The archaeological investigation of a seventeenth-century blacksmith shop at Ferryland, Newfoundland

Carter, Matthew (1997) The archaeological investigation of a seventeenth-century blacksmith shop at Ferryland, Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (24MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

This thesis deals with a blacksmith shop which operated at Ferryland during the first half of the seventeenth century. First discovered during the summer of 1984 in an area of Ferryland commonly referred to as the “Pool” the smithy was not completely excavated until the 1994 field season. Many of the features and artifacts were analysed to determine the structural characteristics and general layout of the shop in addition to the kinds of activities in which the blacksmiths were engaged. It will be shown that this smithy was likely built in 1622 by Captain Edward Wynne and his eleven colonists. -- Structural characteristics of the shop include a wooden frame building having both a dirt floor and a slate roof. The positions of such features as the anvil, forge, bellows and slack tub were clearly visible and helped to determine the layout of the smithy. Blacksmiths in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries commonly practised a number of different trades. This was evidently the situation at Ferryland since the artifact analysis determined that the smiths were also farriers, coppersmiths, locksmiths and gunsmiths as well as blacksmiths. Evidence for these trades is discussed in chapter six. -- The final section of this thesis will deal with a preliminary metallurgic examination of some of the slag that was uncovered during excavations at both the smithy and the southwest corner of Area C some forty metres to the east. Since concentrations of slag were located at two different areas, it is possible that the slag either originated from the same smithy or is related to another blacksmith shop that was operating in the area. The analysis established that since the two samples were similar metallurgically, it is likely that the two groups of slag originated from the blacksmith shop excavated at Area B.

Actions (login required)

View Item