Early iron artefacts and slags from Tell-Afis (north-western Syria): microchemical studies for locating the iron ore source

In order to locate the geographical iron ore sources exploited for producing the early iron artefacts and slags found at Tell Afis (north-western Syria), the iron ore outcrops of Syrian Kurdistan, located at Kerry and Alamdar, have been sampled. The iron ores have been subjected to micro-chemical characterisation and to smelting processes carried out adopting experimental conditions similar, as soon as possible, to those used in an antique furnace. Attention as been focused on the micro-chemical aspects involved during the smelting process and on the chemical composition of the slags that result from the process. this micro-chemical information has been compared with those obtained from the study of the early iron smelting slags and artefacts and a relationship between the iron ores of Kerry and the early iron metallurgy products has been found.