Phoenician trade

Mediterranean trade with the communities of Northwest Iberia is a historical phenomenon that has received some attention from academics only in the past two decades, despite the relatively frequent findings of products of Mediterranean origin or from the area of the Strait of Gibraltar in contexts of the Late Iron Age. Recently, the “La Ruta de las Estrimnides. Mediterranean trade and interculturality in the northwest of Iberia” (HAR2015-68310-P) project aimed to systematically study these southern materials in order to include them in a spatial and temporal context, as well as in an economic and commercial structure: navigation routes, scales, rhythms and frequency of travel, products that circulated in both directions and, above all, control mechanisms and power groups, direct or indirect, involved in this movement of people, products and ideas.

A juglet kept in a private collection and coming from the Phoenician site of Cerro del Villar in Malaga is studied below. Belonging to a scarce pottery type which would have served as a perfume container, it was found before the archaeological works, possibly in the market area attested in the above mentioned site and dated in the 7th century BC, which makes us think it could be one of the products for sale in one of its shops.

Se publica una pequeña jarra conservada en una colección particular procedente del asentamiento fenicio del Cerro del Villar (Málaga). Perteneciente a un tipo cerámico poco abundante que habría servido como contenedor de perfumes, parece haber sido
hallada en la zona de mercado del siglo VII a. C. documentada en dicho yacimiento antes de que ésta fuese excavada, por lo que podría tratarse de uno de los productos puestos a la venta en una de sus tiendas.

Resumen: En este trabajo se examinan los resultados de varias series analíticas de minerales y objetos arqueo-lógicos procedentes de las Islas Baleares. En total, se presentan análisis de composición elemental y de isótopos de plomo de 13 muestras de galenas de depósitos de Mallorca y Menorca, así como de 18 objetos arqueológicos elaborados en plomo y en aleaciones ternarias ricas en este metal, todos procedentes de distintas necrópolis mallorquinas de cronología postalayótica (c. 550-123 a. C.). El objetivo del estudio es analizar la circulación del plomo y obtener información sobre las estrategias de gestión y consumo de este metal por parte de las comuni-dades locales durante la Segunda Edad del Hierro. Los datos aportados permiten realizar análisis comparativos que, junto a los ya existentes generados por otros proyectos, proporcionan una perspectiva más definida sobre la integración de las Islas Baleares en el panorama de los circuitos de intercambio mediterráneos durante estas cronologías. Los resultados también reflejan la complejidad de dichas redes, en las que el mundo fenicio-púnico tiene un papel especialmente relevante, aunque, paralelamente, se intuye el aprovechamiento de recursos locales por parte de las comunidades indígenas del archipiélago. Palabras clave: arqueometalurgia; análisis de isótopos de plomo; postalayótico; mundo fenicio-púnico; Me-diterráneo; Mallorca; minerales de plomo. Abstract: This paper examines the results of a series of analyses of minerals and archaeological objects from the Balearic Islands. In total, it presents the analytical results of the elemental and lead isotope compositions of 13 samples of galena deposits from Mallorca and Minorca, in addition to 18 archaeological objects made of lead and lead-rich ternary alloys from different Mallorcan necropolises from the Post-Talayotic period (c. 550-123 bc). The aim of the study is to analyse the circulation of lead and to gain an insight into strategies for the management and consumption of this metal by local communities during the Late Iron Age. With these data, comparative analyses can be made and, combined with data from other projects, a better vision can be gained on the Balearic Islands' integration in Mediterranean trade routes during this period. The results also reflect the complexity of these networks, in which the Punic-Phoenician world played a particularly important role, although, in parallel with this, the use of local resources by local native Balearic communities can be inferred.