Course Wareham November 30, 2016		Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1Fa red / flour / scale
#73 - Dark Ages Iron Smelting - course SCA Fruits of Our Labours event June 21, 2017		Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1Fa red / flour / scale
#74 / D31 - Iron at Vinland L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC July 16, 2017	Experiment Overview blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1 red / flour
#75 - Celtic Iron Age Scottish Crannog Centre, Aberfeldy August 6, 2017	Experiment Overview blog posting	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevations field drawings	DD1 red / flour
#77 - Iron Smelting in the Viking Age Wareham June 30, 2018	Experiment Overview detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1Fa red / flour / scale
#78 - CAMELOT Conference - demo St Jerome's University, Waterloo September16, 2018	Experiment Overview detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1Fa red / flour / scale
#82 - Stone Block System Test June 2019		Smelt Sequence experimental data	Front Elevation field drawing	DD1Fb red / flour / scale
#83 - Stone Block Slag Bowl Test October 2019		Smelt Sequence experimental data	as above	DD1Fb red / flour / scale
#84 - Stone Block November 2019		Smelt Sequence experimental data	as above	DD1Fb red / flour / scale
#85 / D31- 'Look at the Bones' Test June 2020	the Build & Smelt detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace Details field drawing	DD1 red / flour
#88 / D33 - Icelandic Clay Test (P3-A) June 2021	Brief Overview blog post	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace Plan Furnace Elevation field drawings	DD1 red / flour
#89 / D34 - Icelandic Clay Repeated (P3-B) September 2021	Brief Overview blog post	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace Repairs Elevation field drawing	DD1 red / flour
# 90 / D35 - Wind & Weathering October 2021	Part One : the Smelt detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Overall Layout Elevation field drawings	DD1 red / flour
#94 / D37 - Pulsing Air Test October 2023	Experimental Outline detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace layout field drawing	DD1 red / flour
#95 / D38 - Pulsing Air 2 Baron's 7 Demo June 2024	Experimental Outline brief report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace layout field drawing	DD1 red / flour
#96 / D39 - Pulsing Air 3 October 2024		Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace layout field drawing	DD1 red / flour
#98 / D40 - Return to Icelandic (P3-C) November 2024	Experimental Outline detailed report	Smelt Sequence experimental data	Furnace layout field drawing	DD1 red / flour

 

'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