MICROCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF EARLY IRON METALLURGY SLAGS

A group of slags, dating back to Iron Age II (Aramean period, 800-720 B.C.), that appeared to be iron-smelting by-products, have been found at Tell Afis (North-Western Syria). The microchemistry of these materials has been studied by means of small-area X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA) and optical microscopy (OM). The results indicate that the slags can be associated with an iron-smelting process and show the presence of large amounts of Fe(II) and Fe(III) oxides and hydroxides mixed with different glassy and crystalline silicon compounds. The latter consist essentially of quartz and various silicates, such as wollastonite, melilite, Mg[SiO4] or Mg[SiO6] compounds and other complex alumino-silicates. This chemical information is used to elucidate some aspects of the early ironmaking process.