https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3796-7066 Casting in the Longhouse The Organization of Metalworking in Late Bronze Age Settlements in South-Eastern Sweden Anna Sörman Abstract Traces of bronze casting – fragmented moulds and crucibles – frequently occur at Late Bronze Age settlements. These traces are often assumed to represent utilitarian domestic production, in contrast to more specialised workshop production at ritual or elite locations. Moreover, settlements have usually been reduced to overall production units, while actual arrangements for bronze casting within sites have remained unexplored. The aim of this paper is to provide new insight into the organization of metalworking from an empirical and ‘bottom up’ perspective by examining the spatial and social contexts of bronze cast- ing. The analysis draws on ten excavated sites in south-eastern Sweden and addresses three spatial levels: site, setting and framing. The study shows that domestic arenas often hosted varied and complex metalworking staged at various indoor and outdoor hearths located in the core areas of settlements. Rather than being conceptualized as levels, the organization of Late Bronze Age metalworking was a multifaceted, communicative and user-oriented practice. These insights have consequences for excavation methods as well as for the inter- pretation of the role of metalworking in society. Keywords: first millennium BC, bronze casting, craft organization, prestige goods, dwell ings, household production, spatial organization, spatial analysis, framing, public rituals Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies Stockholm University Email:
[email protected] CURRENT SWEDISH ARCHAEOLOGY VOL. 27 2019 | https://doi.org/10.37718/CSA.2019.08 143 Anna Sörman Introduction In the Scandinavian Late Bronze Age, with its increasing repertoire of bronze object types, bronze crafting is generally assumed to have con- sisted of two functional spheres of production: a mundane household sphere alongside more specialised ‘workshop’ production of politically signifi- cant weapons and ornaments (e.g.