This project aims to provide a systematic overview of structured depositions in settlement contexts during the Iron Age of Northwestern Europe. This serves to better understand the cosmology of the late prehistoric inhabitants in this region through their ritual and depositional behaviours. The research area of the Meuse-Somme-North Sea region complements the gradual movement of research interest from England, the Netherlands and Germany to Belgium and France and transcends national and linguistic borders. The choice for the Iron Age is based on this increasing research interest and the sharp decline in depositions in wet contexts starting from the Bronze to Iron Age transition. These wet depositions are often linked to elites or high value metal finds and are relatively well-researched. Settlement depositions on the other hand are less well-understood, containing mostly domestic finds and possibly relating more to the cosmology of the average person.

The analyses proposed to achieve this result are the combination of a micro- and macroscopic scale study of the biography of structured deposition contexts and their finds, primarily consisting of ceramics and stone. The material analysis will ascertain important aspects for the biography of objects such as the type of object, its potential use and its treatment. This information can be used to ascertain the meaning of these objects and their depositions. A lipid analysis on ceramics is proposed to inquire about potential links between specific contents of pottery used in structured depositions and the way they were deposited.

All this information will be gathered for the entire research area and used to analyse patterns between objects and contexts within the research area. Together these factors can be used to gain new information about structured depositions, how they can be recognised and interpreted, and the cosmology of Iron Age people in Northwestern Europe.