Warriors, war, and weapons; or arms, the armed, and armed violence

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon James
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Armed Violence ◽  
Roman Military ◽  
Middle Iron Age

For many archaeologists, the warrior remains a central icon of the European Iron Age, although warfare is largely ignored by others. This chapter critiques and contextualizes the notion of the ‘warrior’ in a variety of social contexts, ranging from middle Iron Age Wessex, late Iron Age Gaul and Dacia, the Sarmatian ‘horse peoples’, to the Germanic confederations of the Roman Iron Age. Considerable archaeological evidence exists relating to armed violence: weapons and equipment, military infrastructure, and pathological data, alongside iconography and classical texts. Some European Iron Age societies developed war-making capacities far beyond the Celtic warrior stereotype, with powerful and sophisticated armies, while mercenaries mastered Greco-Roman military practices. Other societies invested heavily in weaponry, but armed violence was probably largely interpersonal rather than intercommunal. The chapter seeks to develop more sophisticated ways of understanding the use of the sword, literal and figural, in the European Iron Age.

Iron Age and Roman Enclosed Settlement at Winchester Road, Basingstoke

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-97
Author(s):  
Richard Massey ◽  
Matt Nichol ◽  
Dana Challinor ◽  
Sharon Clough ◽  
Matilda Holmes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Field Boundary ◽  
Crop Processing ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Iron Age ◽  
Grave Goods

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.

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

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-136
Author(s):  
Oliver Good ◽  
Richard Massey
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
The South ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
South West ◽  
Middle Iron Age

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.

New Media in the Late Iron Age

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Wells
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Temperate Europe ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Middle Iron Age

This chapter analyzes coins and writing in late prehistoric Europe. The development of coinage in temperate Europe and the first regular signs of writing are innovations that share some important features. Both were introduced from outside the region, specifically from the Mediterranean world, toward the end of the Middle Iron Age. Although both had existed in the Mediterranean world for centuries before their introduction and adoption in temperate Europe, both appear in temperate Europe at about the same time, during the third century BC and more abundantly during the second and first centuries. They were both adopted at a particular time in Europe's developmental trajectory, and under specific economic and political circumstances.

Hadrian’s Wall in Context: A Multi-Proxy Palaeoenvironmental Perspective from Lakes

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Petra Dark
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Peat Bogs ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Wall Area ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
Roman Military ◽  
Woodland Regeneration ◽  
Hadrian's Wall

AbstractThe Hadrian’s Wall area has more pollen sequences spanning Late Antiquity than any other part of the British Isles, but most are from peat bogs, posing problems of distinguishing between changes in the local wetland vegetation and events in the wider landscape. Here, an alternative perspective is offered by multi-proxy analyses of sediments from two lakes—Crag Lough and Grindon Lough—adjacent to the central sector of Hadrian’s Wall and the Stanegate, respectively. These demonstrate that at least the central sector of the Hadrianic frontier was constructed in a landscape already shaped by two millennia of woodland clearance, burning, farming and soil erosion. Roman military presence led to changes in agricultural and settlement patterns, but the overall impact, from an environmental perspective, was minor compared to that of prehistoric peoples. Roman withdrawal led to a relaxation in land use intensity, resulting in woodland regeneration on areas least favourable to agriculture, probably encouraged by climatic deterioration. The landscape, overall, remained predominantly open and agricultural, however, resembling that of the Late Iron Age. A multi-proxy multi-site approach offers the greatest prospect of understanding environmental and landscape changes connected with Roman military presence and withdrawal, and the varied spatial and temporal scales on which they occurred.

Challenging the Traditional Chronological Framework of Funerary Rituals in the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt Region: 14C Results from the Site of Lummen-Meldert (Belgium)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (02) ◽  
pp. 461-468
Author(s):  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Guido Creemers ◽  
Mark Van Strydonck
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Size Number ◽  
Specific Category ◽  
Dating Methods ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Absolute Dating ◽  
Middle Iron Age

Archaeologists tend to use typochronological frameworks to date their sites. These are based on the appearance of certain cultural markers such as grave types or houseplans. In the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt region, a chronological framework is used for the cremation cemeteries from the Middle Bronze Age until the Late Iron Age based on the size, number, and presence of different types of cremation graves. Radiocarbon dating of cremated bone from the small cemetery at Lummen-Meldert dates this site to the Late Bronze Age. These results challenge the hypothesis that small cremation cemeteries with mostly “unurned” graves date to the Middle Iron Age. The cremation graves without an urn and grave goods are a specific category that has to be dated by absolute dating methods such as14C. The results also suggest a connection with the funerary traditions in the Atlantic region.

scholarly journals Wonen en werken in de Late IJzertijd in Spijkenisse

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-46
Author(s):  
Linda P. Verniers (depositor) ◽  
Rene Torremans (depositor)
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Material Supply ◽  
Microsoft Access ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Stable Part ◽  
Middle Iron Age ◽  
Food Economy ◽  
Animal Component

In July 2009, part of a stable farm from the end of the 3rd century BC at Spijkenisse was excavated. This farm was at the time situated in wet grassland with rough vegetation used as pasture. The excavated house plan consists of a living area, a hall and a stable part. After the occupation phase (around 210-200 BC) the site was used as a craft zone for beer or glue production (beginning of the 2nd century BC). In the archaeological research, attention was paid to the finding level (whether or not consecutively), the phasing in the tracks, the raw material supply and the food economy. The data concerning the pottery is entered in a Microsoft Access database. The hand-formed pottery found can be roughly dated as late Middle Iron Age and Late Iron Age. The majority of the animal component of the diet consisted of meat from domestic animals (especially beef, and also meat of sheep and/or goat). Emmer wheat and barley are the most important ingredients in the grain macro residues from the hearths. The habitation of the residential stable farm will have lasted about 10 to a maximum of 20 years. The next generation may have built a new farm in the vicinity.

Resistance is Futile? Ceramic Technology and Social Change in Later Iron Age and Early Roman Britain: Silchester Ware as a Case Study

Britannia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 53-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Ceramic Technology ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Middle Iron Age

ABSTRACTWhile the basic sequence of innovations that characterise ceramic production in southern Britain during the first centuries b.c. and a.d. is well-established, our understanding of resistance to these innovations remains in its infancy. Led by the theoretical principles of social constructionism, this paper presents a detailed technological characterisation of Silchester ware, a hand-built ceramic type common in late Iron Age and early Roman Berkshire and northern Hampshire, and a conspicuous example of technological and stylistic anachronism when compared to contemporary wheel-made pottery. Multi-period analyses using radiography, petrography and typology indicate that Silchester ware was not merely a technological ‘hangover’, but a traditional form of material culture with its own role in changing socio-economic structures. Contextualisation of the findings within the local archaeological background further suggests that Silchester ware may have been instrumental in the maintenance of local community and identity at a time when these aspects of social life were under threat. Supplementary material available online (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X20000355) comprises a characterisation of the chaînes opératoires of Silchester ware and its middle Iron Age antecedents, and a summarised version of the data, interpretations and the original radiographs.

Challenging the Traditional Chronological Framework of Funerary Rituals in the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt Region: 14C Results from the Site of Lummen-Meldert (Belgium)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Guido Creemers ◽  
Mark Van Strydonck
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Size Number ◽  
Specific Category ◽  
Dating Methods ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Absolute Dating ◽  
Middle Iron Age

Archaeologists tend to use typochronological frameworks to date their sites. These are based on the appearance of certain cultural markers such as grave types or houseplans. In the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt region, a chronological framework is used for the cremation cemeteries from the Middle Bronze Age until the Late Iron Age based on the size, number, and presence of different types of cremation graves. Radiocarbon dating of cremated bone from the small cemetery at Lummen-Meldert dates this site to the Late Bronze Age. These results challenge the hypothesis that small cremation cemeteries with mostly “unurned” graves date to the Middle Iron Age. The cremation graves without an urn and grave goods are a specific category that has to be dated by absolute dating methods such as 14C. The results also suggest a connection with the funerary traditions in the Atlantic region.

A Bioarchaeological Investigation of Cultural Change in Dorset, England (Mid-to-Late Fourth Century B.C. to the End of the Fourth Century A.D.

Britannia ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 161-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Redfern
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Population Movement ◽  
Roman Britain ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Late Iron Age

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the results of the first regional and bioarchaeological analysis of health in late Iron Age and Roman Britain. This tested the hypothesis that cultural and environmental changes in Dorset would result in changes to demography, stature, dental health and infectious disease. The study observed change to all health variables, supporting environmental and archaeological evidence for the introduction of urban centres, changes in living conditions, greater population movement, and development of the agricultural economy. Importantly, the study demonstrated that these responses did not reflect changes observed in other areas of Britain or Gaul.

The Manaledi Clay Mine: a ca. 1500 Year-Long Record of Potting from a Single Clay Source in the Tswapong Hills, Eastern Botswana

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-149
Author(s):  
Edwin N. Wilmsen ◽  
Anne Griffiths ◽  
David Killick ◽  
Phenyo Thebe
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Iron Age ◽  
The Village

Abstract Current potters in Manaledi village in the Tswapong Hills of Botswana aver that they and their ancestors for five generations have made pottery exclusively with clay from nearby sources. We begin with an examination of Manaledi and its clay mine to uncover current dialectics between village, landscape, clay, potters, and ancestors. Archaeological sherds found around the village and clay sources document occupation by makers of Early Iron Age (ca. AD 500-750), Middle Iron Age (ca. AD 750-1050), Late Iron Age (ca. AD 1420-1800), and 18th-20th century wares related to current Manaledi pottery. The proximity of archaeological deposits, clay sources, and village made it possible to conduct simultaneously what might otherwise be considered three separate projects. As a consequence, we are able to document that Manaledi clays have been used to make pottery for some 1500 years and to consider long-standing constraints on potting this implies.

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