In the footsteps of Ananda Coomaraswamy: Veralugasmankada and the archaeology and oral history of traditional iron smelting in Sri Lanka
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Two well-preserved, bellows-driven, shaft furnaces are representative of a traditional, village-based iron-smelting technology that survived into the early 20th century. The excavation data is one component of the record of this technology, which is supplemented by the illustrated eye-witness account by Ananda Coomaraswamy, and also by more recent interviews with the last local inhabitantswith first-hand experience and memory of the process itself and the craftsmen involved. These strands of evidence are brought together to give a near-complete description of a bloomery process that has parallels on several continents and the potential to inform the interpretation of many less-complete records.
Source: Historical Metallurgy
Authors: Juleff, Gill, Craddock, Paul, Malim, Tim
Institution: University of Exeter
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: University of Alberta
OpenAlex ID: W2500645140