Iron Age

Chronology
Iron Working
Life in the Iron Age
Iron Age European Sites
For reference see:
http://orbita.starmedia.com/~brathair/English/culthallstatt.htm
Chronology
The Early Iron Age in central Europe,
dating from c.800 b.c. to c.500 b.c., is
known as the Hallstatt period.
Celtic migrations, beginning in the 5th
cent. b.c., spread the use of iron into W
Europe and to the British Isles.
The Late Iron Age in Europe, which is
dated from this period, is called La Tne.
Iron Age
Iron Age, marks the period of development
of Technology, when the working of iron
came into general use, replacing bronze as
the basic material for implements and
weapons.
It is the last stage of the archaelogical
sequence known as the three-age system
(Stone Age, Bronze Age, & Iron Age).
Development of Iron
Furnaces were developed that could reach the
high melting temperature of that metal. Iron
technology had spread throughout the classical
world by about 500 BC.
Early steels were discovered by adding small
amounts of carbon to iron as it was hammered
over a charcoal fire.
Mining became well developed and included the
use of pumps to keep mines from flooding.

Bronze vs. Iron
Bronze could be melted and poured into moulds,
whereas iron could not because the process
made it too brittle to use as weapons or tools.
Iron had to be heated slowly and hammered
into shape, then sunk into cold water to prevent
it weakening.
This process reached originated in Asia Minor
around 1400BC and was brought to Scotland
around 700BC by the Celts.
Uses of Iron
Metalware was used for pots and dishes,
sometimes with unforeseen disastrous
results such as lead poisoning.
Technology also advanced weaponry with
the development of catapults, better
swords, and body armor.
Also ornamental items, such as jewelry,
hair pins, etc.

Armament
sword
scabbard
hilt
Horsemanship
Bridle fittings
Ornaments, Jewelry
Safety pins
Life in the Iron Age
Different settlements
Hillforts
Single farming units
Within the hillfort proper, families would have lived in
roundhouses.
A roundhouse is a teepee-like structure covered by a
daub (a mixture of soil, straw, animal manure and soil).
Inside the roundhouse, a fire would burn constantly. The
fire would be the source of light and heat for the
structure, as well as the means to cook the food.
The making of iron objects would have formed a central
part of the settlement's existence.
The majority of entrances to roundhouses face
to the east.
Iron Age Round House
Above is a reconstruction from archaeological excavations in
Northumbria. Inland round houses in low-lying areas used wood for
the low walls, but in this picture, as with the site at Waddon, local
stone has been used.
Activity areas in roundhouse
Life in the Iron Age (cond)
Archaeologists discovered the head of a worker bee
dating back to the Iron Ages and postulate that
apiculture may have been practiced.
Charcoal has been made for over 4,000 years in Britain.
Some forts were protected by a "chevaux-de-frise": a
group of upright stones in front of the hillfort meant to
make access by man or horse arduous.
Local rivers were used to transport goods in boats built
to hold up to 5.5 tons of material
Meat and fish were preserved by using salt extracted
from seawater by a lengthy process.
The first Iron Age settlement to be excavated was at
Standlake in Oxfordshire.
Archaeologists estimate the population of Britain during
the Iron Age to be approximately one million.
Iron Age A - Hallstat culture
This is the first Celtic migration, supplanting
(rather than absorbing?) the previous natives
and bringing the technology of iron.
They also used bronze, making them multi-metal
technologists and being able to suit a wider
range of materials to the task.
There was a military aristocracy in place and
similar archaeological evidence exists on both
sides of the Irish Sea.
Hallstatt, Austria
Located in a seemingly inhospitable area,
high in the Salzkammergut in Austria,
Hallstatt was a thriving salt-mining and
trading center in antiquity.
The wealth in the Hallstatt- and La Tne-
period tombs attests to the success of the
enterprise.
The finds from this site became
eponymous for the period.
Site
Cemetary
View of Lake and Mines in background
Hallstatt Finds

Among the enormous number of finds from the
salt mines and the cemetery at Hallstatt are
wood and textile objects preserved in salt,
pottery, bronze vessels, jewelry, wagons and
weapons.
The sword scabbard is atypical in that it is
incised with a figural scene. The interpretation
of the figures is not entirely clear.
Hochdorf, Germany
The Hallstatt tribes were rural societies, which were
organized into isolated farmsteads and hamlets
subjected to central places, controlled by fortified
settlements.
Many authors consider that these settlements would be
regional centres (controlling an area of 50 km around
them), which would be, at the same time, forts, where
people from the countryside would find protection in
case of war, and also the place where the chief, the
aristocracy and craftsmen would live.
Thus, the fortified settlements would be understood as
proto-urban centres, which would concentrate: the craft
production, food storage and redistribution of resources,
trade exchanges and the political power in these
societies.
Hochdorf, Germany
http://home.bawue.de/~wmwerner/hochdorf/hgl1.html
Construction of grave
Grave Chamber
Enclosing the grave chamber
Finishing Barrow
The barrow, ready for burial
The barrow, after closing chamber
Horchdorf Finds
Drinking Horn
Gold fibulae
Gold shoe ornaments
Gold bowl
Knife
Belt cover
Neck ring
Birch bark hat
The Wagon
The Hochdorf wagon takes up nearly
half the space in the burial chamber.
It was made of wood and almost
completely covered with iron bands
and fittings, some functional, most
decorative or, at most, reinforcing.
The wagon clearly did not transport
the deceased into the tomb because
the body is approx. sixteen cm longer
than the wagon box.
Since the chamber is cut ca. two m
into the ground and lined with wood,
the wagon had to be transported over
the sides and placed inside the wood-
clad chamber after the textiles that
covered the floor had been put in
place.
That this was done in pieces is
demonstrated by the fact that neither
the horse fittings, the pole, nor the
wheels were attached to the wagon
box in positions suitable for driving.

The Couch
The "chieftain" was laid out on the couch, with his head toward the south, on
thick layers of plant material and animal furs.
The entire couch, as restored.
Length: 2.75 m.
http://www.iath.virginia.edu/~umw8f/Barbarians/Sites/Hochdorf/Hd_couch.html
The Cauldron
Height: 80 cm (without lions).
Diameter: Ca. 104 cm. Capacity: 500
liters.
Bronze
Cast Bronze lion
The Chieftan: What do we know
about him?
Reconstruction of tomb before closing
What do we know about him?
40 years old when he died.
No cause of death determined.
Over 6 feet tall, above average for the
day.
Body embalmed before burial.
Grass growing in chamber-at least four weeks
between death and complete chamber.
No hair on body (preservation treatments?)
Iron Age B - La Tne
Celt influx to Britain, a more warlike race.
There was a major silting of lowland river
bottoms; was this a result of an increase
in mining/streaming (as was to happen in
the Middle Ages and Tudor times) or as a
result of deforestation and/or the spread
of blanket bog with the ending of the
closed forest?
La Tene, Switzerland
La Tene refers to the spot outside of Lake Neuchatel
that, in 1858, receded to a very low level.
The result was the exposure of the ribs of some
construction. When the area was excavated, the second
great period of the development of the Celts was
revealed.
The La Tene eras were divided into three sections, one,
two , and three. This is a classification and designation
developed by archaeologists that refer to the periods in
general, and the remarkable aspects of it.
Its dating period begins in the middle of the fifth century
BC, and continues until the Roman conquest of Gaul,
when its development stopped. Roughly, the periods of
La Tene runs as follows: La Tene One, from 600 to 500
BC; ,La Tene Two from 450 to 100 BC; and La Tene
Three from 100 BC until the Roman destruction of the
culture.

La Tne Art
This style originates from the northern part of the Danube and centered in
Germany. This was a time of great experimentation and diverse art forms,
such as ornaments. The Celts were very artistic and not only worked with
different mediums, they also varied their genre. The Celts had great
craftsmanship in making sculptures, woodwork figurines such as stylized
animals, and pottery.
La Tne art was influenced by many different cultures. The main
influences came from Greek and Etruscan art from seventh and fourth
centuries BC. Celtic art was also influenced by the Steppe art from,
derived from the Nomadic Scythians. It was through the Scythians the
Celts became acquainted with animal art forms and began to make wooden
figurines.
Soon, the Celts emerged into figurative art around the third and first
centuries BC, with the representation of art work on coins, another
demonstration of their amazing abilities with metal. The Celts also made
armor and decorative and artistic ornaments for their horses too, starting in
the third century BC. But, this art form began to decline and eventually
died out starting in the second century BC due to Julius Caesar and his
warfare.
La Tene Sword