Thursday 4 June 2015

Hunterston Metalworking Site



A few months ago I was hired by RSK to do an interpretation/reconstruction of a transitionary metalworking site found in Hunterston in Southern Scotland. The site sits on the Firth of Clyde, and was discovered during extensions on the nuclear plant there. What was found was one of the rare sites that showed the early transition from working in bronze to iron, dated to the late bronze age. The circular palisade showed signs of both ferrous and non-ferrous metalworking, ie bronze & iron and was believed to have been a open and roofless. The reason for the palisade may have been to restrict viewing of the actions of metalworking, as  it may have been seen as religious, sacred, and so so to add to the allure of the magic of metalworking, they enclosed it, away from prying eyes.

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