Abstract
Archaeological excavations at the Kubadabad Palace on the shores of the Beyşehir Lake yielded numerous finds that provide important data on medieval ironworking in Anatolia. These include unprocessed or semi-processed smelting products, blacksmith slags, and pottery sherds and raw materials related to crucible steel production.
Archaeometric studies of the finds indicate that Kubadabad was a small-scale production center for quality steel, both during the Anatolian Seljuk period and after the loss of its palatial status, under the control of the Beyliks and Ilkhanids. Since the first traces of crucible steel production in Anatolia were found here, various studies are planned to reveal the production flow.
Among these studies were surveys conducted around the excavation site to answer the question of where and how the raw materials to support production at Kubadabad were obtained. An important finding of the field trips was evidence of iron smelting on the slopes of Küre Yayladağı, 15 km northwest of Kubadabad, in the form of slag heaps and iron-rich ore fragments.
This study aims to present the investigations at this smelter site and the results of archaeometric studies on the samples taken from the site. It will also compare the evidence of steel production processes at Kubadabad with the data from Küre Yayladağı and discuss the relationship between the iron smelting activities at this site and the Kubadabad crucible steel production center.