Tannerre-en-Puisaye () is a commune in the Yonne

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, in

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

, in north-central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, in the historical region of Puisaye. It is famous for its antique ''ferrier'', _''(fr)'' one of the two largest in France with covered. It has been a listed Heritage Monument since 1982. A "ferrier" is a mound, hillock or hill made with residues from the

extraction Extraction may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * Comedo extraction, a method of acne treatment * Dental extraction, the surgical removal of a tooth from the mouth Computing and information science * Data extraction, the pro ...

and

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

of iron ore.

Geography

Tannerre is crossed by the Branlin river, a tributary of the

Ouanne river The Ouanne () is an long river in central France, a right tributary of the Loing. Its source is near the small town of Ouanne, about southwest of Auxerre. It flows generally northwest, and joins the Loing in Conflans-sur-Loing, near Amilly. It ...

History

Tannerre's ferrier was started during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

, but 80% of its bulk was made during the 300 years of Roman occupation. A Celtic village, which then became Gallo-Roman, was set half-way up the hill on which the ferrier grew.Antique iron smelting
, on the site of the "Association du Ferrier de Tannerre". Photos and information on iron extraction and smelting during Antiquity. After the Romans left, the mining activity in the area steadily declined to almost entirely disappear towards the 10th century. By then, the village had moved down near the river, where it still lays. During the 10th century, a fort called "Motte-Champlay" was built on a leveled surface above the piles of slag. It was destroyed by English captain

Robert Knolles Sir Robert Knolles or Knollys ( – 15 August 1407; aged 81-82) was an important English knight of the Hundred Years' War, who, operating with the tacit support of the crown, succeeded in taking the only two major French cities, other tha ...

in 1360, along with the village and its other fort in the valley. Tannerrre-ferrier-railway 3

The ferrier's slag had long been used in a small way to repair roads and pathways. Towards the end of the 19th century, industrial methods began to be applied. To that purpose, a whole railway network was built in the ferrier at the beginning of the 20th century, using a mm narrow gauge within the ferrier and a 600 mm gauge for the out-going tracks, complete with switches,

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

derail A derail or derailer is a device used to prevent fouling (blocking or compromising) of a rail track (or collision with anything present on the track, such as a person, or a train) by unauthorized movements of trains or unattended rolling stock. ...

ers, workshop and well. It enabled the approach and operation of all workstations. The slag, still richer in iron than the common ore in Lorraine, was sent to the blast furnaces that were a trademark of that eastern part of France at that time. Not only it enriched their iron content; it also contained

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

, a natural flux that helped the reduction reaction necessary to extract the iron from its ore, and was said the "cure" the blast furnaces.

Present day

The ferrier's industrial exploitation ceased in 1982, when it became a Heritage site. - Ferrier antique. During the following 25 years it became overgrown and was occasionally used as a dump. An association was created in 2008, "Le ferrier de Tannerre". After cleaning up the grounds, retracing paths in the wood, building dry toilets a.s.o., they have built a forge, recreated a

bloomery A bloomery is a type of metallurgical furnace once used widely for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous mass of iron and slag called a ''bloom ...

furnace (in fact several, as bloomeries' lifespan does not exceed 3 or 4 loads) and double bellows for it, and restored large bellows for the forge. They also found a vintage

quarry tub A tub or quarry tub is a type of railway or tramway wagon used in quarries and other industrial locations for the transport of minerals (such as coal, sand, ore, clay and stone) from a quarry or mine face to processing plants or between variou ...

and draisine, now on display in the ferrier, and have recreated some of the old railway network to illustrate the ferrier's 20th century industrial period. The association also holds a yearly ferrier party in September, with demonstrations of the working bloomery; visitors can try their hand at the forge and at pottery, there are children games, a free guided tour, and a meal composed with old recipes and roasted boar.

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

The association "Le ferrier de Tannerre" has also enlisted the help of regional sports authorities and initiated the creation of a fully-fledged

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

triple course (3 levels of difficulty), with 25 permanent control points and the corresponding 3 orienteering maps. There is also a presentation panel at the main entrance of the ferrier. National events have already been held there.

Gallery

File:Tannerrre-ferrier-entree par rte des Mussots.JPG, File:Tannerrre-ferrier-slag 3.JPG, File:Tannerrre-ferrier-slag 2.JPG, File:Tannerrre-ferrier-railway 2.JPG, File:Tannerrre-ferrier-roman water well.JPG, File:Tannerrre-ferrier-forge 2.JPG, File:Tannerrre-ferrier-Motte-Champlay 1.JPG, File:Tannerrre-ferrier-path 1.JPG,

References