Glossary

Small axe with a curved blade set at right angles to the handle.

Anthracology is the study of the charcoal discovered either in an archaeological context or in natural sediments. Whether resulting from domestic hearths, the deliberate or accidental burning of wooden structures or from forest fires, these carbonised remains are examined under a microscope.

Each tree species has its own ligneous structure, enabling it to be identified. Analysing and interpreting this charcoal enables both the determination of the site vegetation during the period in which it was burned, and the use to which it was put by humans.

A discipline closely related to archaeobotany, which studies charcoal found in archaeological contexts.

Changes to spaces and landscapes as a result of human intervention.

Refers to the study of early plant remains (pollen, charcoal, tree sections, leaves, seeds or microscopic elements resulting from the decomposition of plants in the soil).

The archaeobotanist seeks to reconstruct the past landscape and to specify the relationships between humans and the plant world. 

This "stag god", generally depicted seated cross-legged with antlers on his head, was particularly important to the Gauls, for whom he symbolised strength and fertility. 

Type of large safety pin used for fastening clothing.

Gaul, "Gallia" in Latin, is the ancient name for the territories occupied by the Gauls, which comprised modern France, Belgium and northern Italy (Cisalpine Gaul).

Greek word for the cult worship of a heroised ancestor.

The first Iron Age, also known as the Hallstatt culture (a place in Upper Austria), began in about 750 BC and ended in about 450 BC. The second Iron Age, divided into three periods, continued until the conquest of Gaul and a little longer in the case of Ireland and Scandinavia.

A Swiss village near Lake Neuchâtel that serves as a reference point for the chronology of the Second Iron Age. Hundreds of submerged iron objects, including swords, have been found there. Specialists refer to this as the "La Tène" civilisation, despite a hard-fought battle by regional archaeologists to have this period referred to as the "Marnian". This Gallic period is subdivided as follows: La Tène I (475 to 300 BC), La Tène II (300 to 120 BC) and La Tène III (until the Roman conquest).

Group of tombs or graves.

Caesar used this name to describe a form of grouped settlements which he found in Gaul during its conquest. He first used the expression at the siege of Avaricum (Bourges). Archaeologists use this term to describe grouped and fortified settlements on a plain or hill, generally during the second Iron Age.

Latin term, generally translated as "pays", designating a Gallo-Roman administrative district smaller than a civitas.

Microfossils of plant cells, preserved by mineral concretions.

Alloy of copper, tin and lead used by the Gauls to strike their coins. They were generally cast, not struck.

Disorder affecting the bones, generally associated with a deficiency of Vitamin D.

Object used for personal hygiene, generally having a forked tip.

The scapula (from the Latin scaphos, boat) or shoulderblade, is a flat triangular bone located in the upper thorax.

Agricultural tool comprising a simple fork and used to create furrows for sowing seed, as well as for aerating and breaking down the soil.

The study of animal remains with the aim of reconstructing the relationships between humans and animals on an archaeological site. Prior to domestication this relationship was based on hunting. Zooarchaeologists try to establish which species were hunted and butchered, in what season and in what quantities. They also try to determine hunting techniques and strategies based on what we know of the behaviour of certain prey species and what they would require in terms of butchery (which would need to be collective in the case of herd animals, for example).