Current projects
Here you will find a presentation of ongoing projects within metallurgical historical research. The list is sorted after the project’s starting year with the most recently started at the top of the list.
Handbook for documentation of process industry
(9054/09)
Work on preparation of a handbook for documenting current production equipment within the iron and steel industry based on a pilot study at Ovako in Hofors. The pilot study was carried out during the autumn of 2008 wherein documentation of heavy plant including processes and products was carried out. It resulted in the report Nedslag i verket. Dokumentation av modern stålindustri - exemplet Ovako Hofors which was published in November 2011 as part of the Gävleborg county museum series.
Based upon the pilot study the project continues with the next stage: to produce a handbook for documentation of process industry. The handbook will not only be of use within the iron and steel industry but will also be relevant for other heavy process industry.
The committee considers that it is very important to document the present for the future. This work will also facilitate a greater level of co-operation between museums and industry. Gävleborg county museum, the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm and the National Heritage Board participate in the project. The project includes external funding.
Chairperson: Helene Sjunnesson, National Museum of Science and Technology, Stockholm
Iron and the formation of the kingdom 1150-1350
(9053/07)
The project focuses on and illuminates the role of iron in connection with the political, social and economic changes during the period 1150-1350. This period is characterised by significant social changes in Sweden. The agrarian sector was dominant with a systematic utilisation of material resources and a regular exaction of charges in the form of tithes and taxes by the church, the royal power and the nobility. Politically, the period saw the emergence of a centralised state.
The second half of the 13th century is a period of far-reaching economic, social and political changes. It was also during this period that the iron industry expanded in Bergslagen and significant technological changes took place. The transformation of society meant that a series of new operators with different roles within iron manufacturing were established such as the king, the church, the nobility, the city burghers, the farmers but also ore miners and iron foundry masters in Bergslagen.
Attention will be paid to regional variations both in respect of the formation of the state and the iron industry in Sweden. Through relating the overall issue of regional variations and chronological phases of economic and political transformation with studies of the actual iron industry, the question of the iron industry’s development is set within a socio-historical perspective at the same time as more specialist and nuanced explanations of the process of the formation of the state and its different preconditions may be established.
The main themes handled by the project relate to four overall research areas:
- Formation of the kingdom
- Market
- Technology and production
- Resources and environment
In all cases the research issues are linked to three regional, special studies i.e. Möre/Ljungby, the Norberg mining district and Hyttehamn.
Participants in this project, which is interdisciplinary in scope, include certain of Sweden’s foremost medieval researchers within the subject areas of archaeology, history, economic history, metallurgy and the history of vegetation. The first stage of the project is based upon the excavations of Hyttehamn which are described in the report H 79 Hyttehamnsprojektet 2005-2008. Undersökningar av Hyttehamn med omnejd under åren 2005-2008. Arkeologiska undersökningar, inventering, analyser och historiska källor, RAÄ 176 i Undenäs socken, Karlsborgs kommun, Västergötland. Stage 2 was accounted for in the publication ‘Med Hammare och Fackla’ which was published at the end of 2010.
The project is financed mainly through external funding.
Chairperson: Bengt Berglund, Chalmers University of Technology, History of Technology
National Atlas
(9052/06)
Work on development of an atlas concerning mining, steel and metallurgical production within the series National Atlas of Sweden. The atlas is intended to create an understanding of the industry’s importance today as well as is future development potential. It deals with Swedish mining and metallurgy in a long historical perspective. It describes and analyses the social, economic and ideological forces behind the growth and evolution of Swedish mining and metallurgy as well as the impact of these changes on people, buildings, landscape and society.
The atlas shows the importance of the industry for Sweden’s economy and its exports down the centuries and its significance for the country’s political development. Attention is also focused on the traces that mining, steel and metallurgical production has left in the contemporary cultural landscape, the historical environments of mining and metallurgy.
The atlas is intended to reach a wide public and hopefully it will have an important role within schools and in shaping public awareness. It will thereby increase knowledge about the industry’s past and present role and also hopefully contribute to future recruitment of students, researchers and competent personnel. A continuing high competence level within the industry is a precondition for maintaining successful development.
The atlas was published in September 2011 in both a Swedish and English version as well as also partly on the Internet. The atlas comprise 216 pages with about two-thirds of the material consisting of maps and other illustrations. The number of contributors is 36. Production and publication took place through Norstedts Kartor AB, with Jernkontoret being the responsible authority.
The atlas may be orderd here...
The project receives external funding as well as contributions mainly from the iron and steel industry as well as certain county administrative boards.
Subject editor: Jan af Geijerstam, Stockholm and Marie Nisser, KTH, Dept. of History of Science and Technology
Chairperson: Vacant
Attempts to produce pig iron at Nya Lapphyttan
(9051/02)
Work here is carried out to support ‘Föreningen Järnet’ (Iron Association) at Lapphyttan and the municipality of Norberg in the efforts to produce liquid pig iron in the recreated blast furnace at Nya Lapphyttan. This is a full-scale reconstruction based on the remains (discovered in the 1970’s) of a complete medieval iron production site at Lapphyttan outside Norberg and dated to the 12th century.
This group mainly consists of metallurgists. So far (2011), eleven experimental trials have been carried out since 1994. The trial 2-11 July 2010, the goal of producing liquid pig iron was achieved for the first time.
Chairperson: Ing-Marie Pettersson Jensen, Norberg municipality
More information: www.jarnetpalapphyttan.se
Non-ferrous metals, ore mining and metallurgy
(9048/95)
The project’s goal is to develop education and research activities at the interface of archaeology/history and metallurgy and also to support inventory and documentation activities. An important task is also to initiate research concerning non-ferrous metals. Committee members come mainly from universities and the National Heritage Board. Subsidiary projects are mainly linked to the theses of PhD students.
The committee’s research spans a very long period of time, from prehistory to the contemporary era. The scope of the research not only considers the production of non-ferrous metals but also the subsequent manufacture of the metals as well as the social and economic consequences of such manufacture. External funding has been provided for the project.
Chairperson: Dag Noréus, Stockholm University, Inorganic Chemistry.
More information: www.ickejarn.se
Atlas of Sweden’s mining and metallurgical district
(9045/93)
The overall objective of the project is to publish – in text and maps – the archaeological material concerning the history of mining and metallurgy within those ‘black country’ districts in Sweden that have a medieval origin. By also linking the remains to cartographic records, historical information and remaining buildings in the environment the intention is that the reports shall serve both as a starting point for more detailed research and as the basis for work in cultural environment protection. The reports may also serve as a guide to historical metallurgy environments both for the researcher and local history enthusiasts. This work is largely based on the remains recorded in the National Heritage Board’s register of ancient monuments in the Fornsök database and is classified into 23 different ‘black country’ districts. Twenty-one of these reports are so far published (December 2011).
This project is run as a collaborative project between Jernkontoret and the National Heritage Board as well as those involved with cultural heritage protection in the counties concerned. External funding has been provided for the project.
Chairperson: Gert Magnusson, Swedish National Heritage Board
More information: Swedish National Heritage Board, www.raa.se
Documentation of special steel
- products and marketing
(9044/92)
Work is carried out on documenting special steel, its products and marketing. There is no activity at present.
Chair: Vacant
Steering group for documentation of technological change within the industry from 1850 until the present
(9041/90)
The group shall prepare and carry out work concerning the documentation of technological changes within the above period. The work is carried on or planned within the areas of cold forming processes, powder metallurgy, special steel products and their marketing (9044/92). The subject areas of metallurgy, forging, hot forming, laboratories as well as energy and environment are all documented and books/reports are published, see Information bank. The work is conducted mainly by retired mining engineers/engineers.
Chairperson: Bertil Berg, Stockholm
Archive questions
(9031/84)
The main task is to support archivists and those responsible for archives in companies within the industry where questions and problems arise in connection with archives and records. This applies to both historical and current archives. During the years that the archive committee has operated the record keeping has shifted from paper filing to digital recording which has generated many new questions. Activities are run mainly through arranging Archive Days. From 1984 to 2009, 21 archival conferences have been held at different locations in Sweden. The committee includes representatives from companies, the National Archives and the industry’s archives.
The committee is inactive since September 2009 until further notice.
Chair: Vacant
Contact
Kerstin Fernheden
Senior research officer
tel +46 8 679 17 13
