Réflexions pour une typochronologie de la céramique du Bz D au Ha A2 en Alsace et plus particulièrement dans le Bas-Rhin. Où se situe le Ha A1 ?
Résumé
The initial phase of the Late Bronze Age, has only been seriously studied in Alsace through the Mafalda
Roscio’s PhD that focuses on funerary complexes while the data for the Bas-Rhin (test-zone 3), in particular
for the recent phase, remain limited. Even though M. Roscio was able to highlight the internal division
of Bz D (Bz D1 and Bz D2) through the objects and the funerary practices, the existence of a Ha A1
remained elusive.
While putting reflections on material culture into perspective and completing the data for the north of the
region, some of the pottery from Lower Rhine domestic assemblages is examined here (28 assemblages for
16 sites). To establish comprehensive typological observations (morphological and decorative criteria), the
choice fell on assemblages that contained (almost) complete vessel profiles, in particular from deposits whose
biases must be kept in mind, similar to those of funerary ensembles.
This paper presents our preliminary findings on the chronological development of domestic pottery
during the initial phase of the Late Bronze Age that we have defined in five stages using radiocarbon
dates (Bz C2/D, Bz D1, Bz D2, Ha A1, and beginning of the Ha A2). The Ha A1 stands out from its
historical definition based on metal objects that exempts finds from domestic contexts. This intermediate
phase is defined by the appearance of the typological specificities of the middle phase of the Late Bronze Age
that are noticeably distinct from the previous phases.
This study that was curtailed by a small geographic area and by the number of assemblages, deserves to be
prolonged and enriched with new domestic and funerary ensembles in order to test the validity, the limits
and to evaluate the variable cultural part in the defined groups.