Un vaso La Tène con decorazione curvilinea da Piadena (Cremona)

A La Tène vessel decorated by a curvilinear frieze from Piadena (Cremona) - Here, we present an unpublished Celtic vase, discovered in 1982 at Campo Costiere, east of Piadena (Cremona). The vase can be interpreted as an urn, since it reportedly contained cremated bones, which were not retained, and a corroded iron brooch, currently missing. The urn can be assigned to a group of Celtic vases, dating to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, characterised by a pear-shaped body and a cordon decoration between the neck and the shoulder. These vases are found in the regions settled by the Insubres, the Cenomani and the Lepontii tribes. The surface of the vase is heavily damaged; nonetheless, a frieze composed of two tendrils (which can also be described as a curvilinear meander) is still visible. An excellent comparison for this decoration can be found in the frieze of an iron scabbard from La Tène, in Switzerland, included by de Navarro in his Group B. The fact that the vase reportedly contained cremated bones could be significant in chronological terms, since the Cenomani first practised only inhumation but later switched to both inhumation and cremation (i.e. to biritualism). A dating towards the end of the 3rd century BC, or shortly before, can be proposed for the vase (225-200 BC, LT C1).