Early Iron Age Site Research Articles

Boat-shaped fibulae from the Early Iron Age sites of Érd and Százhalombatta

AbstractThe primary aim of this study is to present some Early Iron Age brooches found at Érd-Hosszúföldek, including an attempt to clarify some of the cultural connections of the area. The pair of boat-shaped fibulae connected by a chain, the three-footed vessels, and the ribbed cysts indicate a complex and widespread connection network in the period.

Traceology suggests an unexpected use of antler cheekpieces from the Early Iron Age site at Gzin, Poland

Archaeological data confirm the widespread use of horse tack throughout the North European Bronze Age and the succeeding Hallstatt period in an inventory that included metal cheekpieces, phalerae, rein-knobs and other horse-related accessories. Similar usage has been assumed in the region of northern Poland, which has also furnished evidence for the use of horse gear accessories made of antler. This paper reports the results of traceological, isotopic and experimental research on three antler cheekpieces found at the Early Iron Age stronghold of Gzin in northern Poland and relates them further with archaeological and ethnographic patterns of horse exploitation. The results indicate that the artefacts from Gzin have rare comparanda and are isotopically consistent with the δ18Ow range of the site location, which can both be taken as evidence of their local origin. Moreover, traceological and experimental evidence from this study places the function and use of the analysed objects into a new light, undermining their use for horseback riding and suggesting that they were employed as cheekpiece coverings. Combined with the ethnographic record, ceramic iconography and archaeolinguistics, our findings fuel a discussion of deer valorisation during the Lusatian period in Poland, showing that the cheekpieces from Gzin may have served as elements of deer headgear.

The Geochemistry of Unalloyed Copper Metallurgical Group Indicates Copper Ore Sources in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages of the Urals

Trace elements in copper artifacts from Late Bronze and Early Iron Age sites in the Urals, formerly attributed to the metallurgical group of “chemically pure” copper, were analyzed using the method of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The metal of which artifacts included in this group are made reveals geochemical markers suggesting that “pure” copper actually falls into several subgroups. The PCA analysis of the results identifies 11 clusters corresponding to various sources of copper ores and their mixtures. At least seven principal associations can be linked to copper deposits of different geological types and origin: Au-Te-Bi, Au-Se-Te-Sb, Fe-Co-Ni-As-Sb, Fe-Co-Ni -Zn, Se-Co-Fe, Ag-Pb-Ni, and Sb-Pb-Zn-As. Also, several mixed associations reflect the fusion of copper items and metal scrap initially obtained from different sources: Sn-Pb, Fe-Co-Ni-Zn + Sn, Fe-Co-Ni + Au-Te-Bi-Ag, Fe-Co-Ni + Au-Te-Bi + Sn. A separate association, for which the ore source remains unknown, consists of artifacts characterized by a low content of trace elements, jointly making up less than 0.01 wt%. The largest sample in the Late Bronze Age “pure copper” group falls within the Sn-Pb cluster representing a mixture of local copper and imported Sn-containing copper scrap. Judging by trace elements, the main sources of ore in the “pure copper” group of the Itkul and Sarmatian cultures were the Gumeshki mine and another unidentified source. Both could have been used already in the Final Bronze Age.

The technology and microwear of the bone tools from Broederstroom, an Early Iron Age site in the Magaliesberg, South Africa

ABSTRACT This paper reports the results of a technological and microwear analysis of 110 pieces of worked bone from the Early Iron Age site of Broederstroom in the Magaliesberg region of South Africa. The results are compared to previous studies of bone tools from the contemporary Later Stone Age sites of Kruger Cave and Jubilee Shelter in an attempt to understand whether the Broederstroom pieces were made locally by the farmers or acquired through trade with hunter-gatherers. Although the bone tool technology at Broederstroom does bear some similarities to the bone material at Kruger Cave, it is quite different from that at Jubilee Shelter. This technological distinction likely indicates that the bone tool industry at Broederstroom is a product of local farmer industry. The use-wear results further point to a range of different activities practised by the farmers living at Broederstroom.

Investigations of an Early Iron Age Siege 2

A research team of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University continued the fieldwork between 1 September 2022 and 31 December 2023 on two Early and Middle Iron Age sites, Dédestapolcsány-Verebce-bérc and Dédestapolcsány-Várerdő, in the frame of a project investigating Early Iron Age crises. New excavation trenches were opened at the fortified settlement in the north of the Bükk Mountains (Northern Hungary). One was an extension of a trench opened in 2022, where remains of a burnt house had been identified. Metal detector surveys recovered some new fascinating stray metal finds (e.g., an akinakes, battle axes, and the bronze protective sheath of a sword) and new assemblages (iron tool deposits and a hoard of gold jewellery and amber beads). Eleven more graves were excavated in the cemetery (Várerdő) north of the coeval settlement. The most interesting grave was the burial of an adult man with rich grave goods such as an ironworking toolkit, pottery, and other items.

Hammerscale and slag inclusions: New insights into metal supply during the early iron Age in Western Europe

Understanding the nature and origin of iron processed in ancient smithing workshops is essential for unraveling procurement strategies and, more broadly, the circulation of iron. Studying smithing slags traditionally proves complex due to their diverse compositions influenced by hearth substances. Another technique, analyzing slag inclusions in metallic fragments, offers direct insights into the iron's chemical nature. However, the scarcity or absence of these fragments poses challenges in assessing sample representativeness. An alternative approach studies hammerscale, hot iron waste from hammering, providing insights into iron's chemical composition and source. At Weyersheim, an early Iron Age site in France, extensive analysis of 300 hammerscale samples and 77 slag inclusions in 6 iron scraps unveiled a unique geochemical signature. This signature showcases enrichment in Vanadium (V > 800 ppm), Chromium (Cr > 400 ppm), Rare Earth Elements (REE) (∑REE + Y > 1500 ppm), especially Heavy Rare Earth Elements like Yb (>100 ppm), and High Field Strength Elements (HFSE) (e.g., U > 30 ppm). The remarkable chemical uniformity observed in various hammerscale samples, and the slag inclusions indicates that the majority of the processed iron originates from a singular source. Comparison with known iron artifacts, particularly the bi-pyramid iron bars revealed similarities. This source exhibited uncommon enrichment and partitioning patterns of REEs, hinting at a rare geological deposit or a closely associated group of deposits. Plausibly sourced from weathered peralkaline rocks, the iron ore's geological origins potentially link to regions like Vosges and the Black Forest massifs. Nevertheless, identifying the geological formations accountable for these distinctive iron traits remains challenging, as there have been no findings of deposits or iron slag with similar compositions to aid in identification.

Szalacska and the Hallstatt period metal vessels from Western Hungary

Conventionally, Nagyberki-Szalacska is thought to be one of the most significant Early Iron Age sites in Western Hungary. Its importance is underlined by a few metal sheet fragments unearthed in 1941 during the looting of a tumulus of the Szalacska cemetery. Their rich decoration and the traces of the manufacturing process as well as other marks suggest that the metal sheet was used as a cover for a vessel made of some organic material. The decoration of the metal sheet provides new information regarding the cultural contacts between Nagyberki-Szalacska and the EIA centres of power in southeast Austria. In addition to the metal sheet fragments from Szalacska, a hitherto unpublished ensemble of bronze vessel fragments kept in the Hungarian National Museum highlights the need for a revision of the information about the EIA toureutics in western Hungary.

Furnaces, hearths, rituals, and construction: investigating the utilisation of woody plant species at the Early Iron Age site of Ndondondwane by means of identifying archaeological charcoal

Ndondondwane, an Early Iron Age settlement situated on the banks of the Thukela River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, provides a unique record of a single, short-term occupation (c. 1300 to 1200 years ago). Several areas associated with different activities had been previously excavated and analysed, yielding various scenarios for the cultural and social organisation of the settlement. Three phases of occupation or cultural horizons have been identified and this paper largely explores the charcoal assemblage from the middle cultural horizon, during the settlement’s maximum extent of occupation. Charcoal was analysed from the central part of the site, represented by a livestock byre (kraal), a meeting place, and a craft production area; as well as the peripheral areas including three domestic middens and a charcoal preparation area. Archaeological charcoal specimens were examined using reflective light microscopy to observe the characteristic anatomical features needed to determine the taxonomic group they represent and subsequently identified by direct comparison with a modern charcoal reference collection and published archaeological charcoal studies. Charcoal was identified as belonging to 15 families, 23 genera, and 29 species of trees with known fuel, construction, and medicinal uses. There was a preference for wood previously known as Acacia*, indicating that this genus was readily available and prolific in the surrounds of the site. Ndondondwane has been extensively investigated in terms of the archaeology, and this together with the anthracology data provides further insight into Early Iron Age settlement location-specific activities, cultural practices, and reasons for abandonment.

Relationship between Fields, banks and farmstead at an early Iron Age site in Northern Denmark

Ancient Celtic fields are still visible as banks and lynchets in many landscapes in Northwestern Europe today. Comparably little is known about the relationship between Celtic fields and the dwellings of the people farming these fields. Excavations of a pre-roman Iron Age field system near Aalborg, Northern Denmark, revealed the remains of a farmstead (longhouse) and fields covered by drift sand. The site is located on raised late Holocene marine foreland with very homogeneous sandy soil. This provided an excellent opportunity to study prehistoric manuring practices and spatial relationships between fields and the farmstead. Archaeological excavation, soil geochemistry, particle size analysis, macrofossils and radiocarbon dating were combined to establish a chronology and land-use history of the site. The results showed that the farmstead was established around 400 BCE, while drift sand covered the fields around or shortly after 200 BCE. The investigation revealed ard marks covering most of the excavated area, while field boundaries delimited at least six fields. The longhouse was located between two field boundaries. Particle size analysis of marine sandy plough-layer revealed that earthy material had been added from adjacent uphill areas, while a field bank was a mixture of the plough layers from its two adjacent fields. However, all results suggested a limited input of plant nutrient, manure and earthy material taking the century long farming into account. The excavated fields may hence represent a short lived expansion of fields into more marginal and naturally less fertile land. The size of the farmstead was nevertheless comparable to other longhouses found in contemporary villages in the area, suggesting that the nutrient-poor soil did not necessarily mean poor living conditions for the inhabitants.

Mountain valleys, alluvial fans and oases: Geomorphologic perspectives of the mixed agropastoral economy in Xinjiang (3000–200 BC)

Xinjiang serves as a hub for trans-Eurasian exchange. The Xinjiang hominids are supposed to be greatly influenced by the environment due to the fragile ecology and arid climate. As the territory with the most significant and complex geomorphic units in Inner Asia, Xinjiang features a diverse spectrum of geomorphic forms, including mountains, basins, deserts, river valleys, and oases. This paper presents a systematic summary of the geomorphic locations of 127 Bronze Age to early Iron Age (3000–200 BC) sites and cemeteries in Xinjiang and their economic strategies, exploring the different economic choices of ancient humans who lived in other geomorphic units, and how they adapted to their microenvironments. We have divided Xinjiang into five regions: the Junggar Basin, the Tarim Basin, the Western Tianshan Mountains, the middle Tianshan Mountains, and the Eastern Tianshan Mountains. Our study shows that there were different agropastoral economic modes in different geographical units. Roughly bounded by the Tianshan Mountains, the economy in northern Xinjiang was heavily based on animal husbandry, while oasis farming was popular in the Southern Xinjiang reigon. From the perspective of geomorphology, most sites are situated in mountain valleys, alluvial fans, and oases regions with surface water sources and fine-textured soil cover. Sites near mountains were more likely to develop a mixed pastoral-hunting economy, and oasis communities of a specific size were more likely to build a mixed agricultural-pastoral economy. In large river valleys or alluvial fans, it is expected that settlement clusters and large central settlements will grow, leading to the emergence of social complexity. This study will help to understand the complex “man-land” dynamics between 3000 and 200 BC in Xinjiang.

Archaeometallurgical Explorations of Bloomery Iron Smelting at Mutoti 2, an Early Iron Age Site in Venda, Northern South Africa

When established, bloomery iron smelting profoundly transformed farming communities that settled in Africa south of the Sahara. Sustained research in the Lowveld region of northern South Africa identified multifarious evidence of metal working dating to the Early Iron Age (Common Era 200-900). Not surprisingly, the region is celebrated in oral traditions, myths, legends, and other reservoirs of local knowledge for its highly skilled metallurgists who reduced exceptionally rich magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (Fe2O3) ores at locales such as Tshimbupfe, Tshirululuni, Vuu, Thomo, and Thengwe. However, the technology of iron smelting and how the smelted iron (Fe) transformed producer and user communities in the region is a subject that, until recently, attracted limited archaeometallurgical work. We present the results of archaeometallurgical analyses of iron production remains from Mutoti 2 using complementary macroscopic (physical examination), microstructural (Optical Microscopy), and compositional techniques (WD-XRF). The results show that the technology of iron smelting fitted within the bloomery method. However, the quantities of iron production remains at the site suggest a scale and organization of production geared for needs beyond single villages. This embedded first-millennium CE iron production into the socio-economic, political, and environmental transformations that shaped the political economy of farming communities of the time.

Iron Age sites in northern Botswana’s Okavango Delta 1: the southern Delta sites Mat82 and Matlapaneng plus Qogana on the region’s eastern margin

ABSTRACT This paper, one of three focused on Early Iron Age (EIA) sites of the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana, provides descriptions and analyses of two sites, Mat82 and Matlapaneng, on the southern margin of the Delta and of a small contemporary hunting-fishing camp at Qogana in its eastern middle reaches. The relationship of these sites to others, particularly in the areas of the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers and Victoria Falls, is examined in detail. Pottery recovered from the Delta sites is shown to be a western expression of the eastern Kalundu Tradition. Optical petrographic analyses of 26 sherds from Mat82, Matlapaneng and Qogana compared with 60 sherds from Chobe-Victoria Falls sites, plus clays from most lithological exposures in these regions, confirms that most of the Mat82 and Matlapaneng sherds can be associated with local southern Delta clays, while five have fabrics comparable with Chobe-Victoria Falls clays and sherds, documenting that these Matlapaneng sherds are from vessels made in, and imported from, that region. While the distribution of finds at Matlapaneng displayed a higher concentration of lithic artefacts on the site’s outer margins with a corresponding higher pottery concentration in the centre, all areas have the same representation of lithic tools, débitage, pottery fabrics and décor motifs and proportions of wild game to domestic animals, thus providing no evidence for a herder/hunter or inner/outer space dichotomy in residence or subsistence activities. This trio of sites, then, provides a further lesson regarding the archaeological erasure of mistaken isolationist tenets in southern African archaeology in which peoples have been automatically segregated according to the material inventory of the sites at which they lived.

Cercetari arheologice de suprafata in hotarul administrativ al municipiului Timisoara si in zona periurbana (II). Repertoriul arheologic al comunei Sanmihaiu Roman (loc. Sanmihaiu Roman, loc. Utvin)

The archaeological surveys started in 2014 in the administrative boundary of the commune of Sânmihaiu Român, more precisely in the vicinity of Sânmihaiu Român and Utvin, revealed the existence of numerous human settlements. From the point of view of chronological classification, the first settlements can be dated to the Neolithic period. These are followed by Eneolithic, Bronze Age and Early Iron Age sites. The Second Iron Age is also well represented with settlements from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. Medieval finds are also well represented, especially those dating to the middle and later Middle Ages.

NEW MATERIALS FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE WEST OF UKRAINE IN LATE BRONZE AGE – EARLY IRON AGE

In the first subsection of the article, the issue of tracing intercultural connections of the modern Western Ukrainian region on the basis of military archaeological finds is raised. For example, a bronze helmet from the Ternopil region, belonging to the extremely rare Oranienburg type, which was used in the south of Europe (for example, in Knossos) from the 15th century B. C. and in Central Europe during the 14th–13th centuries B. C. was introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. Considerable attention is paid to an exceptionally interesting and rare complex of elite horseman equipment, which includes items of protective armor (two bronze helmets of the proto-Etruscan comb type) and metal parts of a chariot harness which was discovered near Borshchiv, Ternopil region. It has been established that this and similar finds from the west of the Ukrainian Forest Steppe witnessed the possibility of closer contacts of the studied communities with the population of the Apennine Peninsula. In the second subsection, the newly discovered sites of the West Podillia group are analyzed, which witnessed the unusual intensification of the eastern and western vectors of development in the material culture of the West Podillia population from the end of the 8th to the beginning of the 7th century B. C. In particular, considerable attention was paid to the complex of bronze vessels (two cast cauldrons, covered on top with a large bronze situla) from the village of Panivtsi of Borshchiv district, Ternopil region, mentioned in the author's 2014 monograph. It has been observed that particularly interesting archaeological materials that witnessed the mutual contacts of the carriers of the West Podillia group with the contemporary civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean, which were obtained by the West Podillia Hallstatt Archaeological Expedition, which, under the leadership of the author, resumed the study of the Early Iron Age sites near the village of Zalissya Borshchiv district, Ternopil region. The presence of exceptional samples of local gray clay ceramic ware were noted, in particular on a ring pallet and with L-shaped rims, and imported ware – fragments of archaic Greek ceramics with residues of white and purple paints, in particular in the form of a wide band, possibly from the shoulders of a Clazomenian amphora. A unique find was the discovery in Zalissya for the first time in Ukraine of a hub of a ceramic wheel with four broken spokes and a longitudinal hole for mounting on an axle, which could come (based on numerous analogies) from a four-wheeled ritual platform, which became especially widespread in the Hallstatt culture of the Upper Danube and the Eastern Alpine region. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the discovered grave goods, the ash pan in Zalissya can be dated back to the second half of the 7th – the first quarter of the 6th century B. C. The last – the third – subsection is devoted to the problems of researching of sites of the Late La Tène period in the western region of Ukraine. Already known and new locations have been analyzed, which significantly correct the previous ideas about what happened in the Upper Dnister region and its adjacent areas after the disappearance of the latest sites of the Cherepyn-Lahodiv group. It is noted that so far the sights of Upper Dnister region of the Middle and Late La Tène periods do not have the usual correlate in the form of archaeological culture. Today – and this is especially emphasized in this subsection – we are dealing only with a group of local sites that cannot be included either in the Zarubinetska culture, or in the Lukashivka-Poienești culture, or in the Getae-Dacian culture, or in the Jastorf culture, or to Sarmatian. For a more convenient designation of the sites of this Upper Dnister group, it is proposed to use the name post-Cherepyn-Lahodiv, which would more accurately indicate their place in the local cultural-chronological scale, or sites of the Kolodrib type (Pre-Lypytsia horizon). Keywords: Western Ukraine, Late Bronze Age, body armor, metal vessels, cauldrons, situla, Late Hallstatt period, Western Podillia group, La Tène period.

An experience of the experimental use-wear analysis of made of tools pottery shards (based on the materials of the fortified settlement of Marai 4)

The paper concerns the determination of the functional purpose of scraper-shaped pottery tools of the forti-fied settlement of Marai 4 of the initial period of the Early Bronze Age. The site is located in the territory of the Lower Ishim River basin in Kazan District of Tyumen Oblast. Its materials are dated to the 6th (7th) — end of the 5th centuries BCE; culture-wise, they belong to the circle of the Zhuravlevo antiquities. The collection of the pot-tery scrapers of the site amounts to 78 items. Initially, the majority of them were interpreted as scrapers for fle-shing. However, a series of features gave rise to doubts, and the problem of the functional purpose of the scraper-like implements from Maray 4 remained open. In order to elaborate and correct the conclusions, in 2019–2022 the author conducted experiments on the use of pottery shards in the process of skin treatment, wood scraping, abrasive treatment of copper and bronze, in pottery making — at the stage of smoothing, compacting and sleeking the walls of pottery containers. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the experimen-tal use-wear study of the scraper-like pottery artefacts from the Early Iron Age sites of Maray 4. The investigation is based upon the use of the experimental use-wear method, which involves the study of the traces of wear on the surface of implements, and their functional attribution. The use-wear analysis and microphotography of the traces of wear were carried out with the aid of a pancratic microscope MC-2 Z00M with a magnification from 10× to 40× with a Canon EOS-1100 camera. The performed studies allowed refining the previously conjectured hypothesis on the functional purpose of the scraper-shaped tools from Maray 4 and reaching the conclusion that most of them were used for smoothing and compacting the surface of pottery vessels. This conclusion is supported by the preliminary view of V.V. Ilyushina based upon the comparison of available reference experimental samples of surface treatment of clay vessels with pottery tools with the vessels from the site.

Plant economy from Early Iron Age site of Malli, Gondia district, Maharashtra, India

Plant economy from Early Iron Age site of Malli, Gondia district, Maharashtra, India

Air-Surveyed Cropmarks of Early Iron Age Heritage in Central Europe—Integrating Remotely Detected Data and Excavated Evidence

This paper aims to present the potential of observations of the Earth’s surface by means of remote sensing (survey), specifically via direct (active) visual prospection from low altitude to identify and map small components (such as postholes) of archaeological contexts, namely aboveground post-built structures dated to the Early Iron Age (appr. 800–380 B.C.). This work gives an example of archaeological data on buried settlement constructions identified by aerial reconnaissance (i.e., by a non-invasive method), the interpretation—and primarily dating—of which is based on information achieved by excavation practice (recently performed predominantly during rescue campaigns). This research points to the fact that nonetheless to the traditional idea on the limited potential of crop-marked archaeological heritage in terms of dating (the ability of cropmarks displayed over pits, ditches, graves, etc., to produce exact ground-plans of even small buried features, so that their original function and dating can be determined) the number of more or less precisely datable archaeological sites and features buried under the surface is growing, including wooden structures once constructed on the ground (i.e., not sunken under the ground) and leaving on cereal crops just tiny spots/dots regularly spaced into lines. These are features (constructions) with identical ground plans (postholes placed in 4 × 3 and/or 3 × 3 patterns) of which commonly just one in a group of them situated on one site is enclosed by a perimeter line—a foundation for a wall or a trench for a palisade. Consequently, a retrospective survey of air-photo analog archives and digital repositories now brings new evidence on the chronological setting of many crop-marked Early Iron Age sites that previously remained undated.

Ancestral and chthonic cults at Tenos

This paper presents the material evidence from two neighbouring Early Iron Age sites at Xobourgo on Tenos, identified as sacred places, and comments on their religious character and evolution. The first, conventionally named the Pro-Cyclopean Sanctuary, has a purely mortuary character. It starts in the Late Protogeometric period with an ancestral cult on a pebble platform over an empty grave, continues with a number of pyre pits inside enclosure walls, and ends up with a chthonic cult at an eschara in the Late Geometric period to be replaced by a small sacred oikos in the 7th century. The second starts as an open-air shrine, named the Pre-Thesmophorion Shrine, with an eschara and a protected place for storing pithoi, and it is turned into a Demeter sanctuary, a Thesmophorion, with a small temple in the Classical period. After considering the development and phases of both sites, it is claimed that they have similar, though not identical, cultic roles. Their different architectural and religious evolution is considered as largely dependent on social changes and historical conditions. They are compared and discussed against contemporary archaeological evidence for ancestral and chthonic cults focusing on such evidence from Tenos.

Rithi Ranjana: Reconstructing Crop Economy Based on Archaeobotanical Evidence and Radiocarbon Dates from an Early Iron Age Site in Semi-arid Vidarbha, Maharashtra, India

Rithi Ranjana: Reconstructing Crop Economy Based on Archaeobotanical Evidence and Radiocarbon Dates from an Early Iron Age Site in Semi-arid Vidarbha, Maharashtra, India

Archaeology and archaeometallurgy in Limpopo Province, South Africa: case studies of the Early Iron Age sites of Mutoti and Thomo

Decades of archaeological research have established the chronology of the history of culture by farmers in northern South Africa from the beginning of the first millennium AD to the recent past. Th...