Researchers from the Polish Academy of Sciences have identified more than 630,000 ancient charcoal kilns in Poland, which form the basis on which technology grew, driving everything from toolmaking to early urban centres.
The large-scale production of charcoal enabled communities to reach the high temperatures needed for intricate metallurgical operations, leading to economic growth and societal changes in the pre-industrial period.
To produce charcoal, you had to carefully stack wood, cover it to restrict oxygen, and let it burn for 10 to 20 days. Each session used 200 to 250 cubic meters of wood and impacted large tracts of forest.
Prof. Słowiński of the Polish Academy of Sciences noted that charcoal production is linked to intensive logging, but, because deforestation did not fully take hold, the activity became obscured over time by natural regrowth.
The effort to manage resources in harmony with the needs of forest ecology and sustainability is also subtle, as regrowth will become new fuel sources for people to come.
The staggering number of kilns found emphasises both the intensity and the longevity of charcoal production, which must have stretched for centuries and moulded the landscape as we see it to this day.
LiDAR technology had a unique role in mapping these kilns, sensing their sunken circular shapes in forests. This remote sensing method enabled researchers to identify and list kiln sites, even in dense or remote woodlands, thereby shifting the framework for the study of historical land use.
Secondly, place names from before the 17th century also demonstrate the extent of historical charcoal burning, which may have lingered in local toponyms as evidence of the cultural memory of this industry.
Archival documents and maps, supplemented with modern technology, have put the pieces together to provide an integrated view of how charcoal production affected Poland’s physical and cultural landscape.
This vast wealth of information will soon be made available to the public via an open-access database to encourage future research and conservation activities.
Image Credit : Tomasz Ryger
Sources : PAP
