Dating Cisalpine Celtic stone inscriptions from the Lugano region in an archaeological perspective

Stelae with Celtic inscriptions from the Lugano region (Canton Ticino, Switzerland) were mostly found in situations of re-use and scholars have dated them based on palaeographic comparisons. In this paper, these inscribed stelae will be put into the archaeological context of the area, whose greatest occupation took place during the Early Iron Age (Golasecca culture). Moreover, tombs from that period are often attested near the findspots of inscribed stelae. Since finds from the Early and Middle La Tène culture are extremely limited in the Lugano region, it seems unlikely that there was a significant epigraphic production in the Late Iron Age. The Celtic inscriptions on stone stelae found in the Lugano region should therefore be a local expression of the Golasecca culture.