Local production
With the adoption of ironworking at the end of the 8th century BCE, the peoples of southern France possessed a precious tool for producing tools, jewelry and weapons. However, even though we have found many iron objects, we know very little about the structure of production for these pieces prior to the Late Iron Age. The same is true for ceramics – they were produced locally, as we can see from their shapes and decorations, and without the use of a potter's wheel, and a great many have been found in domestic contexts and in graves, but very few facilities for production and firing are known.
The residents of Lattara, like other indigenous communities in southern France, probably produced most of the objects they neededwithin the household. These were complemented by imported items that they obtained from Mediterranean traders. This is why it is difficult to imagineany real crafts developing in the town in the first few centuries of its existence. Domestically-produced objects included tools, jewelry and ceramics. A few traces of bronze working and iron slag found in certain houses attest to such activities.
We know of no installations for producing ceramics at Lattes. Nevertheless, the discovery of wheel-thrown ceramics tells us that there was local pottery production. Other traces found in the town also confirm the existence of craftspersons specialized in working with wood, hides, cloth, etc.
