This submitted thesis summarizes archaeological data about Iron Age and roman period settlement activity in the area of Tuchlovický potok downstream. Main focus is given to the elaboration of archaeological excavations, which were carried out in the years 1967 and 1968 by A. Knor and J. Zeman. The excavations followed up a large drain trench between Tuchlovice and Srby (district Kladno, Central Bohemia), where K. Motyková detected in the year 1966 the rests of roman period settlement with organic finds. Thirteen probes unearthed relatively widely spread rests of settlement, which was probably buried by a flood. The analysis of pottery sherds allows dating of the excavated settlement mainly to the 1.st century AD. Sampled wooden finds were submitted to dendrochronological surveys, but the recorded tree ring curve didn't match any so far known. Most important finds are a part of wooden fence and a piece from composite wooden jar. Other wooden artifacts and finds do not allow any functional interpretation. The research carried pointed to a great potential of this site for answering a wide spectrum of questions about prehistorical settlement sites and their relation to environment. The excavations also brought some rarely found organic finds like pollen, rests of plants and some other.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2014. / This dissertation provides an analysis of the faunal remains excavated from the BSV and BSS layers from Sibudu Cave, Kwa Zulu-Natal. Based on ceramics, presence of daga floors and glass beads found within the layers the BSV and BSS were classified as dating to the Iron Age period (AD 900-1660) . The met hod of analysis follows Driver (2005). The presence of taxa shows that na tural occupants, non-human predators and human occupants accumulated the faunal material in Sibudu Cave. The taxa identified provide strong indication that at this time the site was predominantly occupied by farmers, who hunted wild ungulates and gathered marine taxa. The occupants may have used the site as a temporary shelter between camps or settlements and coastal sites. There is also some indication that the cave was utilised for religious purposes .

L'enquête porte sur l'Italie et les premiers temps du monde étrusque. Elle s'intéresse plus particulièrement à la période comprise entre un moment avancé du Premier âge du Fer et de la fin de l'Orientalisant (800-580 av. n.è.). Cette période charnière est celle du passage de la culture villanovienne à la culture étrusque. Les découpages chronologiques traditionnels ont entravé la lecture dans la diachronie de la documentation archéologique, et donc des transformations en œuvre dans la société étrusque. Dans ce travail, je me suis appuyée sur un corpus funéraire totalisant 771 tombes et plus de 10 000 objets provenant de trois sites parmi les mieux documentés de la Péninsule (Veio, Pontecagnano et Verucchio) pour reconstruire un cadre de développement chrono-culturel qui embrasse ces deux périodes traditionnellement disjointes. Ces analyses chronologiques étaient un préalable nécessaire à l'étude de dynamiques culturelles plus complexes qui ont amené à cette époque, les élites (proto) -étrusques à s'insérer dans ce grand courant méditerranéen que fut le phénomène orientalisant, et à s'attacher dans leurs tombes des biens et matières provenant d'Orient. La mise à plat de la documentation, ainsi que la périodisation élaborée dans ce travail permettent désormais de suivre dans une séquence continue et plus longue l'adoption des différents éléments orientaux par les communautés étrusques. / The present investigation deals with Italic peoples and the early days of the Etruscan world. It focuses more particularly on a period from the Early Iron Age to the end of the orientalizing period (800-580 B.C.). This crucial time shows the transition from Villanovian culture to Etruscan culture. The traditional chronological cuts have hindered the diachronical analysis of the archaeological documentation and, therefore, the ongoing social mutation of the Etruscan society. ln this research, I have used three major and well known funerary contexts (of Veio, Pontecagnano and Verucchio), totalizing 771 tombs and more than 10 000 artefacts, in order to reshape a precise chrono-cultural sequence which embraces those two periods, traditionally studied as separated chronological phases. My chronological analysis was a necessary precursor to the study of more complex cultural dynamics that occurred at this time in the Mediterranean Basin: the Orientalizing Phenomenon in which (proto)-Etruscan elites played an active role in using, as new identification criteria in their tombs, goods and raw materials coming from the Orient. The blank creation of the archaeological documentation and the new periodization created in this thesis work now allows us to follow, through a continuous and a longer sequence the adoption, by the Etruscan communities, of various oriental elements.

An iron age double grave containing a man and a woman has been found in Klinta, Köpings Parish, Öland, Sweden. Archaeologist have debated this grave and have begun to interpret the woman as a völva. The most famous artefact was found in the womans grave. It was an iron staff, Klintastaven. This staff have been the main focus when it comes to this grave but there were also three types of artifacts found with the bones: base metal artifacts covered in runes, amulets, as well as animal bones. This essay aims to analyse the artifacts from the grave and their relation to the Old Norse religion of Scandinavia and the research have established a connection between these artifacts and the Old Norse religion of Viking times.

Abstract Gravfält och byar - En komparativ undersökning av sex gravfält från Värend. Gravefields and villages - A comparative analysis of sex gravefields from Värend. Abstract   The basis that this study stands on, is that iron age-gravfields represents nearby village communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate if six gravefields within the old folkland Värend represent different villages, or does the six representative gravefield-villages only show dissimilarity in social differences that occurred within the villages?   A comparative method analysis was used in this study, to help examine comparisons of the different grave types within the gravefields and the social phenomena that they reflect. To help the method further, old maps of the gravefields were used and field observations were made, to get a better picture in how the different grave types were placed and arranged within the gravefields and landscape.   The results show that these six gravefields probably represents their own nearby villages, and many of the graves that occur within the different gravefields, are alike to each other, which show that these supposed representative gravefield-villages had similar grave traditions. / Sammanfattning Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka sex gravfält från det gamla folklandet Värend, varav de sex gravfälten ligger idag inom Växjö kommun. Gravfälten som undersöktes var Lilla Fjäll-gravfältet (Växjö RAÄ 111:1), Ingelstad-gravfältet (Östra Torsås RAÄ 1:1), Telestad-gravfältet (Växjö RAÄ 12:1), Skir-gravfältet (Växjö RAÄ 19–20:1), Orraryd-gravfältet (Nöbbele RAÄ 3:1) och Västenhaga-gravfältet (Bergunda RAÄ 25:1). Denna studie fokuserade sig på att undersöka de olika gravtyper som förekommer inom de sex gravfälten. Detta gjordes för att kunna hitta spår av hur de olika gravfältens representativa by-samhällena kan ha återspeglats. Detta gjordes genom att identifiera skillnader mellan respektive gravfält och därefter diskutera vad skillnaderna kan representera. Jag ville veta om det handlar om olikheter mellan sex skilda byar som begravt sina döda eller beror olikheten på sociala skillnader inom byarna? Resultatet visade på att det förekommer ett varierande och komplext gravstruktur där vissa av gravarna kan ha representerat olika gårdar inom byarna, medan vissa av gravarna representerades som högstatusgravar och religiösa/rituella gravar. De olika gravfälten visade även på att de representerade egna närbelägna byar.

In this thesis I explore how physical and socio-cultural factors interact to shape domestic architecture by analysing the form, layout, and construction of houses from Sicily dating from the Neolithic to the end of the Hellenistic period. This time range encompasses two primary domestic building traditions: single-spaced round houses that dominate from the Neolithic through to the end of the Late Bronze Age, and large, multiple-spaced rectilinear structures that characterise the Archaic period onwards. As such the domestic architecture of Sicily provides the opportunity to study not only two distinct ways of building, but also the dynamics within them and the changes that occurred as one evolved into the other during the Early Iron Age: a period of transition that is often studied in isolation or only in relation to the earlier or later context, rather than as an integral part of this island’s history. A critical analysis of building techniques and materials in the context of available resources and their material properties alongside local environmental conditions reveals correlations between the choice of materials, construction techniques, and topographical and climatic conditions, as well as the form taken by the building as a whole. Comparative analyses were also carried out of house size, form, and degree of subdivision within and between the building traditions. The picture presented shows an increase in total size and subdivision (despite the relatively stable size range of individual spaces within the houses) from the Neolithic to the Hellenistic period and implies a developing desire for options to separate people and activities. Finally, close diagrammatic studies of the layout and spatial organisation of the houses bring to light the structuring of these domestic spaces: the use of architectural features and artefacts to provide a sense of division in single-spaced buildings; greater layers of access and control of movement incorporated into the larger, rectilinear houses with their multiple spaces; and the arrangement of these to allow for the lighting of interior rooms. Combined with the results above, these reveal patterns in the development of building traditions on Sicily and how they relate to, encompass, and entangle the dynamic socio-cultural and physical parameters that make up the wider landscapes they are a part of: notions of identity and its formation and transmission, social structure and stratification, topography and climate, and material structural properties. Altogether this allows for the development of a deeper and more holistic understanding of the relationship between building and living, of how physical and socio-cultural parameters integrate and influence the construction of houses, and how these all come together in the building traditions that are both shaped by us and shape us.

Pendant les dernières trente années le centre historique de la ville Fossano (Coni, Piémont) a été intéressé par nombreuses fouilles et plusieurs sondages archéologiques à la suite des fréquents travaux de construction. Ces interventions, liées au développement de la ville, ont toujours eu un caractère d'urgence, de sauvetage, préventif, sans être jamais liées à une programmation précédente. L'étude de chaque site a imposé du début l’analyse approfondie des modalités d'intervention et de la méthodologie de fouille. Dans la plupart des cas, l'analyse stratigraphique a été liée à celle du mobilier archéologique, qui, en absence de structures protohistoriques ou de niveaux anthropiques en place, est le seul élément qui nous a permis de dater la première période d’occupation du site. Est possible dater au XIe siècle av. J.-C. (Ha B1 ancien du plateau suisse) le début d’une présence humaine permanente sur toute la surface sommitale du plateau de Fossano, avec son apogée pendant la transition Bronze/Fer italien. Le groupe céramique de Fossano se place dans un contexte culturel propre de la fin du l'âge du Bronze final du nord-ouest de l'Italie, intermédiaire entre la culture du Protogolasecca de la Lombardie et du Piémont orientale et la culture RSFO. Dans ces territoires au l'extrême nord-ouest de l’Italie les influences RSFO sont très profondes, surtout de la Suisse occidentale et des régions de l’est de la France. Les caractéristiques spécifiques du Piémont occidentale le rendant plus apparenté aux complexes nord alpins qu'à ceux de l'Italie péninsulaire, jouant un rôle fondamental dans le tableau des relations entre les deux versants alpins pendant toute la préhistoire. / During the last thirty years the historic center of Fossano (Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy) has undergone numerous archaeological excavations and survey as a result of many construction works related to the development of the city. These operations have never been programmed, but always related to emergency situations or preventive archaeology. The study of each site imposed an early-depth analysis of the applied methods of intervention and excavation. In most cases, the stratigraphic analysis is linked to the archaeological material, which, in the absence of proper prehistorical levels or structures, is the only element that has allowed us to date the early moments of occupation of the site. The beginning of a permanent human presence on the Fossano plateau is Probably dated to the end of the 11th century BC (Ha B1 in the Swiss plateau), with its peak during the transition between the Italian Bronze age and Iron age. The ceramic group of Fossano is located in the final Italian Bronze age in the Northwest of Italy, intermediate between the culture of Protogolasecca of Lombardy and eastern Piedmont and the RSFO culture. In these territories, in the extreme north-west of Italy, the RSFO influences are very strong, especially from the western territories of Switzerland and the eastern regions of France. The specific characteristics of western Piedmont making it more similar to the northern Alpine complex as those of the Italian peninsula; playing a fundamental role in the relations between the two sides of the Alpes during the prehistory.

Jusque dans les années 1980, le premier âge du Fer en Bourgogne orientale était connu essentiellement par les fouilles des nécropoles tumulaires et des habitats de hauteur. Les travaux sur les habitats de plaine étaient très lacunaires et reposaient très largement sur des observations réalisées lors de découvertes fortuites. Depuis une vingtaine d’années, le développement de l’archéologie préventive lié aux différents travaux d’aménagement du territoire a permis d’effectuer de nombreux décapages de grande envergure. Grâce à ces chantiers, nos connaissances sur les habitats de plaine se sont développées et ont été réactualisées. Pour aborder ces sites le choix s’est fondé sur les plus caractéristiques soit en raison de leur surface ou soit en fonction du mobilier archéologique recueilli. Le corpus se compose de 110 habitats dont 98 ont été découverts lors d’opérations d’archéologie préventive. Comme beaucoup de ces sites ne sont pas publiés, les volumes 2 et 3 présentent la documentation des sites, les études et les planches de mobilier qui ont servi d’outils de référence à l’étude. Ce sont donc 250 ensembles clos découverts sur ces habitats de plaine du premier âge du Fer qui permettent de proposer une sériation du mobilier, associant céramique et métal, pour aboutir à une typologie précise de cette période pour la région. En complément, l’étude des structures présentes sur ces différents habitats propose une hiérarchisation des sites dont le nombre augmente fortement au premier âge du Fer et témoigne de la spécificité de ce territoire rural, principalement liée à une activité agro-pastorale. / Up until the 1980s the excavation of monumental cemeteries and hilltop settlements provided most of the information on the Early Iron Age in Eastern Burgundy. Studies of lowland settlements were few and far between and consisted mainly of observations from fortuitous discoveries. During the last 20 years the rise of development led archaeology carried out prior to various building developments has provided the opportunity of large scale excavations. These works have developed and renewed our knowledge of lowland settlements. This approach has focused on the most characteristic sites either because of their large surface area or because of their finds. The corpus includes 110 settlements, 98 of which were discovered through development led archaeology. As many of the sites remain unpublished, the volumes n° 2 and 3 present the site documentation, the specialised studies and the drawings of the objects that are the references for this study. The 250 assemblages discovered on the lowland settlements of the Early Iron Age form the basis of a seriation of the finds that associates pottery and metal to establish a precise typology for this period and for the area. Also, the study of the features themselves proposes a hierarchy of the settlements the number of which greatly increases during the Early Iron Age and bears witness to the specificity of this rural territory mainly linked to mixed farming.

L’objectif principal de ce travail est de fournir une compréhension plus complète du costume funéraire au cours de l’Âge du Fer sur tout le territoire actuel de l’Albanie, et d’en suivre sa variabilité dans le temps et l’espace. Le cadre chronologique de notre analyse s’étend du XIe à la fin du VIe/début Ve siècle av. J.-C. Afin de mieux encadrer les ensembles dans le temps et l’espace, on a, dans un premier temps, réalisé une analyse typo-chronologique exhaustive des principales catégories d’accessoires vestimentaires et de parure du corps, analyse étayée par des comparaisons provenant d’un cadre géographique plus large, balkanique et européen. Considérant le costume comme un moyen important d’expression des identités individuelles, du groupe ou d’une région, l’étude se poursuit avec l’analyse des ensembles de parure pour chaque région et même pour chaque nécropole. Cette analyse vise à l’identification de « règles » dans l’association des différents composants du costume, en tenant compte aussi de leur typologie et de la manière de les porter, afin d’arriver à meilleur compréhension des différents types de costumes régionaux et de leur évolution chronologique. Cette étude comprend aussi une analyse de la dynamique des contacts régionaux et intra-régionaux au cours de l’Âge du Fer en Albanie, et l’impact des relations et les échanges culturels dans l’élaboration des différents costumes régionaux. Enfin, nous espérons que la définition d’une chronologie plus fine du costume funéraire pourra servir d’élément de réflexion à part entière pour une meilleure redéfinition de la séquence chronologique relative de l’Âge du Fer en Albanie. / The main aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of funerary costumes during the Iron Age in the present territory of Albania, and to follow their variability in time and space. The chronological context of this study covers the period from the 11th to the end of the 6th/ beginning of the 5th century B.C. In order to better frame the assemblages in time and space, the study focuses first on a systematic typo-chronological analysis of the main categories of dress and body ornaments associated with burial costumes, based on comparisons from a wider geographical context, from the Balkans and Europe. Considering appearance and modes of dress as important means of expressing individual, group or regional identities, the study continues by analyzing specific regional assemblages of ornaments and sometimes those of specific cemeteries. In order to provide a better understanding of the different types of regional costumes and their chronological development during the Iron Age, this analysis aims to identify “rules” of dress by examining the association patterns of individual components of costume, while also taking into account their typology and their position relative to the body. In this part of the study, the dynamics of regional and intra-regional contacts during the Iron Age in Albania are also analyzed, as are the impact of cultural relationships and exchanges in the development of various regional costumes. Finally, a finer chronology of the burial costume as defined in this study should serve as a starting point for redefining the relative chronological sequence of the Iron Age in Albania.

Les objectifs de ce travail sont doubles. Le premier est la caractérisation de l’organisation technique, économique et sociale de la métallurgie du fer au sein d’un vaste ensemble géographique. Le second est de vérifier l’existence de permanences ou de ruptures chronologiques et géographiques dans ce système. Une chronologie large (450 a.C. – 100 p.C.) incluant la conquête romaine des territoires concernés permet de vérifier si les changements politiques influent sur les productions comme celle du fer. Dans un premier temps, l’étude des structures de production, ainsi que des outils et des déchets de travail du fer, fournit des éléments permettant de restituer les procédés techniques employés par les métallurgistes. Il a ainsi été possible de démontrer que certains forgerons étaient spécialisés dans la fabrication d’un panel réduit d’objets, tandis que d’autres avaient une activité beaucoup plus large. Dans un second temps, un travail sur l’organisation des espaces de production a permis de démontrer l’existence de plusieurs types d’arrangements des structures au sein des ateliers. Ces éléments, ajoutés à ceux sur les techniques de fabrication, conduisent à déterminer l’existence de lignées techniques : des personnes utilisant des structures similaires pour effectuer des productions similaires. Enfin, la réinsertion de ces données dans leur contexte social, en particulier en associant chaque production au statut du site sur laquelle elle est effectuée, démontre de fortes variations régionales et chronologiques de l’organisation du processus métallurgique sur la façade atlantique. Au début du second âge du Fer, la métallurgie est peu répandue. Elle ne produit que peu de déchets et s’effectue en contexte rural. Les quantités de métal les plus importantes sont travaillées au sein des domaines des élites. La fin de la Protohistoire est marquée par une augmentation de la quantité de fer produit et par la spécialisation toujours plus marquée des activités, démontrant une forte séparation des diverses phases de travail. De plus, la proportion de travaux de forge au sein des agglomérations augmente. Autour du changement d’ère, la quantité de fer produit croît encore, de même que le nombre d’espaces de travail spécialisés. Cela atteste de la prolongation des tendances amorcées des périodes antérieures. / 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 reflects the continuing trends initiated in previous periods.