| The first sign of iron use come from the ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egyptians used wrought iron for hardware. The structural use of wrought iron dates from the middle ages, when bars of wrought iron would be used to tie masonry arches and domes and as structural building material for construction. Egypt switched using bronze to iron during the iron age. The iron age was underway by 1000 BC. Iron is a metal extracted from iron ore. The most common ore is iron oxide. Iron is found in iron oxides. Egyptians mixed iron with carbon to form wrought iron. Wrought iron is pure iron having a small carbon content. Wrought iron has been used for thousands of years. Ornamental ironwork is always referred to as wrought iron. Wrought iron means worked iron. Ancient Egyptians found that much harder iron can be created by long heating the wrought iron in a bed of charcoal. Ancient Egyptians separate iron from iron ore in furnace. Iron is the most used of all the metals due to low cost and high strength over all other metals. Iron is not found as a free metal in nature. Iron is one of the most common elements on Earth. Ancient Egyptians were the first builders in history. Egyptologists and historians consider ancient Egyptians high in architectural design and construction engineering using raw materials and simple tools. Nile valley is home of the pyramids and sphinx which are among the famous architectural buildings in the world. The architectural elements used by the ancient Egyptian builders were mainly stones without mortar. The main area of cultural expression in ancient Egypt was architecture. Wrought iron has been used in buildings from the earliest days of civilization. The use of wrought iron in tension guaranteed its wide use over cast iron as cast iron is strong only in compression. Wrought iron is unlike cast, in that it is not brittle, and seldom breaks. For this reason, wrought iron work is frequently delicate. Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France in 1804. He considered himself the greatest world ruler since Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Napoleon conquered Italy and Egypt. Napoleon’s fascination with his conquest of Egypt and Italy created so much interest in everything related to both Mediterranean countries. This is how the European iron work has roots in Egypt. Furniture in the European style contains unique architectural elements in the design can also be very ornamental and have geometric elements as well. European wrought iron work can be very beautiful with iron leafs, rosettes and vines.The wrought iron European furniture usually has polished marble tops. Wrought iron furniture is a must for classic old world European style look. The demand for higher dynamic loads in bridges and warehouse buildings, and the ever greater spans of train sheds towards the end of the nineteenth century, led the designers of buildings to acquire the technology developed to build ships of iron, and create beams of riveted wrought iron rolled sections. By the turn of the century this had led to buildings completely framed in wrought iron, and later steel and girder sections. wrought iron is one of the most durable materials compared to wood and aluminum. However, wrought iron corrosion resistance, cost and weight are disadvantages compared to the same materials. As far as existing iron structures, iron work is often found fastened together with riveted joints. Iron work is commonly supposed to be nearly free of maintenance. Unlike wood work, iron work is left to rust for long time, The only attention that much important iron work receives, is periodic major overhaul, at great expense. The most common reason for the rusting of wrought ironwork, is the gathering of water in places which will not dry. |
