Chadiping: A pig iron production site of the Ming Dynasty in Southeast Chongqing, China

Abstract

In this article, we introduce the excavation of an iron smelting site at Chadiping, Pengshui County, southeast Chongqing, China. Archaeological survey and excavation were carried out in 2012 and 2014, which a total of 21 furnaces were surveyed and recorded in 2012 and five were excavated in 2014. The Chadiping site is dated to the 15th–17th centuries according to the radiocarbon dating analysis and the local pottery assemblage. According to the furnace and site structures and the results of preliminary analysis of collected ores and slags, the iron ore used was possibly hematite and fueled by charcoal, the function of the site was possibly only to produce pig iron ingots, and the iron ingots were likely to be sold or transported to other areas to make different objects. The discovery at the Chadiping site is the first archaeological evidence of iron smelting in Chongqing, and would provide great contribution to the study of iron smelting and production in Chongqing, and the history of local economic and social structure.