- Chapter Twelve -
From this period, a number of centres have been identified that represent the
first towns north of the Alps. They are characterized by more abundant habitation
remains, indicating larger populations, than other settlements, and by evidence
of substantial manufacturing and trade activity in a variety of materials. Well-
documented examples include Mont Lassois Qoffroy 1960) and Bragny (Feugere and
Guillot 1986) in France, Chatillon-sur-Glane in Switzerland (Schwab 1975), and the
Heuneburg in south-west Germany (Kimmig 1983)' These sites yield evidence
for on-site iron-smithing and bronze-casting, bone and antler carving, lignite and jet
cutting, and working of exotic substances such as amber and coral. Mansfeld's (1973)
study of fibulae and Dammer's (1978) research on painted pottery suggest that
workshops at these centres produced goods for the surrounding countryside (Wells
1987). The richly outfitted burials associated with the centres have been interpreted
as reflecting a marked social hierarchy. Links between craft production and rich
graves (special craft products, including bronze vessels and gold ornaments, occur in
the graves) make it likely that (Taftworkers at the centres were under the control of
the local elite group. In regio'<s where there were no such centres, ironworking
and bronze-casting were carricl out by many small communities, as for example at
Niedererlbach in Bavaria (Ko'~ and Kohnke 1988).
For extractive industries in iron, Driehaus (1965) has called attention to the
association between ore deposits and rich Early La Tene (500-400 Be) burials in
the western Middle Rhineland, and has suggested that the wealth in southern
;mports, local fine crafts products and gold ornaments in these graves derived from
exploitation of the iron resources and from trade in the metal. Pauli (1974) proposed
a similar model of early La Tene wealth based on exploitation of resources in
Bohemia, drawing on potentially analogous evidence from the medieval period.
Middle Period (400-200 Be)
Few centres of the kind cited above existed during this period in temperate Europe.
Small communities characterized all of the landscapes (on community size, see Wells
1984: 133), and expression of marked status differences in burials decreased. The
activities of the crafts industries that had produced such special goods as bronze
vessels and gold ornaments declined.
The two industries that are best represented are ironworking and bronze-casting.
In the thousands of cemeteries known from this period, men's graves are character-
istically equipped with iron weapons, women's with bronze jewellery, sometimes in
substantial quantities (Bujna 1982; Kramer 1985). Much more iron was produced
than before, and the techniques of manufacture were refined. Since iron is widely
available in temperate Europe, most communities probably produced their own
metal. Bujna (1982: 421) attributes the great increase in quantities of iron produced
to the needs of military expeditions that Celtic peoples made to Italy, Greece and
eastern Europe. Even though communities were small, the practice of burying
weapons meant regular consumption of metal - buried swords, spears and shields
required replacement. Smiths working in the small communities of this period are
unlikely to have heen full-time specialists, unless they made iron implements for
e"her communitie If(;sides their own.