Iron Age Britain Research Articles

BRUTALISED, BOUND AND BLED: A CASE OF LATER IRON AGE HUMAN SACRIFICE FROM WINTERBORNE KINGSTON, DORSET

BRUTALISED, BOUND AND BLED: A CASE OF LATER IRON AGE HUMAN SACRIFICE FROM WINTERBORNE KINGSTON, DORSET

Haplotype-based inference of recent effective population size in modern and ancient DNA samples

Individuals sharing recent ancestors are likely to co-inherit large identical-by-descent (IBD) genomic regions. The distribution of these IBD segments in a population may be used to reconstruct past demographic events such as effective population size variation, but accurate IBD detection is difficult in ancient DNA data and in underrepresented populations with limited reference data. In this work, we introduce an accurate method for inferring effective population size variation during the past ~2000 years in both modern and ancient DNA data, called HapNe. HapNe infers recent population size fluctuations using either IBD sharing (HapNe-IBD) or linkage disequilibrium (HapNe-LD), which does not require phasing and can be computed in low coverage data, including data sets with heterogeneous sampling times. HapNe shows improved accuracy in a range of simulated demographic scenarios compared to currently available methods for IBD-based and LD-based inference of recent effective population size, while requiring fewer computational resources. We apply HapNe to several modern populations from the 1,000 Genomes Project, the UK Biobank, the Allen Ancient DNA Resource, and recently published samples from Iron Age Britain, detecting multiple instances of recent effective population size variation across these groups.

Desiring Walls: Fantasies of Containment and Reimagined British Pasts

Abstract In Sarah Moss’s Ghost Wall (2018), an archaeology class pitches camp near Hadrian’s Wall, where they are joined by a local family in an experimental re-enactment of Iron Age Britain. The novel explores nostalgic nationalism, fantasies of nativism and racial supremacy, and the wish for containment and boundaries in a contemporary world perceived as having lost its cultural core. Following Wendy Brown’s suggestion to read the desire to erect border walls as the symptom of a hysterical obsession with ‘the alien,’ this essay focuses on the construction of borders as ritual spectacles aimed at securing deeply gendered fantasies of innocence, regulation, and containment, and how this aligns with contemporary British national and cultural nostalgia. It will also explore the thematic connections and differences between Moss’s critical probing of reimagined old ways of life and the yearning for a wistful version of bygone Britishness perceptible in recent British nature and travel writings.

BRITISH IRON AGE ‘HORN CAPS’: PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE?

SummaryThe function of British Iron Age ‘horn caps’ has puzzled scholars for centuries. These hollow bronze objects were made from at least the fourth century BC and were mounted on thin wooden shafts. Drawing on the contextual evidence for the objects and the small number of comparable continental finds, it is suggested here that the caps were the terminals of the goads used by the drivers of horse‐drawn vehicles. Although the Celtic chariot and the graves in which they were sometimes placed have attracted great attention, the driver and the horses have been largely overlooked. The drivers may well have also been the horses’ grooms and could have been servants.

Baubles, bangles and beads: Recycling coloured glasses in the British Iron Age and Roman periods

AbstractCompositional analysis has proved to be a powerful tool for investigating the recycling of transparent glass in the Roman and Byzantine periods. This paper expands the focus further to explore the recycling of coloured and opaque glass in the Late Iron Age and Roman periods in Britain. A review of the findings to date, predominantly for beads and bangles, illustrates how a combination of methods is needed to identify when coloured glass has been recycled and altered in the past. Chemical analysis, microstructural examination and experimentation have been used to understand how coloured glass was mixed, diluted, and modified with novel colourants and opacifiers, in ways that are not apparent from non‐destructive chemical analysis alone. The paper discusses the possible types and sources of trade glass, the challenges of recycling mono‐ and polychrome glass in different colours, and the unconventional methods used by glassworkers on the periphery of Roman influence to extend and modify coloured glass to produce distinctive items in order to express their identity.

Large-scale migration into Britain during the Middle to Late Bronze Age.

Present-day people from England and Wales have more ancestry derived from early European farmers (EEF) than didpeople of the Early Bronze Age1. To understand this, here we generated genome-wide data from 793 individuals, increasing data from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age in Britain by 12-fold, and western and central Europe by 3.5-fold. Between 1000 and 875 BC, EEF ancestry increased in southern Britain (England and Wales) but not northern Britain (Scotland) due to incorporation of migrants who arrived at this time and over previous centuries, and who were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from France. These migrants contributed about half the ancestry of people of England and Wales from the Iron Age, thereby creating a plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain. These patterns are part of a broader trend of EEF ancestry becoming more similar across central and western Europe in the Middle to the Late Bronze Age, coincident with archaeological evidence of intensified cultural exchange2-6. There was comparatively less gene flow from continental Europe during the Iron Age, and the independent genetic trajectory in Britain is also reflected in the rise of the allele conferring lactase persistence to approximately 50% by this time compared to approximately 7% in central Europe where it rose rapidly in frequency only a millennium later. This suggests that dairy products were used in qualitatively different ways in Britain and in central Europe over this period.

ISLAND DWELLINGS AT 60° NORTH: NEW EVIDENCE FOR CRANNOGS IN IRON AGE SHETLAND

SummaryRe‐evaluation of recorded sites and new field survey have identified 30 island dwellings in Shetland which are argued to be part of the wider Scottish Iron Age crannog building tradition. Four were subject to field survey above and below water and found to be at least partly artificial. The morphology, distribution and chronology of Shetland’s artificial islands are discussed and compared to the rest of Scotland emphasizing their parallels. The results support the recent move towards considering islet duns and brochs as crannogs. These newly identified sites in Shetland underline the ubiquity of the crannog building tradition in Scotland. Through discussion of the morphology, distribution and chronology of crannogs in Shetland and the rest of Scotland, it is argued that artificial island dwelling is a widely shared cultural practice and an underlying principle of Scottish Iron Age settlement.

REGES, REGULI, DUCES: SOME REMARKS ON THE INDIVIDUAL AND POWER IN LATE IRON AGE PRE-ROMAN BRITAIN

The paper considers one of the most significant changes in late pre-Roman Iron Age in Britain—the emergence of individual power, usually labeled as kingship. The modern perception of this sociopolitical phenomenon has been largely determined according to texts from Greek and Roman authors. This paper argues that this image is distorted and says more about the ancient writers than it does about ancient political leaders, their status, or the essence of their power. Avoiding terms like king to prevent a general misunderstanding of the phenomenon is reasonable; nevertheless, coins from so-called dynasties and tribes as well as other material sources show the emergence of individual power from the first century B.C.E. to the first century C.E. This new phenomenon should be analyzed with new (and re-worked) theoretical frameworks. Additionally, comparative studies can play a significant role in exploring the nature of what is referred to as Iron Age kingship in Britain.

Iron Age ‘Predatory Landscapes’: A Bioarchaeological and Funerary Exploration of Captivity and Enslavement in Britain

This paper proposes a multi-disciplinary approach which can be used to identify captives and the enslaved of Iron Age Britain (seventh centurybc–adfirst century). It uses a ‘poetics of violence’ perspective which recognizes that violence and warfare are created and enacted through social relations, and encompasses violence for which there is often no archaeological trace. Roman primary sources, bog-bodies and other archaeological evidence from Iron Age Britain and Europe suggest that people in these states of ‘social death’ were used to acquire material goods, employed in the agricultural economy, and their deaths played an important role in episodes of ritual violence. Drawing on research from North America, a series of funerary, isotope, archaeothantology and osteological variables have been identified for this period, and when integrated into an osteobiography, allows for the re-interpretation of many burials and structured deposits encountered in Iron Age settlements and hillforts.

Elevated lead exposure in Roman occupants of Londinium: New evidence from the archaeological record

The evolution of metallurgical practices over several millennia has resulted in human exposures to a diverse variety of toxic elements. These exposures were not just confined to the metalworkers, but in many cases broadly impacted the larger community and society. The role of lead in Roman civilization is particularly fascinating, where the available evidence of lead use in a myriad of applications by Roman civilization suggests the potential for elevated exposures. The present paper addresses the hypothesis that because of these practices, Roman occupants of ancient Londinium (43–410 ad) were exposed to levels of lead that far exceeded exposures in the preceding populations of Iron Age Britain (700 bc–43 ad). The elemental content and stable lead and strontium isotopic signatures of 30 femora from three Londinium cemeteries and radiocarbon‐dated representative burials were examined and the results then compared with 70 femora dating to the pre‐Roman Iron Age from the well‐known Iron Age hillfort of Danebury, Hampshire, and from three cemeteries in East Yorkshire. Extensive efforts were directed at the minimization of sediment and soil contamination, the assessment of contamination from burial artefacts and a careful review of the burial context of specimens. Data for lead and 20 additional trace and major elements were obtained by magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS), after acid dissolution of pre‐cleaned bone cores. Lead isotope ratios in the bone core digests (and burial soils) were measured by multi‐collector ICPMS. It was found that concentrations of lead in the Roman/Londinium‐era femora were > 70‐fold greater than those from pre‐Roman populations. This was confirmed by femoral data obtained from the analysis of a pre‐Roman burial from the early first century bc found adjacent to the Southern Cemetery. Several major and trace element metrics for diagenesis demonstrate that levels of lead in the bone are robust indicators of human exposure during life. Lead isotope data for the Roman population are consistent with previously identified widespread lead pollution. The pre‐Roman populations contain lead isotopic compositions consistent with highly localized, minor sources of lead. Together, these data provide unequivocal confirmation that the Romans in Londinium were exposed to elevated lead levels. Elevated blood lead levels would have resulted, negatively affecting their health and possibly contributing to declining birth rates.

A Scottish Iron Age Wetland Village Built from Nature’s Bounty: Understanding the Formation of Plant Litter Floors

ABSTRACT The ongoing excavations at Black Loch of Myrton in south-west Scotland have revealed the existence of an Iron Age wetland village, preserved through both waterlogging and charring. Of particular interest is a single roundhouse (Structure 2) from which a large macroplant assemblage has been recovered. Dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating have revealed that this roundhouse was in use from 435 BC for approximately 30–40 years. However, very few artefacts were found within the structure and its function remains unclear. By employing a range of sampling techniques and analytical methods to study the macroplant assemblage, it has been possible to more fully understand the role of plant material in the construction and development of this building. Analyses undertaken at both the macro and micro scales, coupled with excavation of stratigraphically distinct floor layers observed within monolith samples, have allowed for identification and arrangement of the plant materials used for construction and as floor coverings. In addition, differential activity areas within the roundhouse have been identified.

New light on old iron

Over the last decade, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of projects and discoveries relating to Iron Age iron in the UK. These include the discovery of one of the earliest smelting furnaces at Messingham, North Lincolnshire, an extensive industry along the Thames Valley and finds of iron objects including swords and spearheads within the graves of the Arras culture of Eastern Yorkshire, for example at Pocklington. There has also been an encouraging increase of the number of PhD theses being undertakenin UK universities on early iron objects and their production and deposition, including those supervised and examined by the writer. This contribution will consider the origins of iron production in Iron Age Britain and the relationship between iron production, its uses and the deposition of iron artefacts within the landscape in the light of these recent discoveries.

THE CARNYX ON CELTIC AND ROMAN REPUBLICAN COINAGE

This paper explores the cross-cultural portrayals of an unusual and striking musical instrument, the carnyx, on the coinages of the Romans and the inhabitants of Iron Age Britain and Gaul. Fashioned as a snarling boar, the carnyx was a war horn used by the Gauls and Britons that not only captivated the minds of their artists, but also those of the Romans. This paper studies the cross-cultural phenomenon of its appearance in the coin iconography of the late second to late first centuriesbc. This simultaneous analysis of Roman, Gallic and British coinage reveals that while each culture had a shared belief in the carnyx’s military role, each culture also had its own interpretation of the object’s significance. To the Romans, it was a symbol of the barbarian, to be cherished as a war trophy after a Roman victory, but to those northern Europeans, it was a sign of pride and spiritual significance. An image’s meaning is, therefore, seen to transform as it crosses into a new cultural context.

Socio-semiotics and the symbiosis of humans, horses, and objects in later Iron Age Britain

ABSTRACT Using an approach derived from material culture studies and semiotics, this speculative paper addresses possible relationships between humans and horses in the British Iron Age. Through a study of dominance of horse imagery found on Iron Age British coinage, specifically the Western coins traditionally attributed to the ‘Dobunni’, the author explores what these coins may be able to inform us regarding the possible relationships between humans and horses and their personhood therein. Drawing on wider evidence including faunal remains and other horse-related metalwork, it is argued that these coins could be interpreted as a manifestation of the complex perspectives surrounding a symbiotic relationship between humans and horses.

Advances in archaeomagnetic dating in Britain: New data, new approaches and a new calibration curve

Archaeomagnetic dating offers a valuable chronological tool for archaeological investigations, particularly for dating fired material. The method depends on the establishment of a dated record of secular variation of the Earth's magnetic field and this paper presents new and updated archaeomagnetic directional data from the UK and geomagnetic secular variation curves arising from them. The data are taken from publications from the 1950's to the present day; 422 dated entries derived from existing archaeo and geomagnetic databases are re-evaluated and 487 new directions added, resulting in 909 entries with corresponding dates, the largest collection of dated archaeomagnetic directions from a single country. An approach to improving the largest source of uncertainty, the independent dating, is proposed and applied to the British Iron Age, resulting in 145 directions from currently available databases being updated with revised ages and/or uncertainties, and a large scale reassessment of age assignments prior to inclusion into the Magnetic Moments of the Past and GEOMAGIA50 databases. From the significantly improved dataset a new archaeomagnetic dating curve for the UK is derived through the development of a temporally continuous geomagnetic field model, and is compared with previous UK archaeomagnetic dating curves and global field models. The new model, ARCH-UK.1 allows model predictions for any location in the UK with associated uncertainties. It is shown to improve precision and accuracy in archaeomagnetic dating, and to provide new insight into past geomagnetic field changes.

Filling the Gaps: The Iron Age in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan

Over the last 20 years interpretive approaches within Iron Age studies in Britain have moved from the national to the regional. This was an important development which challenged the notion that a unified, British, Iron Age ever existed. However, whilst this approach has allowed regional histories to be told in their own right, there has been far too much focus on ‘key’ areas such as Wessex and Yorkshire. Our knowledge of the ‘gaps’ in-between these regions is uneven across the country and seriously distorts our understanding of the period. This situation is particularly acute in Wales where there is a paucity of very large material and structural assemblages. As with many ‘in-between’ areas, developer-funded archaeology has increased the baseline dataset, although the interpretations of those data have not developed in parallel. This paper will demonstrate that, to more fully understand the integrated regional composition of Iron Age Britain, we must give detailed consideration to the evidence from these ‘gaps’. By bringing together for the first time all of the available aerial photographic, chronological, faunal, palaeobotanical, and excavated data in one of these ‘gap’ areas, southern Glamorgan, this paper will show that through the careful analysis of the available evidence we are able to gain an understanding of different areas’ distinctive regional characters and move beyond our over-reliance on a small number of key regions.

Groves in Anglo-Saxon England

ABSTRACTSacred tree cults, including those concerning groves, have a long-established history in the Classical World, lingering on in England under Roman rule; groves had also played a central role among the Druids in late Iron Age Britain. However, such ‘pagan’ beliefs involving trees were to be curtailed under Christianity, especially following the late tenth/eleventh-century reforms within the Catholic Church. In early medieval literature woods were generally (but not always) seen as dangerous wilderness areas, places likely to try the faith of hermits. Early medieval documents and place-names are more pragmatic: the terms used are often indicative of the nature or use of woods and the grāf term seems to have been used for relatively small managed woods that often appear to have been coppiced for timber and small wood.

Archaeology on Television, 1937

The birth of archaeologically themed television programmes is intimately linked to the birth of television itself. Yet little is known of the earliest broadcasts owing to both the fragmentary archival record and the longstanding hype surrounding later archaeology TV productions. This article examines two of the first such shows, likely the earliest in the English-speaking world for which records survive, focused on the British Iron Age site of Maiden Castle and on the reconstruction of prehistoric pottery. While noting the role of Mortimer Wheeler in their development, I also highlight several key women who produced the programmes, starred in them, and otherwise held critical posts in the establishment of professional archaeological practice in Britain, including Margot Eates, Ione Gedye, and Delia Parker — all based at London's Institute of Archaeology (IoA). These BBC TV broadcasts were specifically deployed to showcase the sites and methods of the burgeoning discipline of archaeology. More importantly, however, they were subtle players in the building of intellectual and institutional capital for both the IoA and the BBC. Augmented by other graphic media produced by the IoA itself, the earliest televised archaeology shows generated income, exposure, capacity, and clout for these two very different but pioneering organizations.

Defining Banjo Enclosures: Investigations, Interpretations, and Understanding in the Iron Age of Southern Britain

Banjo enclosures are an important archaeological site type within British Iron Age studies, particularly for southern England. Significant numbers of these sites have been discovered through aerial survey but only a comparatively small number have been explored through additional survey and excavation. Chronologically these sites wholly exist within the Middle and Late Iron Age periods,c. 400bctoad43. As yet there has been no standard interpretive framework for these sites and our understanding and discussion has often been based on the theoretical model most popular at the time of investigation. A key aim of his paper is to question this piecemeal approach and incorporate more recent interpretations from a much-expanded dataset. Since the 1990s large-scale landscape surveys have increased considerably the numbers of sites identified and subsequently the regions in which they are located. Tying this in with recent excavations, we have begun to redefine our understanding of banjo enclosures as more complex in their site development and function, while also providing a simplified framework which accounts for the diversity of forms, locations, and relative associations. Ultimately these enclosures are more complex than previously realised, potentially serving a multiplicity of functions with different phases of use throughout a period of significant change at the end of prehistory.

Death, burial and ritual in Iron Age Britain and the Netherlands

Death, burial and ritual in Iron Age Britain and the Netherlands