Reading the archaeometallurgical fndings of Yodhawewa site, Sri Lanka: contextualizing with South Asian metal history

Abstract

This study aimed to provide a chronological interpretation of the Yodhawewa settlement and interpret metalworking activities based on artifacts representing metallurgical technology in Sri Lanka and South Asia. The research data was based on a feld survey, two vertical excavations, and six profle observations conducted in 2018. The radiocarbon (carbon 14) chronological results of the Yodhawewa research represented the frst millennium (1st, 4th, and 8th centuries) AD. Archaeological material on iron ore extraction, crucible steel, and copper-related productions was revealed during the study. This Yodhawewa research was the frst to discover an ancient crucible-shaped (lower half-spherical typed) steel furnace in the northwestern dry zone of Sri Lanka. Besides, this study led to the frst archaeological discovery that the "Bellow method" activated an ancient steel furnace in Sri Lanka. In addition to the metalwork, this site refects signifcant archaeological materials on the global cultural relations associated with the Yodhawewa study area.