Young Brunette Girl Posing On The Iron Bench

Iron working was introduced to Greece in the late 11th century BC. The spread of ironworking in Central and Western Europe is associated with Celtic expansion. According to Pliny the Elder, iron use was common in the Roman era. The annual iron output of the Roman Empire is estimated at 84,750 t, while the similarly populous Han China produced around 5,000 t.
During the Industrial Revolution in Britain, Henry Cort began refining iron from pig iron to wrought iron (or bar iron) using innovative production systems. In 1783 he patented the puddling process for refining iron ore. It was later improved by others including Joseph Hall.
• Cast iron
Cast iron was first produced in China about 550 BC, but was hardly in Europe until the medieval period. During the medieval period, means were found in Europe of producing wrought iron from cast iron (in this context known as pig iron) using finery forges. For all these processes, charcoal was required as fuel.