2023 Volume 63 Issue 12 Pages 1965-1971
Recently, there has been a rapid increase in the discovery of ancient iron smelting furnaces on the Korean peninsula, which are assumed to have been in operation for a long period of time from the Proto Three Kingdoms Period to the Three Kingdoms Period. The iron smelting furnaces are concentrated in the central and southeastern regions of the peninsula, which has led to discussions regarding their timing and regional characteristics. In this study, we focused on the deep circular pit (Furnace pit), which corresponds to the underground structure of the furnace, and various types of pits (Forepit) for collecting pig iron and slags that flowed out from the furnace. We examined the regional and chronological characteristics of the iron smelting furnaces by reconstructing the three-dimensional structure of the furnaces. As a result, it was confirmed that the iron smelting furnaces changed from a semi-underground type, in which the furnace floor was located below the ground surface, to an above-ground type, in which the floor was located at the same level as the ground surface, and that the forepits changed from a horizontal to a vertical structure. These changes were the result of technological transformation and the ingenuity of the craftsmen who carried out the iron-making operations, in response to the higher quality and quantity of the iron produced.
