Bronze Age Metal Technology

Implanté sur une terrasse loessique à une trentaine de kilomètres au sud de Strasbourg, le site protohistorique d' Erstein « Grasweg-PaE » connaît des installations humaines depuis la deuxième moitié du 3e millénaire jusqu'à la première moitié du 9e siècle av. J .-C. au cours de l'étape moyenne du Bronze final. L'occupation RSFO, qui fait l'objet du présent article, se caractérise par la présence d'une dizaine de structures excavées associées à un puits monoxyle dont certains bois sont datés par dendrochronologie des années 1026 et 1010 av. J .-C. En s'appuyant sur ces datations absolues, l'ensem-ble céramique d'Erstein « Grasweg-PaE » vient compléter les connaissances acquises récemment sur le Bronze final iiia en alsace. Outre la céramique, les fosses d'habitat ont livré un mobilier diversifié (objets métalliques, perles en verre…) et un assemblage faunique original, dans lequel la faune chassée occupe une place particulière.
Situated on a loessic terrace approximately thirty kilometres to the south of Strasbourg, the protohistoric site of " Grasweg-PaE " Erstein had human settlements from the second half of the 3rd millennium BC until the first half of the 9th century BC, during the middle phase of the Final Bronze age. The RSFO occupation, which is the focus of this article, is characterised by the presence of ten or so excavated structures linked to a monoxylic shaft of which certain woods have been dated dendrochronologically to the years 1026–1010 BC. if we accept these absolute dates, the set of " Grasweg-PaE " Erstein pottery completes our recently acquired knowledge of the Final Bronze age iiia in alsace. in addition to the pottery, the graves in the habitat have yielded a variety of goods (metal objects, glass beads, etc .) and a novel assortment of fauna, in which hunted animals occupied a special place.
Der frühgeschichtliche Fundplatz Erstein " Grasweg-PaE " liegt auf einer Lößterrasse etwa dreißig Kilometer südlich von Straßburg. Von der zweiten Hälfte des 3. Jt. bis in die erste Hälfte des 9. Jh. v. Chr ., war der Platz in der mittleren Phase der Spätbronzezeit besiedelt. Gegenstand des vorliegenden artikels ist die rheinisch-schweizerisch-ostfranzösische (RSFO) Siedlungsphase. Sie zeichnet sich durch das Vorhandensein von zehn Grubenstrukturen aus, die mit einem aus einem Stamm gearbeiteten Brunnen in Verbindung stehen. Einige mit Wasser durchtränkte Hölzer aus dem Brunnen wurden in die Jahre 1026 und 1010 v. Chr. datiert. Gestützt auf absolute Datierungen ergänzt die Keramik von Erstein " Grasweg-PaE " die kürzlich erlangten Kenntnisse zur Spätbronzezeit iiia im Elsass. Neben der Keramik haben die Hausgruben sehr vielfältiges Material geliefert (Metallgegenstände, Glasperlen, …) sowie ein außergewöhnliches Ensemble von Tierknochen, in dem Wild eine besondere Stellung einnimmt .

A large corpus of metal objects comes from the Early Minoan [EM] I–Middle Minoan [MM] IIA cemetery
of a Rock Shelter and house tombs. ey have been analyzed with X-ray €uorescence in order to determine
their composition and give insight into the local metallurgical tradition, which showed signicant activity in
the area from the Final Neolithic. e artifacts mostly comprise jewellery pieces and small tools and weapons.
A range of alloys and techniques was used by the local artisans. e production methods and nishing
processes of the artifacts allow us to clarify the steps in the fabrication of the pieces. e various classes of
objects are representative of diverse techniques and include a range of weapons, tools and objects of personal
use.
Several copper-, gold- and silver-based alloys have been identied. e gold pieces consist of small delicate
bosses, sheets and strips that probably once surrounded wooden buttons and were attached to other organic
materials. Cast pieces are also present. e silver alloys‚– which were used for decorative rivets on several
copper-based objects, but also for pendants and bracelets‚– are particularly interesting, and show a distinctive
and unusual composition. Several of the copper-based objects are miniature tools such as cosmetic scrapers
that were equipped with holes so that they could be worn as pendants. Other copper/bronze objects include:
a chisel, awls, tweezers, knife blades, shhooks, pendants, bracelets, rivets, beads and strips.
ese metal pieces provide important information about the people who were buried in the Rock Shelter
and the house tombs. e jewellery and other items of personal adornment, together with the other tools,
display a relative level of aƒuence that was enjoyed by the local population, a level of prosperity that is
further supported by the quality of the other categories of objects that came from the tombs. Furthermore,
the special alloys employed for certain types of objects reveal the sophisticated technical knowledge of the
metal workshop that was employed by the inhabitants of Petras in the Early and Middle Bronze Age.

European archaeology has long been in thrall of the three period system based on raw material: Stone, Bronze and Iron. The article begins with a short discussion questioning the efficacy of this division. Thereafter we present a case study concerning flint technology present in the Bronze Age of southern Scandinavia, namely long blade knives. When we examine debitage from production of long blade knives we find that a dichotomy between specialized workshop production and ad hoc settlement production emerges. If we contrast production and distribution systems for long blade knives of flint with contemporary systems for bronze production and distribution, interesting similarities and differences may emerge.