Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

286

Iron Age

In several early languages the word for iron meant

“metal from the sky.” This was probably because the first iron

used to make tools and weapons came from meteorites

that fell to earth from space. Ironworking probably began

in the Middle east some 6,000 years ago. at first, people

hammered iron while it was cold. later, they learned how

to smelt iron—heat the iron ore so they could extract the

iron and work with it properly. unlike bronze, which early

people also used, iron did not melt. Instead, it was reduced

to a spongy mass that people hammered and reheated

until it was the right shape. special furnaces were needed

to reach the right temperature. The Hittites, who

lived in what is now Turkey, were the first

people we know of who traded in iron.

But it was not until around 1000 bce

that knowledge of smelting

spread and the Iron age

truly began. In western

europe, the Celts were

one of the first

peoples to make

and use iron.

HIll forT

The Celts fortified hill-

tops with ditches and

ramparts. These forts

were places of refuge

in wartime; they were

also administrative

and trading centers,

and enclosures

for livestock.

This razor is

around 2,500 years

old and would have

been as sharp as

a modern razor.

Iron age

4000 bce first iron

objects, made from

meteoric iron, appear

in the Middle east.

c. 1500 bce People in

the Middle east find out

how to extract (smelt)

iron from iron ore and

how to work it by

heating and hammering

(wrought iron). The

Hittites dominate

the trade.

1000 bce Iron age

begins in the Middle

east and greece.

Ironworking also

develops in India.

c. 800 bce use of iron

spreads across europe.

Celts become expert

workers in iron.

c. 400 bce Chinese

discover how to make

cast-iron objects by

melting iron ore and

pouring it into molds.

1760 ce Industrial

revolution leads to

a renewed use of iron.

also leads to great

advances in ironworking

techniques.

IronworkIng

early furnaces were

shallow stone hearths that people filled with iron ore

and charcoal. Bellows helped raise the temperature

to about 2,192°f (1,200°C), hot enough to make the

iron workable. The Celts used deeper furnaces

in which the iron collected at the bottom

and impurities, called slag,

gathered at the top.

Spring

Brooch made of glass disks

Iron pin

CloTHIng

The Celts loved decoration.

Celtic clothes were woollen,

often with checked patterns.

richer men and women wore

heavy twisted neckbands

called torcs in gold or

bronze, and cloaks fastened

with ornate brooches.

Heating iron ore

in a furnace

Iron

horseshoe

weaPons

Iron weapons

were greatly

superior to bronze

ones. They had much

sharper edges and, thus,

were more effective.

This dagger has a handle

shaped like a human figure.

Tools

People made useful

tools from iron such

as a saw with a serrated

edge (far left) and

tongs (left); the tongs

were used to hold

metal while beating

it into shape.

Find out more

Bronze age

Celts

Industrial revolution

Iron and steel

Hammering the

iron into shape

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