Celtic Gold Fine metal work in the western part of the Western Latene culture

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Roland Schwab
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2017 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 322994757

Compared to the Hallstatt period, a series of important changes take place during the Latène period on the continent: the sources of gold supply diversify as the stock of recyclable gold is becoming dominant, while during the Early Iron Age native alluvial gold was mainly in use. Gold is used for coinage and coins represent the main gold circulation. New aesthetic codes and design inspired by Mediterranean patterns are arising: contributing to the emergence of what is called Early Celtic Art. the contexts of deposition of gold shift from burials to hoards which are related to new ways of expressing prestige and wealth. The study of the production and consumption of gold objects appears to be a key feature for the understanding of the economic, social, artistic and technological development of the Latène Culture. This culture is indeed characterized by new social and economic dynamics leading to foreign contacts. This new context is visible through style and technology of fine metal work. This period is crucial for the development of the Celtic Art, which finds an important expression in gold work. It also marks the starting point of coinage, with new exchange systems and new access to the raw material. Aside of the emergence of coin use, gold mining brings an innovative point into gold studies. We intend to study the social dynamics, combined with craft specialization during the LT period by investigating objects from burial sites and hoards. Our geographical focus will mainly concern Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland. Gold work is suitable to reveal traditions and innovations as well as foreign influences and exchange. It shows the mobility of people, objects and ideas. The strength of the project is in the international and interdisciplinary collaboration in archaeology, archaeometry, technology and experimental archaeology. It is also based on modern laboratory equipment allowing high precision observations and material analyses. We will consider all aspects of LT gold work for the first time: raw material, transformation of gold into artefacts, the stylistic conception, the utilization and distribution, the final deposition and lastly the archaeological discovery and interpretation. We shall also take into account coins, essentially those found associated with fine metal work, for their information about composition, probable provenance and their social and economic value. These observations will be integrated into a wider context in order to light changes in stylistic traditions and technologies of objects in relation to the socio-economic and ideological organization of the LT period. The deliverables will be a database, the setting of an international conference and the publications of the results. The database will bring together the stylistic, archaeological, technological and analytical data of LT gold for the first time. This database is intended to constitute a global corpus and will be a fundamental tool for future research.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Co-Investigator: Privatdozentin Dr. Barbara Armbruster
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Maryse Blet-Lemarquand