Say it in Iron: Symbols of transformation and reproduction in the European iron age

Abstract

The European research on iron has traditionally focused on the technical and economic aspects of iron production. However, a view of metal working in a wider regional context shows that it is generally entrenched in symbolic meaning and ritual activity. In this paper, the author employs four ethnographic case studies to show the importance of symbolic and ritual aspects of iron working and how these are intertwined with technological factors. What comes across are also the metaphorical links between pottery vessels, food, and furnaces used to produce iron. When looking at the European material, one can discern the same associations in the finds of cauldrons used for offerings of food as in the finds of cauldrons used for offerings of iron, such as iron weapons. The former are placed in a context of nurturing and human reproduction, while the latter are placed in a context of destruction. This indicates the ambiguity of iron as associated with nourishment-fertility and with destruction and death.