Die Zerstörungsspuren auf den eisenzeitlichen Waffen aus La Tène (Kt. Neuenburg, Schweiz): Kriegerische oder rituelle Zerstötungen?

Summary

Over the last few decades, hundreds of Celtic iron weapons have been discovered, a number of which show signs of violent damage as a result of hostilities and/or religious customs. In spite of the fact that these marks have been used as key elements for the interpretation of archaeological sites and the understanding of Iron Age warfare, no method was available until now for archaeologists to describe and study said marks systematically and to distinguish between voluntarily inflicted marks and those resulting of fighting. The collection of weapons from the eponymous site of La Tène preserved in the Laténium (Hauterive, Switzerland) was deemed ideal for such a study due to the excellent state of conservation of the weapons, close to that of their original condition, the size of this prestigious corpus and the fact that it is very well dated. The research is based on methods used in forensics and in experimental archaeology, while comparisons to other ancient cultures have also proven useful. The aim is to open up new perspectives on the interpretation site of La Tène and the martial techniques of the Middle Iron Age, as well as highlight the importance of the experiments carried out in this field. The purpose of the article is to explain the methodology developed for the analysis of the marks based on a few examples.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• EXARC Experimental Archaeology Collection

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): EXARC Experimental Archaeology Collection Manager

Record Identifiers

ExArc Id(s): 14035

Notes

Rights & Attribution: The information in this record was originally compiled by Dr. Roeland Paardekooper, EXARC Director.