Massive metalwork deposition in Atlantic Europe during the Late Bronze Age – Iron Age transition: towards a refined chronology?

Abstract

Large quantities of bronze -amounting to tons- were buried in isolated hoards in Europe during the final stages of prehistory, mainly during the Bronze Age and extending into the Iron Age. This practice was particularly intense on the Atlantic façade of the continent and, despite many years of research and lengthy scientific discussion, even today we do not understand what motivated such disparate and widespread communities to express themselves in this way. The hoards of mass-produced and unused (as-cast) axes with high levels of lead and/or tin that appear in several areas of the European Atlantic façade during the Late Bronze Age - Iron Age transition constitute an enigmatic piece in this puzzle. They spread in specific areas of the Atlantic region (southern Britain, Brittany, northwestern Iberia…) in a period that, roughly speaking, can be dated c. 800-600 BC. Alongside the issues connected to the social explanation of this phenomenon, its accurate chronology also constitutes a challenge for research. Does it start and end at the same moment in all these areas? How do it relate with other aspects of the archaeological record that can be more precisely dated? Although metal hoards have usually been dated through typo-chronological approaches, new methods and perspectives emerged in the last years. These include the radiocarbon dating of organic remains preserved in metal artefacts, the recording of bronzes in modern archaeological excavations, and the use of chemical and lead isotopic data to infer relative chronological sequences. The aim of this contribution is to assess the usefulness of these perspectives for a refined chronology of the massive metal production and deposition in the Atlantic area. We will argue that, despite the progress made in recent years, some chronological problems still persist.