The Development of Ferrous Metallurgy in Ryzan Principality (Ancient Rus’)

Abstract

Medieval metallurgical complexes in Ancient Rus’ that have been studied are far from numerous. Three such complexes have been discovered on the territory of the former Principality of Ryazan (now Ryazan region of the Russian Federation). We have traced the full metallurgical cycle – from the exploitation of the ore occurrence to the manufacturing of the finished product – at the Istye 2 settlement. Over the course of archaeological and archaeometallurgical study of the settlement, we localized a rural metallurgical complex that supported the handicraft production of a large city with its products.