Müller, Felix

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ReviewReviewwhy – what exactly was the association with waterwhich was clearly so important. Amongst a number ofassociations, watery locations may have representedliminal zones between this world and the next. Thefact that swords are not found at Iron Age shrines (p.81) must also be signiﬁcant in this discussion.The few stamped marks on Iron Age sword bladesin Britain are interpreted as maker’s marks; however,as Stead points out, some marks (those apparentlyshowing the sun and moon) may have an astralsigniﬁcance and may have been used in religiousceremonies rather than in battle. This may well be thecase formore swords as the linkwith battles is assumedrather than demonstrated. Apart from carefulexamination of context a very thorough technologicalexamination may be of use in this respect.This brings us to the specialist reports, by Stead’sBritish Museum colleagues, which make up six ap-pendices in the book. By far the biggest is Janet Lang’stechnological report on 12 of the swords in the corpus(Appendix 1). Few people realise just how muchtechnological information there is locked up in ironobjects. Radiography and the removal of one or twosamples can shed much light on the swords’ originalstructure and appearance. Swords can (and should) betreated as mini archaeological excavations which de-pend for their success on plans and sections as well asthe recording and recovery of metallurgical structures.It is therefore particularly good to see the detailedexamination of 12 swords, even though they representjust 4% of the corpus; 11 were sampled formetallographic analysis, one was examined by x-rayonly. There is a great deal of detailed description ofthe metallographic structures, all of which is accurate,except perhaps for the Vickers micro-hardness results.What is lacking is what all this detail means. In myview, for each of the swords examined the structuresobserved on x-ray should be presented in plan,in section and in three-dimensional reconstruction,which in turn can be used to revisit interpretations.In the analytical section, the energy dispersive (EDX)analysis of the non-metallic inclusions is reported ingreat detail, but there is no corresponding detailedanalysis of the metal at various points, possiblybecause wavelength dispersive (WDX) analysis wasnot available. What is needed is an elemental mapof each section, or several – one for each signiﬁcantelement present apart from iron and carbon whichare visible in the etched section and can thereforebe described separately. To be fair, this was probablynot available when this work was carried out; it hasbecome, over the past 15 years, an invaluable way ofidentifying concentrations of minor elements, whichmay lead, for instance, to exposing the position ofwelds that can otherwise be virtually invisible.Finally, I would quibble over the tem carburisation:it suggests that the carbon got into the iron duringthe smithing rather than the smelting process. Iwould suggest that inhomogeneous structures aresimply distorted and modiﬁed versions of theinhomogeneities present in the original smeltedbloom after it was consolidated into a billet (referredto here as an ingot). I suspect, for example, that somecomplex and odd-looking structures, most notablyMelsonby (no. 199), may in fact be a case of arelatively simple but highly inhomogeneous and quitedistorted bloomery structure. Overall, more emphasiscould have been placed on the x-ray study of theswords, and the style of reporting could on occasionsbe more dispassionate; for example ‘the smith has notcapitalised on the quality of the metal by quenching’(p. 94). In fact, quenching might have ruined theblade, if, as seems likely, the structure was nothomogeneous along the blade.Despite these comments, this book is the very readableand informative end product of an immense amountof work on the part of Ian Stead. It will become thestandard reference and the basis for future researchin this ﬁeld of Iron Age studies. I hope that thisfuture research will continue to build on the differentapproaches to the study of ironwork outlined here.This is surely the only way in which this muchoverlooked material will ever be properly understoodand set in its rightful cultural context.Brian GilmourOxford, UKHerbert Lorenz (†). Chorologische Untersuchungenin dem spa¨tkeltischen Oppidum bei Manching amBeispiel der Grabungsﬂa¨chen der Jahre 1965-1967 und1971 and Hermann Gersden. Fundstellenu¨bersichtder Grabungsjahre 1961-1974 (Die Ausgrabungen inManching 16, Ro¨misch-Germanische KommissiondesDeutschen Archa¨ologischen Instituts zu Frankfurtam Main). 2 volumes: Vol. I, Text- und Tafelband,x+184 pages, 199 ﬁgures, 10 tables; Vol. II, 12 foldedplans, CD-ROM with 329 pages, 258 tables. 2004.Stuttgart: Franz Steiner; 3-315-08329-4 hardback€96 both volumes.The oppidumofManching in the plain of theDanubenorth of Munich is the most thoroughly investigated487https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X0009548XDownloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 10 Jul 2017 at 15:08:02, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available atReviewlarge settlement known in Celtic Europe. Fifty yearsof intensive research have resulted in a comprehensiveseries of reports, numbering16 hefty volumes to date. Anumber of monographs havedealt with speciﬁc classes ofmaterial, while others havetreated discrete excavationareas, complete with theirassemblages.Herbert Lorenz’sHabilitationsschrift, submitted to theUniversity of Bochum in 1988 and presented as‘chorological investigations’ was originally intendedto be part of a full report on the excavations ofthe southern bypass (Su¨dumgehung) conducted byFranz Schubert in 1965-1971; unfortunately thisnever came into being. A reconstruction of the builtenvironment by the excavator is thus missing. Furtherlarge-scale excavations have taken place since 1971,some already published (Volume 15 in the same series,and several interim reports in Germania). Strictlyspeaking, Lorenz’s work represents a fragment thatreﬂects the state of research in 1988.The 1965-1971 excavation area consists of a band25-30m wide and 900m long, stretching fromroughly the centre of the oppidum to its outer edge.This sample provides the opportunity to identifyspatially differentiated functional areas and achronological sequence. In order to meet the highmethodological standards that he set himself, Lorenzchose to concentrate on the settlement’s pits. Theirassemblages are illustrated in full in a set of 117plates. The accompanying CD-ROM accommodatesthe catalogue, complete with lists, tables, andconcordance tables.The introductory remarks on the buildings andassemblages indicate that pits are predominant in thecentral area, whereas the deep, wide ditches occupymainly the periphery. The pottery, which ended upin the pits as settlement refuse, must be consideredas belonging to secondary contexts, representing achronologically heterogeneous assemblage within agiven structure.The study of the spatial distribution of practicallyeverything, from pottery to animal and humanbones and the so-called small ﬁnds, amongst whichthe ﬁbulae are naturally most important from achronological point of view, forms the core of thevolume (p. 16-103). The author attempts to order themasses of ﬁnds in time and space, and this within amethodological and statistical framework then rarelyseen. The 47 000 pottery sherds are arranged intofour ceramic phases which can be synchronised withthe ﬁbulae sequence. An expansion of the settlementfrom the centre towards the periphery during theLa Te`ne C2-D1 phase can thus be documented, aresult that cannot have been that novel, even in 1988.The distribution of the animal bones suggests that,during the latest phases of occupation, signiﬁcantlymore meat was consumed in the northern part of theexcavation, i.e. the centre of the settlement area, thanin the southern part. Similarly the high proportion ofdress components (for example ﬁbulae) and rings inthe north, and the predominance of fragments of ironand craft residue in the south lead Lorenz to propose‘a settlement structure that is differentially conceived’.More speciﬁc interpretations are not possible, due tothe lack of analysis of the buildings. A comparisonwith areas excavated further east of the ‘central area1955-1961’ appears to conﬁrm the spatial trendobserved here (p. 104-126).The inevitable conclusion from the ‘ Considerationson the reconstruction of the settlement’s history,structure and character’ (p. 127-138) is thatopportunities for interpretation are severely limited,given that the area of excavation examined hererepresents perhaps 1 per cent of the enclosedsettlement. Finally, the concept of ‘oppida’ as‘town-like settlements with considerable differences’(p. 139-165) is hardly of much use. The remarkthat oppida could represent seats of the nobility, ‘inthe tradition of early Celtic Fu¨rstensitze’ is, however,more thought-provoking. Where could the Celticnobilitas have resided and ruled, if not in the oppida?Many of the author’s conclusions regarding thepotential of his archaeological material end in a sober,even depressing appraisal. This tone is justiﬁed ifthe work is measured against a scientiﬁc standardonly. But if protohistoric archaeology is seen as aconfrontation with a constantly changing historicalscene and as a reﬂection of human experience, thennew openings offer themselves, which go far beyondsherd statistics. Herbert Lorenz, who died all tooyoung, has left us, with Volume 16, a piece ofManching’s puzzle, contributing to the overall pictureof the oppidum and the history of the Celts in general.A comprehensive overview, by Hermann Gerdsen, ofthe location of ﬁnds from the excavation campaignof 1961-1974 also features on the CD-ROM thataccompanies the volume. It is the continuation ofa ﬁrst compilation that covered the years 1955 to1960, which appeared in the ﬁrst Manching volume488https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X0009548XDownloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 10 Jul 2017 at 15:08:02, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available atReviewReviewby Werner Kra¨mer and Franz Schubert (1970). Thissecond part provides further pieces of the puzzle. Insum, Herbert Lorenz and Hermann Gerdsen’s reportshould not just be read, but worked with.Felix Mu¨llerBernisches Historisches Museum, Bern, Switzerland(translated from the German by Reviews Editor)Fiona Seeley & James Drummond-Murray.Roman pottery production in the Walbrook valley:Excavations at 20-28 Moorgate, City of London, 1998-2000 (MoLAS Monograph 25). xviii+222 pages, 186b&w & colour illustrations, 33 tables. 2005. London:Museum of London Archaeology Service; 1-901992-55-1 paperback £28.95.Seeley and Drummond-Murray’s monograph createsa vivid impression of potters and glass workersmaking a living ina muddy industrialzone beside theWalbrook (a tributaryof the Thames) inan atmosphere thickwith furnace smokeand the smell of wastegenerated by localleather workers andbutchers. The excavation was one of many rescueoperations in this busy part of London whosetechnical difﬁculties are well illustrated on pages 2-3.The reason for publishing this particular site as animpressive Museum of London Archaeology Servicemonograph – rather than creating an archive report –was evidence for the manufacture of a considerableamount of pottery used in early Roman London,previously thought to have been brought in fromwell-known kilns in Hertfordshire and Middlesex(Verulamium region and Brockley Hill). Evidenceof glassmaking was also found, including parts ofa furnace for melting recycled cullet (p. 147-55).The whole book shows the value of integratingall illustrations and drawings into the main text.Discussion of the potters’ workshop is broughtto life in a painting (in colour, on p.139) thatincludes ﬁrewood, buildings containing shelves ofpottery, a kiln, and a potter adding characteristicincised motifs to a London-ware bowl. It is setwithin an interpretive discussion that incorporatesspecialist information from technical appendices inan exemplary manner. The report is also unusualin having a comprehensive index which will leadthe curious from the word ‘ritual’ to a horse skullplaced in an abandoned kiln and the skeleton of alap-dog found in a well. The presentation of dataand interpretation in an attractive but authoritativebook, accessible to specialists and general readers,illustrates the value of good relations with MEPCand CgMs (developer and archaeological consultant)and Cazenove (occupier of the new building).It is not surprising that Seeley’s account of thekiln products observes the high national standardsestablished for pottery reports, since these standardshave been inﬂuenced by MoLAS practices. Colourphotographs of cross-sections of fabrics at ×20magniﬁcation (in which mineral inclusions sparklein delicious layer-cakes of orange and blue-greyclay) enhance the descriptions of pottery, whichis illustrated by conventional 1:4 line drawingswhose restrained use of linear shading brings outsurface irregularities, decoration, and features suchas applied handles. Every fabric is related to anestablished London series, indicated by a concise andlargely self-explanatory alphabetic code (e.g. LOXI –London oxidised ware), but vessel forms havealphanumeric codes (e.g. 1B2 – ring-necked ﬂagonwith ﬂared mouth) whose meaning must be soughtin an appendix (p. 159-61) which also includes date-ranges for each form and fabric and a tabulatedcatalogue of all illustrated pottery. Throughout thebook, Estimated Vessel Equivalents (‘EVEs’) providean objective method for calculating the minimumnumber of vessels present. This method meritedexplanation, since it is not widely used outsideRomano-British pottery studies. In essence, since therim of a complete pot has a circumference of 100 percent, 4 rim-sherds of a speciﬁc vessel form retaining20 per cent, 10 per cent, 30 per cent and 40 per centof their original circumferences add up to 100 percent, or 1 ‘EVE’, and therefore a minimum of 1 potrather than 4.Having praised Seeley and Drummond-Murrayfor communicating these discoveries to a generalaudience, it seems churlish to ask for more. However,the discussion (especially p. 144) gives the impressionthat potters were autonomous individuals makingrational choices about kiln locations, rather thanhumble workers (slaves?) deployed by workshopproprietors; variations in products and kiln types maybe a reﬂection of the employment and redeploymentof workers with different skills and abilities. Theauthors outline mechanisms by which ‘Roman’material culture became widely available: ‘The lack489https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X0009548XDownloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 10 Jul 2017 at 15:08:02, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at

Book Review: Chorologische Untersuchungen in dem spätkeltischen Oppidum bei Manching am Beispiel der Grabungsflächen der Jahre 1965-1967 und 1971: Lorenz Herbert (†). Chorologische Untersuchungen in dem spätkeltischen Oppidum bei Manching am Beispiel der Grabungsflächen der Jahre 1965-1967 und 1971 and Gersden Hermann . Fundstellenübersicht der Grabungsjahre 1961-1974 (Die Ausgrabungen in Manching 16, Römisch-Germanische Kommission des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts zu Frankfurt am Main). 2 volumes: Vol. I, Text- und Tafelband, x+184 pages, 199 figures, 10 tables; Vol. II, 12 folded plans, CD-ROM with 329 pages, 258 tables. 2004. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner; 3-315-08329-4 hardback €96 both volumes

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