Experimental Archaeology of Iron Age Firing Structures from the Western Mediterranean

Abstract

Within the project ‘Transdisciplinary and experimental study of firing structures in the western Mediterranean during Protohistory (1st millennium BC)’, the TRANSCOMB project is an experimental research programme conducted at the Ciutadella Ibèrica (Iberian Citadell) of Calafell Archaeological Site (Tarragona, Spain) (See Figure 1 and Figure 2). The main objective of the research is to deepen our knowledge of how Iron Age combustion structures worked and were used by protohistoric communities living in the western Mediterranean. Six hearths and one oven, made with mud and other materials, such as crushed pottery and pebbles, were built inside buildings and outdoors. Later, they were put to use employing diverse types of fuels, while measuring time and temperatures reached under different conditions. Diverse analyses are being applied to samples taken from the experimental combustion structures.

Keywords

• furnace, kiln or oven
• iron age
• france
• fuel
• spain