Here is a recent article from a swedish newspapper.
Makes you wonder how old the Nordic military industrial complex is.
"Steel was made in the north at the same time as in the Roman Empire - now history is expected to be rewritten
UPDATED 20 NOVEMBER 2023PUBLISHED 13 NOVEMBER 2023
Advanced iron and steel manufacturing was taking place in many places in northern Sweden at the same time as in the Roman Empire. New unique ancient finds can now change the writing of history.
- I can’t think of anything else, says archaeologist and doctor Carina Bennerhag about the sensational finds.
The research has been carried out at Luleå University of Technology (LTU) since 2016. It shows that advanced iron and steel objects were manufactured at 40 sites in northern Sweden, Finland and Norway – more than 2,000 years ago.
In the past, it was believed that it was an agricultural population that had the motivation and ability to cope. But here it is hunting and trapping groups that obviously had a large area of use for iron and steel, says Kristina Söderholm, professor of technology history at LTU.
No small-scale business
Among other things, the researchers have found two old iron-making furnaces in Norrbotten with more than 2,000 years behind them.
At the furnaces, several finds have been made of axes and knives made of steel and with several layers of iron of different qualities. It is therefore not a small-scale and impulsive business.
- You had to engage in extensive firewood management to survive in the arctic climate. The knives were used to hunt small game and prepare furs, there was a great need for sharp edges.
Contemporary with the Roman Empire
That advanced iron and steelmaking occurred so early and so far away from the Roman Empire, the presumed center of iron and steelmaking in ancient Europe, has previously been unknown.
In addition, it is likely that hunting and trapping groups in northern Europe were more stationary in the area than historians and archaeologists previously thought.
In the clip, you will hear more about the findings - and why project manager Kristina Söderholm feels great sadness despite the result."