Lara Mccarry (University of Tübingen)

Land of culchies and cattle: tracing cattle mobility in Iron Age Ireland using multi-isotope (δ¹⁸O, δ³⁴S, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) analysis

Abstract: Animal management in Iron Age Ireland is not well understood. Early historical sources and previous archaeological studies paint an image of a mobile pastoralist society, controlled by a small group of elitesbased at “royal sites” whose power and wealth was expressed through cattle rearing. The present study aimed to understand animal management strategies in Iron Age Ireland through studying animal mobility: whether animal mobility patterns differed by species or site; and whether isotope analysis is effective in studying animal mobility in Iron Age Ireland. Oxygen and Strontium isotope analysis was conducted on 80 domesticate samples from 10 sites in South-East Ireland, and combined with previously produced Sulphur data from the same samples. These values were mapped against isoscapes for Ireland, including a newly produced sulphur isoscape for the Republic of Ireland, in order to determine the locality of the samples. Results showed that animal management during the Iron Age in South- East Ireland was highly localized, and lacking any species- or site-discriminant mobility patterns, likely reflecting an insular and sedentary animal management strategy. Oxygen results were not indicative of sample locality, whereas Sulphur and Strontium results were.

Simone Piovesan (University of Tübingen)

Early Celtic glass artefacts from the west Nördlinger Ries. Scientific analyses on the origin, production, and distribution of glass around the princely seat on the Ipf

Abstract: The emergence of the La Tène culture represents a significant shift in Central Europe, marked by increasing urban centralisation, metallurgical advancements, and the expansion of trade networks connecting Central Europe with the Mediterranean. Within this context, the Celtic Fürstensitze on Mount Ipf (Baden-Württemberg) developed, establishing a dominant position in the western Nördlinger Ries. The glass ornaments recovered from the hillfort and contemporaneous sites in its vicinity, which find parallels both within the Ries and in more distant regions, serve as an excellent proxy for investigating the site’s economy and the trade connections that converged upon this southern Celtic centre.

From the 8th century BCE, soda-lime glass ornaments in Central Europe replaced the earlier soda-ash and mixed-alkali glasses. The primary centres of raw glass production were located in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the necessary raw materials were abundant and a long-standing tradition and technical knowledge of glassworking had developed. In Europe, the accumulation of artefacts, secondary glass production waste, and imported raw glass supports the conclusion that local manufacture of finished goods took place.

The assemblage from Ipf is dominated by typical Iron Age mineral soda glasses; however, some artefacts belong to distinctive typologies that may represent residues of older or more localised productions. Moreover, a subset of remolten vitreous finds could constitute intermediate products of glass manufacture, indicating the existence of a localised centre for the production of glass ornaments. This evidence may position Ipf as an active centre for the manufacture and distribution of vitreous jewellery.

Dr. Emma Loftus (Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany)

Challenges for modelling the frequency of human burials: case studies from southern Africa

Abstract: Shifts in human burial behaviors may reflect broad cultural responses to wider archaeological or environmental events. Methods such as summed probability distributions and kernel density estimation allow for an assessment of burial frequency through time, for correlation with archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records. However, datasets of directly dated burials are biased in many parts of the world due to ethical concerns over destructive sampling of human remains. In South Africa, direct dating of human remains of Holocene foraging people (hunter-gatherers) has been more routine and widespread than the dating of human remains from early farming (or Iron Age) contexts, in part due to the advocacy of descendent communities. Thus, we find modelled radiocarbon distributions for directly dated farmer burials do not accurately reflect the distribution of burials through time. I will discuss two projects that have tackled the modelling of human burial datasets in the region, and describe a possible solution to address the bias.

Special Talk: Senior Prof. Dr. Klaus Nickel (University of Tübingen, Germany)

 Future perspectives for archaeometry: thermodynamic approaches for the evaluation of ancient ceramics

Abstract: Important paths for the archaeometric interpretation of ceramics are based on their chemistry and phase assemblage. It will be shown why and how the use of thermodynamic calculations together with experimental work improves the predictions of the appearance of phases in ancient ceramics as a function of bulk chemistry and firing temperature.

Examples from porcelain, calcareous ceramics and the problem of the black cores in illite based ceramics will address the following points:

a) Phase diagrams from simple systems do not reveal the full spectrum of phases from natural clay sources

b) Measured bulk chemistry data from sherds have to be corrected for “inactive” phases. Experimental data are needed to identify those and define the range of inactive conditions

c) Only calculations in complex systems allow a realistic discussion of melt formation in firing processes

d) Thermodynamics are helping to understand the interplay of clay chemistry and the kiln atmosphere

Irene Strufaldi (University of Pisa, Italy)

Developing a clay raw material database for early medieval ceramic production in Tuscany (Italy)

Abstract: Determining the provenance of the clay used for ancient ceramics is crucial in archaeological studies, as it reveals patterns related to production, trade and exchange. This research forms part of a wider PhD project dedicated to creating an atlas of ceramic productions in Tuscany, which is partly connected to the Italian national research programme PRIN 2022 “The missing link: Early Medieval urban public courts as centres of resilience and reinterpretation of Antiquity” (PI: Prof. Federico Cantini, University of Pisa), which has recently prompted new archaeological excavations in the region.
To address the archaeological questions raised by these excavations, the characterisation of local raw materials is essential, as it provides a comparative framework for interpreting ceramic assemblages.
In this study, thirty-six clay outcrops from geological formations or deposits located near known production sites were sampled. The sediments were refined and fired at three different temperatures to obtain experimental briquettes. A multi-analytical approach, developed in collaboration with the laboratories of the Universities of Pisa, Florence and Bordeaux Montaigne, was used to characterise these raw materials. 
Although centred on the Early Middle Ages, the results are relevant to researchers working on other periods, since the raw material sourcing areas are likely to have remained largely stable over long timespans. For this reason, all generated data will be structured and made available as open data through the MOD—Mappa Open Data Repository, following the FAIR principles

Efraim A. Andreadakis (University of Tübingen, Germany)

Organisation of pottery production in early Iron Age Etruria: insights in proto-urban centres

Abstract: During the Early Iron Age (EIA) (late 10th–late 8th centuries BCE), Etruria (central Italy) underwent significant sociocultural changes and fundamental innovations, leading to various social, political, and economic developments. Throughout these transformative shifts, numerous proto-urban sites appeared in the region exhibiting the so-called Villanovan material culture.
Villanovan pottery has been substantially studied from a stylistic perspective. However, significant research questions regarding its manufacturing technology and the organisation of production in Etruria remain unaddressed. By analysing Villanovan pottery from this region, this study aims to shed light on pottery production and, through this, on the technological, economic, sociocultural, and settlement-pattern aspects associated with the development of proto-urban centres in Etruria during the EIA period.
To achieve this, an interdisciplinary approach—including thin-section petrography and WD-XRF—was applied to pottery samples from four key EIA centres in Etruria: Vulci, Tarquinia, Cerveteri, and Veio. This approach aimed to investigate the technological characteristics of the pottery and elucidate the organisation of its production in these proto-urban centres.
The results of this study demonstrate a high degree of variability in paste recipes within each centre, providing significant insights into raw material selection and processing, as well as the organisational model of pottery production. This work shows that examining the organisation of pottery manufacture can shed light on settlement patterns in EIA Etruria, while also offering a robust reference for future investigations into ceramic production in the region during the early 1st millennium BCE.

Maria Diakatou (University of Tübingen, Germany)

Early Etruscan cities: continuity and innovation in Orientalising pottery production

Dr. Mercedes Navero Rosales (University of Granada, Spain)

Ivory provenance analysis during the recent Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula