ABSTRACT
The material from Dainton shows the use of some fabrics for the inner part of the mould. As casting technique developed from the open to the closed mould, it would not be long before the idea of the core presented itself as a method of making a hollow component and so saving metal. Clay moulds were almost certainly being made by the Middle Bronze Age but none has survived. The technique used for the design and placing of the chaplets has been carefully studied by Holmes and shows a very high level of foundry technology. The face of the top die has a hardness of 150 HV which is not sufficient to coin metals harder than gold or pure silver in the cold state. Modern crucible slags are not very different, although they may often contain elements introduced from cover fluxes and other compounds added to protect the melt during melting down.
