Abstract
Iron Age (c. 700 BC–43AD) funerary practice has long been a focus of debate in British archaeology. Formal cemeteries are rare and in central-southern Britain human remains are often unearthed in unusual configurations. They are frequently recovered as isolated fragments, partially articulated body parts or complete skeletons in atypical contexts, often storage pits. In recent years, taphonomic analysis of remains has been more frequently employed to elucidate depositional practice (e.g. Madgwick, 2008, 2010; Redfern, 2008). This has enhanced our understanding of modes of treatment and has contributed much-needed primary data to the discussion. However, only macroscopic taphonomic analysis has been undertaken and equifinality (i.e. different processes producing the same end result) remains a substantial obstacle to interpretation. This research explores the potential of novel microscopic (histological) methods of taphonomic analysis for providing greater detail on the treatment of human remains in Iron Age Britain. Twenty human bones from two Iron Age sites: Danebury and Suddern Farm, in Hampshire, central-southern Britain were examined and assessed using thin section light microscopy combined with the Oxford Histological Index (OHI). Results suggest that diverse mortuary rites were practised and that different configurations of remains were subject to prescribed, varied treatment, rather than resulting from different stages of the same process. Practices that may be responsible for these patterns include exhumation followed by selective removal of elements and sheltered exposure prior to final burial. Only one sample provided evidence for excarnation, a practice that has been widely cited as a potential majority rite in Iron Age Britain.
Highlights
Variation in the character of human remains recovered from British Iron Age sites suggests that the dead were subject to a diverse range of mortuary rites (Whimster, 1977, 1981; Wait, 1985; Cunliffe, 1988; Stead, 1991; Darvill, 2010)
This study explores the potential of assessing microscopic diagenesis of human bone alongside macroscopic taphonomic evidence to reconstruct mortuary practice in a sample of individuals from the British Iron Age sites of Danebury and Suddern Farm, Hampshire, UK
Histological preservation across the whole sample set was quite poor, but the extent of bacterial bioerosion was variable amongst lower Oxford Histological Index (OHI) scores (Fig. 2)
Summary
Variation in the character of human remains recovered from British Iron Age sites suggests that the dead were subject to a diverse range of mortuary rites (Whimster, 1977, 1981; Wait, 1985; Cunliffe, 1988; Stead, 1991; Darvill, 2010). The numbers of human remains can only account for a fraction of the individuals that occupied these sites, and it is likely that the practices represented do not reflect the rites afforded to the majority of the dead, which may not have left an archaeological record (Wait, 1985; Bradbury et al, 2016). The diverse, fragmentary and limited evidence for funerary ritual in Iron Age Britain has led to considerable debate on the majority rite and the modes of treatment for the minority that are represented archaeologically (Ellison and Drewett, 1971; Wilson, 1981; Wait, 1985; Hill, 1995; Carr and Knüsel, 1997; Craig et al, 2005; Carr, 2007; Madgwick, 2008; Tracey, 2012)
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