Protohistoric trade: on the record of the Northeastern Iberian peninsula and the circulation of lead ore in Ibiza and the Baix Priorat (Tarragona province)

Abstract

Our recent research shows that lead from the Baix Priorat (Tarragona) mining area circulated in the Phoenician-Tartessian sphere. However, archaeometallurgical analysis of a group of ore and metallic samples from the island of Ibiza reveals the exploitation of local galena, whose use co-existed on the Sa Caleta site with ores from Cartagena; on the other hand, lead from the Priorat mining area is not attested. If we also take into account the information provided by 7th-6th century BC pottery from Ibiza and Catalonia, a variety of trade networks between the south and the north-east of Iberia emerges. Among these, the one which used Ibiza was the most important, but probably not the only one. At the same time, the current state of research suggests a flow of metals coming from Iberia and Ibiza to Carthage, via the island.