Traces of Metallurgy at the Site of Łosino 15, Compared with Other Finds Related to Ancient Metallurgy

Abstract

The eponymous site is located in the territory of Poland—the northern part of the central section of the Slupia river, about 30 km from the coast of the Baltic sea. The site of Łosino 15 revealed some traces of a settlement of the Pomeranian and the Wielbark cultures. The most interesting features discovered at the study site are the remains of bloomery furnaces. The site of Łosino 15 yielded 10 features interpreted as relics of the bloomery shaft furnace with a pit. They were characterized by a high degree of deterioration—due to the agronomic activities and slope processes, only the bottom part of the slag-pit have been preserved. These are the remains of shaft furnaces with a pit called slag-pit furnace, whose relics are slag-pits filled with slag. The site of Łosino 15 yielded slag with a total weight of about 100 kg. Two alternative and temporarily equivalent hypotheses can be proposed here. According to the former one, the creators of the bloomery were representatives of the Pomeranian culture, and in the latter version—they represented the Wielbark culture.