Metalworking Crucibles and Slag
Seven sherds of crucible and a number of pieces of slag have been found
over the years. A study in 2000 by Dr David Dungworth, English Heritage
Centre for Archaeology, confirmed that three sherds were from crucibles
while a fourth is possibly from a mould."Analysis using fluorescence detected copper, tin, zinc and lead and points to them having been used for melting Bronzes and the possibility that they are to be Iron Age in date, although they could also be early or middle Bronze Age.
The same analytical technique was applied to a fragment of slag. A trace of copper was recorded, however, it was so weak that it is unlikely that this waste product arose from the smelting or melting of copper alloys and is far more likely to be from iron working."
This shed new light on the utilisation of the site as
it is possible that the raw material was acquired through trade in the
form of
currency bars. These have been found in numerous locations to the south
of England but
have been less common in the north.
The crucible fragments show the continued use of bronze into the Iron Age, probably in specialist centres, making smaller more intricate items than
the larger tools Fragments of crucible used in bronze casting have been found in some similar sites but are not common. This indicates an element of prestige at the Mellor Settlement and will hopefully enable ties to be made to neighbouring sites through bronze age artefacts. It may even be
possible that the bronze boss found in Trench 1 in 1999 was made on site.