Celtic plough and land use based on agricultural tool finds from the oppidum of Velem-Szent Vid

Abstract

The paper focuses on a group of finds obtained recently in a metal detector survey in the area of Velem-Szent Vid. Most artefacts found in the late La Tène oppidum are agricultural tools. They are the most important archaeological evidence available to us for reconstructing the agricultural equipment used during the Late Iron Age and, based on them, food production techniques. Diverse tools were utilised in specific agricultural processes. The plough, the most important tool of soil cultivation, and its components are discussed in the study, and an attempt is made to draw conclusions about the ways of land use in the Late Iron Age based on plough part finds from Celtic contexts.

Keywords

• plough
• agricultural tool
• depot
• tillage
• oppidum
• Late Iron Age