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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2023

The Economics of Medieval Mining by Firesetting or with Chisel: the Issue of Energy

Résumé

Before explosives started being used in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century, there were two methods of mining: firesetting and tools. In the case of tools, the hammer and chisel were the most common. The use of wood, and therefore fire, can be traced back to protohistoric times. The choice between the two practices depended on the hardness of the rock. In addition, these two methods used different sources of energy: human energy and the thermal energy of wood. The issue of the access to fuel was is of significant importance. Our approach is founded on experimental archaeology based on tests carried out in the mining district of Melle, which was in operation from the 6th to the 10th century combined with tool extraction. The thermal energy it correlated with to the mass of wood burnt. Human energy is measured using a triaxial accelerometer on the experimenter's wrist. These energies are compared with those required to remove the amount of rock from the working face. This provides the first energetic comparison between the two techniques and helps to understand the technical and economical choices made.
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Dates et versions

hal-04229998 , version 1 (05-10-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04229998 , version 1

Citer

Florence Maqueda, Nicolas Florsch, Florian Téreygeol. The Economics of Medieval Mining by Firesetting or with Chisel: the Issue of Energy. Archaeologia Historica 2023, Zdroje energie a jejich využití, Sep 2023, Brno, Czech Republic. ⟨hal-04229998⟩
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