Urban Casting Tools as Evidence for Transfer of Technology across the Baltic Sea in 13th- to 17th-Century Estonia

Abstract

PRESENT-DAY ESTONIA WAS INCORPORATED into the Christian world in the early 13th century. This event brought dramatic changes to both its society and landscape, including the establishment of the first towns that soon played an important role in the emerging Hanseatic network, mediating trade between the West and East. These political and cultural changes are also reflected in the influences that reached Estonian towns, with the migration of craftspeople from German-speaking areas and Scandinavia; in particular, these innovations occurred in non-ferrous casting technology. The most important changes included the introduction of refractory crucibles, massive melting furnaces and more complex stone-casting moulds. Residue analysis showed evidence of highly specialised metalworking taking place. The large sample size revealed some unusual alloys, which are explained either by craftspeople's experimentation or by the reuse of scrap metal. By looking at the different crucible types and mould fragments, we are able to demonstrate how the mobile craftspeople were the carriers of both casting tools and knowledge inside the Hanseatic world.