Late bronze age metal depositions in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: an ontological approach

Deposition of metal artefacts during the Bronze Age is a wider phenomenon attested in Northwestern Iberia, as well as all over Europe. The study of such a phenomenon in that area has been conducted using several approaches, including typological, metallurgical, contextual, and interpretative. The main goal of this paper is to interpret the Late Bronze Age hoards - mainly those containing axes or spearheads - considering that they resulted from intentional and structured depositions made in one or more selected places in the context of the Bronze Age network landscape. Based on recent research this approach will consider several variables, such as the physical organisation or orientation of the objects’ deposition, and the micro and medium contexts of their deposition. Interpretations related to the importance of certain liminal places or hills positioned over natural pathways can be explained by a communal interpretation about the cosmos and in the framework of an increasing amount of autochthonous and non-autochthonous journeys and exchanges that connected peoples during the Late Bronze Age, and fostered encounters between different communities.