A series of ancient writings have been instrumental in demonstrating how developed iron working was amongst the Biturige Cubi.

Iron objects such as tools and weapons were manufactured in workshops in the towns, some early examples of which have been unearthed by the excavations at Argentomagus. But it was outside the towns, in the surrounding countryside, where the extraction and transformation of mineral to metal took place. These workshops were situated next to the mines but also, essentially, near forested areas which could easily supply the charcoal necessary for the smelting.

Intense activity around Argentomagus

Research dating back a dozen years or so, and utilising a variety of resources, has brought to light 242 such workshops within a radius of 20 kms of the ancient town. The Chasseneuil plateau was the most prolific region; here, within an area of 100 km², 108 workshops have been located.

Locating extraction sites is a much more difficult quest, however, because modern workings have virtually wiped out any trace of ancient mining.

Oulches, a workshop from later antiquity

Situated about 20 kms from Argentomagus and dating from around the 4th century, this workshop, excavated in 1991 and 1993, contained all the different installations necessary for the production of metal. A first area, to the south, was assigned to the preparation of the iron ore which was broken up by fire and then crushed.

Part of the mineral ore was probably extracted very close to the workshop but chemical analysis has shown that a not insignificant proportion came from a deposit at Chaillac more than 20 kms away. This mineral "imported" to the Oulches workshops may well have possessed particular properties and experts are currently working to discover what these may have been.

The excavation of the workshop demonstrates that these craftsmen didn't limit themselves to the production of metal. In addition to two smelting furnaces, the workshop also contained a forge where metal was reheated before being beaten on an anvil, which has not been found. This allowed the raw metal to be compacted and transformed into commercially useful ingots. It would seem that at Oulches, taking into acount the amount of residues from the forge, work went further, perhaps even producing semi-finished objects.