Iron Age Date Research Articles

Excavating the Missing Iron Age: Reinforcing Local Heritage & Identity in Sievi, Finland

In the small county in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland, on a forest island amid fields, a few metal objects were found by metal detectorists. The finds suggested Iron Age dates and generated great interest, for both local people and researchers. As a result, an examination of the find locations was conducted by archaeologists, which was followed by excavations at one of the sites. In this article, under scrutiny is the interest excavations formulate in local contexts and how people relate to archaeological sites of their neighborhood. In addition, the role of metal-detecting in archaeology is considered. Generally, people in Finland are interested in the past of their home region. What about if there are only imperceptible remains and minor finds like fragments of ancient objects or shards of burned bone? Is material heritage important in everyday settings, and are people attracted to it? Here the aim is to relate some answers to these questions obtained by observations and discussions with the local people during the field research process.

Iron Age and Roman Settlement at Hazel Lane Quarry, Hampole, South Yorkshire

Archaeological investigation over the past twenty-eight years at Hazel Lane Quarry, Hampole, has revealed a landscape that has been utilised since the Neolithic period. The intensive use of the landscape was attested to by an extensive field system of Iron Age and Roman date incorporating ditched enclosures, field boundaries and a trackway. Within these there was good evidence for crop processing in the form of carbonised cereal grains. Limited industrial evidence, including iron smelting, also suggests a variety of activity across the site. The most significant remains were of a stone building of Roman date which contained a hypocaust heating system and painted wall plaster and may be a bath house. This is one of only a small number of bath houses currently recorded regionally. The pottery from this structure was deposited from the late second century with the recovery of amphorae and fine wares suggesting a high status rural site, possibly associated with a villa or Romanised farmstead.

Archaeological Investigations at the Church of Saint Mary, Princes Risborough, 2005 and 2011

An evaluation (2005) and a watching brief (2011) were carried out at Saint Mary’s church, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire by John Moore Heritage Services. These investigations retrieved finds of Iron Age and Roman date, and, importantly, identified a number of earlier structural phases, which enables a major re-interpretation of the development of the church. Previous interpretations of the church had suggested a simple nave and chancel structure that pre-dated the 13th century, followed by a lengthening of the nave in the 14th century. Excavations showed this to be incorrect. Limited archaeological evidence survives for a Phase 1 building, poorly dated, but probably pre-10th century. The Phase 2 structure, over which the present nave sits, was initially longer with earlier walls under the tower and to the west of the tower, probably of a 10th century church. In the 13th century, the aisles were added on the north and south sides, and the arcades inserted. In the 14th century the west end of the church was reduced in length. In the 15th century the present tower was built. Further internal but minor phases can be detected from the late 16th to the early 19th century. In 1867-8 the church was repaired, and in places reconstructed. The primary purpose of this article is to discuss the recognised alterations to the phasing of the church, and to place this in a larger landscape context. For the purposes of this paper, the term lay church is used, which relates to royal minsters and other churches founded in greater minster’s parochiae but were where tithes were tied to the manor’s church.

The Early Iron Age collective tomb LCG-1 at Dibbā al-Bayah, Oman: long-distance exchange and cross-cultural interaction

Abstract

New dates for enclosed sites in north-east Scotland

This article presents the results of a programme of investigation into the enclosed settlements/forts and promontory forts of north-east Scotland, undertaken as part of the Northern Picts project. Reconnaissance excavations are reported on for nine sites: Crathie Point and Durn Hill, northern Aberdeenshire (Banffshire); Barmkyn of North Keig, Hill of Keir, Hill of Christ’s Kirk and Cnoc Cailliche (Wheedlemont), central Aberdeenshire; and Doune of Relugas, Knock of Alves and Wester Tulloch, Moray. Targeted excavation was undertaken at all examples and in the majority of cases produced a basic chronology for key phases of occupation/enclosure at the sites in question. Thirty-two new radiocarbon dates are presented, with a number of sites producing Iron Age dates, but a smaller number also revealing early medieval phases of occupation and use.
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Survey and excavation at an Iron Age enclosure complex on Turin Hill and environs

This paper presents the results of a programme of survey and evaluative excavation at a complex of five enclosures on Turin Hill in Angus, Scotland. This includes one large bivallate hillfort, an oblong fort and three smaller duns. The aim of the investigation was to re-map the surviving archaeological features and clarify the chronology of the sites. Geophysical survey was also undertaken and clarified various aspects of the enclosures on the hill, revealing a dense concentration of features within the interior of the large bivallate hillfort. Keyhole excavation was undertaken with basic chronological information being obtained for four out of five of the enclosures and dating samples from one other dun on the same ridge at Rob’s Reed. All the samples produced dates falling in the Iron Age and importantly, despite their location overlooking the rich assemblage of early medieval sculpture at Aberlemno, there was no definitive indication of early medieval activity or settlement at Turin Hill or its immediate environs. Evaluation of the rampart of the large bivallate hillfort produced an Early Iron Age date, and as such, may represent one of the few dated forts from this time period presently known in Scotland.
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Cattle, Sheep/Goats and Pigs from Northern and Central Hampshire: Iron Age, Roman and Early Saxon Faunal Remains from Excavation Assemblages

This paper is a survey of overall species counts from northern and central Hampshire sites, of Iron Age, Roman and early Saxon date, and their implications for chronological changes in animal husbandry and diet. Three zones, around Basingstoke, Andover, and central Hampshire, are compared with each other, and also with the Roman urban centres of Silchester and Winchester. The Andover region shows the greatest degree of continuity from Iron Age to Roman times and later, while the Basingstoke region has a pattern of change from sheep/goat dominated assemblages to ones with higher cattle numbers. This may be due to agricultural intensification, and an orientation of the animal economy in northern Hampshire more towards the Thames Valley and supply to Silchester, than an earlier 'Wessex pattern' more focussed on sheep and wool production.

Iron Age and Roman Enclosed Settlement at Winchester Road, Basingstoke

Excavation in Area 1 identified an enclosed settlement of Middle–Late Iron Age and Early Roman date, which included a roundhouse gully and deep storage pits with complex fills. A group of undated four-post structures, situated in the east of Area 1, appeared to represent a specialised area of storage or crop processing of probable Middle Iron Age date. A sequence of re-cutting and reorganisation of ditches and boundaries in the Late Iron Age/Early Roman period was followed, possibly after a considerable hiatus, by a phase of later Roman activity, Late Iron Age reorganisation appeared to be associated with the abandonment of a roundhouse, and a number of structured pit deposits may also relate to this period of change. Seven Late Iron Age cremation burials were associated with a contemporary boundary ditch which crossed Area 1. Two partly-exposed, L-shaped ditches may represent a later Roman phase of enclosed settlement and a slight shift in settlement focus. An isolated inhumation burial within the northern margins of Area 1 was tentatively dated by grave goods to the Early Saxon period.<br/> Area 2 contained a possible trackway and field boundary ditches, of which one was of confirmed Late Iron Age/Early Roman date. A short posthole alignment in Area 2 was undated, and may be an earlier prehistoric feature.

Bronze Age barrow cemetery and a medieval enclosure at Orchardfield, East Linton, East Lothian

Three ring-ditches, interpreted as a Bronze Age barrow cemetery, and a large ditched enclosure of likely medieval date were excavated at East Linton (NGR: NT 588 771) in advance of residential development. Cremation burials were recovered from all three of the ring-ditches, from their upper ditch fills and from a central pit in one of the ring-ditches. Also mixed into the fills were sherds of pottery, a few lithics, and two stone grinders/rubbers. A large pit close to one of the ring-ditches, which may have been used to dispose of the residue ash from one or more funeral pyres, was also excavated and provides an insight into the wider ritual activity taking place on or near the site. To the east of the barrow cemetery, a meandering length of ditch is considered to be medieval in date and probably forms an enclosure. Radiocarbon determinations produced Middle Bronze Age dates for samples of cremated human bone, with charred grain producing Iron Age and medieval dates.

Middle and Late Iron Age Occupation at Cadnam Farm, Alton, Hampshire

Three individual areas, totalling 0.55ha, were excavated at the Cadnam Farm site, following evaluation. Area 1 contained a D-shaped enclosure of Middle Iron Age date, associated with the remains of a roundhouse, and a ditched drove-way. Other features included refuse pits, a four-post structure and a small post-built structure of circular plan. Area 2 contained the superimposed foundation gullies of two Middle Iron Age roundhouses, adjacent to a probable third example. Area 3 contained a small number of Middle Iron Age pits, together with undated, post-built structures of probable Middle Iron Age date, including a roundhouse and four and six-post structures. Two large boundary ditches extended from the south-west corner of Area 3, and were interpreted as the funnelled entrance of a drove-way. These contained both domestic and industrial refuse of the late Iron Age date in their fills.

Archaeological Investigations at the Brahmagiri rock shelter: Prospecting for its context in South India late prehistory and early history

Recent investigations in the granitic landscapes of late prehistoric sites in southern Deccan are increasingly identifying rock shelters in and near open air settlement sites, suggesting regular use and reuse of shelters by the occupants. These shelters are either associated with cultural materials or rock art, or both, as in the case of newly found shelter at Brahmagiri, and this research attempts to contextualise it within the south Indian late prehistory and early history, through the study of its deposited cultural materials and the pictographs found within. Classification, sequencing and chronology of the panel motifs are proposed based on its stratigraphy (differential pigment colours and image superpositioning) and image morphology (form and technique). The approach taken here is less common than the subject matter based classification usually applied in Indian rock art studies and was selected because the panel has poor thematic and diagnostic elements, except for the motifs of two horse riders and two objects. Based on my analysis, I propose an Iron Age date for the images and the primary use of the rock shelter.

An Iron Age burial with weapons, on a site with evidence of medieval and post-medieval occupation from Dunbar, East Lothian

In September and October 2005, an archaeological excavation was undertaken on the site of the former Empire Cinema on Dunbar High Street. In addition to late medieval and post-medieval remains, a cist grave of pre-Roman or Roman Iron Age date was excavated and recorded. Two adult males occupied the cist grave, one of whom was equipped with a sword and a spear, representing a rare example of an Iron Age burial with weapons in Scotland. Partial skeletal remains of two further individuals were also present. This paper describes the cist grave and its contents, and places these in the context of similar remains in Scotland and wider afield, as well as considering the medieval and post-medieval remains, which included a north/south-aligned ditch that may have marked a boundary line to the west of Dunbar’s High Street. Rubble walls forming a corner of a structure to the west of this ditch may mark the remains of a building of late medieval date, while a relatively homogeneous deposit of considerable depth, built up over a relatively short period, may represent intentional levelling of the Empire site between the late medieval and early post-medieval periods.

A Probable Cattle-Handling Settlement in the Windrush Valley, Oxfordshire: A Brief Summary of 25 Years Work at Gill Mill Quarry, Ducklington and South Leigh

ABSTRACTExtensive long-term excavations at Gill Mill revealed polyfocal floodplain settlement of middle Iron Age date, one area continuing in occupation into the early/mid-third centurya.d.Elsewhere a nucleated site ofc.10 ha developedde novofrom the early second century around a network of minor roads. Characterised by extensive systems of enclosures and limited structural evidence (but probably including a shrine), this settlement, occupied up to abouta.d.370, is interpreted as concerned principally with cattle management and marketing, perhaps with a partly seasonal population base.

New Evidence of Post-Destruction Reuse in the Main Building of the Palace of Nestor at Pylos

In the past three decades, an Iron Age date for reoccupation of areas surrounding the Palace of Nestor on the Epano Englianos Ridge has become well attested, but the extent and nature of this reoccupation has remained unclear. My reexamination of the Main Building stratigraphy using data recorded in the excavation notebooks has helped define the extent of reoccupation by providing evidence for two phases of temporary reuse. The first phase of reuse, which dates between the final destruction and the early 10th century B.C.E., occurred inside small areas of the Main Building that had not yet collapsed. The second phase occurred on top of and around the Main Building ruins and has a terminus post quem of the early 10th century B.C.E. My reanalysis confirms a more complex site history than originally recognized and bears tremendous implications for looting and other disturbances to the remains. This article is open access at AJA Online. Figures can also be found under this article’s abstract on (AJA Online).

The Pershore Hoards and Votive Deposition in the Iron Age

A large hoard of Iron Age coins was discovered by metal-detecting at Pershore, Worcestershire, in 1993. During small-scale archaeological excavation further Iron Age coins were recovered, including a likely second hoard. Further fieldwork in the same vicinity as the hoard(s) produced more Iron Age finds, including more coins, and a possible fragment of a twisted wire gold torc. In total 1494 Iron Age gold and silver coins were recovered. Geophysical survey indicated that the hoard(s) lay at the southern end of an extensive area of settlement which, based on the fieldwalking evidence, was mainly of Iron Age and Roman date. This covered an overall area ofc.10 ha, within which several areas of more intensive activity were defined, including enclosures and possible round-houses. It is suggested that the coin hoard(s) indicate the location of a Late Iron Age religious space in an elevated landscape position situated on the edge of a settlement which continued into the Roman period. As part of the archaeological strategy, specialist deep-search metal-detecting was undertaken in order to establish that the site has now been completely cleared of metalwork caches

NEW RADIOCARBON DATES FOR TWO STONE-CIST GRAVES AT MUUKSI, NORTHERN ESTONIA

In the surroundings of Lake Kahala in northern Estonia, which is the richest area in Estonia in terms of Bronze Age stone graves, over twenty graves have been archaeologically excavated in different decades of the 20th century. Only five of them, however, have been excavated in their entirety with proper documentation. Human skeletal remains from two such stonecist graves, Nos 5 and 70 at Sondlamagi, Muuksi, were recently radiocarbon-dated as part of a research programme for studying the chronology and mortuary practices of stone-cist graves. Altogether 13 AMS dates comprise most of the burials in the mentioned graves. The results reveal that the graves were built before 1100 and 800 BC, respectively, and are thus slightly older than previously thought, which necessitates the reconsideration of the dating of such graves. In both graves the inhumations outside of stone cists are of a Bronze Age date and are roughly contemporary with the inhumations inside the cists. This is notable since in some stone-cist grave burials of the outside inhumations are much later insertions to the grave. The burnt bones of grave 5, however, may date from the Roman Iron Age, and cremation(s) remains of an Iron Age date may also have been present in grave 70. The comparison of radiocarbon dates and artefact finds suggests that in the mid-Pre-Roman Iron Age grave 70 was used for some (ritual) practices in which burial was of secondary importance if practised at all. Along with these outlined topics, the article discusses a few details concerning the graves’ structure, the burial practices (primary versus secondary) and the find assemblage.

Cadbury Castle, Devon, Reconsidered

Geophysical survey has shed new light on the history of Cadbury Castle, a hillfort of presumed Iron Age date situated west of the Exe Valley in Devon. At least two prehistoric phases of development have been identified, as well as a previously unknown additional external line of defence which is tentatively suggested to date from the seventeenth-century Civil War. In addition, the finds from a nineteenth-century ‘excavation’ of a shaft or well in the interior are reviewed and found to represent a significant assemblage of late Roman date, possibly suggestive of the survival of pre-Christian practices.

“These boots were made for walking”: The isotopic analysis of a C4 Roman inhumation from Gravesend, Kent, UK

As part of the road widening scheme between London and Dover, Oxford Archaeology South uncovered a large boundary ditch of Iron Age origin that contained Iron Age and Roman inhumations, adjacent to which was a small mid-late Roman cemetery, interpreted as a rural cemetery for Romano-British farmers. Grave goods in the cemetery were restricted to a few individuals with hobnailed boots. Bulk bone collagen isotopic analysis of 11 skeletons of Iron Age and Roman date gave a typical C(3) terrestrial signal (average δ(13) C = -19.8‰, δ(15) N = 9.3‰), but also revealed one (SK12671) with a diet which included a substantial C(4) component (δ(13) C = -15.2‰, δ(15) N = 11.2‰). This is only the second such diet reported in Roman Britain. Subsequent δ(18) O(c) and (87) Sr/(86) Sr measurements on the dental enamel in this individual were, however, consistent with a "local" origin, indicating that either C(4) protein was consumed in Late Roman Britain, or that he came from somewhere else, but where conditions gave rise to similar isotopic values. If we accept the latter, then it indicates that using oxygen and strontium isotopes alone to identify "incomers" may be problematic. The provision of hobnailed boots for the dead appears to have had a strong symbolic element in Late Roman Britain. We suggest that in this case the boots may be significant, in that he was being equipped for the long march home.

A Late Prehistoric Timber Alignment in the Waveney Valley, Suffolk: Excavations at Barsham Marshes

This paper describes the results of excavations and associated palaeoenvironmental analyses at Barsham Marshes, Suffolk, England. The site is a triple post alignment of oak stakes built at the edge of a palaeochannel of the River Waveney. The alignment has been traced for over 30 m but neither terminus of the site has been excavated. Dendrochronological dating of the timbers has produced a range of felling dates between 8 BC and AD 8 indicating a late Iron Age date for the structure. No other cultural material was recovered. Palaeoenvironmental analyses of the associated deposits indicate that the site was located at the edge of a shallow channel of the River Waveney with local aquatic and alder carr vegetation and evidence for more open scrub and pastoral environments in the wider landscape. This channel appears to have infilled by the 11th century AD and is overlain by a thin layer of humified peat, corresponding to the uppermost level of preservation of the stakes. It is likely that any superstructure originally supported by the stakes had finally decomposed or been dismantled by this time. The site is compared to that of Beccles some 3 km down river where excavations have revealed a triple post alignment also dating to the late Iron Age but with evidence for activity during the Romano-British period. The possible form and function(s) of the sites are discussed.

Date Beer and Date Wine in Antiquity

Four pools unearthed in Jericho and one at nearby Ein Feshkha were most probably used as vats for producing date wine. Ancient authors tell us, testimonies corroborated by archaeological finds, that in this area, north-west of the Dead Sea, in the first century BCE and first century CE existed groves of date palms. As of the beginning of Iron Age date wine became the principal alcoholic beverage of Mesopotamia (but still called beer) replacing the millennia-old barley beer. Classical authors, as well as the Babylonian Talmud, supply us with detailed description of the production methods and properties of the drink. They all agree about the hangovers that inflict the imbibers. Of the sap of the date palm a different alcoholic beverage was produced in antiquity and is still produced today. A palm tree can produce up to 400–500 litres annually and it stands to reason that such wine was produced also in ancient Palestine.