Mine et métallurgie du fer à haute altitude dans les Alpes du Sud-Ouest

Abstract

Prospections carried out in the valleys and on the summits of South-Western Alps made it possible to complete the mining and metal working map of the Alps, confirming the existence of patterns of high altitude exploitation. The mining areas and the workshops of mechanical preparation are located at the immediate alpine level between 2700 and 2400 meters high. The highest reduction workshops are located at an altitude between 2000 and 2155 m., in other words near the higher limit of the present-day forest. Most of the metal-working workshops correspond to specific sites bound to their fuel and metal ore supply ; they are mostly located in highly ventilated areas. The C14 dates range from the second century B.C. and the seventh century A.D.

Keywords

• Alps
• Mercantour
• Ubaye
• mining
• metallurgy
• iron