Zprávy památkové péče 2017, 77(5):572-580

Charcoal piles - small monuments to burning charcoal in our forests. Three examples from Central Bohemia

Václav Matoušek¹, Roman Brejcha²

¹ Fakulta humanitních studií UK v Praze

² Archeologický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i.

The subject of the article are charcoal areas, relics of wood burning in historical charcoal piles (Fig. 2). These small technological monuments are most often preserved in places where they originated and served their purpose - i.e. in forests. In the past, charcoal was used for a variety of purposes. Most often, it was mentioned as an ideal fuel for metallurgical processes, since during heat treatment only minimal undesirable admixtures are passed from the fuel to the metal ore or metal. Charcoal was also used in the production of gunpowder, in food production, in healing processes, and as a tool for artists ("charcoal drawing").
The history of the origin and development of charcoal burning undoubtedly began deep in prehistory. The oldest archaeological documents of carbonization in coal pits come from the earlier Iron Age, from Waschenberg in Austria. In the 1540 work De la Pirotechnia: Libri X, the Italian Vannocius Biringucius distinguishes older carbonization in pits from younger technology in above-ground piles. The largest number of written sources about the history of coalmaking, however, came from the 18th and 19th centuries, when the largest amount of charcoal was consumed by large-scale production and the processing of iron. The decline and disappearance of traditional charcoal burning brought about applications and more efficient coke burning technologies in iron furnaces.
From 2012 to 2015, the systematic documentation of historical coal-fired piles was carried out in the vicinity of historical metallurgical centers in forest areas in the Křivoklátsko, Brdy, and Rakovník areas (Fig. 5). A total of 227 carbon pile remnants, or platforms, were found and documented. The high density of platforms in selected forest areas indicates that charcoal workers did not respect forest management requirements to return to the same sites as often as possible and not destroy the forest by setting up new workplaces. The size of the platforms ranged from 7-11 × 6-9 m. This means that the platforms most often held piles with a diameter of approximately 4 m and a height of 2-2.5 m. All platforms were found on flat terrain and recessed into a slope (Fig. 4). In terrain, however, the more pronounced platforms were embedded in a slope. The most common type is a platform with a circular ground plan (Fig. 7a). In all locations, the carbon platforms were tightly connected to the forest roads.

Keywords: charcoal pile, pre-industrial landscapes, Brdy

Published: December 1, 2017  Show citation