Conjecture on the T & Y construction

[Dan Howard]

Surely in a place like Sparta for example with rich iron mines, Iron was cheaper than linen. Was it perhaps like coffee in Columbia, all the best stuff gets sucked out for export?

Given the amount of labour and charcoal needed to produce iron, I don't think it could ever be cheaper than linen even if all of the iron was produced locally and all of the linen was imported.