Vivre et mourir sur le site La Tène de Bâle-Gasfabrik (Suisse) – l’étude interdisciplinaire de structures d’habitat choisies et de deux nécropoles donne un aperçu de la société à la fin de l’âge du Fer

Abstract

Le projet d'etude interdisciplinaire intitulé « Approaching the living via the dead : human remains from the Late La Tène site Basel-Gasfabrik and their cultural-historical interpretations », a permis de démontrer la grande diversité du traitement des défunts à Bâle-Gasfabrik. La démarche d'une étude intégrant toutes les disciplines impliquées livre des résultats de qualité, fondés et ayant fait l'objet de vastes réflexions.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Interdisciplinary examination of taphonomic aspects of ceramic sherds, animal bones and sediments from the La Tène period settlement at Basel-Gasfabrik

“…As we had seen in other geoarchaeologically examined pits [30,51,52], the fills in pit 287 were quite heterogeneous. This fact was also reflected in the taphonomic alteration (Fig 8).…”

The Hidden Midden: Geoarchaeological investigation of sedimentation processes, waste disposal practices, and resource management at the La Tène settlement of Basel‐Gasfabrik (Switzerland)

“…Little is known about the primary use of the pits. While it can be assumed that they were used as cellar and storage areas, the appropriate occupation layers are missing (Brönnimann & Rissanen, 2018; Rentzel, 1998). Some pits show clear signs of secondary use.…”

“…Waste from these rubbish dumps was also used to fill in pits (MFT IX) and thus was no longer available as raw material (secondary use). The infilled material, therefore, is secondary refuse, since it has been proven that those pits were not backfilled successively over a long period of time, but quickly (Brönnimann & Rissanen, 2018). Another indication for a temporary storage of waste and thus for a differentiated waste management can be seen in the preservation of animal bones and ceramic fragments (taphonomic processes), which differs greatly between material from archaeological horizons (MFT III, IV, and V) and from pit fillings (MFT IX).…”

“…Between 2011 and 2015, within the framework of an interdisciplinary research project, the focus was on how the dead at Basel‐Gasfabrik were treated and on how these treatments differed from one another (Pichler et al, 2015, 2017). During the same project, two settlement pits were analyzed micromorphologically (Brönnimann & Rissanen, 2018; Pichler, Pümpin, Brönnimann, & Rentzel, 2014). It was noted that (bio‐) archaeological finds from pits often co‐occur with dark sediment rich in charcoal fragments and that the pits were filled in within a short time (Brönnimann & Rissanen, 2018).…”

“…During the same project, two settlement pits were analyzed micromorphologically (Brönnimann & Rissanen, 2018; Pichler, Pümpin, Brönnimann, & Rentzel, 2014). It was noted that (bio‐) archaeological finds from pits often co‐occur with dark sediment rich in charcoal fragments and that the pits were filled in within a short time (Brönnimann & Rissanen, 2018). Thus, the question arose as to where and how these charcoal‐rich sediments were formed before they found their way into the pits.…”