A multi-proxy Holocene palaeoenvironmental record of climate change and prehistoric human activity from Lough Cullin, southeast Ireland

A multiproxy (pollen, microcharcoal, loss-on-ignition, magnetic susceptibility and geochemistry) sequence from Lough Cullin, southeast Ireland, supported by a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology, modelled using Bayesian approaches, provides a record of environmental change for much of the Holocene. Following the establishment of mixed deciduous woodland, climatic deterioration was likely responsible for pronounced vegetation change and erosion, 7615–6500 cal. BC to 6245–5575 cal. BC, evidence for the ‘8.2 Kyr’ BP climate event. The so-called ‘elm decline’ is dated to 4220–3980 cal. BC and whilst there are possible indications of an anthropogenic cause, clear evidence of woodland clearance with cereal pollen is recorded at 3900–3700 cal. BC, 3790–3580 cal. BC and 3760–3650 cal. BC, during a period of clearance and farming of 320–450 years duration. A reduction in farming/settlement and woodland regeneration during the Middle Neolithic parallels the archaeological record, with low levels of activity during the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic after 2960–2525 cal. BC, prior to increases during the Bronze Age then woodland clearance and agriculture between 1500–1410 and 1275–1000 cal. BC, corresponding with the archaeological evidence. A subsequent ‘step-wise’ reduction in human activity follows, from the latter date to 815–685 cal. BC, and a brief but pronounced cessation at 690–535 cal. BC. Renewed woodland clearance and agriculture commenced until 415–250 cal. BC. From the latter date until cal. AD 390–540, the Late Iron Age/Early Medieval period, a phase of woodland recovery is attested, followed by renewed landscape disturbance and arable agriculture in particular, continuing to the close of the record at cal. AD 780–1035.

Archaeometric perspective on the emergence of brass north of the Alps around the turn of the Era

Ancient brass (aurichalcum) was a valued commodity in the Antiquity, notably because of its gold-like appearance. After mastering brass fabrication using the cementation procedure in the first century BC in the Mediterranean, this material became widely used by the Romans for coins, jewellery and other artefacts. Because of its visual qualities, it is believed that since this period, brass played an important role in diplomatic and economic contacts with indigenous communities, notably Celtic and Germanic tribes north of Danube and west of Rhine. To test this hypothesis, we performed for the first time the advanced statistical multivariate analysis based on chemical composition and lead isotope systematics, coupled with informed typo-chronological categorisation, of a suite of late Iron Age and Early Roman period (first century BC – first century AD) brass and other copper-alloy artefacts from the territory of Bohemia. In order to to discuss their provenance, the results were compared to known contemporary sources of material. The new results for brass artefacts from this early phase of the massive occurrence of Roman aurichalcum in the Barbarian territories point to the ore deposits in the western Mediterranean or the Massif Central area in Gaul, consistent with historical events. These new findings underscore the great economic and political importance of the new and rich mineral resources in the Transalpine Gaul acquired due to Caesar's military campaigns.

Before London

The idea that London had pre-Roman origins is considered, but dismissed for the want of evidence from both within and around the city. The pre-settlement landscape and topography of the region is described, tracing the course and character of the Thames and London’s other rivers including the lost Walbrook. The pre-history of the London basin is summarized, and London’s place in the emerging political landscape of late Iron Age Britain reviewed. It is concluded that the area where Roman London was established lay on the border of earlier polities and that the Thames constituted a boundary zone and relative backwater. The sites of pre-Roman farmsteads within this landscape are identified and described, including important settlements at Bermondsey and Southwark that may have been occupied at the time of the Roman conquest. It is speculated that London gained its Roman name and identity from these pre-Roman farmsteads on the south bank of the river, making it a place of Kent. The city itself was a Roman creation, made possible by the political unification of southern Britain through the force of conquest.

Hvordan endret byggeskikken seg på Borg? En analyse av fire utvalgte hus på Borg, Vestvågøy fra yngre jernalder til høymiddelalder

The purpose of the analysis was to highlight how the building tradition at Borg, Lofoten, Norway, changed from the Late Iron Age to the High Middle Ages. The construction elements such as roof-bearing posts, doorways, fireplaces, walls, and room divisions were compared between Borg I:1a, Borg I:1b, Borg II and Borg III. The results of the analyses emphasized that the building tradition at Borg changed in regard to house construction, size of the buildings and the division of rooms. The residents of Borg traditionally built longhouses with combined living room and byre from approx. 600 AD to the year 1300 AD. It is argued that limited access to local resources, such as timber, led to the residents retaining much of the same building tradition for approx. 700 years.

Grave developments

The burial site at Borre is a common example of centralization that took place in Scandinavia during the transition between the early and late Iron Age in the sixth century. The major activities of the site are dated to the Late Iron Age, ca. 550-1050 AD. The site, which is specifically known for its uncommonly large collection of monumental mounds, has often been referred to as a burial place for kings, and the mounds have been interpreted as symbols of power meant to solidify the control of the ruling elite. This article examines changes that take place during the sites use and discusses four possible phases based on a reworked chronology. The article argues that the phases are results of different societal needs and place the mounds in a larger setting than simply elitist constructions. The reworked chronology is based on a thorough Bayesian analysis and suggests some alterations to the current understanding of the chronology at Borre.

A case of bipartite patella and vastus notch from Kneževići hillfort - Malo Libinje, Croatia

Here we present six adult patellae with superolateral concave defects observed amongst the remains of at least 28 individuals retrieved from four Late Iron Age burials from Kneževići hillfort - Malo Libinje, Croatia. The right patella of an adult individual displays a rough-edged concave defect on superolateral side of the bone called bipartite patella. Other five patellae show concave defects with smooth edges also located on superolateral side; a defect known as vastus notch. Though physically similar, the two conditions are etiologically distinct. A large amount of observed cases of vastus notch in this assemblage may indicate that these individuals frequently performed activities involving kneeling and/or squatting. This is the first documented case of joint occurrence of bipartite patella and vastus notch in a Croatian skeletal assemblage, but also the largest amount of patellae with vastus notch in an archaeological population from Croatia recorded so far.

Dealing with the Outside

The aim of this paper is to analyse some strategies of power, social control and legitimation during the Iberian Late Iron Age (6th–1st centuries BC). It addresses how the Iberian elites exploited the domain of the ‘outside’ to legitimise and to retain their status. A diachronic approach is presented seeking to analyse the role of the outside realm throughout all the examined period and the variety of its expressions within the Iberian societies. In particular, the paper focuses on the south-east of Spain, an area with a rich archaeological record which, however, have never been approached from this view.

Neither “Celtic” nor “Dacian”: The Site of Židovar at the Edges of La Tène, Carpathian and Roman Worlds

The paper reviews long-standing interpretation of the late Iron Age site of Židovar as “Celtic”, “Dacian” and “Celto-Dacian”. Arguing that this standpoint is derived from biased culture-historical ethno-determinism, the evidence is reconsidered from excavation journals of Branko Gavela and published research on Židovar. Evidential basis is discussed, such as sratigraphic difficulties and chronology, as well as some common misconceptions of the site’s characteristics. Deadlocks are emphasized regarding the conclusions on its ethnic belonging. The paper calls for a new approach that goes beyond ethno-cultural determinism and urges the employment of “relational locality”. This perspective considers the site and its immediate surroundings as the first order community, i.e. the spatio-social focal point entangled in diverse, multidirectional and supra-regional relational networks. This would mean that the community of Židovar actively mediated different templates coming from the “globalized” koines of La Tène Pannonian, Danubian-Carpathian and Roman worlds, and bricolaged them in distinctive local ways.

Late Mesolithic, Middle Bronze Age and Late Iron Age/romano-british Activity at Crowdhill, Fair Oak, Eastleigh

Nine areas, totalling 1.3ha were excavated after evaluation and desk-based assessment at land near Crowdhill, Eastleigh (NGR 448830 119560). Features were densest in Areas 1 and 2, with evidence dating from the Palaeolithic to the early Romano- British period. Three pieces of flint from a Long Blade assemblage were recovered, probably from a small localised scatter. A core tool rough-out, probably for a Mesolithic tranchet axe, was found in a pit with charred hazelnut shells from which two radiocarbon dates were obtained. Two cremation graves, each containing urned deposits, and an urned 'cenotaph' provide information about the inhabitants of the area although contemporary settlement evidence is lacking. By the Late Bronze Age there was evidence for settlement in the form of a pit containing flint-tempered pottery, worked flint and burnt flint along with charred cereal grain. A radiocarbon date was obtained on charred cereal grain from this pit confirming its age. There was sparse evidence for occupation in the late prehistoric period but by the early Romano-British period a number of ditches and intercutting pits as well as artefactual material (pottery, ceramic building material, fired clay and saddle quern fragments) indicates the presence of a small rural settlement in the vicinity of the site.

Bronze Age Funerary and Later Prehistoric Activity at Badminston Farm, Fawley, Hampshire

Archaeological excavations were undertaken by Southern Archaeological Services Ltd. between 1999 and 2010 at Badminston Farm, Fawley, on the eastern edge of the New Forest, adjacent to Southampton Water. The excavations identified evidence of near- continuous human activity from the early prehistoric period to the present day. Mesolithic activity was followed by Early Bronze Age pits, containing 'placed' flint assemblages. Evidence of Bronze Age funerary activity included deflated barrows/ring ditches, and associated cremations. Late Bronze Age ceramics were absent but a hoard of 68 Armorican-type socketed axes may have been a votive offering marking the 'ancestral' barrow which would have been visible here. Other Bronze Age evidence included two burnt mounds and an ill-defined structure possibly associated with weaving. Iron Age activity was represented by a number of pits containing domestic pottery, while Late Iron Age and Romano-British ditches may have formed part of an enclosure. A significant assemblage of non-local worked stone attests to long distance exchange, and the possibility of a nearby farmstead. Medieval activity was represented by pits, ditches and stakeholes, with some evidence of an enclosure or structure associated with grain drying. Later land divisions and a WWII radio communication station dominated more recent use of the site.