Until recent periods, charcoal production was a major economic activity in the Mediterranean area. Its emergence is closely linked to the development of iron metallurgy during the last millennium BCE, as charcoal is required for iron ore smelting and smithing (Deforce et al. 2021). Archaeological evidences of early production remain limited, as charcoal pits, supposed to be often located at the periphery of the settlements, near craft areas, are hardly identified when charcoal is not preserved. In the north-western Mediterranean, however, charcoal analyses of these structures indicate recurrent use of tree heather (Erica arborea) wood from the Iron Age to the modern period.In Corsica, despite the importance of charcoal production in the local economy until the 1930’s and its strong imprint on the landscape, no charcoal pits or kilns have yet been identified. Recently, a craft area dated to the Second Iron Age (500–200 BCE) has been discovered at I Casteddi (southern Corsica) a fortified site whose domestic contexts had previously provided a significant amount of anthracological data (Camagny 2025). The comparison between domestic areas and the craft zone has enabled hypotheses to be put forward concerning the fuel used for metallurgy.An overrepresentation of heather (certainly Erica arborea) is observed in the metallurgical workshop, and the charcoal fragments are particularly knotted. Charcoal remains from the craft area, associated with smelting and forging waste, therefore provide early evidence for charcoal production and use in Corsica during the Second Iron Age, likely based on targeted exploitation of Erica, including branches and probable rootstocks.
- Forging with heather ? When anthracology suggests charcoal production and use in Iron Age Corsica (NW Mediterranean)
- Thomas Camagny - Université de Montpellier, ISEM - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution - MontpellierDelhon Claire - Centre d'Études Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen-AgeHélène Paolini Saez - Laboratoire régional d'archéologie
- 9th International Anthracology Meeting, Anthraco 2026 (Thessalokini, Greece, 07/2026–07/2026)
- 99259559009311
- ISEM - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution - Montpellier
- English
- Conference poster
- halshs-05686583