Iron metallurgy on the Atlantic coast of France and the Iberian Peninsula, from the Second Iron Age to the end of the first century AD ; La métallurgie du fer sur la façade atlantique de la France et de la péninsule Ibérique, du second âge du Fer à la fin du premier siècle de notre ère

Abstract

The objectives of this work are twofold. First, to characterize the technical, economic and social organization of iron metallurgy within a vast geographical area. Secondly, to verify the existence of permanence or chronological and geographical breaks in this system. A broad chronology (450 BC - 100 p.c.) including the Roman conquest of the territories concerned, makes it possible to verify the influence of political changes in iron production. First, the study of production structures, as well as iron working tools and waste, provides elements for restoring the technical processes used by metallurgists. It was thus possible to demonstrate that some blacksmiths were specialized in the manufacture of a reduced panel of objects, while others had a much larger activity. In a second step, work on the organisation of production spaces made it possible to demonstrate the existence of several types of structural arrangements within the workshops. These elements, added to those on manufacturing techniques, lead to the determination of the existence of technical lines: people using similar structures to carry out similar productions. Finally, the reintegration of these data into their social context, in particular by associating each production with the status of the site on which it is carried out, shows strong regional and chronological variations in the organisation of the metallurgical process on the Atlantic coast. At the beginning of the second Iron Age, metallurgy was not very widespread. It produces little waste and is carried out in a rural context. The largest quantities of metal are processed in the elite domains. The end of Protohistory is marked by an increase in the quantity of iron produced and by the ever more marked specialisation of activities, demonstrating a strong separation of the various phases of work. In addition, the amount of smithing works increase in urban areas. Around the change of era, the quantity of iron produced increased further, as did the number of specialized workspaces. This ...