Roman whetstone production in northern Gaul (Belgium and northern France)
This paper focuses on the latest research on the production of Roman whetstones in northern Gaul. To date, little has been written about this specialised industry. However, three workshops producing whetstones were discovered recently in the north of Gaul in Buizingen (Province of Flemish Brabant, B...
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doaj-4914795d020048f5956cb321d5b98ae12020-11-24T22:00:40ZengUniversity of EdinburghJournal of Lithic Studies2055-04722016-10-013310.2218/jls.v3i3.16721672Roman whetstone production in northern Gaul (Belgium and northern France)Aurélie Thiébaux0Marc Feller1Bruno Duchêne2Eric Goemaere3Université de LiègeInstitut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (INRAP)Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (INRAP)Geological Survey of BelgiumThis paper focuses on the latest research on the production of Roman whetstones in northern Gaul. To date, little has been written about this specialised industry. However, three workshops producing whetstones were discovered recently in the north of Gaul in Buizingen (Province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium), Nereth (Province of Liège, Belgium) and Le Châtelet-sur-Sormonne (Department of Ardennes, France). Production debris and rough-outs recovered at these sites allowed us to reconstruct the operational sequence of manufacture, from the choice of raw material to the finished product. Technological studies enabled us to determine the production stages and highlight the similarities and differences between the three study areas. Analyses of the materials reveal the use of fine-grained sedimentary and low-grade metamorphic rocks outcropping near the workshops. All these rocks are linked to the Caledonian inliers of Brabant-London, Stavelot-Venn, and Rocroi. The large amount of waste found at Le Châtelet-sur-Sormonne, far more than that recovered at Buizingen and Nereth, is indicative of the economic importance of this whetstone workshop. This importance is reflected in the fact that whetstones from Le Châtelet-sur-Sormonne are distributed over a large area throughout Belgium, France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardie and Champagne-Ardenne regions), Germany, and the Netherlands. This paper presents the waste and rough-outs from the three production sites. It also defines rock types and their origins and offers insights into whetstone manufacturing processes and techniques. http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/1672whetstonesprovenanceRoman periodnorthern GaulBelgiumnorthern France |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Aurélie Thiébaux Marc Feller Bruno Duchêne Eric Goemaere |
spellingShingle |
Aurélie Thiébaux Marc Feller Bruno Duchêne Eric Goemaere Roman whetstone production in northern Gaul (Belgium and northern France) Journal of Lithic Studies whetstones provenance Roman period northern Gaul Belgium northern France |
author_facet |
Aurélie Thiébaux Marc Feller Bruno Duchêne Eric Goemaere |
author_sort |
Aurélie Thiébaux |
title |
Roman whetstone production in northern Gaul (Belgium and northern France) |
title_short |
Roman whetstone production in northern Gaul (Belgium and northern France) |
title_full |
Roman whetstone production in northern Gaul (Belgium and northern France) |
title_fullStr |
Roman whetstone production in northern Gaul (Belgium and northern France) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Roman whetstone production in northern Gaul (Belgium and northern France) |
title_sort |
roman whetstone production in northern gaul (belgium and northern france) |
publisher |
University of Edinburgh |
series |
Journal of Lithic Studies |
issn |
2055-0472 |
publishDate |
2016-10-01 |
description |
This paper focuses on the latest research on the production of Roman whetstones in northern Gaul. To date, little has been written about this specialised industry. However, three workshops producing whetstones were discovered recently in the north of Gaul in Buizingen (Province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium), Nereth (Province of Liège, Belgium) and Le Châtelet-sur-Sormonne (Department of Ardennes, France). Production debris and rough-outs recovered at these sites allowed us to reconstruct the operational sequence of manufacture, from the choice of raw material to the finished product. Technological studies enabled us to determine the production stages and highlight the similarities and differences between the three study areas. Analyses of the materials reveal the use of fine-grained sedimentary and low-grade metamorphic rocks outcropping near the workshops. All these rocks are linked to the Caledonian inliers of Brabant-London, Stavelot-Venn, and Rocroi. The large amount of waste found at Le Châtelet-sur-Sormonne, far more than that recovered at Buizingen and Nereth, is indicative of the economic importance of this whetstone workshop. This importance is reflected in the fact that whetstones from Le Châtelet-sur-Sormonne are distributed over a large area throughout Belgium, France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardie and Champagne-Ardenne regions), Germany, and the Netherlands. This paper presents the waste and rough-outs from the three production sites. It also defines rock types and their origins and offers insights into whetstone manufacturing processes and techniques.
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topic |
whetstones provenance Roman period northern Gaul Belgium northern France |
url |
http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/1672 |
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