1raises the door in the
manner I have described, and with a long iron hook
inserted into the haft of the bar he draws it through the hole in the left wall
from the hole in the right wall; afterward he pushes it back and replaces it.
The master then takes out the exhausted liquation cakes nearest to him with
the iron hook; then he pulls out the cakes from the bricks. This hook is
two palms high, as many digits wide, and one thick; its iron handle is two
feet long, and the wooden handle eleven feet long. There is also a two
pronged rake with which the “dried” cakes are drawn over to the left side so
that they may be seized with tongs; the prongs of the rake are pointed,
and are two palms long, as many digits wide, and one digit thick; the iron
part of the handle is a foot long, the wooden part nine feet long. The
“dried” cakes, taken out of the hearth by the master and his assistants,
are seized with other tongs and thrown into the rectangular tank, which is
almost filled with water. These tongs are two feet and three palms long,
both the handles are round and more than a digit thick, and the ends are
bent for a palm and two digits; both the jaws are a digit and a half wide
in front and sharpened; at the back they are a digit thick, and then gradually
taper, and when closed, the interior is two palms and as many digits wide.
inserted into the haft of the bar he draws it through the hole in the left wall
from the hole in the right wall; afterward he pushes it back and replaces it.
The master then takes out the exhausted liquation cakes nearest to him with
the iron hook; then he pulls out the cakes from the bricks. This hook is
two palms high, as many digits wide, and one thick; its iron handle is two
feet long, and the wooden handle eleven feet long. There is also a two
pronged rake with which the “dried” cakes are drawn over to the left side so
that they may be seized with tongs; the prongs of the rake are pointed,
and are two palms long, as many digits wide, and one digit thick; the iron
part of the handle is a foot long, the wooden part nine feet long. The
“dried” cakes, taken out of the hearth by the master and his assistants,
are seized with other tongs and thrown into the rectangular tank, which is
almost filled with water. These tongs are two feet and three palms long,
both the handles are round and more than a digit thick, and the ends are
bent for a palm and two digits; both the jaws are a digit and a half wide
in front and sharpened; at the back they are a digit thick, and then gradually
taper, and when closed, the interior is two palms and as many digits wide.
The “dried” cakes which are dripping copper are not immediately
dipped
into the tank, because, if so, they burst in fragments and give out a sound
like thunder. The cakes are afterward taken out of the tank with the
tongs, and laid upon the two transverse planks on which the workmen stand;
the sooner they are taken out the easier it is to chip off the copper that
has become ash-coloured. Finally, the master, with a spade, raises up the
bricks a little from the hearth, while they are still warm. The blade of the
spade is a palm and two digits long, the lower edge is sharp, and is a palm
and a digit wide, the upper end a palm wide; its handle is round, the iron
part being two feet long, and the wooden part seven and a half feet long.
into the tank, because, if so, they burst in fragments and give out a sound
like thunder. The cakes are afterward taken out of the tank with the
tongs, and laid upon the two transverse planks on which the workmen stand;
the sooner they are taken out the easier it is to chip off the copper that
has become ash-coloured. Finally, the master, with a spade, raises up the
bricks a little from the hearth, while they are still warm. The blade of the
spade is a palm and two digits long, the lower edge is sharp, and is a palm
and a digit wide, the upper end a palm wide; its handle is round, the iron
part being two feet long, and the wooden part seven and a half feet long.
On the fourth day the master draws out the liquation thorns which
have settled in the passages; they are much richer in silver than those
that are made when the silver-lead is liquated from copper in the liquation
furnace. The “dried” cakes drip but little copper, but nearly all their
remaining silver-lead and the thorns consist of it, for, indeed, in one
centumpondium of “dried” copper there should remain only half an uncía
of silver, and there sometimes remain only three drachmae.22 Some smelters
chip off the metal adhering to the bricks with a hammer, in order that it
may be melted again; others, however, crush the bricks under the stamps
and wash them, and the copper and lead thus collected is melted again. The
master, when he has taken these things away and put them in their places,
has finished his day's work.
have settled in the passages; they are much richer in silver than those
that are made when the silver-lead is liquated from copper in the liquation
furnace. The “dried” cakes drip but little copper, but nearly all their
remaining silver-lead and the thorns consist of it, for, indeed, in one
centumpondium of “dried” copper there should remain only half an uncía
of silver, and there sometimes remain only three drachmae.22 Some smelters
chip off the metal adhering to the bricks with a hammer, in order that it
may be melted again; others, however, crush the bricks under the stamps
and wash them, and the copper and lead thus collected is melted again. The
master, when he has taken these things away and put them in their places,
has finished his day's work.
The assistants take the “dried” cakes out of the tank on the
next day, place them on an oak block, and first pound them with rounded
hammers in order that the ash-coloured copper may fall away from them,
next day, place them on an oak block, and first pound them with rounded
hammers in order that the ash-coloured copper may fall away from them,
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