Technological analysis of the ancient iron metallurgical production monuments of Colchis

Abstract

The process of mining, production and use of minerals, rocks and useful minerals in Georgia is as old as the history of mankind itself, the tribes living in the territory of Georgia used minerals in the form they were obtained, giving only simple forms for use in combat, jewelry and economic purposes. Based on historical sources and scientific literature, it is confirmed that the culture of mining, processing, reception and use of native minerals, ores and rocks in this area is ancient and covers all the main historical stages of human development, which is recognized. Mineral deposits of small amounts of iron oxides and hydrogen oxides can be found in almost all regions and large villages of Georgia, which was enough for the development of local small-scale production. Most of Georgia's secondary iron ores and ore occurenence are formed as a result of oxidation and dissolution of primary sulphide deposits in the oxidation zone. They are present in the form of loose, dense, mottled limonite, goethite, hematite, hydrohematite in the form of collomorphic or metacolloidal masses. The material examined by us, with fragments of iron-bearing ores and slags, represented by ancient metallurgical production facilities newly discovered in the territory of Adjara (slag samples from 8 areas), Guria (slag samples from 11 areas) and Samegrelo (ore and slag samples from 9 areas), was subjected to complex X-ray phase analysis, X-ray fluorescence and metallographic analysis. It should be noted that the slags of Guria and high-mountainous Adjara are similar both visually and in chemical and material composition. We think that in both regions, along with oxidized (hematite) and hydrooxidized (goethite, limonite) iron minerals, copper and zinc sulfides were also present in the initial ores in paragenesis. And in the Samegrelo region, only iron oxides (hematite) and hydrogen oxides (goethite, limonite) were used for iron production.