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African metallurgy in the Atlantic

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Candice Goucher
The African Archaeological Review

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The African Archaeological Review, 11 (1993), pp. 197-215. © 1993CambridgeUniversityPress

African metallurgy in the Atlantic

world
CANDICE L. G O U C H E R

Abstract

This paper examines the history of African metallurgy in the era of Atlantic trade. It
reports on excavations at the John Reeder foundry site in St Thomas,Jamaica. The transfer
of African technologies to the Caribbean reveals the plantation economy's dependence on
African technical expertise, not merely slave labour. The comprehensive focus on the
Atlantic world also informs archaeological investigations of African-European interaction
in West Central Africa. The complexity of Atlantic technological history is characterized by
a diverse range of dynamic interactions, rather than the inevitable decline of African-
derived systems. Only by identifying processes as well as products of African technological
interaction will it be possible fully to reconstruct the tbrging of the African past.

R~sum6
Cet article examine l'histoire de la m&allurgie afi'icaine ~t l'~re du commerce atlantique. I1
rend compte des excavations au site de la fonderieJohn Reeder, ~t St Thomas, en Jamai'que.
Le transfert des technologies africaines aux Antilles rdv~le ~ quel point l'dconomie de
plantation d@endait de l'expertise technique africaine, et pas seulement de l'esctavage.
L'accent plac~ sur le monde atlantique inspire aussi les recherches archdologiques sur
l'interaction afro-europdenne ~t l'ouest de I'Afrique centrale. La complexit~ de l'histoire
technologique atlantique est caractdris~e par une gamme diverse d'interactions
dynamiques, plutSt que par l'in&dtable ddclin des syst~mes africains ddrivds. Ce n'est
qu'en identifiant les processus aussi bien que les produits de l'interaction technologique
africaine qu'il sera possible de reconstruire complStement l'dlaboration du passd africain.

Introduction

This paper considers the history of African metallurgy in the wake of the Atlantic era. The
transfer and cultural continuity of African metallurgical technologies to the Caribbean
reveals the vital dependence on African technical expertise of the plantation and colonial
economies and their instruments of defence and coercion. The extent to which the African
198 CandiceL. Goucher

contribution to this technological history exceeded a mere labour component is suggested

by a closer examination of African-European interactions. A focus on the Atlantic world
offers insights for the investigation of African-derived ideology and culture in the Carib-
bean and seeks to assist archaeologists and historians studying similar situations of multi-
cultural interaction in the African past.
The development of an Atlantic economy forged lasting links between Europe, Africa
and the Caribbean, and between slavery and the rise of merchant capitalism. These links
were partially constructed of African metals. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals, whether
imported or locally produced, were traded and exchanged as currencies. When manufac-
tured, they were essential to the acquisition of slaves and the maintenance of the Atlantic
commercial system. The period between 1500 and 1850 witnessed major technological
changes within the participating metallurgical industries, including those identified with
the British industrial revolution, those linked with the decline of some African industries
and the transformation and intensification of others, and those connected with the
introduction of new metal technologies across the western hemisphere. The interaction
between different and competing technological systems also appears to have been an
important product and feature of the emerging Atlantic economy.
The ways in which Africanists and Caribbeanists have studied the technologies of this
era have varied. The intersection of this scholarship owes much to the encouragement of
Merrick Posnansky (1989). African archaeology has played a major role in shaping the
historical questions and knowledge about metals. Previous scholarship has discussed how
designations like the Early Iron Age (EIA) and Late Iron Age (LIA) have been as
problematic as they have been useful (as noted by both Willoughby and Stewart in this
volume). The technological history of the transition between periods is not marked by"
uniform technological change; nor are the categories themselves satisfactorily described by
reference to coherent material cultural contexts: African LIA societies systematically
employed stone tools even in the large-scale production of iron and steel (Fig. 1). Another
historical distinction, the one constructed between pre-contact and post-contact periods in
Africa, hinges on the presence or absence of Europeans, rather than on any particular
configuration of material complexes or even technological domination. Archaeologists on
both sides of the Atlantic have only recently begun to explore the cultural complexity
implicit in these distinctions. The basic historiographical assumption has been that African
technology faltered in the shadow of a European presence (Williams 1974:73-5; Goucher
1981; Pole 1982); whether African industries declined or survived the incursion may be a
question of whether the glass was half-empty or half-full. The specific technical parameters
remain largely unexamined, yet iron has been viewed as a symbol of the vulnerability of
African technologies and economies to the European presence. The actual impact of
Europe on local technology has been neglected or imperfectly understood.

West Central African forges and foundries

On the African side of the Atlantic world, archaeological and documentary evidence for
such questions as might be of interest to the historical reconstruction of trans-Atlantic
technology is limited. Few inventories of metal products exist and when they occur they pay
scant if any attention to production processes. The best understood African technologies
 African metallurgy in the Atlantic world 199

Figure 1 Stone anvil, Binadjoube, Bassar, Togo.

are generally far from the coastal scene of African-European interactions. The range of
variation in those few technological systems studied suggests that Caribbeanists will face
great difficulties in attempts to identify continuity or change. African contexts do provide
windows on the processes of technological change (van der Merwe 1980; van der Merwe
and Avery 1985; Herbert and Goucher 1987; David et aI. 1989; Childs 1991), but opport-
unities to investigate pre-industrial technological systems will soon vanish together with
their living contexts. Smelters, blacksmiths, casters and other metallurgists are nearly
extinct in other parts of the world, but in sub-Saharan Africa the smaller-scale, local
industries have persisted in rural areas and even in large towns. In rapidly dwindling
numbers, they are potential repositories fbr the history of technology. The ethnoarchaeo-
logical potential may be limited but, in too many instances, it will soon be irretrievably lost
(Atherton 1983; Agorsah 1990; Herbert and Goucher 1985; Childs 1991; Dewey 1990;
David et al. 1989; Schmidt 1978).
The coastal regions of West Central Africa provided the earliest and most sustained
arenas for African-European economic as well as technological interactions (DeCorse
1987, 1991). Early European permanent settlements, tbrts and castles generally employed a
number of African and European blacksmiths (De Gregori 1969:149; Lawrence 1963:91).
These establishments were of course also centres for the introduction and distribution of
European manufactures (Sundstrom 1974). Their archaeological potential has been noted
by Posnansky and van Dantzig (1976) and pursued by DeCorse (1987, t993) at Etmina and
elsewhere, although not with the specific tbcus of technology transfer. African towns were
only in some instances repositories for the transfer of skills acquired at forts and castles.
200 CandiceL. Goucher

They constitute another source of interaction and change (Hull 1976), as they also attrac-
ted smiths and products from their hinterland. As European manufactured goods reached
inland markets, they necessarily wrought changes in local industry: for example, the
cheaper (and inferior, according to many local smiths) European hoes required new tech-
niques of repair. The introduction of European firearms also presented opportunities for
the growth of ancillary metalworking industries. Villages and towns in the interior devel-
oped as specialized centres in the repair and limited manufacture of guns. The village of
Brawhani, in Brong Ahafo, Ghana, is such an example (see Fig. 2). In 1979, the raised
forge was proudly pointed out as being 'European' in style; that it supported a furnace
sculpted in the shape of a woman suggests the ideological, cultural and stylistic continuities
attendant on, and probably necessary for, the successful transfer of non-African
technologies.
Marion Johnson (1978), rare among historians, considered the relationship between
African technological change and competition; she tested the assumption of inevitable
replacement of African industry by European technology. Although she concentrated on
textiles, Johnson (1978:268) suggested that ironworking might have responded similarly to
patterns of demand, organization of production and European imports. Because smelting
industries were capital-free, their decline was attributed to qualitative differences in prod-
uct. African smiths adjusted their forging technology to the drastically different products,
thus flourishing or declining in response to the European market. But did such competition
necessarily produce a pernicious consequence? Brian Fagan (1961:209) suggested that the
invigorated mid-eighteenth-century trade in iron hoes from the Luba resulted in the

Figure 2 Raised forge, Brawhani, Brong Ahafo, Ghana.

 African metallurgy in the Atlantic world 201

standardization of form and techniques in Zambia. In parts of Ghana and Togo, the impact
seems also to have been more varied. Although European manufactures, including farming
implements and cutlasses, reportedly appeared in markets connecting the hinterland and
coastal towns, some technology was observed to be unaffected by European imports as late
as the 1880s (Hupfeld 1899:192; Klose 1899:175). Miller (I988:79) even reports that south
of the Zaire River, Africans were exporting, not importing their own metalware.
Elsewhere, the supply of imported metals, new forms and borrowed techniques were not
necessarily coeval. The Central African reports on locally preferred weapons and tools
indicate that styles might change, while the source of the metal remained constant. Alter-
natively, new sources of metal could be utilized in traditional ways and with little if any
change in meaning or significance. The eighteenth-century Kasanje king's army fought
with locally manufactured weapons, while in Lunda imported European muskets were
forged into bladed weapons (Miller 1988:88). Factors inhibiting the transfer of European
metallurgical technology appear to have depended upon more than cost-related, capital-
intensive features.
The relative availability of fuel and labour figured heavily in the equations of technology
transfer. Temporal change within African metallurgy is obviously complex and not well
understood. For example, several researchers have noted the transformation of West Afri-
can iron-smelting furnace function and form, including an increase in furnace height and
the utilization of induced draught rather than forced draught techniques. The correlation of
these features (constituting 'blast furnaces') would have produced fluid products, even cast
iron (Wertime 1962:45-7; David et al. I989), such as occurred in medieval Europe and in
China. The innovation also appears in LIA contexts at Bassar, Togo, by the eighteenth
century (Fig. 3; Goucher 1984). This West African technical change may be related to the
demographic change, especially population loss, attributed to slaving activities in the
hinterland. Since induced draught furnaces no longer required bellows, a significant
labour-saving advance would have reduced further the costs of production, making those
African industries more competitive with imported European metals. While the increase in
West Central African slave-raiding activities contributed to the vulnerability of much
African production (Rodney 1972), slave labour was increasingly available to state systems
and their elites for industrial and other applications (Lovejoy 1983; Meitlassoux 1975;
Inikori t981). Industries that persisted in the Atlantic era's climate of heightened in-
security and violence seem to have been located on major slave-trading routes, such as the
one connecting the Bassar region to Asante, Hausa, Kabre and Dahomey. Although
contemporary informants deny that slave labour was used, Klose (t899) and others record
this slave labour market in the 1880s and relate the prices of slaves to iron hoes.
The nature of the fuel supply represented a considerable factor distinguishing European
from African-based metallurgy. Industries in both parts of the world suffered the con-
sequences of deforestation as a result of the overuse of forest resources (Goucher 1981;
Schubert 1969; Wertime t962). In Britain, critical developrnents after the mid-eighteenth
century made possible the widespread use of coal and coke by the iron industry. Even then,
British forgers outside Exeter welded steel-reinforced agricultural implements from
imported Swedish iron, as noted by Angerstein around 1753 (Hildebrand 1958:22). In
Africa and the Caribbean, suitable coal was not available locally and had to be imported at
high prices or substitutes found. The continued availability of charcoal, despite rising costs,
202 CandiceL. Goucher

meant that its use easily remained cost-effective and was preferred to coal in the African-
European interactions of the Atlantic world. In parts of Africa where large iron ore deposits
attracted the entrepreneurial attention of European colonizers, the issue of fuel prevented
the wholesale transi~r of European technology and thus exploitation of local resources (as,

Figure 3 Repaired (induced-draught) smelting furnace at Banjeli, 'Fogo.

 African metallurg7 in the Atlantic world 203

for example, in German Togo at the turn of the century). The case of fuel supplies in the
Caribbean and in the Americas more generally is discussed below. Suffice it to say that,
despite an inordinate English pride in the 'sooty mineral' and its technological significance,
the global outlook suggests that this innovation had little to do with the first three centuries
of African-European interactions.

The Caribbean crucible

Studies of African cultural continuities in the Caribbean have suggested some of the
potential for technology transfer in the Atlantic world (Braithwaite 1971; Agorsah 1992;
Thompson 1983; Price 1979; Alleyne 1988). The concepts of situational ethnicity and fluid
boundary conditions have recently been discussed by Africanist archaeologists (David
1992; Phillipson 1992). Discrete packages of neatly-bounded cultural attributes have given
way to interdependent 'mosaics' (see Denbow 1990 for an EIA application). Knowing the
vectors of transformation and change in Caribbean contexts of Af}:ican technology con-
stitutes a valuable contribution to understanding processes of cultural negotiation that are
implicit in so much of the wider discussion about links between technology, style, and
ethnicity. Well-documented cases of ethnic identification in the decidedly multi-cultural
African-Caribbean contexts are relatively few (Posnansky 1984; DeCorse 1987; Postma
1990), although studies have shown that greater retention weighting the African end of a
continuum of change has resulted from the presence of ritual (Goucher 1990; Schuter 1980;
Rickford 1987). This observation has implications for the study of African technological
systems and styles carried across the Atlantic. Like his contemporary Ati'ican counterpart,
the Jamaican blacksmith repairs automobile axles on an anvil he calls the ~mother' of his
forge. ~ Technology was an important component of cultural systems, influencing the
expression of gender and other power relationships (Childs 1991). Yet it has not been
studied in historic perspective as an equally inevitable consequence of the newly construc-
ted Atlantic world. Where ideological transfers have been noted, as in the case of the trans-
Atlantic journey of Ogun (the Yoruba deity associated with iron) to Haiti, Cuba, Brazil,
and Trinidad, the technological implications of these transfers have been completely
ignored (Barnes 1989; Lauyi 1988).
In the technological continuum of the Caribbean, the eighteenth century holds a particu-
larly pivotal position. Communities of African refugees escaped repeatedly from slave
masters and were known as maroons (see Agorsah this volume). InJarnaica and elsewhere,
maroons initiated a series of wars that plagued European domination throughout the
eighteenth century. They also encouraged the persistence of metallurgical skills presumed
to be African-based (Agorsah 1992; Goucher 1990). Jamaican maroons were reportedly
armed with guns; each and every man, woman, and child carried an iron hoe. The political
basis of power and resistance often depended upon the support of armies of blacksmiths on
both sides of the Atlantic, as demonstrated by the likes of the West African Samory or the
rulers at Palmares in Brazil. Where African metallurgists congregated in the Caribbean,
they wrested considerable independence from the more typical constraints of plantation
slavery. For example, at Winkle Village, Guyana, the 1796 uprising of slave blacksmiths
and leatherworkers led to increased wages and early emancipation. Even as individual
craftsmen, the transplanted African blacksmiths negotiated positions of leadership in the
 204 CandiceL. Goucher

plantation hierarchy and were presumably instrumental in the exercise of ritual con-
tinuities (Curtin 1970:34-5; Schuler 1980).
Metals and metal products constituted a significant part of the cargo of trans-Atlantic
ships. Iron was considered a particularly useful export commodity, both heavy and stable.
Throughout much of the eighteenth century, the British 'West Indies was the largest market
for wrought iron. This was due no doubt to the reliance on imported agricultural
implements used on plantations. However, the tool shapes of Europe gave way to West
African styles: the short-handled hoe and cutlass. Shipping records, underwater archaeo-
logy and the cobblestone streets of Caribbean ports like San Juan, testify to the inclusion of
cast iron blocks and iron slag as ballast (Samuels 1980). Swedish bar iron imports to Great
Britain nearly doubled between 1740 and 1770, and their prices rose dramatically towards
the end of the century (Hyde 1977:80-1). Export figures for iron bars, iron nails, ordnance,
and wrought iron from England to Jamaica (1748-73) similarly reflect tremendous
increases after 1769.2 American industries, many of which were still dependent upon wood
charcoal for fuel, constituted yet another source of metal for the Caribbean markets; this
source proved to be extremely unpredictable, especially around 1776.
By the eighteenth century', smithies dotted the Caribbean. Every significant town and
harbour, nearly every plantation employed a blacksmith. Documented smiths were Afri-
can, European, and Creole. Michael Craton (t978) alludes to a colour bar in apprentice-
ship systems operating on the Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica; this is hardly visible
amongst surviving Caribbean blacksmiths and not likely to have been practicably enforced
(Goucher 1990:40; Fig. 4). In some respects, the documented, large-scale involvement of
African metallurgists in Caribbean technology is uniquely limited to the Reeder site des-
cribed below. No other evidence of cuprous metalwork or casting by transplanted Africans
has yet emerged; the transfer of West African goldworking techniques and styles in the
circum-Caribbean seems probable, but unstudied. That blacksmiths achieved mobility and
travelled widely across the Atlantic world is not surprising. One African blacksmith, who
accompanied Mungo Park in West Africa, reportedly made the trans-Atlantic journey to
British Guyana (Rickford 1987). When European planters moved from island to island, as
they frequently did in response to the vagaries of the imperial chess game, they carried with
them skilled slaves. Among them were 'blacksmith jobbers', who were in high demand
(Higman 1976). The Jamaican planter John Stewart (1808) suggested the late eighteenth-
century value of metallurgical skills when he boasted that the fortunes to be made in the
Caribbean by the clergy, and lawyers were nearly surpassed by those of the coppersmiths.
In Brazil, the development of steelmaking was attributed to 'the technical skills of a few
African slaves' (Furtado 1965). The case of Reeder's foundry in eighteenth-century
Jamaica suggests some of the reasons why the African contribution must be considered
critical to the history of Caribbean technology.

African-Caribbean metallurgy: the case o f Reeder's Pen

Reeder's Pen is located in the historical parish of St Thomas-in-the-East, Jamaica, where it

occupied a considerable portion of the area west of the late eighteenth-century coastal town
of Morant Bay and east of the Morant River (17° 53' N., 76° 25' W.; Fig. 5). The site's
approximate location was identified by the use of oral and archival sources, including an
 A..frican melallurgy in the Allantic world 205

uncatalogued sketch map by Thomas Harrison in the collections of the Institute of

Jamaica, Kingston. Archaeological investigation (1989--93) began as part of an ongoing
project on African-Caribbean technology. The study has incorporated survey and surface
collections, local interviews with Jamaican blacksmiths, archival research, the excavation
of two main portions of the site, and comparative technical studies of metals.

Figure 4 Joseph Townsend, blacksmith, St John's, Antigua.

206 CandiceL. Goucher

The Reeder site appears to be unique in the history of Caribbean technology, at least
with respect to the extent of documentation (Buisseret 1980). Established in 1772, the
foundry at Reeder's Pen produced iron and brass two years later. Its owner, the English-
man John Reeder, was a Devon coppersmith by trade, but planned also to engage in
ironworking activities. By 1781, the industry was immensely profitable, valued by the
island's plantations and the Royal Navy. According to Reeder, he relied heavily on African
metallurgical expertise. The slaves, maroons, and 'free coloureds' who operated the foun-
dry were 'perfect in every branch of the iron manufacture, so far as it relates to casting and
turning . . . and in wrought iron'. 3 On the basis of this, Reeder applied for and received
permission from the island assembly to erect iron-smelting furnaces and cut wood for
charcoal. The prosperity of the foundry operations was short-lived. In 1782, Governor
General Campbell, fearing a combined invasion of the island by French and Spanish forces,
ordered the dismantling of the Morant Bay foundry, whose operations appear to have
practically ceased. 4
The main purpose of the research thus f~r has been to assess the nature of the operation
of the iron and brass foundry established at the site during the last quarter of the eighteenth
century; to locate and study the various technical facilities of the industry and to describe
the nature of their operation and function; and, finally, to assess the cultural identity and
technological contribution of the different components of the labour force operating and
maintaining the foundry during its brief existence. The study has closely investigated areas
of African technological continuity within the metallurgical activity represented at Reeder's
Pen.

Description of sites and features

The earliest existing map of Reeder's Pen, providing the foundry's location and bearing
(SE 86 °) is an undated sketch map by Thomas Harrison, a cartographer active in the
nineteenth century. Incorporating Edgar's notes of 1777, the map identifies several features
partially standing today. One such t~ature is the area referred to today as Church Corner,
which, in addition to the eighteenth-century church building now in ruins and its adjacent
gravesites, shares location with what is indicated on later maps as a 'House of Corrections',
a convalescent residence for the aged and mentally impaired. The National Heritage Trust
investigated the Church site some years ago; thus, we collected only a few items (green
glass bottles and three pieces of imported ceramics) from the surface of the slopes facing the
main Morant Bay road that today passes by the ruins on their south side.
Another main feature is an old bridge located to the south of milestone 31 approaching
from the Kingston direction. This feature appears to have been part of a water-control
system in the western part of Morant Bay. However, it is unclear whether or how it might
have functioned in the operations of Reeder's Pen, or exactly how the river course might
have changed over the past two centuries. The possible site-related, eighteenth-century
canal and waterway construction is discussed below. Eastwards from the bridge is a road,
referred to by residents as the 'Old Road', which connects the pen to the wharf at Morant
Bay. Only minimal investigation was possible because the area is now a dense residential
extension of the town. However, local intormants mention structural features and identify
footpaths of 'slavery days' (i.e. pre-1830s).
African metaUurgy in the Atlantic world 207

Figure 5 Sundry parcels of land in the parish of St Thomas, Jamaica (Photograph

courtesy of the National Library of Jamaica, N/15660).
208 CandiceL. Goucher

The area between 48 and 52 Church Street, Morant Bay, appears to have been a central
part of the foundry. The widespread distribution of iron slag across this and adjacent lots
and concentrations of slag and other metalworking byproducts at selected spots indicate
metallurgical activity. At one such concentration (48 Church Street), also containing large
(10 kg) chunks of slag, samples were taken for analysis. Surface collections made in this
area of the site also revealed concentrations of nail fragments, imported ceramics, and
green glass bottles. Other significant features of the area include building foundations
visible between, and incorporated into, the foundations of several house structures along
the southern side of the modern Morant Bay main road. Their extension into the empty
front lot at 52 Church Street became the focus of excavations described below (Feature 1).
One of the two pillars that marked the main gate of Reeder's Pen still stands on the north
side of the modern main road. This eastern pillar contains a legible engraving: 'PEN'.
According to local residents, the western pillar (presumably containing the word
'REEDERS') was broken down only recently in the course of construction at the site. These
pillars probably supported a cast iron gate. Some of the forged iron fencing is still attached
to the eastern pillar; but some had collapsed and been abandoned nearby. A sample post
was collected for analysis.
Leading from the gate in a north-easterly direction is the approach to what has been
tentatively identified as the site of John Reeder's residence, or Great House. Early founda-
tions appear to have been built over by later house structure(s) now in ruins. The approach
has been partially covered by a road built by the current owner in preparation for a housing
development on the site. The main finds from the area consist of a few unidentified
seashells, green glass bottles and several pieces of imported ceramics. Along the slope
facing north-westwards are several apparently modern metal artifacts.
A feature of much local interest is a large stone believed to be at a site marked 'store' on
the Harrison sketch map. The foundry bearing according to this map is SE 86 °, while John
Reeder's residence or Great House is NE 81 °. The stone is situated on the hillside property
of Mr Dudley Fyffe (23 Church Street), across the contemporary main road from what are
believed to be the remains of the foundry buildings. The stone, a variety of milky quartz, is
actually quite huge, measuring approximately 1.25 m at its widest part, which is north-
south and 2.15 m on its long axis, which is approximately east-west. Local residents
frequently identify such prominent stones as markers for buried treasure, especially
rumoured caches of Spanish gold. To prevent destruction of the Fyffe property and to
protect the stone site, it was deemed necessary to investigate these claims and satisfy public
interest.
Curiously, the upper surface of the stone has two large iron pegs, 65 cm apart, driven into
its upper surface at its wider part. Information from Mr Fyffe confirmed the opinion of
other residents. Fyffe, together with others who had previously heard of or actually seen the
stone years earlier, maintained that there had originally been four pegs, two having rusted
away or been otherwise removed. Upon closer examination, the stone's surface revealed
several worn indentations, although no obvious peg holes. The two surviving metal pegs
are approximately 3 to 4 cm in diameter.
The following questions emerged from these initial investigations: what was the function
and importance of the stone; and what was the meaning or purpose of the two (or possibly
four) pegs driven into its surface? As mentioned above, some local informants claim that
 African metallurgy in the Atlantic world 209

the Spaniards may have buried some treasure under the stone; others mention that the
stone seems to disappear and reappear at will, indicating some mythical connections.
In summary, the pre-excavation studies clearly located and identified m a n y features of
Reeder's Pen known from documentary sources, although the definite boundaries could not
be established because much of the area has now been built over. Also, the historical
records indicate that the foundry itself was dismantled and partially destroyed, first inten-
tionally, then by an island hurricane in the 1780s. Parts of the foundry were even purported
to have been buried during dismantling in 1782, when foundry operations were halted
abruptly. Such a deliberate attempt to conceal important structural features that otherwise
might have remained in the archaeological record is significant for identifying the sub-
sequent use to which the buildings and site may have been put, and also for any interpreta-
tions of the archaeological remains.

Excavation
Two areas were identified for excavation and referred to as Features 1 and 2. These were,
respectively, the structural foundations at 52 Church Street (on the property of Mr Phillip
Ray), and, adjacent to the house of Mr Fyffe, the 'mystery stone', as it came to be called
locally.
Feature 1: The excavation of this feature sought to expose and identify the nature and
configuration of building foundations and their associated structures as a means of explain-
ing activities that may have been related to them. The southern section of this feature is
referred to as the ' r a m p area' or Area l-A, while the northern section, which is the section
nearer the main road, is Area 1-B. It consists of foundations or platforms of what appear to
be part of the factory built by J o h n Reeder. It is bounded on the property's eastern side by
the remains of a canal system.
A 2 X 2 m square was opened along the wall, adjacent to the ramps referred to above, in
order to expose the wall, locate floors and eventually extend the excavation to expose the
r a m p area itself. The first level (0-35 cm) was a fairly compact and dark reddish brown soil
(Munsell 5YR 3/3) and contained material very like the surface collection, consisting of
several pieces of iron slag, green glass bottle, wire nails and a few fragments of ceramic tile.
The r a m p area was particularly productive, yielding much green glass and iron slag. Level
2 (35-75 cm) yielded a number of almost complete ceramic artefacts within the area
between the two ramps. The r a m p interior sides are lined with red brick down to its base
level at 75 cm, which is characterized by a wide scatter of pieces of limestone and fragments
of brick. Between the first excavation square and the r a m p area, the distribution of brick is
suggestive of a collapsed structure.
Also identified in the r a m p area was a semi-circular iron ring or hoop. This hoop seems
to mark the mouth of a structure that spans an opening of approximately 45 cm diameter,
and which passes under the wall at the ramp entrance from its southern to its northern side,
and then extends to the building's centre. The soil around this feature (between 75 and 90
cm in depth) was laden heavily with ash. Within the same area was recovered the largest
collection of artifacts. The foundations of Feature 1 were clearly exposed and the outline of
the rooms in that part of the excavation noted. It was also clear that building foundations
continue under the three houses immediately to the west of M r Ray's house, indicating that
210 CandiceL. Goucher

the factory was much larger than the portion under excavation. This would seem to be in
keeping with the sketch map that locates a line of several structures, and also to be
consistent with known British foundries contemporary with the Reeder site.

Finds

The main items, as mentioned above, consist of the structures around the ramp area, the
cast iron hoop, several imported ceramics of various manufacture and derivation, tiles, iron
slag, glass, and metal artifacts. The ceramic material includes the creamware, earthenware,
pearlware, porcelain, stoneware, whiteware and yelloware, represented in Figure 6. The
ceramic and other evidence should be treated with considerable caution as the archaeo-
logical investigation has only just begun and so far extends over only a small portion of the
site. However, several tentative and general observations are possible.
The earthenware consists mainly of rim and body sherds, some with blue or mottled blue
glaze. One piece appears to be of a polygonal-shaped vessel and another the lateral
terminal of a handle with stamped geometric patterns on both handle and body. The
majority of earthenware comes from level 2, the level that seems most likely to date to the
period of foundry operation. However, almost half of the earthenware could be classified as
local pottery referred to as 'yabba' in Jamaica.
O f the remaining pottery types, the creamware consist mainly of pieces of body sherds
and would date to between 1775 and 1820. One piece seems to be a chamber pot rim; three
others appear to be footings. The whiteware pieces are mainly undecorated fragments of
cups, bowls, and footings ofptates or saucers. They are all from level 2, and date to between
about t830 and 1860. Annular ware is the most popular of the pearlware ceramics. An
almost complete bowl of this type was recovered from the ramp area at 72 cm. The
porcelain recovered includes sherds of export ware, a few with red, green, and blue floral
pattern overglaze; a few have gilded wavy edges with incised lines in red, green, and blue
floral transfer print. The majority is derived fi~om level 2, and may be dated between about
1790 and 1825. A stoneware bottle, probably used for ginger beer and possibly of
nineteenth-century American origin, was recovered complete. A body/rim jar with salt
glaze is suspected to be of nineteenth-century English manufacture.
The metal finds consisted oftarge quantities of iron and copper-alloy objects: including a
horseshoe, file, wire, nails (including some with flat heads), buckle, bolt, spike, rim and
body of a large, cast iron pot, square shanks, barrel hoop, and sheets of iron scrap. Slag and
droplets of various metallic compositions confirm that a variety of metallurgical activities
were undertaken at the site. Samples of some metal finds have been selected for laboratory
identification and characterization. This aspect of the research should provide data for
determining the source(s) of the raw materials, as well as for characterizing the smelting
and other refining technology employed, including subsequent technical processes.
Almost all glass recovered consisted of fragments of green cylindrical wine bottles with
conical kick-up bases. The distribution of glass is even across the levels and it appears that
the majority is twentieth-century. O f the remaining glass, all the thin clear pieces identified
as probable medicinal bottles were derived fi~om level 1.
Other finds include fragments of clay pan tile, glazed ceramic wall tiles with traces of
adhesive and probably dating to the twentieth century, and several fragments of stone,
 Aj~'ican metallurgy in ~he Atlantic world 211

60

50
:;(%

40

30

20 =

10

0
CRM ERT PEL P O . R STO WHI YEL
Figure 6 Occurrence of pottery types from the preliminary season's excavations at
Reeder's Foundry site: Creamware (14%), Earthenware (11%), Pearlware (31%),
Porcelain (5%), Stoneware (5%), Whiteware (31%) and Yelloware (3%). Vertical scale
indicates fragment count.

which were recovered mainly fi~om level 1 and surface areas. Only fbur pieces of white clay
smoking pipe were recovered. The bore of the stems measured 1.6 m m which, with the
embossed floral bowl decorations dates the pipes to between 1820 and 1840.
The second feature, the so-called 'mystery-stone', was only partially excavated in the
limited time available. Initially we believed the stone to be peripheral to the foundry site,
perhaps serving as an early boundary marker. A 2 X 2 m square was opened over the
stone's exposed upper surface and overlapping it on the eastern side, the main objective
being to determine its shape and size and to investigate any associated structures or objects.
One restriction was that the stone is situated extremely close to the property owner's
current building and it was considered that the excavation could easily damage the founda-
tion and the pipelines.
No finds were recovered above 1.0 m depth, with the exception of a few pieces of iron slag
and broken bottle. An auger-test was conducted in order to determine the presence of any
structural features; nothing was detected. At 1.92 m depth, large pieces of moulded clay
pan tile approximately 2.5-3.5 cm thick were reached. All of the 15 pieces collected appear
to belong to the same tile, identified as similar to seventeenth-century moulded examples
from the site of Port Royal, Jamaica. The association of this tile with a large chunk of iron
slag is interesting, especially as no objects were encountered in the levels above them.
212 CandiceL. Goucher

Although the complete size and nature of the stone is unclear, its association with the slag
and iron pegs, as well as its location within the territory' of the foundry map, suggest that it
may indeed be linked in some way to the operations of the Reeder foundry. Further work
may help to answer fully the questions regarding its function and meaning.

Discussion
Limited portions of the Reeder site have now been investigated. Though much remians to
be learned, archaeological excavation and survey work has confirmed that we are indeed
dealing with the structural features that were once part of John Reeder's eighteenth-
century foundry complex. The range of metallurgical finds and their distribution are
consistent with late eighteenth-century descriptions of the foundry as a site of manufacture
and repair of ferrous and non-ferrous items. Tentative identification of hearth and forge
areas inside the foundry building should be confirmed by further investigation of the
limited area open to excavation (see Fig. 5).
The ramp area of Feature 1 needs to be understood better in its relationship both to the
location of the fbundry forge and to the possible source of water power. According to the
original foundry plans put forward by John Reeder during his attempts to secure a Jamai-
can Assembly loan, the plant operations were intended to rely on a water-powered mill and
a series of support canals from the Morant River. The river appears much nearer to the
foundry buildings in the eighteenth-century sketch map, and this discrepancy may" reflect
the changing course of the river itself and/or the subsequent rechanneling of waterways
through the area of the site. The early sketch map indicates several separate buildings, but
only one set of foundations has thus far been identified. It is hoped that the complete
configuration or plan of the buildings will be established during subsequent excavation.
At this point, identified ceramic types confirm only that the excavation covers the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, dates that agree with the historical documen-
tation of the Reeder site. The ratio of'yabba' to other types of vessels compares favourably
with the suggestion that the foundry workers were predominantly of African origin.
According to archival sources, the industry employed as many as 276 'Negroes'. On the
basis of this documentation, the Africans and their descendants can be identified as slaves,
maroons, and free coloureds. Only occasionally were European craftsmen employed;
frequently their tenure was cut short by illness and death. 5 No comparable industrial
contexts are known in the entire Caribbean region.
Metal finds and various casting, forging and possibly smelting by-products, including a
variety of slags, have been identified. Clearly a range of metallurgical activities involving
both ferrous and non-ferrous metals existed at the site. The full extent and nature of
production at the foundry remains to be determined through analytical studies of the metal
remains already underway and further archaeological research.

Conclusion
Many more questions have been raised than answered by current research in the Atlantic
world; they are expected to direct attention to new field strategies. The unanticipated
importance of the stone and its relationship to the Reeder house and foundry remains to be
 African metallurgy in the Atlantic world 213

explored, as does the location of worker accommodations. The actual size and plan of the
factory are of particular interest in answering questions regarding the degree of continuity
between European (contemporary British industries at Ironbridge, for example) and Afri-
can (contemporary West Central African and maroon) industries.
Comparative research on British and African-derived technologies and contexts like the
Reeder foundry site will be essential for characterizing the tec!mological styles of African-
Caribbean metallurgists. Finally, greater areal coverage will be needed fully to comprehend
the nature and significance of the Reeder industry. Identifying the location of smelting sites
in the Bath region and residences at Morant Bay will be critical to the recovery of cultural
identity. As we begin to inventory and map the material traces of Atlantic technologies,
cultural and ideological aspects may be opened to comparative study. Until then, the early
industrial site of Reeder's Pen is a tantalizing Jamaican monument to the complexity of
African-European technology transfer during the Atlantic era.

Endnotes
1 Lindsay Rickettes, Ginger Ridge, personal communication, 17 August 1988.
2 Great Britain, Public Record Office, Treasury T.64 273; I am grateful to Dale Simon for
her assistance in retrieving these records.
3 Devon Record Office, Exeter, Great Britain. John Reeder Papers, J16.
4 Institute of Jamaica. Memorial of Stephen Fuller, Esq, Agent for Jamaica . . . 1789,
ms.1718.
5 Letter from Fuller to Lord Sydney, June 28, 1788, John Reeder Papers, J7, Devon
Record Office; Church of England Parish Records, St Thomas-in-the-East, Spanish
Town Archives, Jamaica.

Acknowledgements
Research was partially fhnded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humani-
ties, the Oregon Council for the Humanities, and a Faculty Development Grant from
Portland State University. My thanks to David Schoenbrun tbr editorial comments, to
Roderick Ebanks for his encouragement, to my research assistant Katherine Sadler, and to
Charlene Fair and Doreen Frankson, respectively, for clerical and logistical assistance. I
am particularly grateful to Dr Kofi Agorsah, who made equipment and facilities available
in Jamaica, and to his students who participated in the 1990 excavations at Reeder's Pen. I
can think of no more gracious or co-operative a colleague. This collaboration and the
current directions of my research pay homage to Merrick Posnansky to whom I owe an
enormous debt of gratitude.

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