he tale of Damascus steel is ‘one of war, trade, innovation, and centuries of research filed with myths and fallac: Jes. Damascus steel was the material used to produce the famous Damascus sword blades renowned for remaining extremely hard and sharp, yet able £0 be bent to a 90 degree angle (Fig 1) and spring back to Its former shape without any detrimental affect to the blade’s performance. Such a quality isa highly ‘esirable feature for Both ancient and modern blades. Asan added bonus, the blades also exhibited a decorative sur face patter, which apparently acted as the Blades’ “radematk’ of quality. Com mon legend states that European Crt sadets fst encountered Damascus sce! in the Middle East, where Islamic sol ders were wielding fantastic Damascus Steel sabres. The Crusaders then brought tales oF these impressive blades buck with them to Europe. Those who believe in the Crusaders’ story also often believe that swords made of Damascus steel were produced in Dam ascus, Syria, and that the technique was lost and needed to be ‘rediscovered’ While it is conceivable that the Cru saders fist became aware of Damascus steel during thelr wars In the Middle Ens, interest in is composition began centuries before the First Crusade (1095) and the technique to produce it was never ‘lost as such The fabrication of Damascus stel is not just an interesting historical and archaeological problem; research into this material Has greatly influenced many areas of modem science. tis @ material whose progeny has, unbe- knownst to many, touched everyone born within the last century and will continue to play a major role in the foreseeable future. Without eazlier research Into Damascus steel there would be no automobiles, trains, planes, or skyscrapers. Moze recently {he combined information from seem- ‘ingly uncelated sousces has directly lea toa clarification of the production of Damascus sted in antiquity and a sepa ration of fact from fiction. From Ancient accounts of high-quality stee, through to the archacological excava: tion of production sites in remote loca tions in Central Asia, and the use of {The Minerva Awards Winner i THE GLITTER OF THE SWORD: THE FABRICATION OF THE LEGENDARY DAMASCUS STEEL BLADES Ann Feuerbach ‘modern analytical laboratories to study ancient and historical blades in Europe land America, the story of Damascus steel spans a millennism and crossed the world. After centuries of myth and fallacies, the time has come to set the record straight. There are four varieties of swords or steel that use the adjective Damask, Damascene, or Damascus: pattern welded, inlayed, preferentially etched and cnucible. This variety of names has Caused much confusion in the litera ture, The pattern-welded variety is often called mechanical Damascus because It Is made by forge-welding, several pieces of iron of steel together to form a decorative and functional pattern. This method as commonly Used throughout Europe for centuries. The inlay and etching methods are often called artificial Damascus. Fat- temns and decorations made by inlaying lfferent types of metals or jewels onto the blade’ surface are found on swords from Russa and other places. Preferen- tially etching patteens on blades W used in 19th-century India, pethaps to Imitate the crucible Damascus steel pat tem. The fourth variety is made ftom czucible steel, sometimes called oriental Damascus, true oF crystalline Damas fais, Ibis this form of Damascus steel that has caused so much interest and controversy over the centuries. The ofigin of the name Damascus steel Is frequently altributed to medieval Crusades. Although this assertion is often stated as the origin of the name, no references to Crusaders having used the term has ever been reported in any ofthe Iteature. Nor is there physical evidence that these blades were ever produced in Damas caus, There ate more credible roots for the origin of the phrase Damascus swords. Islamic writers named swords ‘based on their surface appearance, the location of the workshop, or the name ff the sword-smith, Alternative reasons for the names of certain swords suggest that even during the arly Islamic period the origin of swore names was There are three likely sources forthe phrase Damascus swords. The word for Water in Arabic is damas and Damascus blades are often descrbed as exhibiting MINERVA 45 Fig I-A slatue in Zlataoust, Western Siberia, of the ushian sclentist PP. Anosoy bending a Damatcus steel sword: Erected honor of hi cess the ist persons to succesfully replicate Damascus ste Fig 2 (above) Late Tith-contry AD Sabre fom the Kistovosk Basin, usa Norther (Caucasus housed Inthe Kistovodsk oeal History Minerva congratulates ‘Ann Feuerbach as winner of the Minerva ‘Awards 2001 For details about this year's Fig 3. Gta aac from the late Ttheeentury ‘AD crucibte see! sabre from the Aistovoast Basin, Cauca.ll a | The Art of Damascus Steel Fig (below). View ofthe paved courtyard in the domestic area foreground) an par of the workshop (background) at Mery ig 6 (below). Two ofthe furnaces used to make crucible stel at Mery, composed of mu brick and reeycled crue fragments To make the furnace walls more et reset, the interior side ofthe walls were Fined with a mitre of clay and “cucile grog, Similar compasition asthe crucible pads, MINERVA 46 ‘rat pipe sealing under ‘he furnaces, rest Mere Fig 4. Aerial view ofthe enclosed anclemt ct of Mery. The tel workshop Socated inthe lower right area of the upper left quadrant a waterpattern on thelr surface. Ater- natively, Islamic authors state that some swords called Damascene were produced! and forged in Damascus. Yet thers mention a sword-smith called Darsasqut who made swords of crucible steel, Any or all of these may have inspised the phrase Damascus steel swords, but 1 certainly was not the Crusaders who coined the term. The adjective damas is perhaps the most likey source, for It describes the spe cifie appearance of the blade. It may have been the Europeans, unfamiliar with Arabie language, who assumed thas damas refered to the Syrian city rather than the blades’ water-lke sur face pattern Damascus steel is made of crucible sted that has been forged in a specific ‘way which leads to the production of = pattern, Crucible steel, as the name implies, is stel that was produced in a ‘cusble (a ceramle vessel). Stel is iron ‘with around 0.8% eazbon content. In antiquity stel was made by a vaiety of methods, but crucible steel had the berefit that it was liquid during its pro- action, which resulted in a homoge nous steel lade that was fre from slag, two features which other steels lacked bout which helped make crucible steet blades robust. For at least the last 200 years it has often been claimed that Damascus sce ‘was primarlly made from crucible steetPl 8, Sarmatin grave ofthe 2nd 4th centuries AD (no. 365) from Klin Var I, Kstvodsh, » produced in India, commonly called ¢ | woot, British merchants and officers, 2 | witnessed the production and use of e | these quality blades in India. This | prompted the British to import samples n of this steel to Investigate why It was, A apparently so good. This eventually led of to the presumption that crucible steel "¢ and Damascus steel were primarily o- made in India and Se Lanka by the so: called wootz process. This involves mix. Ing iron and plant material, such as leaves, in a crucible and heating it. The leaves burn, producing a carbon-tich atmosphere which earburises the iron to produce steel. The crucibles typically have a cone-shaped body and are made ‘of ordinary lay temper with rce husks. No ethnographic reports from south Ila or Sit Lanka state that the wootz steel produced blades with a Damascus pattern, It seems that woot became associated with the Damascus pattern before the 1820s and has remalned so ever since. The association, however, was not based on ethnographic obser: vations but on Exropean replication experiments, and this assumption has Jed to many misconceptions in the lit erature, most significantly that woot steel from india was the primary exporter of Damascus ste Recent archaeological excavations Jn Central Asia have opened a new chapter on the production and use of crucible steel in antiquity. Workshops specialising in crucible stel production in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have Tevealed that India and Sri Lanka were not the only places producing crucible steel. In fact, crucible steel was belng produced in Central Asia on an indis tual scale centurles before the Brlish witnessed its production in India, Tm the oasis city of Merv in Tutke Imenistan (Fig 4), the International Merv Project has excavated a workshop specialising in the production of ert Ible steel in the Early Islamic period late 9th to early 10th centuries AD). el ce The Russlan Norther Caucasss, containing the skeleton ofa man wd his sword. ‘The discovery of these remains was a surprise because no izon ores or high: quality clay required for the process are {ound near Merv, However, Merv was a major elt at the crossroads on the Sk Road, a series of trade routes running fast-ivest from China to the Mediter- ranean Sea and south-north from India to the Ural Mountains of Russia, Undoubtedly the necessary raw mater: als were traded into the settlement from somewhere beyond the city limit Excavations have revealed thrce fr aces for producing crucible stel (Figs 6, 7)and one smithing heaeth, ia ada tion to a pit full of broken crucibles, Adjacent to the workshop domestic rooms were found (Fig), and this is presumably where the craftsmen and the family lived. Laboratory analysis of the remains determined that around 2000 crucibles of the same type were used at the site An total, Bach crucible produced an ingot of steel weighing around 2kg. Thus around 4000kg of steel in total were produced at Merv Impressive fora city that had to import the requisite aw materials. During this petlod Merv was a frontier town and had a military garrison stationed within, protecting the Islamic Empire from invaders while itself invading neighbouring lands. At least some of the crucible steel must surely have been destined to be made into swords since the weight of a typical Central Asian sword is around 2k, the very weight of Fig 9 sword with golden handle and Scubinard alleged fom fan. Late to 7thcentury. 1-106 cm. "The Bets Museu. I, WAA 185796 single ingot Remains from Uzbekistan tell a slightly different story. The remains of crucible steel production dating to around the same time a8 the workshop at Merv, but continuing for centuries longer, have been discovered at Ter ‘mez, Pap, Kuva, but most notably at Aknstket in the Fergana valley. The ‘materials and process used here are related to those used at Merv, particu Jariy high-quality lay crucibles, which have a cylindsical body, a flat-bottom, and a lid. According to Dr Olga Papakhristu and Professor Thilo Rehren, at Akbsiket not one workshop was found but an entire industil com plex with tens of thousands of cru ‘bles, each apparently used for crucible steel production. At least some of the steel must have been destined for export because the vast amount pro: duced would have outweighed the ‘community's nee. Until recently, the discovery of @ fragment of a ist century AD crucible steel sword from Taxila, Afghanistan, supported the beef that India was the primary producer of crucible steel, Dut- Ing the 3rd century AD, the Alexan- drian scientist Zosimos discussed the production of crucible steel in Persia and India, However, no archaeological objects of crucible Stee] were known west of Talla until later times. Well= lg 10. Photomicrograph of the metallographic structure of the Srd-tth century AD sword from Kstovodok Basin (Fg 11), after ching in Mita. The steel exhbls a mottled macrostructure and Tus microstructures composed of globular cementite na frie matri. The cementite has begin to all, the cause of the Damascus pattom, amd the alignment Is bist observed fn the corrosion because the erte has preferential corded, leaving the cementite uncortoded in & corroded ferite mati Fig 11. A 3ra-doh contury AD doubleadged sword from Klln Yar, Kislovodsk Basin, The blade i composed of cb sel and maybe the earliest know example of blade exhibiting a Damascus pattern Tt notable {hat the handle was attached with a rivet (top), rather than beng frgesmlded. It was probably attache this ‘way because the hightemperature needed to forge eld would have destroyed any Dammaschs patter, MINERVA 47_ _______| The Art of Damascus Steel |—__-—— dated and preserved blades from Cen- 10 ships. Ye, how to reprstce the pat- ated and Pierre because the religious tern at will remained a mystery Pati of zoroastrianism, and later Although attempts to replicate the Tinea. gid riot permit goods to be pattern were not wholly successful in placed in butals (but see Ff 13 for an Europe during the 19¢h century, the ‘Example depicted in a Satanian rock Ruslan scientist P-P. Anosov success relic). fully performed it in Western Siberla The pagans in the northern regions (Fig 1). Although the details of his fof Central Asia did, however, bury the research remained virtually unknown ead arith grave goods, sometimes outside Russia, Anosov was aware of including swords and sabres. Excava-Faraday's esearch and sent him a blade tions neat the ity of Kislorodsk in the made out of his replicated material Russian Northern Caucasus have dis- This blade is now in the Faraday covered four blades made of crucible Museum in London. The pattern on. steel in Sazmatian/Alani burials (Figs 8, the blade is no longer clear due to age 11); two swords from the Sed-lth cen: and cleaning, yet a faint pattem can be turies AD, one from a 7th-century observed proving that Anosow did pro- hhorse burial, and one sabre from the duce Damascus steel blades. Although later 11th century (Figs 2.3). One of he could produce the pattern at will the 3rd-th century sword: s the earl- the scientific explanation for the cause est known example of a sword that of the pattern was still a mystery Seems to have had a Damascus pattern Tt as not until the cusp of the 2tst {fig 10). The Sarmatians and Alani were century that the scientific explanation Semi-nomadic people who settled in of the most famous Damascus pattern the Caucasus. Over the centuries the became known. There are two broad Alani traded with - of fought with or groups of Damascus stel patterns and ‘against - the Roman/yzantine and/or each of these have many variations, Stsanians and later Islamis merchants one with Iess than 0.8% carbon and nd soldiers. Most likely they acquired the other with more than 0.8% carbon. the crucible steel blades through trade The different amounts of carbon will ‘or booty. After the finds from Tail, produce different microstructures when Fig 12, A ute steel sword and silver Sabbard Sasanian, 7h century AD. Said to coe from Dailama, nordewest ‘an. E192 cm. The irish Museu Tin, WAN 1357397135747. the dark bands and Khurasan Is a region of Central Asia ang, moreover, is where Mev is located. The laboratory analysis of an ingot from Mery Indi- cated that it had all the necessary Inherent factors to produce a Damascus patter, if forged and etched comrecty, thus stiggesting that objects made at Merv a thoxsand years ago may indeed hhave exhilited the pattern in question, Although many questions still remain, ater (vo millennia of interest, mult disciplinary research is finally replacing the myths behind Damascus steel with facts, testying that the truth behind Damascus stel’s mystique is more fas. cinating than any ofthe fallacies. yg Ilystrations - Fig 1: Ann Feuerbach; Figs 2-3, 11: courtesy of Dr Serge} Savenko; Fig 4: courtesy Dr Georgina Herrman; Figs 5-7: courtesy of the International Mery Project Fig 8: ‘courtesy of Dr Heinrich Harke; Figs 9, 12: The British Museurn. these are some of the earliest ceucible the stel is forged and etched with ack The above research was facilitated by steel blades known, The significance of Recent research discovered thatthe for: ‘generous grants provided by The Kress these finds indicates the we of crucible mation of the pattern in steel with Foundation, ran Heritage Fund, British steel over a wide are, and pethaps the more than. 0.8% carbon Is due to the Insituteof Persian Studies, aid the appearance of blades with a Damascus presence of certain trace elements Dur “American Society of Arms Collectors. pattern centuries earlier than previ- ing a long process of low temperature ‘Samples were kindly provided by Dr ‘ously believed forging, phases in the microstructure Serge) Savenko (Director of the Until the lst few years many schol- align in the steel. After etching, these Kislovodss Local History Museum), De | trina Arzhantseva (the Jewish Univer | sity in Moscow), Dr Olga Papakiristu (Whe Usbek Academy of Science), and ‘The Intemational Merv Project ars have seported that the knowledge phases appear as dark lines or threads ised fo make Damascus steel had been to the naked eye, thus producing the “ost. Indeed, what caused the biades to Damascus pattern. Until modern ana- behave in such » unique way was not lytical equipment could detect trace l tunderstood until the turn of this mil- clement, these were not known to be a Jennium, Not all crucible steel can pro- vital part in the production of the duce a Damascus pattern. This is what Damascus pattern. has perplexed so many blacksmiths By applying @ multi-diseiplinary and scholars for so long, For centuries approach to the question of Damascus it was believed that the biedes' strength steel in antiquity, aspects of the process ‘was somehow related to the pattern. which otherwise would have rernained Great scientists such as Faraday and the unknown can now be inferred. Particu Sword manufacture Wilkinson investi- larly where, when, how, and by whom gated Damascus steel in order to find Damascus steel blades were made, The Sut what made the steel apparently Alani sword of the 3rd-ath centuries Sharper and tougher than its ordinary indicates that the forging process nec Bucopean countecpart. Research into essary to produce the Damascus pattern Damascus steel led fo experiments was, at least occasionally, used at this being conducted where different metals early date, in addition to providing {alloying) were mixed vith iron and physical evidence supporting Zosimo: Mel in the hope of reproducing the description of crucible steel in Persla pattern, Many of these experiments did and India, Furthermore, one of the hot produce the Damascus pattern. most characteristic Damascus steel pat However, the researches noted the tems on historical blades is called Kara effects of different elements on the Khurasan. These blades are the most steel, such as increased hardening or renowned because oftheir clear pattern corrosion resistance. Eventually of light and dark bandls and are said to research concentrated on alloy steels be of the highest quality. The name rather than producing the Damascus means Black Khurasan; black refess to pattern, Thus, Damascus steel research iret Jed to research into alloy steels, Fig 13. A domed Savana vault at Tag Busta, Kurdistan, depicting the fatal that ese to poe thou doy Cmte AD S01 2 nds of modem objects trom sccws "wha senda coe. MINERVA 48