Abstract
At Lercoul (Pyrenean mountains, Ariège, France), two twin iron making shaft furnaces and a third one nearby produced about 400 tons of slag during the 3rd century AD. The ore consisted of gœthite and oligiste with manganese. It was reduced with charcoal from beech. The bottom was cut in the schist rock and the superstructure was made of slate blocks and clay. Inside the shaft was coated with clay and small pieces of slate mixed together. At the foot of the front wall, there was a tap-hole for tapping slag into a small channel. The discovery of pieces of broken tuyeres shows that bellows were used for blowing air into the furnace. The iron bloom was reheated and hammered on the spot for removal of the entrapped slag. Considering the scarcity of dated archaeological items, radiocarbon dating has been used.
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