Ironworking is a very ancient craft. Archaeological remains have been found in the Ganges Valley in India dating back to approximately 1800 BC, in tombs from the early Egyptian civilisation (1600 BC), and in Chaldean and Assyrian sites.

In Europe, objects (1300 BC) have been found in Crete and Mycenae (on the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese). It probably arrived on the Iberian Peninsula with the Phoenicians and was also used by the Celts, especially to make tools and weapons (3rd century BC), with the extraction and exploitation of iron evolving during the Roman period. The Visigoths also used iron in goldsmithing and the Muslims mainly for locksmithing and weapons.

In the 10th century, iron began to be of great importance in Christian territories, and in the 11th century, welding was discovered using the calcination method, with iron being used mainly in architecture for the construction of temples, castles and houses, and in monasteries for railings. In the 12th century, the water wheel arrived on the peninsula to power bellows and hammers (such as those that would later be installed in the Royal Mint of Segovia).

In the 13th century, our peninsula was at the forefront of artistic ironwork in Europe, as evidenced by the fact that the railings of Notre Dame in Paris were forged by Catalan masters.

Before the Industrial Revolution, the trade of blacksmith was essential in any village. Mass production techniques have gradually reduced the demand for this work, which had been so essential for so long.

The basic elements of this craft are the forge, which is where heat is applied to the metal in the smithy, the anvil (a large block of iron or steel), the hammer, and the tongs (for gripping the incandescent metal), as well as the moulds (instruments for shaping the metal). Also essential are the bellows and the coal to produce the fire and the water.

Blacksmiths heat the iron parts to increase their temperature and make them malleable: first they turn red, then orange, yellow and finally white.

Their craft is recognised in mythology, mainly through the Greek god Hephaestus and the Roman god Vulcan, the blacksmith of the gods, responsible for protecting blacksmithing, craftsmanship, sculpture, metallurgy, and fire. In Vulcan's Forge, painted by Diego Velázquez in 1630, you can see a forge that is practically identical to those that have survived to this day.

In the past, like most trades, it was a way of life that was passed down from father to son. The blacksmith was a craftsman who had to combine strength, ingenuity and skill to give, with a hammer blow, the desired shape and the right temper to the pieces that were forged in his forge.

Experience and skill were his two most valued qualities. However, the advent of new machines in the 19th century led to the emergence of the forge factory as we know it today, replacing the artisan forges, which have practically disappeared.

Blacksmiths have been one of the pillars of culture and development over the last two thousand years. Without blacksmiths, there would be no aqueducts, no cathedrals, no churches, and agriculture, construction and so many other professions that have formed the basis of our civilisation would not have developed.

Text by Luis Miguel Fuentetaja, friend and representative of Elías de Andrés.