Deposition practices in Iron Age France: new light on old discoveries

Abstract

Dealing with information coming from nineteenth-century discoveries is not always an easy task for archaeologists, and it can prove particularly problematic for iconic findings that have come to characterise entire periods or cultural horizons. Information is very often fragmentary, and in most cases, field methods and recording techniques are not up to present-day standards. A careful re-examination of old collections can, however, often be as fruitful as new findings. This is exemplified by the volumes under review here, which reassess two of the most important archaeological discoveries made in the late nineteenth-century in France: the bronze hoard of Launac in Languedoc and the grave of La Gorge-Meillet in Champagne. In addition to summarising existing knowledge, the volumes also provide new information coming from modern scientific analysis, as well as re-evaluations of certain find categories.