Circulation of Iron Products in the Iron-Age of Eastem France and Southem Germany: Multidisciplinary and Methodological Approaches towards the provenance of Ancient Iron

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Roland Schwab
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2011 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 186798217

The objective of this program is twofold. It has a methodological orientation in Archaeometry and discusses anthropological and historical issues related to proto-historical periods. The first objective is to exploit, to confront and develop in a complementary way both archaeometric methods for determining the origins of iron products. Indeed, recent methodological development that occurred both in German and French archaeometry laboratories allows now to envisage provenance studies for ferrous and steel archaeological artefacts. This is a real breakthrough for the issues related to Iron Age societies. The second objective is, by applying these methods, to address two chronological periods (late Hallstatt / early La Tene) ofthe Iron ages and bring a renewed vision of trade relations and of the role of iron in each of the major changes occurring in these periods. For this, we address a specific set of archaeological material on which will be applied innovative methods for determining the origins developed in France and Germany.The archaeometric methods developed by the two teams are based on the determination of trace element chemical and isotopic signature of production areas. Thus in a first step, this signature will be followed in ore, archaeological slag and other wastes of the operating chains found on the sites of potential production areas linked to the issue; i.e. Lorraine, Baden Wuerttemberg, Senonais, Pays de Bray, West Bavaria. In a second step, we will analyze the chemical signature of two types of objects characteristics of these periods: bipyramidal ingots preferentially distributed in the geographical area of the northern Alps complex and tires of chariot burials representatives of ostentatious funeral deposit zones. Multivariate analyses of the results will allow reaching reliable provenance determining.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Philippe Dillmann