The article examines iron-working production in the 17th–18th centuries in four cities of Western Siberia, each of which held a different legal status. Tobolsk functioned as the main city and administrative centre of Siberia, Tomsk was a regional centre, whereas Tara and Kuznetsk were district towns. Metallographic analysis of 85 blacksmithing products allowed us to conclude, that the blacksmith craft in the cities of Western Siberia acquired technical and technological skills of iron and steel processing inherent in the master craftsmen in the European part of Russia. Urban ironworking was comprised of eleven technological schemes, which can be broken up of two main technological categories. The first group is formed by all-metal products, the second are byproducts of welded construction. Their proportions vary among the studied craft centres. Tobolsk occupies the leading position: within the city, 58 % of the finds belong to the first technological group, and 42 % to the second, more complex, group. These results correspond closely to indicators from several European cities. Tomsk shows a similar pattern, with 59 % of finds belonging to the first group and 41 % to the second category. In contrast, the technological patterns observed in Tara and Kuznetsk differ distinctly from those described above. In these towns, the share of products belonging to the second technological group is substantially smaller — 28 % and 29 % respectively — and that of forgings of the first group is much higher (72 % and 71 %). This assymmetry suggests that the craft environments of Tara and Kuznetsk were dominated by craftspeople with lower levels of technical qualification.

Keywords: Siberian cities, blacksmith products, metallographic analysis, production technology.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Accepted: 02.10.2025

Article is published: 15.12.2025