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Decoration Features of Second Iron Age Pottery South of the Po The paper analyses on a chronological typological level the decorative syntax present on impasto pottery from the Late Iron Age (Ligure III period: 475–89 BC) in lower Piedmont (inner Piedmontese Liguria), where vessel forms and decorative elements appear largely in continuity with those of the Middle Iron Age (Ligure II period: 625–475 BC). Decoration is generally present on closed shapes (situliform vases, ollae). Compared to the Middle Iron Age, the percentage of decorated pottery increases and the decorative elements become more elaborate. The most characteristic elements are the horizontal rows of finger or tool impressions, the simple zigzags, at first continuous and then interrupted (the latter evolving over time from single to double and then to multiple, sometimes with the alternate insertion of triangular or circular impressions at the corners), the impressions with or without clay, are usually on the lower part of the vessel, sometimes in combination with the zigzag motif. Shapes and decorative syntax are not found in the funerary and settlement contexts of northern Pied mont and more generally in Cispadana, while they seem to have an identifying character for the Ligurian groups of inland Piedmont.

In the Emilian Po plain, during the Late Iron Age (4th and 3rd century BCE), an unprecedented and heteroge neous class of handmade coarse and decorated ceramics emerged in certain sites. In comparison to other Transpadane regions, its presence is not dominant or statistically significant, except for a few sites that are characterised by more evident La Tène imports and burial customs. This pottery gradually disappeared during the Roman conquest (late 3rd–2nd century BCE), except in some rural areas and in the westernmost colonies. The aim of this paper is to outline the key features of this distinctive and challenging pottery and to explore functional and potential social and cultural interpretations, while also considering cross cultural comparisons.

This paper delves into Late Iron Age decorated coarse ware originating from the present day province of Bergamo in central Lombardy. During protohistoric time, this region served as a borderland and a nexus connecting extensive cultural spheres, encompassing both lowland and mountainous terrains. The study presents data sourced from investigations conducted in the lowlands, alongside previously undisclosed finds from the local urban centre of Bergamo. We examine recent finds from the mountain range, encompassing not only the broader region but also focusing on the village of Parre in the Valle Seriana, a crucial place for comprehending the dynamics between lowland plains and mountainous environments. This distinct pottery class exhibits traces of both indigenous and far reaching influences, suggesting its significance in the multifaceted process of Romanization and its role in negotiating cultural identities during this intricate historical phase.

The paper in the first place introduces the figure of Guido Sutermeister and his fundamental work. The second part offers a concise summary of the data relating to decorated coarse ware gathered from a preliminary survey of the collections of the Guido Sutermeister museum in Legnano and from a consideration of what has already been written upon the subject to date.

Several archaeological sites from the Late Iron Age have recently been discovered in Posočje, a region along the upper and middle reaches of the River Soča/Isonzo (NW Slovenija, NE fringes of Italy), which compel us to re -examine the Latenisation of the region. Supra -regional La Tène forms began to appear in the material culture at the end of the Early Iron Age, in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC. This was followed by a marked decrease in habitation remains, a ‘hundred -year crisis’ with very little archaeological evidence available for the time between the initial decades of the 3rd and the mid-2nd century BC. The picture then changed again with the rise of the Late Iron Age Idrija group, as most of the sites connected with this group date between 150/130 BC and the Augustan period. This is also the period of the first ancient literary sources mentioning the wider area, which inspire ever newer attempts at ethnic identifications of the population living there. The sources reveal that the Romans appear to have associated the area with the Carni.

In the history of archaeology of ancient Thrace, the analysis of indigenous ceramics has re‑ ceived less attention than other archaeological material, especially imported Greek wares. In recent years however, more archaeologists have begun intensively analyzing these ceramics in an attempt to further understand external influences on the manufacturing and consumption practices of ancient Thracians. The purpose of this article is to describe recently excavated, locally made ceramics from an inland market site known as emporion Pistiros. Although this site has a long history of archaeological excavation, this article utilizes diagnostic sherds ex‑ cavated during the field school campaigns of the Balkan Heritage Foundation between 2013 and 2016, which are hitherto unanalyzed. Through the use of a systematic cataloguing and analysis system this article attempts to present characterizations about these ceramics from the Late Iron Age in the Northwestern Rhodope Mountains, which will result in a typological system for use at the site as well as cross‑site comparisons.

Chronology of the bloomery fields of the Iron Age is a very complex and interesting subject. Usually it can be established by radiocarbon analysis of the organic debris, mainly charcoal fragments, found at the bottom of slag-pit furnaces or by dating archaeological material collected from the sites during excavations. Both methods however, based on very limited material, often provide only broad time frames for the occupation of the sites. In Mazovian Centre of Metallurgy, where several large bloomery fields were located very close to or even within the Iron Age settlements, frequently a number of slag-pit furnaces were recorded in stratigraphic relations with other archaeological features. The chronology of those features could be established more precisely by analysing their archaeological contents. The aim of this paper will be to discuss the chronological implications for the slag-pit furnaces found in such relations. The results of this assessment will be compared with series of radiocarbon measurements from the Mazovian Centre which haven’t been published so far.

Saddle-shaped finger-rings are among the most widespread types of Late Iron Age jewellery. Such ornaments are encountered throughout the entire period in question, from south-western Germany, western Switzerland and northern Italy to Transylvania and Banat in Romania, sporadically also reaching the Lower Danube region. This article analyses the evolution of this type of finger-rings and their use within the Late Iron Age communities of the Carpathian Basin. The analysis offers important information regarding the nature of social and cultural connections established within each community and also between different communities from this geographic area during the Late Iron Age.

During archaeological excavations of three La Tène features in 2001 and 2002 at the periphery of the Velké Zboží and Malé Zboží cadasters (Nymburk district), a total of 33 animal bones were obtained. Only domestic mammals were determined in the material: cattle, sheep/goat (of which only sheep is reliably documented), pig, horse and dog. A valuable find from feat. 8 (LT C2-D1) is a horn core from a domestic cattle (Bos taurus), which shows signs of pathology. The pathology comes in the form of a depression on the anterior surface, which leads to the narrowing of the horn. Such pathology is considered to be the result of long-term use of a forehead yoke. The find represents one of a few documented cases of the use of the yoke in prehistory in the territory of today’s Czech Republic. A hornless sheep is documented at another feature.