Technological Analysis, Provenance Study and Radiocarbon Dating of Iron Bipyramidal Semi-products of the Durrenentzen Deposit (Haut-Rhin, France): A Renewed Vision of the Iron Economy during Iron Age I

During the early stages of the iron metallurgy in Western Europe, the most wide-spread type of semi-product is of bipyramidal shape. Even if their occurrence is frequent their conditions of manufacturing and of circulation and even their dating remain poorly known. Thus an interdisciplinary approach was applied to the Durrenentzen deposit (Haut-Rhin) - the third in Europe by its numerical importance - in order to reconstitute the technological, social and economic context which led to its abandonment. he morphometrical study of fiifty one bipyramidal semi-products reveals a large overall homogeneity of the set in spite of detail variations. Four objects were selected for archaeometrical studies. he metallographic analyses highlight significant internal differences regarding the quality of the materials, the nature of the alloy and the manufacturing techniques. he chemical analyses also reveal differentiated chemical signatures. Radiocarbon analyses realized on the carbon contained in steel allow finally to connect this deposit to the first Iron Age. Results about this exceptional deposit allow to implant the first milestone of a more general analysis modifying significantly the perception of the iron economy during the first Iron Age.