Iron and the Iron Age

Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1. Introduction

Iron and the production process

The archaeological sources: problems and potential

Technological innovation and social context

Notes on the structure of the book

Chapter 2. The Near East

Evidence from textual sources during the 2nd millennium BC

Earlier archaeological evidence (ca. 20th – 13th century BC)

Later archaeological evidence (ca. 13th – 10th century BC)

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 3. Cyprus

Iron in Late Cypriot IIIA

Iron in Late Cypriot IIIB

Iron in Cypro-Geometric I

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 4. The Aegean

Iron before 1200 BC

The 12th and the first half of the 11th century BC

The second half of the 11th and the early 10th century BC

The 10th century BC

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 5. The eastern Balkan Peninsula

Knobbed, fluted and stamped pottery

Selected early iron artefacts

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 6. The area north of the Black Sea

The Bilozerka culture

The Hordiivka cemetery

Cultures between the Dnister and the Carpathians

The Chernoles and Bondarikha cultures of the forest steppe

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 7. The Caucasus

South of the Caucasus

North of the Caucasus

Chapter 8. The central and western Balkan Peninsula

Albania, Dalmatia and Istria

Slovenia

Bosnia-Hercegovina and central and northern Croatia

The central Balkans

Bronze and iron in hoard depositions

Bronze and iron in the manufacture of swords, dirks and daggers

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 9. The Carpathian Basin and the wider European context of the introduction of iron

Notes on early iron in Transylvania and the Banat

The earliest iron in the Carpathian Basin and the area north of the Alps

Iron in the late Urnfield period: utilitarian implements and status symbols

Hoard deposition in the Carpathian Basin and the Bronze/Iron transition

Crisis and system collapse in the Carpathian Basin

The demise of the Standard Bronze value system

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 10. Italy

Southern Italy

Sicily

Sardinia

Central Italy

Northern Italy

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 11. The Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands

The Villena Treasure

Phoenician traders and the first colonial foundations

The introduction of iron in Portugal

The introduction of iron in Spain

Discussion and conclusions

Chapter 12. Conclusions

Frequently occurring forms of artefacts during the early stages of the adoption of iron

Summary of the main trends in the introduction of iron

Iron and the Iron Age

Concluding remarks and perspectives for future research

References

About the Author

Christopher Pare studied Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, then conducted his doctoral research on Wagons and wagon-graves of the Early Iron Age in Central Europe at the University of Oxford. After working in the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz and at the University of Birmingham, he transferred to the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz as Professor of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology. Apart from his theoretical work, the author has directed fieldwork in England, Germany, Italy and Romania.