Archive image from page 616 of De re metallica (1950). De re metallica deremetallica50agri Year: 1950 ROOK XII. 57Q A—Pots having spouts. B—Pots without spouts. C—Lids. which hold two of these pots, are divided into three parts ; the lowest part is a foot high, and has an opening at the front for the draught; the top of this is covered with iron plates, which are perforated near the edges, and these support iron rods, upon which the firewood is placed. The middle part of the furnace is one and a half feet high, and has a mouth in front, so that the wood may be inserted ; the top of this ha
Archive image from page 616 of De re metallica (1950). De re metallica deremetallica50agri Year: 1950 ROOK XII. 57Q A—Pots having spouts. B—Pots without spouts. C—Lids. which hold two of these pots, are divided into three parts ; the lowest part is a foot high, and has an opening at the front for the draught; the top of this is covered with iron plates, which are perforated near the edges, and these support iron rods, upon which the firewood is placed. The middle part of the furnace is one and a half feet high, and has a mouth in front, so that the wood may be inserted ; the top of this has rods, upon which the bottom of the pots stand. The upper part is about two feet high, and the pots are also two feet high and one digit thick ; these have below their mouths a long, slender spout. In order that the mouth of the pot may be covered, an earthenware lid is made which fits into it. For every two of these pots there must be one pot like product. The equipment described for pyrites in the paragraph would be obviously useful only for coarse material. But little can be said on the history of sulphur ; it is mentioned often enough in the Bible and also by Homer (Od. xxii., 481). The Greeks apparently knew how to refine it, although neither Dioscorides nor Pliny specifically describes such an operation. Agricola says (De Nat. Fos., 220) : ' Sulphur is of two kinds ; the mineral, which the Latins call vivum, and the Greeks apyron, which means ' not exposed to the fire' (ignem non expertum) as rightly interpreted by Celsius ; and the artificial, called by the Greeks pepyromenoii, that is, ' exposed to the fire.' ' In Book X., the expression sulfur ignem non expertum frequently appears, no doubt in Agricola's mind for native sulphur, although it is quite possible that the Greek distinction was between ' flowers ' of sulphur and the ' wax-like ' variety.
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