Tumultuous materials. Decorated coarse ware in Late Iron Age Emilia

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• late iron age
• la tène period
• romanization
• po valley
• coarse ware
• handmade pottery
• cultural interaction