Early Iron Production in Sri Lanka: An Archaeological and Geochemical Approach to the Yodhawewa Metallurgical Settlement
Year: 2022
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Sri Lanka is a South Asian country where ancient metalwork was done using unique methods adapting to the prevailing natural conditions.Very few scientific studies of metallurgy have been conducted in Sri Lanka, and until 2018, no such research was carried out in the northern part of the country.The Yodhawewa site is located in the Mannar District of Northern Province and the northern plains of Sri Lanka.Physically, the artifacts pool reflected that it was a historic metallurgical site.This thesis aims to provide multi-disciplinary interpretations of this newly discovered metallurgical site based on the artifacts and nature-facts collected from the Yodhawewa research in 2018.The Yodhawewa metallurgical site is close to Mannar (12 km), the main port city of Anuradhapura, the first and foremost kingdom of Sri Lanka, for over 1500 years.After the historical and geomorphological overview of the study area, research was conducted on a field survey, and vertical excavation at two localities was carried out in March -April 2018.The total survey area was 201,600 m 2 based on the canal and the right bank starting from the Yodhawewa reservoir.The collected artifacts (n=14,017) were classified based on the source material, and selected artifacts and nature-facts were used for multi-disciplinary analysis.The research analyses were mainly based on archaeology and geochemistry disciplines.The constant relative probability was considered in interpreting the archaeological context based on slag, crucible fragments, and furnace factors.The slag had the highest artifact density (n=6,814 of 48.5 kg) on the premises, significantly contributing to the definition of a metallurgical site.Slags represented several production conditions through physical factors such as color configuration, high or low vascularity, oxidation, and glassy or non-glassy texture.According to the archaeological analysis, two types of crucibles were identified; elongated tube-shaped crucibles from the second excavation (Ex-2) area were used to make CHAPTER ONE
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7144845725