The paper focuses on a group of finds obtained recently in a metal detector survey in the area of Velem-Szent Vid. Most artefacts found in the late La Tène oppidum are agricultural tools. They are ...the most important archaeological evidence available to us for reconstructing the agricultural equipment used during the Late Iron Age and, based on them, food production techniques. Diverse tools were utilised in specific agricultural processes. The plough, the most important tool of soil cultivation, and its components are discussed in the study, and an attempt is made to draw conclusions about the ways of land use in the Late Iron Age based on plough part finds from Celtic contexts.
The development of oppida in the late first millennium BC across north-western Europe represents a major change in settlement form and social organisation. The construction of extensive earthwork ...systems, the presence of nucleated settlement areas, long-distance trade links and the development of hierarchical societies have been evidenced. These imply that changes in the style and organisation of agriculture would have been required to support these proto-urban population centres. Hypotheses of the subsistence bases of these settlements, ranging from a reliance on surplus arable production from local rural settlements, to an emphasis on pastoral activities, are here reviewed and grounded against a wider understanding of the expansion of agriculture in the Late Iron Age. These agricultural models have not been previously evaluated.
This paper presents archaeobotanical data from six well fills from large-scale excavations at Late Iron Age and Early Roman Silchester, a Late Iron Age territorial oppidum and subsequent Roman civitas capital located in central-southern Britain. This is the first large-scale study of waterlogged plant macrofossils from within a settlement area of an oppidum. Waterlogged plant macrofossils were studied from a series of wells within the settlement. An assessment of taphonomy, considering stratigraphic and contextual information, is reported, followed by an analysis of the diverse assemblages of the plant remains through univariate analysis. Key results evidence animal stabling, flax cultivation, hay meadow management and the use of heathland resources. The staple crops cultivated and consumed at Late Iron Age and Early Roman Silchester are consistent with those cultivated in the wider region, whilst a range of imported fruits and flavourings were also present. The adoption of new oil crops and new grassland management shows that agricultural innovations were associated with foddering for animals rather than providing food for the proto-urban population. The evidence from Silchester is compared with other archaeobotanical datasets from oppida in Europe in order to identify key trends in agricultural change.
•The smithing activities were evidenced by spheroidal hammerscale and flake hammerscale.•The plant diet of the Late Iron Age smiths included cereals, legumes and edible fruits and nuts.•The recovered ...wild plants suggest a cultural landscape.•The edible fruits and nuts from the Iron Age settlements in the Eastern Alps vary slightly due to different local growth and taphonomic conditions.
From the Neolithic onwards, prehistoric human land use is testified by various archaeological records in the area around Piperbühel (South Tyrol, Italy). This archaeobotanical study involves a rare archaeological record, a Late Iron Age smithy which was evidenced by the smiths’ hearth and the smithing waste. The aim of this research was to broaden knowledge about the composition of finds, the plant diet and the environment of the smiths. There was a special focus on the edible fruits and nuts in the Eastern Alps during the Iron Age. Ten stratigraphic units with a total weight of 101 kg or a bulk volume of 92 l were archaeobotanically processed and analysed. The samples contained archaeological, archaeozoological and archaeobotanical finds. Cultivated plants such as Hordeum vulgare (barley), Triticum dicoccum (emmer), Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) and Vicia faba (faba bean) were evidenced. They belonged to the most commonly cultivated plants during the Iron Age. The edible wild fruits and nuts of Cornus mas (cornel cherry), Corylus avellana (common hazel), Prunus cf. padus (probably bird cherry), Prunus cf. spinosa (probably sloe), Sambucus nigra (black elder), and Vitis vinifera (grapevine) were consumed. Recovered herbs and weeds such as Arenaria serpyllifolia (thyme-leaved sandwort), Chenopodium hybridum (maple-leaved goosefoot), Myosotis sylvatica (wood forget-me-not), Polygonum lapathifolium (curlytop knotweed), Rumex acetosa (common sorrel), Silene vulgaris (bladder campion) and Solanum nigrum (black nightshade) demonstrate different habitats. The wild plants reflect a cultural landscape characterised by low-density deciduous stands, hoe weed, ruderal plant and pastureland communities. The correlation of the edible fruits and nuts from 24 Iron Age settlements in different geographic regions of the Eastern Alps resulted in varying fruit compositions, which were due to different local growth and taphonomic conditions. The most frequently found fruits and nuts at the settlement sites during the Iron Age were C. avellana, V. vinifera, P. spinosa, Rubus (raspberry/blackberry) and Sambucus.
In the first part of this paper, we will try to review the main discourses elaborated so far in the Romanian historiography regarding a certain type of weapon, namely the curved sword, known from the ...ancient sources as falx (plural falces). For almost a century and a half of Romanian history and archaeology, there was an increased interest of scholars for this type of weapon and for curved weapons in general. In a perfect cultural-historical manner, an entire identity discourse was shaped, the curved swords being an element for the identification of the Dacian population. In the second part of this paper, the accent will shift towards archaeology, and we will present, in particular, the curved swords discovered over time at Grădiștea de Munte – Sarmizegetusa Regia (Hunedoara County, Romania). In contrast with most papers that start from iconographical representations and ancient textual sources, we would rather let archaeology tell us the story of these weapons.
According to past historical documents and archaeological evidence, the Altai, rich in iron ore deposits, was a major iron production region in Eurasia during the 1st millennium AD. The present ...article focuses on the investigation of the large specularite (specular hematite) deposit Rudny Log in the Southeastern Altai (Russian part), long time regarded as a potential mine for the 1st millennium AD iron smelters. To test this hypothesis, we use complex approaches combining: 1) spatial analyses and field recording of traces of workings found at the mine; 2) radiocarbon dating; 3) microstructural (by OM and SEM); 4) geochemical (by XRF and ICP-MS) and 5) multivariate statistical investigation of iron ore and slag samples found at the mine and seven major ancient iron smelting sites in the Southeastern Altai.
The results of spatial analysis and fieldwork carried out at the mine reveal the presence of c. 350 pit workings from ancient exploitation, which can be estimated as c. 2500 tons of extracted ore. The radiocarbon analyses indicate the 1st-2nd c. AD timeframe to the start of the exploitation of the mine and the earliest iron smelting in the Southeastern Altai, which is likely linked to the Xiongnu expansion. The materials and statistical analyses allow us to preliminary identify Rudny Log, or, alternatively, another major deposit in the region, as the main source for five major iron production sites operated during the 1st millennium AD. Apart from that, the analyses suggest the exploitation of two currently unknown ore sources at three of the smelting sites. The significant scatter and remoteness of metallurgical centers from the mine can be associated with the nomadic subsistence of smelters who integrated seasonal metallurgical production with the search for new pastures and fuel resources.
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•Rudny Log is suggested as the main ore mine for the 1st mil. AD smelters in the Altai.•Earliest specularite mining and smelting dates to the 1st–2nd c. AD.•Five nomadic iron smelting workshops exploiting the same ore source were identified.•Iron could have been smelted over 20–125 km distance from the mine.•The spread of iron smelting in the Altai was linked to Xiongnu expansion.
From the Late Iron Age (LIA) to the second century AD significant cultural and technological changes occurred within Britain, commonly associated with the new relationship formed with the Roman ...Empire. This paper examines the jewellery of Roman Britain in an attempt to track the changes which occurred after the Roman occupation began. This examination aims to allow us to understand the true nature of the developments and how they could have been influenced by cultural appropriation. This paper argues that the Roman occupation acted as a catalyst for change, promoting the development and innovation of techniques, styles, and designs which were already established in pre-Roman traditions. As evidence for this, the pre-existing technical and artistic interactions with places, such as Gaul and Ireland will be discussed with consideration given to the persistence and innovation of already established pre-Roman techniques. A discussion of internal trade and distribution patterns in use prior to the Roman occupation is incorporated. These existing trends will then be compared to the development patterns which emerge during the early period of Roman occupation.
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