E-catalog        

The article presents the results of research on a uniquely preserved linear box-shaped furnace found on the Kuyahtanar iron smelting site in the Altai Mountains (Russian Altai). Furnaces of this type were the largest in North Eurasia, yet reliable data on the structure and emergence thereof have not been available for a long time. The article provides a detailed analysis of the structure of the furnace as well as 3D models of its different parts.
A series of radiocarbon dates we produced indicate that this type of furnaces appeared much earlier than previously thought. Box-shaped furnaces emerged in Altai in the 4th-5th centuries and are the oldest in Asia. In the 7th–8th centuries, such furnaces were also spread in Japan. The article also investigates the possibility of a link between the Altai and the Japanese iron smelting traditions and discusses the question of technology transfer in Asia with regard to building and using box-shaped furnaces.