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Abstract

From 2015 to 2018 the joint research project “BEFIM” conducted interdisciplinary research to achieve a better understanding of the “Meanings and functions of Mediterranean imports in Early Iron Age Central Europe” for which it was supported by a grant of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Within the project, large-scale organic residue analyses on pottery from important Early Iron Age settlements were performed, focusing on two key Late Hallstatt sites: the Heuneburg and the Mont Lassois. For the Mont Lassois, the results were based on the analyses of 99 ceramic vessels of both local and Mediterranean origin. We observed not only different consumption practices in the several settlement areas of the Mont Lassois, but also a complex translation process with regard to the appropriation of Mediterranean food (such as grape wine and olive oil) and consumption practices, that also showed a spatial differentiation. For many years, scholars supposed an imitation of the Mediterranean (especially Greek style) symposium by the “Early Celts”. The new results from the organic residue analyses force us to rethink this. Apart from new insights into Early Iron Age eating and drinking practices, we gained new information on the preparation of food and on storage practices at the Mont Lassois. Furthermore, the detection of locally available goods such as bee products, millet, and a bacterial fermentation product (a
beverage?) led to an enhancement of our knowledge of the extent of exploitation of these natural resources at the Mont Lassois during the Early Iron Age.