Eine funktionale Typologie frühmetallzeitlicher Schmiedegeräte aus Frankreich und seinen Nachbarländern

For several years now, our understanding of the lithic toolset used by prehistoric metalworkers for the plastic deformation of metals has considerably increased, and new discoveries have become, if not frequent, at least more numerous in many European countries. This paper briefly presents some lithic tools used in the plastic deformation of metals that have recently been identified in France, and more particularly in Brittany and in the Loire valley, where our research was mainly focused. We also undertake a systematic comparison of these lithic implements with Late Bronze Age metal tools, revealing a varied functional typology which sheds light on many different aspects of metalworking.