Experimental IRON SMELTING
Iron in Vinland

How did the Norse during the Viking Age make iron blooms from bog ore?
Experimental Archaeology can give insight into the techniques used in Northern Europe to operate direct reduction iron smelting furnaces.
This is a record of the specific Vinland series by Darrell Markewitz, assisted by members of the Dark Ages Re-creation Company.

The only archaeologically proven site for the Norse in North American is at L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC, Newfoundland. Here three main longhouses plus several associated smaller buildings were constructed, indicating at least overwinter stays. The dating brackets roughly 1000 - 1020 ACE. On the banks of Black Duck Brook, a small roofed dugout was constructed, where the remains of an bloomery iron smelting furnace were found. Evidence points to a single firing only, the original estimates suggesting a small 3 kg bloom created using the bog iron ore available at the location.

But how exactly was this done? As part of a small research team for Parks Canada in June of 2001, Markewitz would be the practical worker who would make this first attempt to smelt iron at 'Lief's Houses' in 1000 years. This experiment would spark the next 25 years of effort into understanding the lost methods used by Norse iron masters. The Vinland series itself would consist of a total of fifteenth smelt events. This series is supported by the development of our bog iron ore analog and related to ongoing investigations into Norse bellows air.