The massive block against which hot metal is forged, its familiar London-pattern form carrying a flat face, a rounded horn for curves and a hardy hole for tooling. The oldest anvils were stones; the smith's anvil has been the counterpart of the hammer for as long as metal has been worked. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
OriginFrom stone anvils of prehistory through bronze and iron to the modern cast and forged steel patterns 1 Introduced era (class) Still Made Today Disputed
Introduced When (Circa)Antiquity (no precise date established) 1 Ancient Greek and Egyptian writings, including Homer, reference anvils, and anvils have been found at the Calico Early Man Site in North America, but sources do not give a precise date of first use. Connections
Used In
Works Material
Source Dictionary.com: Anvil definition
Additional Source Anvil (Wikipedia)Lead section
In the Other Atlases
Era Of Origin
Also in History Atlas: the era this subject comes from.
Sources
1. Anvil (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section
There are many references to anvils in ancient Greek and Egyptian writings, including Homer's works. They have been found at the Calico Early Man Site in North America.
Lead section
In most cases an anvil is used as a forging tool.
Lead section, still made today
A great majority of modern anvils are made of cast steel that has been heat-treated by either flame or electric induction.
View the Source 2. Dictionary.com: Anvil definition
Dictionary.comDefinitionQuote, Definition
hammered into desired shapes
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Introduced When (Circa)
The sources do not converge on a single first-use date for the anvil. Wikipedia's own account: "Anvils were first made of stone, then bronze, and later wrought iron," with "many regional styles" evolving "from the simple block that was first used by smiths." Ancient Greek and Egyptian writings, including Homer's, reference anvils, and an anvil-like stone has been recovered at the Calico Early Man Site in North America. The record shows a long, gradual material transition rather than an inventable moment, which is why this atlas carries the fact as debated rather than assigning it a year.
A dissenting reading, from an independent laneAnvil (Wikipedia), Wikimedia Foundation
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.