ABSTRACT
Metallurgical fuels divided into long-flame fuels such as wood and bituminous coals, and shortflame fuels such as charcoal and coke. The ashes were ground up and made into balls, then sold in the country markets or sent to London for use in washing and scouring. Naturally the sapwood and young stems and branches contain more moisture than the older trunks, and leaves have a higher ash content. When the fibre content is low it can be increased and the heat content improved by using the dung as an adhesive to make cakes of chaff. The significant difference between peat-ash and charcoal-ash is the low alkali and high sulphur content of peat-ash. No doubt the small bones were saved for use as fuel while the larger bones might have been burnt for their ash. The mixture of clay daub with wood can produce a vitrified material that is sometimes difficult to distinguish from a metallurgical slag.
