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Charlie Hatchett wrote:Gotcha. It's pretty fragile stuff (think glass), so it may have been banged around before being deposited. But certainly someone could have been screwing around with it after it cooled down...a kid, maybe?

I been looking at this and maybe should have started reading from the beginning. I am not a metallurgist but have some experience around slags since I spent a number of years in the steel mill business. Most slags will be metal oxides but in my experience they are not particularly brittle or fragile. However the molds can be after they are used. Are you finding perhaps broken molds?

Charlie Hatchett · Post by **Charlie Hatchett** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 5:57 pm

I been looking at this and maybe should have started reading from the beginning. I am not a metallurgist but have some experience around slags since I spent a number of years in the steel mill business. Most slags will be metal oxides but in my experience they are not particularly brittle or fragile. However the molds can be after they are used. Are you finding perhaps broken molds?

Hey, Monk.

Thanks for the input.

Funny you should bring up the mold bit. Some of the bigger pieces appear to have chert and limestone nodules in the middle of what I think is slag. Perhaps they were molds, over which the metal was poured. The limestone might even act as a flux. Not sure about chert.

Here's a couple of photos of grey slag, from the net:

Here's a couple of hypothesized molds:

Chert nodule

http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.co ... t%2010.jpg

Another chert nodule

Charlie Hatchett · Post by **Charlie Hatchett** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:23 pm

Here's a nodule of chert that appears to be covered with slag:

http://cayman.globat.com/~bandstexas.co ... %20135.jpg

From what I've been able to figure, so far, limestone would act as a flux (coke), but I'm not sure about chert.

Post by **Minimalist** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:25 pm

It sure as hell does not look like your hand axes.

Charlie Hatchett · Post by **Charlie Hatchett** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:26 pm

It sure as hell does not look like your hand axes.

No doubt.

stan · Post by **stan** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:05 pm

Interesting, Charlie.

THis is where you need a geologist.
Where is Paul H?

Forum Monk · Post by **Forum Monk** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:18 pm

Perhaps a metallurgist. Tomorrow I'll show the pictures to a good one. Don't know what he can tell by looking (without chem anaylsis and all) but you never know.