L’artisanat en Gaule du VIIe au 1er siècle avant notre ère
Résumé
Craftwork in Gaul from the 7th to the 1st century BCE
At the beginning of Iron Age archaeology, researchers chose to study objects which were mentioned in the Antique texts: tombs with swords, helmets, two-wheeled war chariots, fine harnesses and other weapons. The other types of craftwork were studied mostly for their aesthetic aspect, their fabrication technique, or their exotic aspect, and according to the value given to the materials and to their treatment. The discourse centred on the object and forgot the craftsman and his expertise. This method meant that most of the traces of craftwork disappeared.
Since the second half of the 20th century, new generations of researchers have developed different research methods, based on the study of structures and archaeological finds. Each finished object, waste, spoilt fabrication, piece of a mould or forging residue is assigned to one of these three fields: production (craftsman), distribution (merchant, use), and consumer. Yet, even today, we know more about ceramic, metal and wood working than about glass, bone, amber, schist, cloth, basketry or leather working.
The study of workshops makes it possible to trace back the operations leading to the creation of objects.
Until recently, the absence of layouts was due to the difficulty of excavating and interpreting these inconspicuous structures. The abundance of metal objects discovered currently is the best indication for locating craftwork activities within a settlement.
In the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, archaeologists imagined craftsmen working and living with their families in subterranean thatched huts, that were accessed through the roof. Currently it could be demonstrated that the settlements were located close to the work sites but separated from these latter. The workshops were often equipped with a cellar and simple open fireplaces.
The organisation of workshops reflects the needs and constraints of production. At the end of the Gaulish period metal workshops were mostly organised in two parts. The first contained the fireplaces for heating the metals. Its black floor and north-facing lighting made it possible to observe the desired temperature through the colour of the metal. For iron the fireplace had vessels and stone anvils around it. Operations included reheating and quenching, soldering and hot forging, and the ground was covered with hammer scale. When melting copper-based alloys, the floors would have contained metal drippings, and fragments of crucibles and moulds. The other part of the workshop had a pale-coloured floor. Bright light entered to show up the least defect and to allow the addition of decoration. These workshops were designed for mass production.
As far as iron and bronze working from the end of the Hallstadt period up until the 2nd and 1st century BCE is concerned, the best known production is the manufacturing of fibulae. Techno-typological studies, followed by the analysis of deformations and compositions, and experimentation by skilled craftsmen, have defined the operational sequence involved in their manufacturing.
Personal ornaments made of gold were rare, although they are over-represented in exhibitions and publications for a broader public.
Only small quantities of metal were used, occurring in most cases as sheet metal. Silver ornaments are even rarer and come from the alpine regions. Coinage appears in the 3rd century BCE.
Gaul was a territory hosting abundant mineral and plant resources and virtually all types of craft and industrial activities were carried out there. But the Celts also mastered other types of craft such as weaving and dyeing and the manufacturing of cloths made of wool, hemp and linen. Simple or multi-coloured cloth has been known since the Hallstadt period because of the preservation of textile fragments in metal oxides. The “circular” loom appears during the Iron Age and becomes common in the Roman era. However, it remains unknown, whether this activity was a domestic activity or a serial production.
Celtic craftsmen made and decorated objects with a variety of shapes and decorations using animal matter such as bone, horn, antler and ivory. To process these raw materials similar but smaller tools were used compared to the processing of wood.
Wood is the main material for construction, boats, bridges, furniture and common utensils, and for sculpture. The Gauls were very skilled in the art of cooperage: the fabrication of objects by shaping and assembling wooden slats. The closed form of the barrel, always said to be of Gaulish origin, is an invention of the Alpine regions.
The first glass objects, dated to the Hallstadt period, all stem from the Mediterranean region. The origin of the La Tène A bracelets is unknown. Glass-working develops during the La Tène C period with the so-called “Celtic” beads and bracelets. All were made from a raw material, glass blocks imported from Egypt. No workshops are known.
Pottery is very important during the Iron Ages. At the end of the Hallstadt period, the clay-coil technique is accompanied by finishing on a slow wheel… The earliest potters’ wheels were identified in Languedoc and in Provence. This seems to be a technique learnt from the Greek settlers. In the same region and at the same time, during the 7th century BCE, the first kilns appear with a pierced sole separating the heating chamber and the fireplace from the upper chamber in which the pieces to be fired were placed. In the other parts of Gaul the generalised diffusion of production installations using potters’ wheels and two-chambered kilns seems to relate to the development of craft workshop areas in the neighbourhood of open or fortified settlements. The tools are rare. Not a single complete tool set for a potter’s workshop was discovered.
For the manufacturing of personal ornaments made of soft stone, such as schist, the same techniques as for bone processing were used. The Celts, and especially those established along the Mediterranean coast, extracted stone for construction and sculpture. As early as the 2nd century BCE rotary mills were manufactured, and the production sites are starting to be identified.
Knowledge of craft-working in Gaul still has many shortcomings. During the entire Iron Age, the agglomerations contain the early proofs of a structured craftwork economy. The end of the Hallstadt period is well known for ceramic and metal working. Subsequently, the craftsmen left no traces up until the 2nd century BCE. During the 1st century BCE the craftsmen discovered and acquired new skills through contacts with the Romans. With regard to masonry this is a true revolution.
Français
Au début de l’archéologie des âges du Fer, les chercheurs ont privilégié les objets qui confirmaient les textes antiques. Les autres productions artisanales furent étudiées surtout pour leur esthétisme, leur technique ou leur exotisme et d’après la valeur accordée aux matériaux et à leur traitement. Le discours portait sur l’objet en oubliant l’homme et ses savoir-faire. Avec cette méthode, disparurent la plupart des témoins de l’artisanat.
Depuis la seconde moitié du xxe siècle, la compréhension de l’artisan et de ses productions s’appuie sur l’étude des structures et du mobilier. L’analyse des ateliers permet de retracer les opérations aboutissant à la création des objets. Ils sont, notamment ceux du travail des métaux, le reflet des besoins et des contraintes d’une production.
Pour l’artisanat du fer et du bronze, à la fin du Hallstatt et dans les deux derniers siècles avant notre ère, les fabrications de fibule sont les mieux attestées. Des études technotypologiques, suivies d’analyses des déformations, des compositions et des expérimentations par des hommes de métiers, ont défini les chaînes opératoires. Les parures en or sont rares. En grande partie en tôle, elles mobilisent peu de métal. Les parures en argent, peu nombreuses, proviennent des régions alpines. Le monnayage apparaît au IIIe siècle avant notre ère. Les Celtes pratiquent tous les autres artisanats : le tissu, le travail de l’os, le bois, le verre, la céramique, la pierre. La connaissance des artisanats en Gaule comporte encore de nombreux manques. La période de la fin du Hallstatt est bien connue surtout pour la céramique et les métaux. Ensuite les artisans ne laisseront pas de traces jusqu’au iie siècle avant notre ère. Les agglomérations sont les premières preuves d’une économie artisanale structurée pendant tout cet âge du Fer. Au Ier siècle avant notre ère, nos artisans découvrent et apprennent de nouveaux savoir-faire aux contacts des Romains.
Domaines
Archéologie et Préhistoire
Loading...