Early Middle Ages, 500-1000 AD The social, political, economic stagnation and decline that followed the Roman World affected Europe throughout the early medieval period, and had critical impact upon technological progress, trade and social organization. Technological developments that affected the course of metal production were only feasible within a stable political environment, and this was not the case until the 9th century (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, a). During the first medieval centuries, the output of metal was in a steady decline and constraint in small scale activities. Miners adopted methods much less efficient than those of the Roman times. Ores were extracted only from shallow depths or from remnants of former abandoned mines. The vicinity of the mine to villages or towns was also a determinant factor when deciding about working on site , because of the high cost of material transportation (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, b). Apparently only the output of iron diminished less in relation to the other base and precious metals until the 8th century. This fact, correlated with the dramatic decrease in copper production, may indicate a possible displacement of copper and bronze artifacts by iron ones (Forbes 1957, 64; Bayley et al. 2008, 50). By the end of the 9th century, economic  and social conditions , that dictated the increased need of metal for agriculture, arms, stirrups and decoration, started to favor metallurgy and a slow but steady general progress was noted . Starting from the reign of the emperor Otto I in the 960s, smelting sites were multiplied. New mines were discovered and exploited, like the well-known Mines of Rammelsberg, close to the town of Goslar in the Harz Mountains. Open-cast mining and metallurgical activities were mostly concentrated in the Eastern Alps, Saxony, Bohemia, Tuscany, the Rhineland, Gaul  and Spain (Nef 1987). French, Flemish, but mainly German miners and metallurgists were the generators of metal production  .
Early Middle Ages, 500-1000 AD The social, political, economic stagnation and decline that followed the Roman World affected Europe throughout the early medieval period, leaving a critical impact upon technological progress, trade and social organization. Technological developments that affected the course of metal production were only feasible within a stable political environment, and this was not the case until the 9th century (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, a). During the first medieval centuries, the output of metal was in a steady decline and constraint in small scale activities. Miners adopted methods much less efficient than those of the Roman times. Ores were extracted only from shallow depths or from remnants of former abandoned mines. The vicinity of the mine to villages or towns was also a determinant factor when deciding about working on site due to the high cost of material transportation (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, b). Only the output of iron diminished less in relation to the other base and precious metals until the 8th century. This fact, correlated with the dramatic decrease in copper production, may indicate a possible displacement of copper and bronze artifacts by iron ones (Forbes 1957, 64; Bayley et al. 2008, 50). By the end of the 9th century, economic , and social conditions dictated a greater need of metal for agriculture, arms, stirrups , and decoration. Consequently, conditions began to favor metallurgy and a slow but steady general progress developed . Starting from the reign of the emperor Otto I in the 960s, smelting sites were multiplied. New mines were discovered and exploited, like the well-known Mines of Rammelsberg, close to the town of Goslar in the Harz Mountains. Open-cast mining and metallurgical activities were mostly concentrated in the Eastern Alps, Saxony, Bohemia, Tuscany, the Rhineland, Gaul , and Spain (Nef 1987). It was mostly mainly German miners and metallurgists were the generators of metal production , but the French and Flemish made contributions to the developments .
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