Quantités et contrôle de l’or produit à l’âge du fer en Gaule du Centre-Ouest

Abstract

In Limousin and the north-east of the Dordogne Department, gold deposits were originally mined in over 250 open-cast workings, which were extended underground over the centuries. This mining activity, which commenced in the Bronze Age, was carried on throughout the second Iron Age (early 5th to late 1st centuries BCE). The entire process has been documented, from extraction to metallurgy. Experiments have been run to produce gold following the processes reconstructed from archaeological remains and analyses of the materials produced. An inventory of mine workings and experimental data have been used to build a volumetric model of the remains. From the average gold content of the worked deposits it is possible to estimate the tonnage of metal produced in the Iron Age. All the technical data provided by the study of mines, the data from experiments and particular remains, such as a touchstone, crucibles or a weight, provide a basis for discussion of the quality and production control of gold, and also open up new areas of enquiry into routes of gold and silver trading with the Mediterranean.

Keywords

• contrôle de la production
• Limousin
• métallurgie de l’or et de l’argent
• mines d’or gauloises
• poids et pesée
• quantification de la production