Vice-versa: The iron trade in the western Roman Empire between Gaul and the Mediterranean.

ABSTRACT: Starting from the second century BC, with the fast expansion of the Roman Empire, iron production and consumption developed exponentially in north-western Europe. This rapid growth naturally led to an increase in trade, that still remains to be studied encompassing a broad scope, so as to not neglect long-distance exchanges. This is today possible by taking advantage of the progress made in the past 40 years in archaeology and archaeometallurgy. Cargoes of iron bars recovered from a group of 23 wrecks located off the coast of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône, France), opposite an old branch of the Rhône River, constitute a rich opportunity to examine this trade, by comparing the slag inclusions trapped in iron bars to primary slag from the six main ironmaking areas in Gaul. Based

SUBMITTER: Pages G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9113607 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature