Was Moshyttan the earliest iron blast furnace in Sweden? The sediment record as an archeological toolbox

Myrstener, Erik; Lidberg, William; Segerström, Ulf; Biester, Harald; Damell, David; Bindler, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.10.040

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…At 1290 CE, there is a sharp increase in charcoal particles and a shift in Pb concentration and 206 Pb/ 207 Pb isotope ratio. Based on previous studies (Bindler et al, 2011; Karlsson et al, 2015), this is interpreted as the first indication of blast furnace activity at Moshyttan (Myrstener et al, 2016). This increase in charcoal particles occurs together with a decline in Picea and a peak in Betula , a successional tree species, during 1290–1480 CE, which incidentally increases the total tree pollen percentage.…”

Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…This assumption is validated by the good fit between the isotopic Pb record in Mosjökälla – where the age–depth model is based on macrofossils – and the record from the annually laminated record of Kalven, a lake located 80 km NE of Moshyttan (Bindler et al, 2011). By matching the Pb record from Mosjökälla to those of Kramptjärnen and Fickeln, we determined a reservoir effect for the bulk sediment dates of 400 years in Kramptjärnen and 230 years in Fickeln (Figure 2; Myrstener et al, 2016).…”

Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We previously analyzed and discussed the sediment record from Fickeln with the specific aim to establish the start of the iron blast furnace at Moshyttan (Myrstener et al, 2016). Essential aspects of the vegetation history and key geochemical proxies from Fickeln are included there.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus far, studies of lake-sediment records have mainly been used to complement historical and archeological research when tracking the earliest signs of mining and metallurgy (Bindler et al, 2011; Cloy et al, 2008; Hillman et al, 2015; Karlsson et al, 2015; Myrstener et al, 2016). Less attention has been given to the potential environmental imprint of this early mining and metallurgy on the aquatic environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moshyttan and its surrounding lakes provide a microcosmos of the range of activities associated with medieval metallurgy, including smelting, water regulation, small-scale mining, charcoal production, and agriculture. In this study, we analyzed the sediment records from three lakes surrounding the Moshyttan blast furnace, which operated during ~1290–1720 CE (Myrstener et al, 2016; Wetterholm, 1999). Our objective was to define the long-term natural background conditions in these lakes and their landscape (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Environmental footprint of small-scale, historical mining and metallurgy in the Swedish boreal forest landscape: The Moshyttan blast furnace as microcosm

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The history of mining and smelting and the associated pollution have been documented using lake sediments for decades, but the broader ecological implications are not well studied. We analyzed sediment profiles covering the past ~10,000 years from three lakes associated with an iron blast furnace in central Sweden, as an example of the many small-scale furnaces with historical roots in the medieval period. With a focus on long-term lake-water quality, we analyzed multiple proxies including geochemistry, pollen and charcoal, diatom composition and inferred pH, biogenic silica (bSi), visible near-infrared spectroscopy (VNIRS)-inferred lake-water total organic carbon (LW-TOC), and VNIRS-inferred sediment chlorophyll (sed-Chl). All three lakes had stable conditions during the middle Holocene (~5000 BCE to 1110 CE) typical of oligo-dystrophic lakes: pH 5.4–5.6, LW-TOC 15–18 mg L−1. The most important diatom taxa include, for example, Aulacoseira scalaris, Brachysira neoexilis, and Frustulia saxonica. From ~1150 CE, decreases in LW-TOC, bSi, and sed-Chl in all three lakes coincide with a suite of proxies indicating disturbance associated with local, small-scale agriculture, and the more widespread use of the landscape in the past (e.g. forest grazing, charcoal production). Most important was a decline in LW-TOC by 30–50% in the three lakes prior to the 20th century. In addition, the one lake (Fickeln) downstream of the smelter and main areas of cultivation experienced a shift in diatom composition (mainly increasing Asterionella formosa) and a 0.6 pH increase coinciding with increasing cereal pollen and signs of blast furnace activity. The pH did not change in the other two lakes in response to disturbance; however, these lakes show a slight increase (0.3–0.5 pH units) because of modern liming. LW-TOC has returned to background levels in the downstream lake and remains lower in the other two.

show abstract

Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%