Ancient Copper Smelting Site Unveils Origins of the Iron Age

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Source: The Debrief
Ancient Copper Smelting Site Unveils Origins of the Iron Age
Photo: The Debrief
TL;DR

A reanalysis of 3,000-year-old artifacts from Kvemo Bolnisi, Georgia, suggests that early copper smelters experimented with iron oxides as flux, which may have inadvertently laid the groundwork for the development of true iron smelting and the Iron Age, challenging the idea of a sudden technological breakthrough.

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