Early method of converting cast iron to wrought iron , superseding the bloomery process after
Pieces of cast iron (see {{link=pig iron">pig iron ) were placed on a finery hearth, on which charcoal was being burned with a plentiful supply of air, so that carbon in the iron was removed by oxidation, leaving semisolid malleable iron behind. From the 15th century on, this two-stage process gradually replaced direct making of malleable iron. It was in turn replaced by the puddling process .