Feeling the Peat: Investigating peat charcoal as an iron smelting fuel for the Scottish Iron Age

The limited woodland resources that have characterised the Northern Isles of Scotland for millennia pose serious questions when attempting to understand how prehistoric communities fuelled their iron smelting endeavours. The archaeological evidence from the Northern Isles and ethnographic studies from the 19–20th centuries tentatively suggests that peat could have been used for such iron smelting activities. This research considers whether peat charcoal is a viable iron smelting fuel via an experimental campaign. Thermal data produced by this campaign, as well as a metallographic and chemical study of the products from the smelts suggest that charcoaled peat may be capable of producing an iron bloom. Important discussions concerning technical, economic, and ideological aspects of Iron Age metalworking can arise from a recognition of peat in the iron smelting process.