Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Archaeological excavation at Hafod foundry, Swansea, 21 August 2015. Looking WSW at what appears to be a reverbatory furnace projecting from the east end of the main foundry building. The core of the furnace has been extensively obscured by multiple later masonry insertions and its identification as a reverbatory is not confirmed. The ashpit lies to the left. Between the ashpit and the core of the structure is a ‘Y’ shaped area of fireclay refractory brickwork, encasing distinctive coarse slag rubble derived from small ladles. Further slag of this type underlies parts of the structure. This ‘Y’ shaped masonry appears to be a basal element for a now-missing higher-level portion of the structure; the ‘Y’ does not comprise a branching flue. Potentially, this portion of the structure may represent the base of the ‘bridge’ between the firebox and the furnace bath. Right of centre, note the inclined flue or runner with a solidified slag flow on it; beneath the course of bricks underlying the slag is a further, thinner, slag layer, suggesting multiple slag flow events. This flue levels out towards the right and its plan-view curvature lessens, and it sweeps around towards the west. Whether this flue belongs to the iron foundry phase of the site, or possibly to the later lead works phase of the site (from c.1938) is unclear but constructional details suggest the iron foundry phase. See 2015.80/24 for this feature at a later stage of excavation.