Crucible Steel

and viking swords

Contents

1 Crucible steel 1
1.1 Early history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 South India/Sri Lanka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1.2 Central Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Modern history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.1 Early modern accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.2 History of production in England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.3 19th and 20th century production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.4 Crucible steel elsewhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Methods of crucible steel production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2 Wootz steel 10
2.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.1 Development of modern metallurgy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 Reproduction research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.6 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.7 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

3 Ulfberht swords 15
3.1 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2 Number and distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.5 Works cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

i
ii CONTENTS

4 Jabir ibn Hayyan 19

4.1 Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.1 Early references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.2 Life and background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2 The Jabirian corpus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.2.1 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.2.2 Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.2.3 Laboratory equipment and material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.2.4 Legacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.3 The Geber problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.3.1 The Pseudo-Geber corpus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.3.2 English translations of Jabir and the Pseudo-Geber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.4 Popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.7 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

5 Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet 31

5.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.2 The museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.5 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.6.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.6.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.6.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 1

Crucible steel

“Kirk nardeban” pattern of a sword blade made of crucible steel, Zand period: 1750–1794, Iran. (Moshtagh Khorasani, 2006, 506)

Crucible steel is a term that applies to steel made by two different methods in the modern era, although it has been
produced in varying locales throughout history. It is made by melting iron and other materials in a crucible. Crucible
steel was produced in South and Central Asia during the medieval era. Techniques for production of high quality
steel were developed by Benjamin Huntsman in England in the 18th century; however, Huntsman’s process used iron
and steel as raw materials rather than direct conversion from cast iron as in the Bessemer process. The homogeneous
crystal structure of this cast steel improved its strength and hardness compared to preceding forms of steel.

1.1 Early history

Crucible steel is generally attributed to production centres in India and Sri Lanka where it was produced using the so-
called "wootz" process, and it is assumed that its appearance in other locations was due to long distance trade.[1] Only
recently it has become apparent that places in Central Asia like Merv in Turkmenistan and Akhsiket in Uzbekistan

1
2 CHAPTER 1. CRUCIBLE STEEL

were important centres of production of crucible steel.[2] The Central Asian finds are all from excavations and date
from the 8th to 12th centuries AD, while the Indian/Sri Lankan material is as early as 300 BC. In addition, India’s
iron ore had trace vanadium and other rare earths leading to increased hardenability in Indian crucible steel which
was famous throughout the middle east for its ability to retain an edge.
While crucible steel is more attributed to the Middle East in early times, there have been swords discovered in Europe,
particularly in Scandinavia. The swords in question have the ambiguous name etched into it, Ulfberht. These swords
actually date in a 200-year period from the 9th century to the early 11th century. It is speculated by many that the
process of making the blades originated in the Middle East and subsequently been traded during the Volga Trade
Route days.
In the first centuries of the Islamic period, there appear some scientific studies on swords and steel. The best known of
these are by Jabir ibn Hayyan 8th century, al-Kindi 9th century, Abu Rayhan Biruni in the early 11th century, Murda
al Tarsusi in the late 12th century, and Fakhr-i-Mudabbir 13th century. Any of these contains far more information
about Indian and damascene steels than appears in the entire surviving literature of classical Greece and Rome.[3]

1.1.1 South India/Sri Lanka

See also: Wootz

There are many ethnographic accounts of Indian crucible steel production, however, scientific investigations of cru-
cible steel remains have only been published from four regions: three in India and one in Sri Lanka.[4] Indian/Sri
Lankan crucible steel is commonly referred to as wootz. It is generally agreed that wootz is an English corruption
of the word ukko or hookoo.[5] European accounts from the 17th century onwards have referred to the repute and
manufacture of ‘wootz’, a traditional crucible steel made specially in parts of southern India in the former provinces
of Golconda, Mysore and Salem. As yet the scale of excavations and surface surveys is too limited to link the literary
accounts to archaeometallurgical evidence.[6]

South India

The known sites of crucible steel production in south India, i.e. at Konasamudram and Gatihosahalli, date from
at least the late medieval period, 16th century.[7] One of the earliest known sites, which shows some promising
preliminary evidence that may be linked to ferrous crucible processes in Kodumanal, near Coimbatore in Tamil
Nadu.[8] The site is dated between the third century BC and the third century AD.[9] By the seventeenth century
the main centre of crucible steel production seems to have been in Hyderabad. The process was apparently quite
different from that recorded elsewhere.[10] Wootz from Hyderabad or the Decanni process for making watered blades
involved a co-fusion of two different kinds of iron - one was low in carbon and the other was a high-carbon steel or
cast iron.[11] Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe, China, the Arab world, and
became particularly famous in the Middle East, where it became known as Damascus steel.[12][13]

Sri Lanka

Recent archaeological investigations have suggested that Sri Lanka also supported innovative technologies for iron
and steel production in antiquity.[14] The Sri Lankan system of crucible steel making was partially independent of the
various Indian and Middle Eastern systems.[15] Their method was something similar to the method of carburization
of wrought iron.[14] The earliest confirmed crucible steel site is located in the knuckles range in the northern area
of the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka dated to 6th −10th centuries AD.[16] In twelfth century the land of Serendib
(Sri Lanka) seems to have been the main supplier of crucible steel, but over the centuries slipped back, and by the
nineteenth century just a small industry survived in the Balangoda district of the central southern highlands.[17]

West-facing process A series of excavations at Samanalawewa indicated the unexpected and previously unknown
technology of west-facing smelting sites, which are different types of steel production.[14][18] These furnaces were
used for direct smelting to steel.[19] Because of their location on the western sides of hilltops for use of wind in the
smelting process they are named west-facing.[20] Sri Lankan furnace steels were known and traded between the 9th
and 11th centuries and earlier, but apparently not later.[21] These sites were dated to the 7th–11th centuries. The
1.2. MODERN HISTORY 3

coincidence of this dating with the 9th century Islamic reference to Sarandib[20] is of great importance. The crucible
process existed in India at the same time that the west- facing technology was operating in Sri Lanka.[22]

1.1.2 Central Asia

Central Asia has a rich history of crucible steel production, beginning during the late 1st millennium AD.[23] From
the sites in modern Uzbekistan and Merv in Turkmenistan, there exists good archaeological evidence for the large
scale production of crucible steel.[24] They all belong in broad terms to the same early medieval period between the
late 8th or early 9th and the late 12th century AD[25] Contemporary with the early crusades.[24]

Uzbekistan

The two most prominent crucible steel sites in eastern Uzbekistan carrying the Ferghana Process are Akhsiket and
Pap in the Ferghana Valley, whose position within the Great Silk Road has been historically and archaeologically
proved.[26] The material evidence of the sites consists of large number of archaeological finds relating to steel making
from 9th–12th centuries AD in the form of hundreds of thousands of fragments of crucibles often with massive slag
cakes.[23] Archaeological work at Akhsiket, has identified that the crucible steel process was of the carburization of
iron metal.[27] This process appears to be typical of and restricted to the Ferghana Valley in eastern Uzbekistan, and
it is therefore called the Ferghana Process.[28] This process lasts in that region for roughly four centuries..

Turkmenistan

Evidences of the production of crucible steel have been found in Merv, Turkmenistan, a major city on the 'Silk Road'.
The Islamic scholar, al-Kindi (AD 801–866) mentions that during the ninth century the region of Khorasan, the area
to which the cities Nishapur, Merv, Herat and Balkh belong, is a steel manufacturing centre.[29] Evidence from a
metallurgical workshop at Merv, dated to the ninth- early tenth century A.D., provides an illustration of the co-fusion
method of steel production in crucibles, about 1000 years earlier than the distinctly different wootz process.[30] The
crucible steel process at Merv might be seen as technologically related to what Bronson (1986, 43) calls Heyderabad
process, a variation of the wootz process, after the location of the process documented by Voysey in the 1820s.[31]

1.2 Modern history

1.2.1 Early modern accounts

The first European references to crucible steel seem to be no earlier than the Post Medieval period.[32] European
experiments with “Damascus” steels go back to at least the sixteenth century, but it was not until the 1790s that
laboratory researchers began to work with steels that were specifically known to be Indian/wootz.[33] At this time,
Europeans knew of India’s ability to make crucible steel from reports brought back by travellers who had observed
the process at several places in southern India.
From the mid-17th century onwards, there are numerous vivid eyewitness accounts of the production of steel by
European travellers to the Indian subcontinent. These include accounts by Jean Baptist Tavernier in 1679, Francis
Buchanan in 1807, and H.W. Voysey in 1832.[34] The 18th, 19th and early 20th century saw a heady period of
European interest in trying to understand the nature and properties of wootz steel. Indian wootz engaged the attention
of some of the best-known scientists.[35] One was Michael Faraday who was fascinated by wootz steel. It was probably
the investigations of George Pearson in 1795 reported at the Royal Society, which had the most far-reaching impact
in terms of kindling interest in wootz amongst European scientists.[36] He was the first of these scientists to publish
his results and, incidentally, the first to use the word “wootz” in print.[37]
Another investigator, David Mushet, was able to infer that wootz was made by fusion.[38] David Mushet patented his
process in 1800.[39] He made his report in 1805.[37] But the first successful European process had been developed by
Benjamin Huntsman some 50 years previously in the 1740s.[40]
4 CHAPTER 1. CRUCIBLE STEEL

Crucibles next to the furnace room at Abbeydale, Sheffield

1.2.2 History of production in England

Benjamin Huntsman was a clockmaker in search of a better steel for clock springs. In Handsworth near Sheffield, he
began producing steel in 1740 after years of experimenting in secret. Huntsman’s system used a coke-fired furnace
capable of reaching 1,600 °C, into which up to twelve clay crucibles, each capable of holding about 15 kg of iron, were
placed. When the crucibles or “pots” were white-hot, they were charged with lumps of blister steel, an alloy of iron
and carbon produced by the cementation process, and a flux to help remove impurities. The pots were removed after
about 3 hours in the furnace, impurities in the form of slag skimmed off, and the molten steel poured into moulds to
end up as cast ingots.[41][42] Complete melting of the steel produced a highly uniform crystal structure upon cooling,
which gave the metal increased tensile strength and hardness compared to other steels being made at the time.
Before the introduction of Huntsman’s technique, Sheffield produced about 200 tonnes of steel per year from Swedish
wrought iron (see Oregrounds iron). The introduction of Huntsman’s technique changed this radically: one hundred
years later the amount had risen to over 80,000 tonnes per year, or almost half of Europe’s total production. Sheffield
developed from a small township into one of Europe’s leading industrial cities.
The steel was produced in specialised workshops called 'crucible furnaces’, which consisted of a workshop at ground
level and a subterranean cellar. The furnace buildings varied in size and architectural style, growing in size towards
the latter part of the 19th century as technological developments enabled multiple pots to be “fired” at once, using
gas as a heating fuel. Each workshop had a series of standard features, such as rows of melting holes, teaming pits,
roof vents, rows of shelving for the crucible pots and annealing furnaces to prepare each pot before firing. Ancillary
rooms for weighing each charge and for the manufacture of the clay crucibles were either attached to the workshop,
or located within the cellar complex. The steel, originally intended for making clock springs, was later used in other
applications such as scissors, axes and swords.
Sheffield’s Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet operates for the public a scythe-making works, which dates from Huntsman’s
times and is powered by a water wheel, using crucible steel made at the site.
1.3. METHODS OF CRUCIBLE STEEL PRODUCTION 5

1.2.3 19th and 20th century production

In another method, developed in the United States in the 1880s, iron and carbon were melted together directly to
produce crucible steel.[43] Throughout the 19th century and into the 1920s a large amount of crucible steel was
directed into the production of cutting tools, where it was called tool steel.
The crucible process continued to be used for specialty steels, but is today obsolete. Similar quality steels are now
made with an electric arc furnace. Some uses of tool steel were displaced, first by high speed steel [43] and later by
materials such as tungsten carbide.

1.2.4 Crucible steel elsewhere

Another form of crucible steel was developed in 1837 by the Russian engineer, Pavel Anosov. His technique relied
less on the heating and cooling, and more on the quenching process of rapidly cooling the molten steel when the right
crystal structure had formed within. He called his steel bulat; its secret died with him. In the United States crucible
steel was pioneered by William Metcalf.

1.3 Methods of crucible steel production

Various methods were used to produce crucible steel. According to Islamic texts such as al-Tarsusi and Abu Rayhan
Biruni, three methods are described for indirect production of steel.[44] The medieval Islamic historian Abu Rayhan
Biruni (c. 973–1050) provides the earliest reference of the production of Damascus steel. He describes only three
methods for producing steel.[45] The first method and the most common traditional method is solid state carburization
of wrought iron. This is a diffusion process in which wrought iron is packed in crucibles or a hearth with charcoal,
then heated to promote diffusion of carbon into the iron to produce steel.[46] Carburization is the basis for the wootz
process of steel. The second method is the decarburization of cast iron by removing carbon from the cast iron.[45]
The third method uses wrought iron and cast iron. In this process, wrought iron and cast iron may be heated together
in a crucible to produce steel by fusion.[46] In regard to this method Abu Rayhan Biruni states: “this was the method
used in Hearth”. It is proposed that the Indian method refers to Wootz carburization method;[45] i.e., the Mysore or
Tamil processes.[47]
Variations of co-fusion process have been found preliminary in Persia and Central Asia but have also been found
in Hyderabad, India[48] called Deccani or Hyderabad process.[47] For the carbon, a variety of organic materials are
specified by the contemporary Islamic authorities, including pomegranate rinds, acorns, fruit skins like orange peel,
leaves as well as the white of egg and shells. Slivers of wood are mentioned in some of the Indian sources, but
significantly none of the sources mention charcoal.[27]

1.4 See also

• Damascus steel

• Pattern welding

1.5 Notes
[1] Feuerbach 2002, 13

[2] Ranganathan and Srinivasan 2004, 126

[3] Bronson 1986, 19

[4] Feuerbach 2002, 164

[5] Feuerbach 2002, 163

[6] Griffiths and Srinivasan 1997, 111

6 CHAPTER 1. CRUCIBLE STEEL

[7] Srinivasan 1994, 52

[8] Ranganathan and Srinivasan 2004, 117

[9] Craddock 2003, 245

[10] Craddock 1995, 281

[11] Moshtagh Khorasani 2006, 108

[12] Srinivasan 1994

[13] Srinivasan & Griffiths

[14] Ranganathan and Srinivasan 2004, 125

[15] Bronson 1986, 43

[16] Feuerbach 2002, 168

[17] Craddock 1995, 279

[18] Juleff 1998, 51

[19] Juleff 1998, 222

[20] Juleff 1998, 80

[21] Juleff 1998, 221

[22] Juleff 1998, 220

[23] Papakhristu and Rehren 2002, 69

[24] Rehren and Papakhristu 2000, 55

[25] Rehren and Papachristou 2003, 396

[26] Rehren and Papakhristu 2000, 58

[27] Rehren and Papakhristu 2000

[28] Rehren and Papakhristu 2000, 67

[29] Feuerbach 2003, 258

[30] Feuerbach 1997, 109

[31] Feuerbach 2003, 264

[32] Craddock 2003, 251

[33] Needham 1958, 128

[34] Ranganathan and Srinivasan 2004, 60

[35] Ranganathan and Srinivasan 2004, 78

[36] Ranganathan and Srinivasan 2004, 79

[37] Bronson 1986, 30

[38] Bronson 1986, 31

[39] Needham 1958, 132

[40] Craddock 1995, 283

[41] McNeil, Ian (1990). An Encyclopedia of the History of Technology. London: Routledge. pp. 159–60. ISBN 0-415-14792-
1.

[42] Juleff 1998, 11

1.5. NOTES 7

[43] Misa, Thomas J. (1995). A Nation of Steel: The Making of Modern America 1865–1925. Baltimore and London: Johns
Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-6052-2.

[44] Feuerbach et al 1997, 105

[45] Feuerbach et al 1998, 38

[46] Feuerbach et al 1995, 12

[47] Srinivasan 1994, 56

[48] Feuerbach et al 1998, 39

1.5.1 References
• Bronson, B., 1986. The Making and Selling of Wootz, a Crucible Steel of India. Archeomaterials 1.1, 13–51.
• Craddock, P.T., 1995. Early Metal Mining and Production. Cambridge: Edinburgh university press.
• Craddock, P.T, 2003. Cast Iron, Fined Iron, Crucible Steel: Liquid Iron in the Ancient World. In: P.T.,
Craddock, and J., Lang. (eds) Mining and Metal Production through the ages. London: The British Museum
Press,231–257.
• Feuerbach, A.M., 2002. Crucible Steel in Central Asia: Production, Use, and Origins: a dissertation presented
to the University of London.
• Feuerbach, A., Griffiths, D. R. and Merkel, J.F., 1997. Production of crucible steel by co-fusion: Archaeomet-
allurgical evidence from the ninth- early tenth century at the site of Merv, Turkmenistan. In: J.R., Druzik,
J.F., Merkel, J., Stewart and P.B., Vandiver (eds) Materials issues in art and archaeology V: symposium held
3–5 December 1996, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Pittsburgh, Pa: Materials Research Society, 105–109.
• Feuerbach, A., Griffiths, D., and Merkel, J.F., 1995. Analytical Investigation of Crucible Steel Production at
Merv, Turkmenistan. IAMS 19, 12–14.
• Feuerbach, A.M., Griffiths, D.R. and Merkel, J.F., 1998. An examination of crucible steel in the manufacture
of Damascus steel, including evidence from Merv, Turkmenistan. Metallurgica Antiqua 8, 37–44.
• Feuerbach, A.M., Griffiths, D.R., and Merkel, J.F., 2003. Early Islamic Crucible Steel Production at Merv,
Turkmenistan, In: P.T., Craddock, J., Lang (eds). Mining and Metal Production through the ages. London:
The British Museum Press, 258–266.
• Freestone, I.C. and Tite, M. S. (eds) 1986. Refractories in the Ancient and Preindustrial World, In: W.D.,
Kingery (ed.) and E., Lense (associated editor) High technology ceramics : past, present, and future ; the
nature of innovation and change in ceramic technology. Westerville, OH: American Ceramic Society, 35–63.
• Juleff, G., 1998. Early Iron and Steel in Sri Lanka: a study of the Samanalawewa area. Mainz am Rhein: von
Zabern.
• Moshtagh Khorasani, M., 2006. Arms and Armor from Iran, the Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period.
Tübingen: Legat.
• Needham, J. 1958. The development of iron and steel technology in China: second biennial Dickinson Memo-
rial Lecture to the Newcomen Society, 1900–1995. Newcomen Society.
• Papakhristu, O.A., and Rehren, Th., 2002. Techniques and Technology of Ceramic Vessel Manufacture Cru-
cibles for Wootz Smelting in Centural Asia. In: V., Kilikoglou, A., Hein, and Y., Maniatis (eds) Modern
Trends in Scientific Studies on Ancient Ceramics, papers presented at the 5th European Meeting on Ancient
Ceramics, Athens 1999/ Oxford : Archaeopress, 69–74.
• Ranganathan, S. and Srinivasan, Sh., 2004. India`s Legendary Wootz steel, and advanced material of the
ancient world. Bangalore: National Institute of Advanced Studies: Indian Institute of Science.
• Rehren, Th. and Papachristou, O., 2003. Similar like White and Black: a Comparison of Steel-making
Crucibles from Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In: Th., Stöllner et al. (eds) Man and mining :
Mensch und Bergbau : studies in honour of Gerd Weisgerber on occasion of his 65th birthday. Bochum :
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, 393–404.
8 CHAPTER 1. CRUCIBLE STEEL

• Rehren, Th. and Papakhristu, O. 2000. Cutting Edge Technology- the Ferghana Process of medieval crucible
steel smelting. Metalla 7.2, 55–69Srinivasan, Sh., 1994. woots crucible steel: a newly discovered production
site in south India. Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 5, 49–61.

• Srinivasan, Sh., and Griffiths, D., 1997. Crucible Steel in South India-Preliminary Investigations on Crucibles
from some newly identified sites. In: J.R., Druzik, J.F., Merkel, J., Stewart and P.B., Vandiver (eds) Mate-
rials issues in art and archaeology V: symposium held 3–5 December 1996, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Pittsburgh, Pa: Materials Research Society, 111–125.

• Srinivasan, S. and Griffiths, D. South Indian wootz: evidence for high-carbon steel from crucibles from a newly
identified site and preliminary comparisons with related finds. Material Issues in Art and Archaeology-V, Ma-
terials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Series Vol. 462.
• Srinivasan, S. & Ranganathan, S. Wootz Steel: An Advanced Material of the Ancient World. Bangalore: Indian
Institute of Science.

• Wayman Michael L. The Ferrous Metallurgy of Early Clocks and Watches. The British Museum 2000

1.6 External links

• Merv, Turkmenistan

• CFD in the 1st Millennium AD

• Wootz Steel: An advanced material of the ancient world

• Making Steel by Hand: A 1949 British Pathe newsreel showing the production of crucible steel in Sheffield
1.6. EXTERNAL LINKS 9
Chapter 2

Wootz steel

Picture shows 18th-century Persian-forged sword made from Damascus. Crucible steels, such as wootz steel and Damascus steel,
exhibit unique banding patterns because of the intermixed ferrite and cementite alloys in the steel

Wootz steel is a crucible steel characterized by a pattern of bands, which are formed by sheets of micro carbides
within a tempered martensite or pearlite matrix in higher carbon steel, or by ferrite and pearlite banding in lower
carbon steels. It is the pioneering steel alloy matrix developed in India in the sixth century BC and exported globally.
It was also known in the ancient world by many different names including Wootz, Ukku, Hindwani and Seric Iron.

2.1 History
The Wootz steel originated in India.[1][2] There are several ancient Tamil, Greek, Chinese and Roman literary refer-
ences to high carbon Indian steel since the time of Alexander’s India campaign. The crucible steel production process
started in the sixth century BC, at production sites of Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu, Golconda in Telangana, Karnataka
and Sri Lanka and exported globally; the Tamils of the Chera Dynasty producing what was termed the finest steel in

10
2.2. CHARACTERISTICS 11

the world, i.e. Seric Iron to the Romans, Egyptians, Chinese and Arabs by 500 BC.[3][4][5] The steel was exported as
cakes of steely iron that came to be known as “Wootz.”[6]
The Tamilakam method was to heat black magnetite ore in the presence of carbon in a sealed clay crucible inside a
charcoal furnace. An alternative was to smelt the ore first to give wrought iron, then heated and hammered to be rid of
slag. The carbon source was bamboo and leaves from plants such as Avārai.[6][7] The Chinese and locals in Sri Lanka
adopted the production methods of creating Wootz steel from the Chera Tamils by the 5th century BC.[8][9] In Sri
Lanka, this early steel-making method employed a unique wind furnace, driven by the monsoon winds. Production
sites from antiquity have emerged, in places such as Anuradhapura, Tissamaharama and Samanalawewa, as well as
imported artifacts of ancient iron and steel from Kodumanal. A 200 BC Tamil trade guild in Tissamaharama, in the
South East of Sri Lanka, brought with them some of the oldest iron and steel artifacts and production processes to
the island from the classical period.[10][11][12][13] The Arabs introduced the South Indian/Sri Lankan wootz steel to
Damascus, where an industry developed for making weapons of this steel. The 12th century Arab traveler Edrisi
mentioned the “Hinduwani” or Indian steel as the best in the world.[1]
Another sign of its reputation is seen in a Persian phrase – to give an “Indian answer”, meaning “a cut with an Indian
sword.”[14] Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe and the Arab world, and became
particularly famous in the Middle East.[14]

2.1.1 Development of modern metallurgy

From the 17th century onwards, several European travelers observed the steel manufacturing in South India, at
Mysore, Malabar and Golconda. The word “wootz” appears to have originated as a mistranscription of wook, an
anglicised version of ukku, the word for steel in the Kannada language.[15][16] According to one theory, the word
ukku is based on the meaning “melt, dissolve"; other Dravidian languages have similar sounding words for steel. The
Tamil language root word for the alloy is urukku.[17] Another theory says that the word is a variation of uchcha or
ucha (“superior”). When Benjamin Heyne inspected the Indian steel in Ceded Districts and other Kannada-speaking
areas, he was informed that the steel was ucha kabbina (“superior iron”), also known as ukku tundu in Mysore.[18][19]
Legends of wootz steel and Damascus swords aroused the curiosity of the European scientific community from the
17th to the 19th Century. The use of high carbon alloys was not known in Europe previously and thus the research
into wootz steel played an important role in the development of modern English, French and Russian metallurgy.[20]
In 1790, samples of wootz steel were received by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the British Royal society, sent by
Helenus Scott. These samples were subjected to scientific examination and analysis by several experts.[21][22][23]
Specimens of daggers and other weapons were sent by the Rajahs of India to the International Exhibition of 1851 and
1862. Though the arms of the swords were beautifully decorated and jeweled, they were most highly prized for the
quality of their steel. The swords of the Sikhs were said to bear bending and crumpling, and yet be fine and sharp.[14]

2.2 Characteristics
Wootz is characterized by a pattern caused by bands of clustered Fe
3C particles made of microsegregation of low levels of carbide-forming elements.[24] There is a possibility of an
abundance of ultrahard metallic carbides in the steel matrix precipitating out in bands. Wootz swords, especially
Damascus blades, were renowned for their sharpness and toughness.
Steel manufactured in Kutch particularly enjoyed a widespread reputation, similar to those manufactured at Glasgow
and Sheffield.[14]
The techniques for its making died out around 1700. According to Sir Richard Burton,[7] the British prohibited the
trade in 1866:

About a pound weight of malleable iron, made from magnetic ore, is placed, minutely broken and
moistened, in a crucible of refractory clay, together with finely chopped pieces of wood Cassia auriculata.
It is packed without flux. The open pots are then covered with the green leaves of the Asclepias gigantea
or the Convolvulus lanifolius, and the tops are coated over with wet clay, which is sun-dried to hardness.
Charcoal will not do as a substitute for the green twigs. Some two dozen of these cupels or crucibles are
disposed archways at the bottom of a furnace, whose blast is managed with bellows of bullock’s hide.
The fuel is composed mostly of charcoal and of sun-dried brattis or cow-chips. After two or three hours’
12 CHAPTER 2. WOOTZ STEEL

smelting the cooled crucibles are broken up, when the regulus appears in the shape and size of half an
egg. According to Tavernier, the best buttons from about Golconda were as large as a halfpenny roll,
and sufficed to make two Sword-blades. These “cops” are converted into bars by exposure for several
hours to a charcoal fire not hot enough to melt them. They are then turned over before the blast, and
thus the too highly carburised steel is oxidised.
According to Professor Oldham, “Wootz” is also worked in the Damudah Valley, at Birbhum,
Dyucha, Narayanpur, Damrah, and Goanpiir. In 1852 some thirty furnaces at Dyucha reduced the
ore to kachhd or pig-iron, small blooms from Catalan forges; as many more converted it to steel, pre-
pared in furnaces of different kind. The work was done by different castes; the Muslims laboured at the
rude metal, the Hindu preferred the refining work. I have read that anciently a large quantity of Wootz
found its way westward via Peshawar.
When last visiting (April 19, 1876) the Mahabaleshwar Hills near Bombay, I had the pleasure to meet
Mr. Joyner, C.E., and with his assistance made personal inquiries into the process. The whole of the
Sayhddri range (Western Ghats), and especially the great-Might-of-Shiva mountains, had for many ages
supplied Persia with the best steel. Our Government, since 1866, forbade the industry, as it threatened
the highlands with disforesting. The ore was worked by the Hill-tribes, of whom the principal are the
Dhdnwars, Dravidians now speaking Hindustani. Only the brickwork of their many raised furnaces
remained. For fuel they preferred the Jumbul-wood, and the Anjan or iron-wood. They packed the iron
and fourteen pounds of charcoal in layers and, after two hours of bellows-working, the metal flowed into
the forms. The Kurs’ (bloom), five inches in diameter by two and a half deep, was then beaten into tiles
or plates. The matrix resembled the Brazilian, a poor yellow-brown limonite striping the mud-coloured
clay; and actual testing disproved the common idea that the “watering” of the surface is found in the
metal. The Jauhar, (“jewel” or ribboning) of the so-called Damascus blade was produced artificially,
mostly by drawing out the steel into thin ribbons which were piled and welded by the hammer. Oral
tradition in India maintains that a small piece of either white or black hematite (or old wootz) had to be
included in each melt, and that a minimum of these elements must be present in the steel for the proper
segregation of the micro carbides to take place.

2.3 Reproduction research

Russian metallurgist Pavel Petrovich Anosov (see Bulat steel) was able to reproduce ancient Wootz steel with almost
all its properties and the steel he created was very similar to traditional Wootz. He documented four different methods
of producing Wootz steel that exhibited traditional patterns. He died before he could fully document and publish his
research. Dr. Oleg Sherby and Dr. Jeff Wadsworth and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have all done
research, attempting to create steels with characteristics similar to Wootz, but without success. J.D Verhoeven and
Al Pendray reconstructed methods of production, proved the role of impurities of ore in the pattern creation, and
reproduced Wootz steel with patterns microscopically and visually identical to one of the ancient blade patterns.
There are other smiths who are now consistently producing Wootz steel blades identical to the old patterns.
One must remember while looking at reproduction efforts that Wootz was made over nearly a 2000-year period (the
oldest sword samples date to around 200 AD) and that the methods of production of ingots, the ingredients, and
the methods of forging varied from one area to the next. Some Wootz blades displayed a pattern, while some did
not. Heat treating was quite different from forging, and there were many different patterns which were created by the
various smiths who spanned from China to Scandinavia.
It is easy to say that Wootz/Pulad/Bulat/Hindwani is one pattern and one method with one blade characteristic, but that
is not a correct representation of the blades that survive today or the accounts of witnessed methods from antiquity.
Not all of the secrets of Wootz have been discovered, but it has essentially been recreated by Anosov, Pendray and
many smiths in the 20th century. Nonetheless, research continues.

2.4 See also

• Damascus steel

• Iron pillar of Delhi

• Pattern welding
2.5. REFERENCES 13

• Ferrous metallurgy

2.5 References
[1] Sharada Srinivasan; Srinivasa Ranganathan (2004). India’s Legendary Wootz Steel: An Advanced Material of the Ancient
World. National Institute of Advanced Studies. OCLC 82439861. (materials.iisc.ernet.in)

[2] Gerald W. R. Ward. The Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques in Art. pp.380

[3] Sharada Srinivasan (1994) Wootz crucible steel: a newly discovered production site in South India Papers from the Institute
of Archaeology 5(1994) 49-59

[4] Herbert Henery Coghlan. (1977). Notes on prehistoric and early iron in the Old World. pp 99-100

[5] B. Sasisekharan (1999).TECHNOLOGY OF IRON AND STEEL IN KODUMANAL-

[6] Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson (1998). The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England: Its Archaeology and Literature. Boydell &
Brewer Ltd. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-0-85115-716-0.

[7] Burton, Sir Richard Francis (1884). The Book of the Sword. Internet archive: Chatto and Windus. p. 111. ISBN
1605204366.

[8] Needham, Volume 4, Part 1, p. 282.

[9] Manning, Charlotte Speir. “Ancient and Medieval India. Volume 2”. ISBN 9780543929433.

[10] Hobbies - Volume 68, Issue 5 - Page 45. Lghtner Publishing Company (1963)

[11] Mahathevan, Iravatham (24 June 2010). “An epigraphic perspective on the antiquity of Tamil”. The Hindu. The Hindu
Group. Retrieved 31 October 2010.

[12] Ragupathy, P (28 June 2010). “Tissamaharama potsherd evidences ordinary early Tamils among population”. Tamilnet.
Tamilnet. Retrieved 31 October 2010.

[13] http://www.archaeology.lk/http:/www.archaeology.lk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dinithi-Volume-1-Issue-4.pdf

[14] Manning, Charlotte Speir. “Ancient and Mediæval India. Volume 2”. ISBN 9780543929433.

[15] Roddam Narasimha; J Srinivasan; S K Biswas (6 December 2003). The Dynamics of Technology: Creation and Diffusion
of Skills and Knowledge. SAGE Publications. pp. 135–. ISBN 978-0-7619-9670-5.

[16] Michael Faraday, as quoted by Peter Day, The Philosopher’s Tree, p. 108, ISBN 0-7503-0571-1

[17] Girija Pande and Jan af Geijerstam (2002). Tradition and innovation in the history of iron making: an Indo-European
perspective. Pahar Parikarma. p. 45. ISBN 978-81-86246-19-1.

[18] Edward Balfour (1885). The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial Industrial, and Scientific:
Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. Bernard Quaritch. pp. 1092–.

[19] James Stephen Jeans (1880). Steel: Its History, Manufacture, Properties and Uses. E. & F.N. Spon. p. 294.

[20] Cyril Stanley Smith (1 September 2012). A History of Metallography: The Development of Ideas on the Structure of Metals
Before 1890. Literary Licensing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-258-47336-5.

[21] Pearson, G. (1 January 1795). “Experiments and Observations to Investigate the Nature of a Kind of Steel, Manufactured
at Bombay, and There Called Wootz: With Remarks on the Properties and Composition of the Different States of Iron.
By George Pearson, M. D. F. R. S.”. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 85 (0): 322–346.
doi:10.1098/rstl.1795.0020. JSTOR 106960.

[22] Mushet, D. (1 January 1805). “Experiments on Wootz”. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 95
(0): 163–175. doi:10.1098/rstl.1805.0010. JSTOR 107164.

[23] Robert Hadfield, A Research on Faraday’s “Steel and Alloys”, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
Series A, Containing Papers of a Mathematical or Physical Character Vol. 230, (1932), pp. 221-292, at p. 225. Published
by: The Royal Society. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/91231

[24] Verhoeven, J.D.; Pendray, A.H.; Dauksch, W.E. (September 1998). “The Key Role of Impurities in Ancient Damascus
Steel Blades”. Journal of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. Archived from the original on 2015-02-09.
14 CHAPTER 2. WOOTZ STEEL

2.6 Further reading

• Srinivasan, Sharada Wootz crucible steel: a newly discovered production site in South India. Institute of Archae-
ology, University College London, 5 (1994), pp. 49–61.
• Srinivasan, S. and Griffiths, D. South Indian wootz: evidence for high-carbon steel from crucibles from a newly
identified site and preliminary comparisons with related finds. Material Issues in Art and Archaeology-V, Ma-
terials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Series Vol. 462.

• Hansson 2002, p 81 “Den skapande människan”

• urukku - from the Tamil Lexicon, University of Madras

• History and Characteristics of Wootz Steel in India and Abroad. (Indian Journal of History of Science; vol. 42,
no. 3; September 2007). New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy, 2007.
• Srinivasan, Sharada & Ranganathan, Srinivasan India’s Legendary Wootz Steel: an advanced material of the
ancient world. Bangalore: National Institute of Advanced Studies and Indian Institute of Science, 2004.
• J.D. Verhoeven, “The Mystery of Damascus Blades”, Scientific American, pp. 74–79, January 2001

2.7 External links

• The key role of impurities in ancient Damascus steel blades
• Nanotubes present in Damascus Blades

• Wootz related items

• Experiments documented on YouTube
Chapter 3

Ulfberht swords

One of three Ulfberht swords found in the territory of the Volga Bulgars. Its hilt (classified as Petersen type T-2) is decorated with
three lines of round holes inlaid with twisted silver wire.[2]

The Ulfberht swords are about 170 medieval swords found in Europe, dated to the 9th to 11th centuries, with blades
inlaid with the inscription +VLFBERHT+ (and variants).[3] That word is a Frankish personal name that became the
basis of a trademark of sorts, used by multiple bladesmiths for several centuries.

3.1 Description
The swords are at the transitional point between the Viking sword and the high medieval knightly sword. Most have
blades of Oakeshott type X. They are also the starting point of the (much more varied) high medieval tradition of blade
inscriptions. The reverse side of the blades are inlaid with a geometric pattern, usually a braid pattern between vertical
strokes. There are also numerous blades which have this type of geometric pattern but no Vlfberht inscription.[4]
Ulfberht swords were made during a period when European swords were still predominantly pattern welded (“false
Damascus”), but with larger blooms of steel gradually becoming available, so that higher quality swords made after
AD 1000 are increasingly likely to have crucible steel blades. The group of Ulfberht swords includes a wide spectrum
of steel and production methods. One example from a 10th-century grave in Nemilany, Moravia, has a pattern-
welded core with welded-on hardened cutting edges. Another example appears to have been made from high-quality
hypoeutectoid steel possibly imported from Central Asia.[5]
The first systematic study of this type of sword is the one by Lorange (1889).

3.2 Number and distribution

The original Ulfberht sword type dates to the 9th or 10th century, but swords with the Ulfberht inscription continued
to be made at least until the end of the Viking Age in the 11th century. A notable late example found in Eastern

15
16 CHAPTER 3. ULFBERHT SWORDS

Four Ulfberht swords found in Norway (drawings from Lorange 1889).

Germany, dated to the 11th or possibly early 12th century, represents the only specimen that combines the Vlfberht
signature with a Christian “in nomine domini” inscription (+IINIOMINEDMN).[6]
Ulfberht swords are found throughout Europe, most numerously in Northern Europe (especially in Norway).[7] They
most likely originate in the Rhineland region of Germany (i.e. in Austrasia, the core region of the Frankish realm, later
part of the Franconian stem duchy),[8] but were clearly sought-after, prestigious artefacts in Viking Age Scandinavia.
Three specimens were found as far afield as Volga Bulgaria (at the time part of the Volga trade route).[2]
3.3. SEE ALSO 17

The prevalence of Ulfberht swords in the archaeological record of Northern Europe does not imply that such swords
were more widely used there than in Francia; the Germanic pagan practice of placing weapons in warrior graves greatly
favours the archaeological record in such regions of Europe that were still pagan (and indeed most of the Ulfberht
swords found in Norway are from warrior graves), while sword finds in from continental Europe and England after
the 7th century are mostly limited to stray finds, e.g. in riverbeds.[9] In 2012, after the publication of the survey
by Stralsberg (2008), an Ulfberht sword was discovered in bank gravel of the Weser, in Großenwieden, Hessisch
Oldendorf, Lower Saxony.[10]
There are about 170 extant Ulfberht blades.[11] Of 166 candidate blades, Stalsberg classifies 96 as clearly featuring an
Vlfberht inscription, or 135 including “non definable” or uncertain variants, about a quarter from Norway alone. The
precise number is debatable because of the fragmentary condition of some examples, and because some inscriptions
appear to be loose references to the Ulfberht type than actual specimens.[12] Stalsberg (2008) is based on a survey of
166 blades; the inscription typology in Stalsberg (2008:6) is limited to a total of 135 blades, including 31–32 of the
“non definable” type.

3.3 See also

• Viking Age arms and armour
• Ingelrii, a similar inscription

3.4 References
[1] found in 1960 in the Old Rhine close to Friesenheimer Insel, Mannheim. Treasures of German Art and History in the
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, 2001, p. 23.
[2] Viacheslav Shpakovsky, David Nicolle, Gerry Embleton, Armies of the Volga Bulgars & Khanate of Kazan, 9th–16th
centuries, Osprey Men-at-Arms 491 (2013), p. 23f.
[3] Wegeli (1904), p. 12, fig. 3.; Stralsberg (2008:6) classifies the “correctly” spelled inscriptions into five classes, 1. +VLF-
BERH+T (46 to 51 examples), 2. +VLFBERHT+ (18 to 23 examples), 3. VLFBERH+T (4 to 6 examples), 4. +VLF-
BERH┼T+ (1 or 2 examples), 5. +VLFBERH+T (10 examples), with a sixth class of “misspellings” (+VLEBERHIT,
+VLFBEHT+, +VLFBERH+, +VLFBER├┼┼T, +VLFBERTH, 17 examples) and a seventh class “not definable” (31
or 32 examples). Stalsberg (2008) explains the numerous misspellings in the inscriptions by the “use of illiterate slaves in
the smithy”.
[4] Stalsberg (2008:2): “This indicates that geometrical and other marks were frequently welded into sword blades which have
no signature, and it demonstrates that the technique of welding rods into the blade to make marks and signatures was known
in many countries in Europe. This is a point to be kept in mind when discussing the question if Vlfberht blades or signatures
may have been copied or falsified.”
[5] David Edge, Alan Williams: Some early medieval swords in the Wallace Collection and elsewhere, Gladius XXIII, 2003,
191-210 (p. 203).
[6] Herrman, J. and Donat P. (eds.), Corpus archäologischer Quellen zur Frühgeschichte auf dem Gebiet der Deutschen Demokratis-
chen Republik (7.−12. Jahrhundert), Akademie-Verlag, Berlin (1985), p. 376.
[7] Stalsberg (2008:12): in terms of modern state borders: Norway: 44, Finland: 14, Germany: 13, Sweden: 12, Russia: 10
(excluding an additional c. 20 specimens found in Kaliningrad oblast, most of them at Linkuhnen cemetery), Estonia: 9,
Latvia: 7, Poland: 7, Ukraine: 6, UK: 4; Denmark and Netherlands 3 each; Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Iceland,
Ireland, Lithuania: 2 each; Belarus, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland: one each.
[8] A Frankish origin of the original swords has long been assumed because of the form of the personal name Ulfberht; a sword
found in Lower Saxony in 2012 used lead in its hilt which has reportedly been analysed as originating in the Taunus region,
reinforcing the hypothesis of Frankish manufacture of the Ulfberht swords. Hannover University (2015)
[9] see e.g. E. A. Cameron, Sheaths and scabbards in England AD 400-1100 (2008), p. 34.
[10] Hannover University (2015); press release, Nds. Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, 29 July 2014].
[11] Stalsberg (2008:2): “For this study it was possible to collect information about 166 blades found in 23 European countries.
[...] Since then I have learnt about a few more Vlfberht blades, mainly unpublished [...] To check all found blades for
inscriptions is an enormous task; in Norway alone at least two and a half thousand double edged blades have to be examined”.
[12] see Wegeli, p. 12, fig. 3.
18 CHAPTER 3. ULFBERHT SWORDS

3.5 Works cited

• Anders Lorange, Den yngre jernalders sværd, Bergen (1889).

• Rudolf Wegeli, Inschriften auf mittelalterlichen Schwertklingen, Leipzig (1904).

• Anne Stalsberg, “Herstellung und Verbreitung der Vlfberht-Schwertklingen. Eine Neubewertung”, Zeitschrift
für Archäologie des Mittelalters 36, 2008, 89-118 (English translation).

• M. Müller-Wille: Ein neues ULFBERHT-Schwert aus Hamburg. Verbreitung, Formenkunde und Herkunft, Offa
27, 1970, 65-91

3.6 External links

• Media related to Ulfberht swords at Wikimedia Commons
Chapter 4

Jabir ibn Hayyan

For other people known as Geber, see Geber.

Abu Mūsā Jābir ibn Hayyān (Arabic: ‫جابر بن حیان‬, Persian: ‫ﺟﺎﺑﺮ ﺑﻦ ﺣﯿﺎن‬, often given the nisbahs al-al-Bariqi, al-
Azdi, al-Kufi, al-Tusi or al-Sufi; fl. c. 721 – c. 815),[5] also known as Geber, was a prominent polymath: a chemist
and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geographer, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician.
Born and educated in Tus, he later traveled to Kufa. He is sometimes referred to as the father of early chemistry.[6][7][8]
As early as the 10th century, the identity and exact corpus of works of Jabir was in dispute in Islamic circles.[9]
His name was Latinized as “Geber” in the Christian West and in 13th-century Europe an anonymous writer, usually
referred to as Pseudo-Geber, produced alchemical and metallurgical writings under the pen-name Geber.[10]

4.1 Biography

4.1.1 Early references

In 988 Ibn al-Nadim compiled the Kitab al-Fihrist which mentions Jabir as a spiritual follower and as a companion to
Jafar as-Sadiq, the sixth Shia Imam. In another reference al-Nadim reports that a group of philosophers claimed Jabir
was one of their own members. Another group, reported by al-Nadim, says only The Large Book of Mercy is genuine
and that the rest are pseudographical. Their assertions are rejected by al-Nadim.[9] Joining al-Nadim in asserting a
real Jabir; Ibn-Wahshiyya (“Jaber ibn Hayyn al-Sufi ...book on poison is a great work...”) Rejecting a real Jabir; (the
philosopher c. 970) Abu Sulayman al-Mantiqi claims the real author is one al-Hasan ibn al-Nakad al-Mawili. The
14th century critic of Arabic literature, Jamal al-Din ibn Nubata al-Misri declares all the writings attributed to Jabir
doubtful.[11]

4.1.2 Life and background

Jabir was a natural philosopher who lived mostly in the 8th century; he was born in Tus, Khorasan, in Persia,[5] well
known as Iran then ruled by the Umayyad Caliphate. Jabir in the classical sources has been entitled differently as
al-Azdi al-Barigi or al-Kufi or al-Tusi or al-Sufi.[12] There is a difference of opinion[12] as to whether he was a Persian
from Khorasan who later went to Kufa or whether he was, as some have suggested, of Syrian origin and later lived
in Persia and Iraq.[12] His ethnic background is not clear,[12] but most sources reference him as a Persian.[4] In some
sources, he is reported to have been the son of Hayyan al-Azdi, a pharmacist of the Arabian Azd tribe who emigrated
from Yemen to Kufa (in present-day Iraq) during the Umayyad Caliphate.[13][14] while Henry Corbin believes Geber
seems to have been a client of the 'Azd tribe.[15] Hayyan had supported the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyads, and
was sent by them to the province of Khorasan (present day Afghanistan and Iran) to gather support for their cause.
He was eventually caught by the Umayyads and executed. His family fled to Yemen,[13][16] where Jabir grew up and
studied the Quran, mathematics and other subjects.[13] Jabir’s father’s profession may have contributed greatly to his
interest in alchemy.
After the Abbasids took power, Jabir went back to Kufa. He began his career practicing medicine, under the patronage
of a Vizir (from the noble Persian family Barmakids) of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. His connections to the Barmakid

19
20 CHAPTER 4. JABIR IBN HAYYAN

cost him dearly in the end. When that family fell from grace in 803, Jabir was placed under house arrest in Kufa,
where he remained until his death.
It has been asserted that Jabir was a student of the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq and Harbi al-Himyari;[9][17] however,
other scholars have questioned this theory.[18]

4.2 The Jabirian corpus

An illustration of the various experiments and instruments used by Jabir Ibn Hayyan.

In total, nearly 3,000 treatises and articles are credited to Jabir ibn Hayyan.[19] Following the pioneering work of Paul
Kraus, who demonstrated that a corpus of some several hundred works ascribed to Jābir were probably a medley
from different hands,[11]:3[20] mostly dating to the late 9th and early 10th centuries, many scholars believe that many
of these works consist of commentaries and additions by his followers, particularly of an Ismaili persuasion.[21]
The scope of the corpus is vast: cosmology, music, medicine, magic, biology, chemical technology, geometry, gram-
mar, metaphysics, logic, artificial generation of living beings, along with astrological predictions, and symbolic Imâmî
myths.[11]:5

• The 112 Books dedicated to the Barmakids, viziers of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. This group includes the Arabic
version of the Emerald Tablet, an ancient work that proved a recurring foundation of and source for alchemical
operations. In the Middle Ages it was translated into Latin (Tabula Smaragdina) and widely diffused among
European alchemists.

• The Seventy Books, most of which were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages. This group includes
the Kitab al-Zuhra (“Book of Venus”) and the Kitab Al-Ahjar (“Book of Stones”).

• The Ten Books on Rectification, containing descriptions of alchemists such as Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato
and Aristotle.

• The Books on Balance; this group includes his most famous 'Theory of the balance in Nature'.

Jabir states in his Book of Stones (4:12) that “The purpose is to baffle and lead into error everyone except those
whom God loves and provides for”. His works seem to have been deliberately written in highly esoteric code (see
4.2. THE JABIRIAN CORPUS 21

steganography), so that only those who had been initiated into his alchemical school could understand them. It is
therefore difficult at best for the modern reader to discern which aspects of Jabir’s work are to be read as ambiguous
symbols, and what is to be taken literally. Because his works rarely made overt sense, the term gibberish is believed
to have originally referred to his writings (Hauck, p. 19).

4.2.1 People

Jabir’s interest in alchemy was inspired by his teacher Ja'far as-Sadiq. When he used to talk about alchemy, he
would say “my master Ja'far as-Sadiq taught me about calcium, evaporation, distillation and crystallization and ev-
erything I learned in alchemy was from my master Ja'far as-Sadiq.” Imam Jafar was famed for his depth and breadth
of knowledge. In addition to his knowledge of Islamic sciences, Imam Jafar was well educated in natural sciences,
mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, anatomy, chemistry (alchemy), and other subjects. The foremost Islamic al-
chemist Jabir bin Hayyan was his most prominent student. Other famous students of his were Imam Abu Hanifa and
Imam Malik Ibn Anas, the founders of two Sunni schools of jurisprudence, and Wasil ibn Ata, the founder of the
Mutazilite school of Islamic thought. Imam Jafar was known for his liberal views on learning, and was keen to debate
with scholars of different faiths and of different beliefs. Imam Abu Hanifa is quoted by many sources as having
said “My knowledge extends to only two years. The two I spent with Imam Jafar Sadiq”, some Islamic scholars have
gone so far as to call Imam Jafar Saddiq as the root of most of Islamic jurisprudence, having a massive influence on
Hanafi, Maliki and Shia schools of thought extending well into mainstream Hanbali and Shafi'i thought. Imam Jafar
also attained a surpassing knowledge in astronomy and in the science of medicine.
Jabir professes to draw his inspiration from earlier writers, legendary and historic, on the subject.[22] In his writings,
Jabir pays tribute to Egyptian and Greek alchemists Zosimos, Democritus, Hermes Trismegistus, Agathodaemon,
but also Plato, Aristotle, Galen, Pythagoras, and Socrates as well as the commentators Alexander of Aphrodisias
Simplicius, Porphyry and others.[11]:5 A huge pseudo-epigraphic literature of alchemical books was composed in
Arabic, among which the names of Persian authors also appear like Jāmāsb, Ostanes, Mani, testifying that alchemy-
like operations on metals and other substances were also practiced in Persia. The great number of Persian tech-
nical names (zaybaq = mercury, nošāder = sal-ammoniac) also corroborates the idea of an important Iranian root
of medieval alchemy.[23] Ibn al-Nadim reports a dialogue between Aristotle and Ostanes, the Persian alchemist of
Achaemenid era, which is in Jabirian corpus under the title of Kitab Musahhaha Aristutalis.[24] Ruska had suggested
that the Sasanian medical schools played an important role in the spread of interest in alchemy.[23] He emphasizes the
long history of alchemy, “whose origin is Arius ... the first man who applied the first experiment on the [philosopher’s]
stone... and he declares that man possesses the ability to imitate the workings of Nature” (Nasr, Seyyed Hussein,
Science and Civilization of Islam).

4.2.2 Theories

Jabir’s alchemical investigations ostensibly revolved around the ultimate goal of takwin — the artificial creation of
life. The Book of Stones includes several recipes for creating creatures such as scorpions, snakes, and even humans
in a laboratory environment, which are subject to the control of their creator. What Jabir meant by these recipes is
unknown.
Jabir’s alchemical investigations were theoretically grounded in an elaborate numerology related to Pythagorean and
Neoplatonic systems. The nature and properties of elements was defined through numeric values assigned the Arabic
consonants present in their name, a precursor to the character notation used today.
By Jabirs’ time Aristotelian physics had become Neoplatonic. Each Aristotelian element was composed of these
qualities: fire was both hot and dry, earth, cold and dry, water cold and moist, and air, hot and moist. This came from
the elementary qualities which are theoretical in nature plus substance. In metals two of these qualities were interior
and two were exterior. For example, lead was cold and dry and gold was hot and moist. Thus, Jabir theorized, by
rearranging the qualities of one metal, a different metal would result. Like Zosimos, Jabir believed this would require
a catalyst, an al-iksir, the elusive elixir that would make this transformation possible — which in European alchemy
became known as the philosopher’s stone.[11]
According to Jabir’s mercury-sulfur theory, metals differ from each in so far as they contain different proportions of
the sulfur and mercury. These are not the elements that we know by those names, but certain principles to which
those elements are the closest approximation in nature.[25] Based on Aristotle’s “exhalation” theory the dry and moist
exhalations become sulfur and mercury (sometimes called “sophic” or “philosophic” mercury and sulfur). The sulfur-
mercury theory is first recorded in a 7th-century work Secret of Creation credited (falsely) to Balinus (Apollonius of
22 CHAPTER 4. JABIR IBN HAYYAN

Tyana). This view becomes widespread.[26] In the Book of Explanation Jabir says

the metals are all, in essence, composed of mercury combined and coagulated with sulphur [that has
risen to it in earthy, smoke-like vapors]. They differ from one another only because of the difference of
their accidental qualities, and this difference is due to the difference of their sulphur, which again is caused
by a variation in the soils and in their positions with respect to the heat of the sun

Holmyard says that Jabir proves by experiment that these are not ordinary sulfur and mercury.[13]
The seeds of the modern classification of elements into metals and non-metals could be seen in his chemical nomen-
clature. He proposed three categories:[27]

• “Spirits” which vaporise on heating, like arsenic (realgar, orpiment), camphor, mercury, sulfur, sal ammoniac,
and ammonium chloride.
• "Metals", like gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, iron, and khar-sini (Chinese iron)
• Non-malleable substances, that can be converted into powders, such as stones.

The origins of the idea of chemical equivalents might be traced back to Jabir, in whose time it was recognized that
“a certain quantity of acid is necessary in order to neutralize a given amount of base.”[28] Jabir also made important
contributions to medicine, astronomy/astrology, and other sciences. Only a few of his books have been edited and
published, and fewer still are available in translation.

4.2.3 Laboratory equipment and material

The Jabirian corpus is renowned for its contributions to alchemy. It shows a clear recognition of the importance
of experimentation, “The first essential in chemistry is that thou shouldest perform practical work and conduct ex-
periments, for he who performs not practical work nor makes experiments will never attain to the least degree of
mastery.”[29] He is credited with the use of over twenty types of now-basic chemical laboratory equipment,[30] such
as the alembic[31] and retort, and with the description of many now-commonplace chemical processes – such as
crystallisation, various forms of alchemical “distillation”, and substances citric acid (the sour component of lemons
and other unripe fruits), acetic acid (from vinegar) and tartaric acid (from wine-making residues), arsenic, antimony
and bismuth, sulfur, and mercury[29][30] that have become the foundation of today’s chemistry.[32]
According to Ismail al-Faruqi and Lois Lamya al-Faruqi, “In response to Jafar al-Sadik's wishes, [Jabir ibn Hayyan]
invented a kind of paper that resisted fire, and an ink that could be read at night. He invented an additive which, when
applied to an iron surface, inhibited rust and when applied to a textile, would make it water repellent.”[33]

Alcohol and the mineral acids

According to Forbes “no proof was ever found that the Arabs knew alcohol or any mineral acid in a period before
they were discovered in Italy, whatever the opinion of some modern authors may be on this point.”[34] Fractional
distillation of alcohol first occurs about 1100 probably in Salerno. Magister Salernus (died 1167) provides one of the
earliest direct recipes.[34] Directions to make sulfuric acid, nitric acid and aqua regis appear in the pseudo-Geberian
works Liber Fornacum, De inventione perfectionis, and the Summa.[34]

4.2.4 Legacy
Whether there was a real Jabir in the 8th century or not, his name would become the most famous in alchemy.[18] He
paved the way for most of the later alchemists, including al-Kindi, al-Razi, al-Tughrai and al-Iraqi, who lived in the
9th–13th centuries. His books strongly influenced the medieval European alchemists[32] and justified their search for
the philosopher’s stone.[35][36] In the Middle Ages, Jabir’s treatises on alchemy were translated into Latin and became
standard texts for European alchemists. These include the Kitab al-Kimya (titled Book of the Composition of Alchemy
in Europe), translated by Robert of Chester (1144); and the Kitab al-Sab'een (Book of Seventy) by Gerard of Cremona
(before 1187). Marcelin Berthelot translated some of his books under the fanciful titles Book of the Kingdom, Book
of the Balances, and Book of Eastern Mercury. Several technical Arabic terms introduced by Jabir, such as alkali,
have found their way into various European languages and have become part of scientific vocabulary.
4.3. THE GEBER PROBLEM 23

Ambix, cucurbit and retort of Zosimus, from Marcelin Berthelot, Collection of ancient greek alchemists (3 vol., Paris, 1887–1888).

Max Meyerhoff states the following on Jabir ibn Hayyan: “His influence may be traced throughout the whole historic
course of European alchemy and chemistry.”[32]
The historian of chemistry Erick John Holmyard gives credit to Jabir for developing alchemy into an experimental
science and he writes that Jabir’s importance to the history of chemistry is equal to that of Robert Boyle and Antoine
Lavoisier. The historian Paul Kraus, who had studied most of Jabir’s extant works in Arabic and Latin, summarized
the importance of Jabir to the history of chemistry by comparing his experimental and systematic works in chemistry
with that of the allegorical and unintelligible works of the ancient Greek alchemists.[37] The word gibberish is the-
orized to be derived from the Latinised version off Jabir’s name,[38] in reference to the incomprehensible technical
jargon often used by alchemists, the most famous of whom was Jabir.[39] Other sources such as the Oxford English
Dictionary suggest the term stems from gibber; however, the first known recorded use of the term “gibberish” was
before the first known recorded use of the word “gibber” (see Gibberish).

4.3 The Geber problem

The identity of the author of works attributed to Jabir has long been discussed.[9] According to a famous controversy,[40]
pseudo-Geber has been considered as the unknown author of several books in Alchemy.[41] This was first indepen-
dently suggested, on textual and other grounds, by the 19th-century historians Hermann Kopp and Marcellin Berth-
elot.[42] Jabir, by reputation the greatest chemist of Islam, has long been familiar to western readers under the name
of Geber, which is the medieval rendering of the Arabic Jabir, the Geber of the Middle Ages.[43] The works in Latin
corpus were considered to be translations until the studies of Kopp, Hoefer, Berthelot, and Lippman. Although they
reflect earlier Arabic alchemy they are not direct translations of “Jabir” but are the work of a 13th-century Latin
alchemist.[44] Eric Holmyard says in his book Makers of Chemistry Clarendon press.(1931).[45]
24 CHAPTER 4. JABIR IBN HAYYAN

An artistic depiction of “Geber”

There are, however, certain other Latin works, entitled The Sum of Perfection, The Investigation of
Perfection, The Invention of Verity, The Book of Furnaces, and The Testament, which pass under his
name but of which no Arabic original is known. A problem which historians of chemistry have not yet
succeeded in solving is whether these works are genuine or not.

However, by 1957 AD when he (Holmyard) wrote Alchemy. Courier Dover Publications. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-486-
26298-7. Holmyard had abandoned the idea of an Arabic original. (although they are based on “Islamic” alchemical
theories)

The question at once arises whether the Latin works are genuine translations from the Arabic, or
written by a Latin author and, according to common practice, ascribed to Jabir in order to heighten their
authority. That they are based on Muslim alchemical theory and practice is not questioned, but the same
4.3. THE GEBER PROBLEM 25

Geber, Chimistes Celebres, Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company Trading Card, 1929

may be said of most Latin treatises on alchemy of that period; and from various turns of phrase it seems
likely that their author could read Arabic. But the general style of the works is too clear and systematic
to find a close parallel in any of the known writings of the Jabirian corpus, and we look in vain in them
for any references to the characteristically Jabirian ideas of “balance” and the alphabetic numerology.
Indeed for their age they have a remarkably matter of fact air about them, theory being stated with a
minimum of prolixity and much precise practical detail being given. The general impression they convey
is that they are the product of an occidental rather than an oriental mind, and a likely guess would be
that they were written by a European scholar, possibly in Moorish Spain. Whatever their origin, they
became the principal authorities in early Western alchemy and held that position for two or three
centuries.

The question of Pseudo-Gebers identity is still in dispute (1962).[46] It is said that Geber, the Latinized form of
“Jabir,” was adopted presumably because of the great reputation of a supposed 8th-century alchemist by the name of
Jabir ibn Hayyan.[47] About this historical figure, however, there was considerable uncertainty a century ago,[48] and
the uncertainty continues today.[49] This is sometimes called the “Geber-Jābir problem”.[9] It is possible that some
of the facts mentioned in the Latin works, ascribed to Geber and dating from the twelfth century and later, may be
placed to Jabir’s credit. Full conclusions may have to wait until all the Arabic writings ascribed to Jabir have been
properly edited and discussed.[43]

4.3.1 The Pseudo-Geber corpus

The Latin corpus consists of books with an author named “Geber” for which researchers have failed to find a text in
Arabic. Although these books are heavily influenced by Arabic books written by Jabir, the “real” Geber, and by Al
Razi and others, they were never written in Arabic. They are in Latin only, they date from about the year 1310, and
their author is called Pseudo-Geber:

• Summa perfectionis magisterii (“The Height of the Perfection of Mastery”).[50]

• Liber fornacum (“Book of Furnaces”),

• De investigatione perfectionis (“On the Investigation of Perfection”), and

26 CHAPTER 4. JABIR IBN HAYYAN

• De inventione veritatis (“On the Discovery of Truth”).

• Testamentum gerberi

The Liber fornacum, De investigatione perfectionis and De inventione veritatis “are merely extracts from or
summaries of the Summa Perfectionis Magisterii with later additions.”[51] which may have been compiled by later
writers.

4.3.2 English translations of Jabir and the Pseudo-Geber

• Syed Nomanul Haq, Names, Natures and Things: The Alchemists Jabir ibn Hayyan and his Kitab al-Ahjar (Book
of Stones), [Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science p. 158] (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers,
1994), ISBN 0-7923-3254-7.

• Donald Routledge Hill, 'The Literature of Arabic Alchemy' in Religion: Learning and Science in the Abbasid
Period, ed. by M.J.L. Young, J.D. Latham and R.B. Serjeant (Cambridge University Press, 1990) pp. 328–341,
esp. pp 333–5.

• E. J. Holmyard (ed.) The Arabic Works of Jabir ibn Hayyan, translated by Richard Russel in 1678. New York,
E. P. Dutton (1928); Also Paris, P. Geuther.

• Geber and William R. Newman, The Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber: A Critical Edition, Translation and
Study ISBN 978-90-04-09464-2.

• William R. Newman, New Light on the Identity of Geber, Sudhoffs Archiv, 1985, Vol.69, pp. 76–90.

4.4 Popular culture

• Geber is mentioned in Paulo Coelho's 1993 bestseller, The Alchemist.[52]

• Jabbir is said to be the creator of a (fictional) mystical chess set in Katherine Neville's novels The Eight and
The Fire.

• In S.H.I.E.L.D, Jabir appears as the 8th century leader of the organization.[53]

• Jabir is mentioned in the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory, in the episode "The Guitarist Amplification".

• Jabir Ibn Hayyan is mentioned in the graphic novel Habibi by Craig Thompson, p. 253-254.

• In the DC comic book title Demon Knights, the 11th century engineer Al-Jabr appears to be based on Jabir Ibn
Hayyan.

4.5 See also

• Alchemy

• Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam

• Chemistry

• Al-Kindi

• List of Iranian scientists and scholars

• Muhammad ibn Zakariya ar-Razi

• Science in medieval Islam

4.6. REFERENCES 27

4.6 References
[1] Tus, V. Minorsky, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. X, ed. P.J. Bearman, T. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel
and W.P. Heinrichs, (Brill, 2000), 741.

[2] Kraus, P. (1962). “Djābir B. Ḥayyān”. Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2 (2nd ed.). Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 357–359.
As for Djābir’s historic personality, Holmyard has suggested that his father was “a certain Azdī called Hayyan, druggist of
Kufa... mentioned... in connection with the political machinations that were used by many people, in the eighth century,
finally resulted in the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty.

[3] Holmyard, Eric John, “Introduction” to The Works of Geber, translated by Richard Russell (London: Dent, 1928), p. vii:
“Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan, generally known merely as Jabir, was the son of a druggist belonging to the famous South
Arabian tribe of Al-Azd. Members of this tribe had settled at the town of Kufa, in Iraq, shortly after the Muhammadan
conquest in the seventh century A.D., and it was in Kufa that Hayyan the druggist lived.”

[4] • William R. Newman, Gehennical Fire: The Lives of George Starkey, an American Alchemist in the Scientific Rev-
olution, Harvard University Press, 1994. p. 94: “According to traditional bio-bibliography of Muslims, Jabir ibn
Hayyan was a Persian alchemist who lived at some time in the eighth century and wrote a wealth of books on virtually
every aspect of natural philosophy”
• William R. Newman, “The Occult and Manifest Among the Alchemists”, in F. J. Ragep, Sally P Ragep, Steven John
Livesey, Tradition, Transmission, Transformation: Proceedings of Two Conferences on pre-Modern science held
at University of Oklahoma, Brill, 1996/1997, p. 178: “This language of extracting the hidden nature formed an
important lemma for the extensive corpus associated with the Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan”
• Henry Corbin, “The Voyage and the Messenger: Iran and Philosophy”, translated by Joseph H. Rowe, North Atlantic
Books, 1998. p. 45: “The Nisba al-Azdin certainly does not necessarily indicate Arab origin. Geber seems to have
been a client (mawla) of the Azd tribe established in Kufa”
• Tamara M. Green, “The City of the Moon God: Religious Traditions of Harran (Religions in the Graeco-Roman
World)", Brill, 1992. p. 177: “His most famous student was the Persian *Jabir ibn Hayyan (b. circa 721 C.E.),
under whose name the vast corpus of alchemical writing circulated in the medieval period in both the east and west,
although many of the works attributed to Jabir have been demonstrated to be likely product of later Ismaili' tradition.”
• David Gordon White, “The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India”, University of Chicago Press,
1996. p. 447
• William R. Newman, Promethean Ambitions: Alchemy and the Quest to Perfect Nature, University of Chicago
Press, 2004. p. 181: “The corpus ascribed to the eighth-century Persian sage Jabir ibn Hayyan...”
• Wilbur Applebaum, The Scientific revolution and the foundation of modern science, Greenwood Press, 1995. p. 44:
“The chief source of Arabic alchemy was associated with the name, in its Latinized form, of Geber, an eighth-century
Persian.”
• Neil Kamil, Fortress of the Soul: Violence, Metaphysics, and Material Life in the Huguenots New World, 1517–
1751 (Early America: History, Context, Culture), JHU Press, 2005. p. 182: “The ninth-century Persian alchemist
Jabir ibn Hayyan, also known as Geber, is accurately called pseudo-Geber since most of the works published under
this name in the West were forgeries”
• Aleksandr Sergeevich Povarennykh, Crystal Chemical Classification of Minerals, Plenum Press, 1972, v.1, ISBN
0-306-30348-5, p.4: “The first to give separate consideration to minerals and other inorganic substances were the
following: The Persian alchemist Jabir (721–815)...”
• George Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, Pub. for the Carnegie Institution of Washington, by the
Williams & Wilkins Company, 1931, vol.2 pt.1, page 1044: “Was Geber, as the name would imply, the Persian
alchemist Jabir ibn Haiyan?"
• Dan Merkur, in The psychoanalytic study of society (eds. Bryce Boyer, et al.), vol. 18, Routledge, ISBN 0-88163-
161-2, page 352: “I would note that the Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan developed the theory that all metals
consist of different 'balances’ ...”
• Anthony Gross, The Dissolution of the Lancastrian Kingship: Sir John Fortescue and the Crisis of Monarchy in
Fifteenth-century England, Paul Watkins, 1996, ISBN 1-871615-90-9, p. 19: “Ever since the Seventy Books at-
tributed to the Persian alchemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan had been translated into Latin ....”

[5] “Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan”. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 11 February 2008.

[6] Derewenda, Zygmunt S. (2007), “On wine, chirality and crystallography”, Acta Crystallographica A, 64: 246–258 [247],
doi:10.1107/s0108767307054293

[7] John Warren (2005). “War and the Cultural Heritage of Iraq: a sadly mismanaged affair”, Third World Quarterly, Volume
26, Issue 4 & 5, p. 815-830.
28 CHAPTER 4. JABIR IBN HAYYAN

[8] Dr. A. Zahoor (1997). JABIR IBN HAIYAN (Geber). University of Indonesia.

[9] Brabner, Tod (2005). “Jabir ibn Hayyam (Geber)". In Thomas F. Glick; Steven John Livesey; Faith Wallis. Medieval
Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia. Psychology Press. pp. 279–281. ISBN 978-0-415-96930-7.

[10] Principe, Lawrence (2013). “2”. The Secrets of Alchemy. Chicago: University of Chicago. ISBN 0226682951.

[11] Haq, Syed Nomanul (28 February 1995). Names, Natures and Things: The Alchemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan and His Kitab
Al-Ahjar (Book of Stones). Springer. ISBN 978-0-7923-3254-1.

[12] S.N. Nasr, “Life Sciences, Alchemy and Medicine”, The Cambridge History of Iran, Cambridge, Volume 4, 1975, p. 412:
“Jabir is entitled in the traditional sources as al-Azdi, al-Kufi, al-Tusi, al-Sufi. There is a debate as to whether he was a
Persian from Khorasan who later went to Kufa or whether he was, as some have suggested, of Syrian origin and later lived
in Iran”.

[13] Holmyard, Eric John (1931). Makers of Chemistry. The Clarendon press.

[14] Richard Russell (1928). Holmyard, E.J., ed. The Works of Geber. ISBN 0-7661-0015-4.

[15] Henry Corbin, “The Voyage and the Messenger: Iran and Philosophy”, Translated by Joseph H. Rowe, North Atlantic
Books, 1998. p. 45: “The Nisba al-Azdin certainly does not necessarily indicate Arab origin. Geber seems to have been a
client of the Azd tribe established in Kufa”

[16] E. J. Holmyard (ed.) The Arabic Works of Jabir ibn Hayyan, translated by Richard Russell in 1678. New York, E. P.
Dutton (1928); Also Paris, P. Geuther.

[17] Haq, Syed N. (1994). Names, Natures and Things. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of
Science, Volume 158/ Kluwar Academic Publishers. pp. 14–20. ISBN 0-7923-3254-7.

[18] “Iranica JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ iv. And Esoteric sciences". Retrieved 11 June 2011. The historical relations between Jaʿfar
al-Ṣādeq and Jāber b. Ḥayyān remain very controversial, as they are linked to still unresolved questions about dating,
composition, and authorship of the texts attributed to Jāber. Scholars such as Julius Ruska, Paul Kraus, and Pierre Lory
consider Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq’s involvement in the transmission of alchemical knowledge as a literary fiction, whereas Fuat Sezgin,
Toufic Fahd, and Nomanul Haq are rather inclined to accept the existence of alchemical activity in Medina in Jaʿfar al-
Ṣādeq’s time, although they remain cautious regarding the authenticity of the attribution of the Jaberian corpus to Jāber b.
Ḥayyān and of the alchemical works to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq (Ruska, 1924, pp. 40–52; idem, 1927, pp. 264–66; Kraus, I, pp.
LV-LVII; Lory, pp. 14–21, 57–59, 101–7; Sezgin, I, p. 529, IV, pp. 128–31; Fahd, 1970, pp. 139–41; Nomanul Haq, pp.
3–47).

[19] Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach (2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization. Taylor and Francis. p. 25. ISBN 0-415-96691-4.

[20] Jabir Ibn Hayyan. Vol. 1. Le corpus des ecrits jabiriens. George Olms Verlag, 1989

[21] Paul Kraus, Jabir ibn Hayyan: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam, cited Robert Irwin, 'The long
siesta' in Times Literary Supllement, 25/1/2008 p.8

[22] Julian, Franklyn, Dictionary of the Occult, Kessinger Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0-7661-2816-4, ISBN 978-0-7661-2816-3,
p. 9.

[23] KIMIĀ (“Alchemy”), encyclopedia Iranica, Retrieved on 14 February 2009.

[24] “History of Islamic Science” (PDF). University of Southern California.

[25] Holmyard, E. J. (1931). Makers of Chemistry. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 57–8.

[26] Norris, John (March 2006). “The Mineral Exhalation Theory of Metallogenesis in Pre-Modern Mineral Science”. Ambix.
Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry. 53: 43–65. doi:10.1179/174582306X93183.

[27] Georges C. Anawati, “Arabic alchemy”, in R. Rashed (1996), The Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3,
p. 853-902 [866].

[28] Schufle, J. A.; Thomas, George (Winter 1971). “Equivalent Weights from Bergman’s Data on Phlogiston Content of
Metals”. Isis. 62 (4): 500. doi:10.1086/350792.

[29] Holmyard, E. J. (1931). Makers of Chemistry. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 60.

[30] Ansari, Farzana Latif; Qureshi, Rumana; Qureshi, Masood Latif (1998). Electrocyclic reactions: from fundamentals to
research. Wiley-VCH. p. 2. ISBN 3-527-29755-3.

[31] Will Durant (1980). The Age of Faith (The Story of Civilization, Volume 4), p. 162-186. Simon & Schuster. ISBN
0-671-01200-2.
4.7. EXTERNAL LINKS 29

[32] Ḥusain, Muẓaffar. Islam’s Contribution to Science. Page 94.

[33] Ismail al-Faruqi and Lois Lamya al-Faruqi (1986), The Cultural Atlas of Islam, p. 328, New York

[34] Forbes, Robert James (1970). A short history of the art of distillation: from the beginnings up to the death of Cellier
Blumenthal. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-00617-1. Retrieved 26 June 2010.

[35] Ragai, Jehane (1992). “The Philosopher’s Stone: Alchemy and Chemistry”. Journal of Comparative Poetics. 12 (Metaphor
and Allegory in the Middle Ages): 58–77. doi:10.2307/521636.

[36] Holmyard, E. J. (1924). “Maslama al-Majriti and the Rutbatu'l-Hakim”. Isis. 6 (3): 293–305. doi:10.1086/358238.

[37] Kraus, Paul, Jâbir ibn Hayyân, Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam. I. Le corpus des écrits jâbiriens.
II. Jâbir et la science grecque,. Cairo (1942–1943). Repr. By Fuat Sezgin, (Natural Sciences in Islam. 67–68), Frankfurt.
2002

[38] gibberish, Grose 1811 Dictionary

[39] Seaborg, Glenn T. (March 1980). “Our heritage of the elements”. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B. Springer
Boston. 11 (1): 5–19. doi:10.1007/bf02657166.

[40] Arthur John Hopkins, Alchemy Child of Greek Philosophy, Published by Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007, ISBN 0-548-
13547-9, p. 140

[41] “Geber”. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 9 December 2008.

[42] Openness, Secrecy, Authorship: Technical Arts and the Culture of Knowledge from Antiquity to the Renaissance By
Pamela O. Long Edition: illustrated Published by JHU Press, 2001 ISBN 0-8018-6606-5, ISBN 978-0-8018-6606-7

[43] Hamed Abdel-reheem Ead. “Alchemy in Islamic Times”. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

[44] Ihde, Aaron John (1 April 1984). The development of modern chemistry. Courier Dover Publications. p. 16. ISBN
978-0-486-64235-2. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

[45] Makers of Chemistry, by Eric John Holmyard,... - Eric John Holmyard - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 15
October 2012.

[46] P. Crosland, Maurice, Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry, Courier Dover Publications, 2004 1962, ISBN
0-486-43802-3, ISBN 978-0-486-43802-3, p. 15

[47] Long, Pamela O. (2001). Openness, secrecy, authorship: technical arts and the culture of knowledge from antiquity to the
Renaissance. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6606-5.

[48] Hugh Chisholm, ed. (1910). “Geber”. Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (11th ed.). pp. 545–546.

[49] An authoritative summary and analysis of current scholarship on this question may be found in Lawrence M. Principe, The
Secrets of Alchemy, University of Chicago Press, 2013, pp. 33-45 and 54-58.

[50] William R. Newman, The Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber. A Critical Edition, Translation and Study, Leyde: E. J.
Brill, 1991 (Collection de travaux de l'Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences, 35).

[51] Quote from Marcellin Berthelot at 1911encyclopedia.org.

[52] Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. ISBN 0-06-112241-6, p. 82.

[53] S.H.I.E.L.D. v1 #3

4.7 External links

• Plessner, M. (2008) [1970–80]. “Jābir Ibn Hayyān”. Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Encyclope-
dia.com.
• Britannica
• Encarta Encyclopedia (Archived 2009-10-31)
• Columbia Encyclopedia
• Article at Islam Online
30 CHAPTER 4. JABIR IBN HAYYAN

• Article at Famous Muslims

• Article at Islam Online

• Article at Al Shindagah (includes an extract of Jabir’s The Discovery of secrets)

• Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries High resolution images of
works by Jàbir ibn Hayyan in .jpg and .tiff format.
Chapter 5

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

The site’s Crucible Furnace building

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is an industrial museum in the south of the City of Sheffield, England. The museum
forms part of a former steel-working site on the River Sheaf, with a history going back to at least the 13th century. It
consists of a number of dwellings and workshops that were formerly the Abbeydale Works—a scythe-making plant
that was in operation until the 1930s—and is a remarkably complete example of a 19th-century works. The works
are atypical in that much of the production process was completed on the same site (in a similar manner to a modern
factory). A more typical example of water-powered works in the area can be found at Shepherd Wheel.
The site is a scheduled ancient monument, the works are Grade I listed[1] and the workers’ cottages, counting house,
and manager’s house are Grade II* listed.[2][3]

5.1 History
The site was used for iron forging for 500 years, although there is evidence of other metal working prior to 1200 AD.
Its early history is intimately tied with the nearby Beauchief Abbey, which operated a smithy (blacksmith's shop) in

31
32 CHAPTER 5. ABBEYDALE INDUSTRIAL HAMLET

Jessop tilt hammer, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

the vicinity as well as number of mills along the River Sheaf.

A 1725 map shows that the fields, subsequently flooded to provide the dam at the site, had been called “Sinder Hills”,
the cinders referring to the waste resulting from prior lead smelting activities in the area in the 16th. and early 17th.
centuries. However, the “Abbey Dale Works” as such, the buildings of which now form the Abbeydale Industrial
Hamlet, are first formally recorded in 1714 (though it may have derived directly from the “New Wheel” operated by
Hugh Stephenson, as detailed in rent books from 1685).[4]
Development of the site continued with:[4]

• 1777 enlargement of the dam

• 1785 construction of the tilt hammer
• 1793 construction of the workmen’s cottages
• 1817 construction of the grinding hull
• 1838 construction of the manager’s house
• 1840 construction of the coach house and stabling
• 1876 construction of the first storey warehouse (above the blacking shop).

From the 17th century onwards, the site primarily operated as a scythe works until, in 1933, it was closed by Tyzak
Sons and Turner (tenants since 1849). In 1935 it was bought by the Alderman J. G. Graves Trust, which donated the
site to the city. The works was briefly reopened during the Second World War to aid in Britain’s war effort.
The Council for the Conservation of Sheffield Antiquities explored and initiated the restoration of Abbeydale Works
in 1964. They discovered the remains of 6 buildings in addition to those still standing. These were identified from a
1924 map of the site as:[4]

• a “disused hardening shop”

• a “disused open furnace shed”
5.2. THE MUSEUM 33

• a “lime and coke shed”

• a “boiler house and chimney”

• the “housing for the steam engine”

• a “store for clay and anvils”

Following the complete restoration the works were finally opened as a museum in 1970. Sheffield City Council
closed the museum in 1997 as a cost-cutting measure. It was then leased to the Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust
who reopened the museum in 1998.

5.2 The museum

Water-powered, belt-driven machinery, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is run as a working museum, with works and buildings dating from between 1714 and
1876. The museum demonstrates the process making blister steel from iron and coke, then refining this steel using
techniques that originated with Benjamin Huntsman's invention of the crucible steel process. The river provides water
power via a water wheel. There are several wheels on the site for driving a tilt hammer, for the initial forging of the
scythe blades; grinding machinery, which also has steam installed as backup for times of drought, and a set of bellows.
The blades were also hand forged for finishing.
The museum is open Sunday to Thursday, and entry is £4 for adults, £3 for concessions and free for accompanied
children 16 and under.

5.3 See also

• Kelham Island Museum

• Shepherd Wheel
34 CHAPTER 5. ABBEYDALE INDUSTRIAL HAMLET

5.4 References
[1] Historic England. “Abbeydale Works Museum (Grade I) (1246418)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11
January 2015.

[2] Historic England. “Former Counting house and workmen’s cottages at Abbeydale Works Museum (Grade II*) (1271385)".
National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

[3] Historic England. “Manager’s house and adjoining stable on east side of Abbeydale Works Museum (Grade II*) (1246449)".
National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

[4] Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet. Sheffield: Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust. 1981. ISBN 0-900660-76-7.

5.5 External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 53°20′01″N 1°30′44″W / 53.333679°N 1.512272°W

5.6. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 35

5.6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.6.1 Text
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Markowitz, Heron, Ewen, Stevertigo, RickK, Wik, Warofdreams, Phil Boswell, Meelar, Auric, BenFrantzDale, Tom harrison, Zigger,
Unconcerned, Bobblewik, Noisy, Dbachmann, Bender235, Sfahey, Giraffedata, Woohookitty, Beefcalf, Bgwhite, Peterkingiron, Shad-
dack, Tony1, Petri Krohn, SmackBot, Hmains, ACupOfCoffee, Stephen Hui, TheKMan, Khazar, Wizard191, Tawkerbot2, JohnCD, Vis-
cious81, Marek69, Jonny-mt, Noclevername, Jezzerk, Alex holden, Igodard, Acroterion, Scowie, R'n'B, Wbrice83186, Warut, Jake95,
Rwessel, Th.Rehren, Oconnor663, Steven J. Anderson, Andy Dingley, Tamorlan, Phmoreno, DragonBot, Excirial, Three-quarter-ten,
Bebe-biogenetic, Ngebendi, GorgHuff, Addbot, MartinezMD, Lightbot, JSR, Luckas-bot, Yobot, MinorProphet, AnomieBOT, LilHelpa,
Kieronoldham, Tobby72, Riventree, Pinethicket, RjwilmsiBot, Rahil Alipour Ata Abadi, HeritageGuide, ZéroBot, Rubberstamp, Col-
inDaly, Palaeozoic99, Rajaram Sarangapani, Tim PF, Morgan Riley, Mmarre, BG19bot, Zedshort, Froglich, Jaredzimmerman (WMF),
Sangdeboeuf and Anonymous: 45
• Wootz steel Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wootz_steel?oldid=739570456 Contributors: BlckKnght, Maury Markowitz, Stever-
tigo, Charles Matthews, Stone, Nataraja~enwiki, Itai, Chris Roy, Ancheta Wis, DocWatson42, Tom harrison, Ferkelparade, Joconnor,
Pascal666, Utcursch, Perey, Alistair1978, Bender235, Pilatus, Cmdrjameson, Kjkolb, Tabor, Sjschen, SeanDuggan, Atomicthumbs,
GabrielF, Pauli133, Tierlieb, Firien, SDC, M100, Graham87, Rjwilmsi, FlaBot, Quuxplusone, Karch, YurikBot, Sillybilly, Shaddack,
Knyght27, Luis1972, Groyolo, Jer ome, SmackBot, Jagged 85, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, New World Man, Will Beback, Douglas-
Calvert, Wizard191, Bharatveer, LessHeard vanU, Megatronium, Timothylord, Viscious81, Doug Weller, Pajz, Sobreira, Stybn, CLSwiki,
SummerPhD, Quintote, Fayenatic london, Rossj81, Gwern, R'n'B, KTo288, Chiswick Chap, Akinsgre, Simarilion, Rtelkin, TopGun,
Cireshoe, Stealthbreed, Steven J. Anderson, Gbuchana, Andy Dingley, Tamorlan, Yintan, ClueBot, Niceguyedc, Kitsunegami, Ngebendi,
Mandeep 619, XLinkBot, Verify67, Felix Folio Secundus, Addbot, DOI bot, Karl gregory jones, JSR, Yobot, Bunnyhop11, Ksivasenthil,
AnomieBOT, Piano non troppo, Scythian77, Citation bot, Aoguma, Awakened82, Riventree, Citation bot 1, Acatyes, MDYarma, Rjwilm-
siBot, Hirsutism, Dewritech, Racerx11, Bagonzalez, Wingman4l7, FurrySings, ClueBot NG, Frietjes, BG19bot, Kendall-K1, Ghb3,
Josewin, Tnexplore, Smasongarrison, Jimw338, Cpt.a.haddock, Hmainsbot1, Nascentnt, Indoscope, Ceginc1, Macgyver7, Cldorian,
Wikiuser13, Spivorg, Anarchistamy, ChamithN, Mattwillmarron, JackHistorian, Arvindbhyd, Ghandhikus, Jjmanthri123, Weatherby12,
Mailthompson and Anonymous: 140
• Ulfberht swords Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulfberht_swords?oldid=742458031 Contributors: Earthsound, Bearcat, Beef-
man, Jason Quinn, Dbachmann, Dave.Dunford, Bgwhite, Debivort, Malcolma, Maunus, Sandstein, SMcCandlish, Katieh5584, Evil Mer-
lin, A876, Nick Number, Lfstevens, WikieWikieWikie, R'n'B, Vincent Lextrait, Technopat, Elphion, Frans Fowler, Yintan, XLinkBot,
Tananjoh, Yobot, LilHelpa, Xqbot, RicHard-59, Yk49, John of Reading, K6ka, Josve05a, ClueBot NG, Ninja of Tao, Arsaces, Dainomite,
ÄDA - DÄP, AnalogyShark, Mogism, Glaisher, Ginsuloft, Rstjmurphy, Brandontheninja, ScienceDoc13, Navie42, Blither on, Kidsmagic,
International Children’s Fund, Scarlettail, Seadog91, Crystallizedcarbon, Theswordsmith55, SwipeToTheLeft, Pagesclo, Testpored and
Anonymous: 62
• Jabir ibn Hayyan Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabir_ibn_Hayyan?oldid=742543542 Contributors: The Anome, Andre En-
gels, Eclecticology, Deb, Kwertii, Nixdorf, Alireza Hashemi, William M. Connolley, Palfrey, Hectorthebat, Charles Matthews, Stone,
Andrewman327, Jeffq, Jni, Robbot, Fredrik, Tlogmer, Mirv, Rursus, Blainster, Rebrane, Jeremiah, Feydakin, Captain Rotundo, Bkon-
rad, Varlaam, Ddama, Jason Quinn, Jorge Stolfi, Christopherlin, John Abbe, Freakofnurture, Rich Farmbrough, Mani1, Harriv, Ben-
der235, Mashford, S.K., CanisRufus, Wareh, Kaveh, IFaqeer, Sole Soul, Ardric47, Polylerus, Ogress, Hanuman Das, Alansohn, Geo
Swan, Wdfarmer, ProhibitOnions, Kdau, Mdclxvi, Sleigh, Zereshk, Iustinus, Sterio, Angr, Mel Etitis, Woohookitty, FeanorStar7, Mer-
linme, Ruud Koot, MONGO, Twthmoses, Knuckles, Farhansher, Palica, Pfalstad, Dysepsion, Amir85, SouthernComfort, Rjwilmsi,
Pjetter, Koavf, Trlovejoy, Collard, Yuber, FayssalF, Wragge, FlaBot, Nihiltres, AlexCovarrubias, Mehrshad123, Jidan, Roboto de
Ajvol, Kummi, YurikBot, Spacepotato, Aghost, RobotE, Wolfmankurd, RussBot, Pigman, Gaius Cornelius, Alex Bakharev, Dialec-
tric, Mike18xx, Welsh, Yahya Abdal-Aziz, JFD, Moe Epsilon, Ospalh, Morgan Leigh, Wujastyk, Calaschysm, Wiqi55, Zzuuzz, David
Berardan, Pfft Bot~enwiki, Mike Selinker, Amren, Tajik, CHITRANI, SmackBot, MattieTK, Jagged 85, MB~enwiki, Jabot the Scrob,
Aucaman, MalafayaBot, MARVEL~enwiki, Kotra, Gol, Khoikhoi, Dreadstar, Nepaheshgar, Thistheman, Lambiam, Kashk, Metric,
Mathiasrex, Perfectblue97, Maziar fayaz, ManiF, Kirbytime, InedibleHulk, Houshyar, Pejman47, Zmmz, Clarityfiend, MehrdadNY,
Epistemos, Inahet, Khosrow II, Parsival, HennessyC, Darkred, Gregbard, Cabolitae, Cydebot, Siba, Sa.vakilian, Doug Weller, Telex,
Tiger-man, ColdFire, Nishidani, Thijs!bot, Coelacan, Acidtest, Headbomb, Missvain, Second Quantization, Nick Number, RobotG, Ma-
jorly, Deeplogic, Dr. Blofeld, Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Suckstobeyou, Farahnaz7, Accordionman, Wayiran, Lanov, Lklundin, Serpent’s
Choice, JAnDbot, Andonic, Mardavich, Magioladitis, PeterStJohn, Waacstats, MetsBot, David Eppstein, Aziz1005, Philg88, Edward321,
Gwern, Johnpacklambert, Mmmew, Fconaway, Drfoop, AlphaEta, J.delanoy, Skeptic2, Polenth, Ian.thomson, Farzan2008, JamesPen,
NewEnglandYankee, Aervanath, Kansas Bear, STBotD, Skryinv~enwiki, WinterSpw, Andy Marchbanks, Useight, Squids and Chips,
Idioma-bot, Hugo999, VolkovBot, AlnoktaBOT, Aesopos, Shadow9371, TXiKiBoT, Taranah, John Carter, Lbgrowl, Broadbot, Mussav,
Azdi~enwiki, Alborz Fallah, Ajrocke, Symane, LOTRrules, SieBot, Izady, BotMultichill, Arpose, SE7, Mazdakabedi, Perspicacite, OK-
Bot, Yasiry, PashaGol, ClueBot, Sevilledade, J8079s, Niceguyedc, Blanchardb, Seanwal111111, 07fan, Time for action, Alexbot, Ernobe,
Ravenna1961, Amin62, Tahmasp, SchreiberBike, BOTarate, El bot de la dieta, Al-Andalusi, Versus22, Dana boomer, HarrivBOT, Tem-
plarion, Azhura, Tuxlie, Kurdo777, Dthomsen8, WikHead, Drac3pas, Iranway, Nabuchadnessar, Sina111, Ahmad2099, Glane23, Ander-
sBot, Numbo3-bot, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Mtminchi08, LuK3, Legobot, PlankBot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Amirobot, Samaraaa, Kamikaze-
Bot, Hinio, Evda, Pasitigris, AnomieBOT, DemocraticLuntz, Rubinbot, NathanoNL, Ld. Ata, Floozybackloves, IRP, LlywelynII, Ul-
ric1313, Blacktree, Citation bot, Fatepur, ArthurBot, LilHelpa, Xqbot, TinucherianBot II, Drilnoth, Davshul, Arslan-San, J04n, Xashaiar,
Ashrf1979, Calcinations, In fact, WebCiteBOT, Miladfarhani, Sandcherry, NewLionDragon, Batman2010, Edgars2007, FrescoBot, Spi-
der 2200, GerardoAntonelli, Persia prince, Telementor, Arashk rp2, Masterknighted, DrilBot, Pinethicket, R1000R1000, Shanmugamp7,
Kibi78704, Jeppiz, Tim1357, Fmunshi, ‫علی ویکی‬, Rain drop 45, Weedwhacker128, Böri, RjwilmsiBot, Steve03Mills, EmausBot, John
of Reading, Orphan Wiki, WikitanvirBot, Syncategoremata, GoingBatty, Aquib American Muslim, Bahramm 2, ZxxZxxZ, The ara-
bin wolf, Dcirovic, K6ka, Pro translator, Josve05a, Knight1993, Vargavandnick, Wataru99, Harishseyal, Donner60, ‫الشبح العربي‬,
Khodabandeh14, Chewings72, ‫عباد ديرانية‬, Ordibehesht22, Brycehughes, Khestwol, Nihalhaleem, ClueBot NG, Zahiralbarqi, Jack
Greenmaven, Sadra.aghajani, Krshwunk, Frietjes, Braincricket, Helpful Pixie Bot, Titodutta, Jeraphine Gryphon, BG19bot, Car Henkel,
Safi9, City of Tragedy, LouisAlain, Zipzip50, Altaïr, CitationCleanerBot, Jeancey, Mk4309, MrBill3, Hadian.hn, Janus945, BattyBot,
Ariaveeg, David.moreno72, StarryGrandma, Pratyya Ghosh, Ovotro, ChrisGualtieri, Krisrp0, Khazar2, Texcom un, Noura1414, Es-
löv, Dexbot, Nawaaf abbasy, Barnaculus, Polymath1900, Yutabam, MisterShiney, Aljazi1985, Rajmaan, Me, Myself, and I are Here,
36 CHAPTER 5. ABBEYDALE INDUSTRIAL HAMLET

Alexwho314, HistoryofIran, Mortezalak, Winchell.j, PhantomTech, Everymorning, Faisalx3z, Abdalla Dabdoub, Idoitplus, NottNott,
Hochvoltag, Becain philosophy, Spivorg, TheStrayDog, Thegreatmuka, Ali haider gopalpur, TheoreticalSCIENCE, Swingoswingo, ‫باران‬
‫نورافكن‬, KH-1, Bemes, Alinematzadeh, Psanoos, Persiangreat, KasparBot, Jmc76, Knife-in-the-drawer, Alhaqiha, Mmmhadid, Pace-
menuchemistryyy, Baturrahman98, Arhamarham, Emsalius, InternetArchiveBot, AyOuBoXe, WilliamJennings1989, Peydashkon, Ttt74,
AntiIranpropergenda, Elahe Rahroniya, Sama MN., GreenC bot, Haleemahmed999, Yufitran, Bender the Bot, Anẓar, Aṭlas and Anony-
mous: 373
• Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbeydale_Industrial_Hamlet?oldid=690917762 Contributors: Docu,
Warofdreams, Folks at 137, Unconcerned, Lawrennd, Jp347, D6, Noisy, Wikityke, Susvolans, Craigy144, Dave.Dunford, JeremyA, SDC,
DavidCane, Vegaswikian, FlaBot, Gillian Tipson, C777, Adamrush, Malcolma, Jpbowen, Whobot, Mais oui!, Ratarsed, Chris the speller,
Skinsmoke, Dl2000, Cydebot, Trident13, Lewisskinner, Ebyabe, Jllm06, The Anomebot2, Casperonline, Perebourne, WereSpielChe-
quers, Oculi, Acabashi, Addbot, Lightbot, Yobot, RjwilmsiBot, Keomike, Rubberstamp, Mogism and Anonymous: 5

5.6.2 Images
• File:Abbeydale_Industrial_Hamlet_-_Tilt_Hammer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2425357.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/0/0c/Abbeydale_Industrial_Hamlet_-_Tilt_Hammer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2425357.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contribu-
tors: From geograph.org.uk; transferred by User:Rubberstamp using geograph_org2commons. Original artist: Ashley Dace
• File:Abbeydale_Industrial_Hamlet_-_Tilt_Hammers_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2425530.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/2/23/Abbeydale_Industrial_Hamlet_-_Tilt_Hammers_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2425530.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contribu-
tors: From geograph.org.uk; transferred by User:Rubberstamp using geograph_org2commons. Original artist: Ashley Dace
• File:Abbeydale_Industrial_Hamlet_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2425560.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
2/2e/Abbeydale_Industrial_Hamlet_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2425560.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: From geograph.org.uk;
transferred by User:Rubberstamp using geograph_org2commons. Original artist: Ashley Dace
• File:Crucible_Steel_near_to_Beauchief,_Sheffield,_Great_Britain.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
d/d8/Crucible_Steel_near_to_Beauchief%2C_Sheffield%2C_Great_Britain.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: From www.geograph.
org.uk Original artist: Ashley Dace
• File:FagerstaRAÄ2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/FagerstaRA%C3%842.jpg License: CC BY
2.5 se Contributors: Kulturmiljöbild, Riksantikvarieämbetet Original artist: Pål-Nils Nilsson
• File:Fotothek_df_n-08_0000320.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Fotothek_df_n-08_0000320.jpg
License: CC BY-SA 3.0 de Contributors: Deutsche Fotothek Original artist: Eugen Nosko
• File:Geber.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Geber.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http:
//histoirechimie.free.fr/Lien/Geber.jpg
Original artist: ?
• File:Liebig_Company_Trading_Card_Ad_01.12.002_front.tif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Liebig_
Company_Trading_Card_Ad_01.12.002_front.tif License: Public domain Contributors: Chemical Heritage Foundation Original artist:
Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11' srcset='https://
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='1050' data-file-height='590' /></a>
• File:Lorange_1889_TabI.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Lorange_1889_TabI.jpg License: Pub-
lic domain Contributors: Anders Lorange (died 1888), Den yngre jernalders sværd Original artist: H Bucher jnr del
• File:PSM_V51_D390_Old_stills_from_an_early_edition_of_geber.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
2/2c/PSM_V51_D390_Old_stills_from_an_early_edition_of_geber.png License: Public domain Contributors: Popular Science Monthly
Volume 51 Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.
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5.6.3 Content license

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