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Agricultural practices are key for understanding socio-economic change, community organization, and relationships with landscape and the environment. Under the Roman Empire, cereals were vital for supplying urban and military populations, yet cereal husbandry practices within villa landscapes remain underexplored. In this article, the author applies new methods to analyse a large assemblage of charred plant remains from an area of chalk downland in central-southern England in order to evaluate changes in cereal production strategies over the Middle Iron Age to late Roman periods. Archaeobotany, carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and functional weed ecology are combined to reconstruct crop husbandry practices, in order to establish the cereal production system of Roman villas and the preceding Iron Age settlements, and to consider the environmental and socio-economic impact of cereal production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides an overview of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in England and Wales, which records archaeological objects found by the public. It includes information on the number and types of Roman objects documented by the PAS in 2022, with a focus on eastern and central southern England. The article also describes specific artifacts found in different regions, providing details on their materials, dimensions, and decorative elements. The text discusses the historical and cultural significance of these artifacts and their connections to similar objects found in other parts of the Roman Empire. Additionally, the document describes and analyzes several archaeological artifacts found in different regions of England, providing insights into their typology, decoration, and cultural significance in Iron Age and Roman contexts. [Extracted from the article]

In this paper, we draw attention to several regions of England where the knowledge of Iron Age and Roman settlement has reached a level of 'abundance' such that what we can say about the past goes beyond simply creating a gazetteer of 'sites', or discussing the presence or absence of particular settlement types. We explore how this level of 'abundance' has come about, and what the wider implications are interpretatively and for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article reviews the emergence and development of Romano-British glass bangles in southern Britain by providing a fresh analysis of finds that also considers recent theoretical and historical advances in interpreting the transition from the late Iron Age to the Roman period. By analysing the emergence of bangles in terms of technological and stylistic transfer, it suggests that the technology used in their production and their visual elements have continental lineage. It also situates bangles amid indigenous developments in bodily adornments in southern Britain before a.d. 43. By reconnecting British bangles with their continental European counterparts and contextualising them within political, social and cultural processes in south-western England during the late pre-Roman Iron Age, the article argues that the emergence of bangles in Britain did not occur in a vacuum after the Claudian invasion in a.d. 43 but formed an integral part of globalising networks of cross-Channel trade and connections with the European mainland in the early first century a.d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scarcity of Romano-British human remains from north-west England has hindered understanding of burial practice in this region. Here, we report on the excavation of human and non-human animal remains and material culture from Dog Hole Cave, Haverbrack. Foetal and neonatal infants had been interred alongside a horse burial and puppies, lambs, calves and piglets in the very latest Iron Age to early Romano-British period, while the mid- to late Roman period is characterised by burials of older individuals with copper-alloy jewellery and beads. This material culture is more characteristic of urban sites, while isotope analysis indicates that the later individuals were largely from the local area. We discuss these results in terms of burial ritual in Cumbria and rural acculturation. Supplementary material is available online (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X20000136), and contains further information about the site and excavations, small finds, zooarchaeology, human osteology, site taphonomy, the palaeoenvironment, isotope methods and analysis, and finds listed in Benson and Bland 1963. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 55 B.C. Julius Caesar crossed into Britain and was immediately engaged in a unique style of warfare. The Iron Age Britons used sturdy and fast two-horse chariots to respond to Roman invasion. This article looks at the tactics of and analyzes aspects of the battle chariot. It assesses the capabilities of the people who fielded the chariot and the means used to sustain their resources and gauge their capabilities. Drawing on both classical and archaeological sources, this article presents a fuller account of Caesar's two trips to Britain in 55-54 B.C. and the British warfare he encountered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across Europe, landscape is recognised as a frame through which societal values are defined and embedded. The European Landscape convention and wider research has drawn attention to the need for integrating a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure landscape sustainability. Archaeology is increasingly recognised as having an important place in integrated landscape management but often remains relatively peripheral. This paper examines the place of archaeology in specific European regions and the potential ways of integrating archaeological heritage in landscape management. Emerging from a project funded by the Joint Programme Initiative on Cultural Heritage (Resituating Europe's FIrst Towns (REFIT): A case study in enhancing knowledge transfer and developing sustainable management of cultural landscapes), we explore the place of a set of common European heritage assets, Iron Age oppida, in the management of the landscape they are a part of and how they might be used better to engage and connect stakeholders. Using four case studies, we review the present integration of archaeology within landscape management and how this operates at a local level. From this we explore what challenges these case-studies present and outline ways in which the REFIT project has sought to develop strategies to respond to these in order to enhance and promote co-productive management of these landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, a complete upper stone of a rotary quern with a projecting lug for a vertical handle was found at Hinkley Point in Somerset, south-western England. It is the first late Iron Age to early Roman period quern of this form to be found in England. This note describes its form in detail and discusses its closest parallels in north-eastern Ireland, south-western Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man and Spain. It shows how thin-section analysis demonstrates the quern to have been locally made in Somerset and discusses the movement of ideas about quern design during the late Iron Age to early Roman period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The 180th volume of the Archaeological Journal is introduced by the new editor, who expresses gratitude to the previous editor and invites professionals to contribute their field reports and research papers. The journal covers the archaeology of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Eire, spanning from prehistory to contemporary times. The first issue includes papers on Iron Age and Roman settlements, post-Roman occupation and burial practices, the presence of the Greek language in Roman Britain, the origins of wheel-thrown pottery production in ninth-century England, and the symbolism of carving as a mnemonic tool in Early Medieval Scotland. The issue also includes book reviews on various archaeological topics. [Extracted from the article]

A radiocarbon date of cal AD 410-620 obtained from near the base of the substantial ditch defining Ampress Camp, suggests that this riverside enclosure to the north of Lymington, which lay immediately east of the Iron Age hillfort of Buckland Rings, may be sub-Roman in date, and possibly associated with the establishment and/or defence of the Jutish province in southern Hampshire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excavations at Lamb's Field, Worting, Basingstoke, provided evidence for a small Late Iron Age to Early Romano-British complex of ditches and a rectangular enclosure that flourished between 100 BC and AD 100. The enclosure post-dated two curvilinear ditches and had been modified over time. With no clear evidence of occupational structures within the enclosure, the features are thought to be associated with animal husbandry, with the curvilinear features representing an earlier boundary to an area of occupation to the south. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A number of injuries were observed in a recent examination of 150 Thames 'river skulls'. Eight of these, exhibiting both healed and unhealed blunt force trauma, were sampled for A M S 14C dating. The results span the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age /Romano-British period, with the majority falling within the Late Bronze Age /Early Iron Age. Given the potential time-span involved, this clustering is striking - particularly as it is consistent with the results of other dating programmes on Thames crania - and appears to confirm the likelihood of an association between human remains and weaponry entering the Thames over this period. In this regard, it is intriguing that the majority of the injuries are the result of blows with a blunt instrument, raising questions over the nature of conflict at this time. Other crania do show sharp force injuries, but have yet to be systematically dated. We discuss these results in the broader context of recent discoveries of human remains and weapons associated with watery places in later prehistory across northern Europe, reinforcing the idea that both are best seen within a context of ritual deposition, though the details vary across time and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terms such as 'oppida' have often obscured how we understand the nature and role of the dyke complexes which emerged at the end of the Iron Age. Developing from recent research at the Late Iron Age complex of Bagendon in Gloucestershire, this paper argues that a group of such polyfocal complexes share common characteristics, most significantly a relationship with 'banjo' enclosures, as part of wider landscape constructs. The paper suggests that the topography and morphology of these complexes have important implications for understanding the role of these sites and the nature of social change in the Late Iron Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Situ preservation is a core strategy for the conservation and management of waterlogged remains at wetland sites. Inorganic and organic remains can, however, quickly become degraded, or lost entirely, as a result of chemical or hydrological changes. Monitoring is therefore crucial in identifying baseline data for a site, the extent of spatial and or temporal variability, and in evaluating the potential impacts of these variables on current and future In Situ preservation potential. Since August 2009, monthly monitoring has taken place at the internationally important Iron Age site of Glastonbury Lake Village in the Somerset Levels, UK. A spatial, stratigraphic, and analytical approach to the analysis of sediment horizons and monitoring of groundwater chemistry, redox potential, water table depth and soil moisture (using TDR) was used to characterize the site. Significant spatial and temporal variability has been identified, with results from water-table monitoring and some initial chemical analysis from Glastonbury presented here. It appears that during dry periods parts of this site are at risk from desiccation. Analysis of the chemical data, in addition to integrating the results from the other parameters, is ongoing, with the aim of clarifying the risk to the entire site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A programme of archaeological investigation took place on Fin Cop hillfort, in the Derbyshire Peak District, during the summers of 2009 and 2010. In total fifty test-pits and eight trenches were excavated, revealing evidence for a Mesolithic quarry site, and sporadic evidence for Neolithic and Beaker period activity. An assemblage of Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age ceramics was recovered from the interior of the fort in association with rock-cut pits testifying to occupation of the hilltop prior to the construction of the hillfort rampart. The hillfort rampart construction took place in the period 435-390 cal. BC (68% probability) and was destroyed before its completion, probably by the mid-fourth century cal. BC, when large numbers of women and children were disposed of in the ditch together with the demolition material from the fort's wall. The defensive character of the monument and the evidence for a violent end to the site appear to indicate, on current evidence, that the fort was sacked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper presents 21 new radiocarbon dates for Iron Age burials excavated at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, including three chariot burials. The dates are analysed using a Bayesian approach, along with previous dates from the cemetery and from other chariot burials in the region. The model suggests that regular burial at Wetwang spanned the third and earlier second centuries cal BC, a shorter period than once thought, whilst the chariot burials all belong to a short-lived horizon centred on 200 cal BC. The dating of brooch types present in the burials is also reassessed. Our results imply that brooches of La Tène D form appeared in Britain in the later second century cal BC, in line with Continental evidence, but reinforcing the void in the later Iron Age sequence revealed in a recent study of decorated metalwork. Both this apparent gap and the end of the classic East Yorkshire mortuary tradition may well be manifestations of the more general changes that swept across Europe at this period, ushering in the new forms of political organization and social practices that define the Late Iron Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This is the first regional analysis of the impact of Romanisation on subadult dietary patterns and related health parameters in Britain. A sample of 200 subadults from late Iron Age (LIA) and Romano-British (RB) Dorset were examined for dental health and specific metabolic diseases, and a sub-sample of 29 individuals were selected for nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis. The results showed that dental health declined in the Romano-British period and the incidence of scurvy and rickets rose. Increased consumption of marine foods in the RB period is indicated by an increase in δ13C between the LIA and RB subadults. After early childhood, there was no age-dependent variation in dietary protein in the RB and LIA populations from Dorset. We propose that these changes related to the introduction of urban living, Romanised diets and population migration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Palaeodietary studies typically focus on the analysis of bone collagen due to the limited availability of plant remains. Isotopic analysis of plant remains, however, allow for a more extensive consideration of the contribution of plants to the human diet and can potentially provide information about the environment in which the crops were grown. This paper reports the results of carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses performed on charred barley and wheat grains recovered from pits within Danebury Iron Age hillfort. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Iron Age site in Britain from which charred grains have been isotopically analysed. Our results suggest that cereals found at the hillfort were grown in several different environmental contexts. The isotope data demonstrate that the herbivores were not consuming a diet primarily based on grains as the δ15N values of the grains are very similar to those of the herbivores. Palaeodietary investigations typically assume that humans eating plant protein only would have the same δ15N value as the local herbivores. This assumption is clearly invalid at Danebury, where the humans and animals appear to have consumed either different parts of the same plants or different plants. Researchers typically interpret high differences between human and animal δ15N values as indicative of diets high in animal protein, however where major plant resources have δ15N values similar to those of the herbivores our ability to distinguish between plant and animal sources of protein in the diet is limited. Our research has demonstrated that whenever possible it is desirable to measure the isotopic signatures of potential major plant resources in order to understand past subsistence strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The discovery of part of a human body at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, in 1984, provided Britain with an equivalent to the famous "bog bodies" of Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia, and its subsequent careful forensic analysis appeared to furnish valuable insights into the nature of Iron Age ritual practices. In particular, it served strongly to reinforce the belief that those practices contained a significant component of human sacrifice. Although not wholly without controversy, this interpretation has until recently remained the norm in general surveys of Iron Age or "Celtic" religious attitudes and activities in Britain or northwestern Europe. During the 2000s it became appreciated that the evidence was a great deal more complex and open-ended than this orthodoxy acknowledged. "Lindow Man" has at least as much to tell us about the state of the discipline of archaeology at the opening of the twenty-first century, and the choices open to it, as he does about British prehistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More iron objects have been found in East Yorkshire than in any other part of Iron Age Britain of comparable size, largely in the burials of the Arras Culture, named after the excavations at Arras near Market Weighton (1815-17). The region also contains one of Britain's largest prehistoric iron production centres, contemporary with the Arras Culture. This article aims to contribute to re-establishing early iron production and consumption, and its social and economic significance in the archaeological mainstream, and demonstrate the importance of understanding ironworking for the Iron Age landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The late Iron Age human remains from the British hillfort of Maiden Castle are frequently cited within the archaeological and bioarchaeological literature as providing evidence for conflict. This interpretation is based on osteological work undertaken in the late 1930s. In order to test the validity of using this sample in conflict research, the authors undertook a detailed analysis of the site''s demography in comparison with contemporary late Iron Age attritional cemeteries from Dorset (England) and additional conflict mortality data. These results showed that the 1st century BC to 1st century AD samples conformed to a catastrophic profile, as greater numbers of young adult males had been buried during this phase of occupation. In combination with new bioarchaeological findings and the identification of an embedded Roman projectile weapon, we conclude that individuals had died during an episode of warfare, one of which probably included the Roman conquest of 43AD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The raven and crow skeletons from Danebury are re-examined, taking into account their taphonomy, their context and the associated finds. Raven and crow burials from other Iron Age and Roman sites are surveyed, again with a discussion of their context and associated finds where these could be ascertained. Taken together, the evidence makes it clear that most if not all were deliberate burials, often at the base of pits. We demonstrate how interpretations of such burials have changed, with zooarchaeologists initially proposing functional explanations and archaeologists readier to accept that the burials were deliberate. We go on to argue that the unique character of ravens and crows, including their tolerance of humans, their scavenging habits, and their voice, led to their playing an important role in Iron Age and Roman rites and beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between diet and cultural change in late Iron Age and Romano-British populations from Dorset, England (1st century BC to the early 5th century AD). Dorset was the only region in Britain to exhibit continuity in inhumation burial rites through these periods and a wide array of environmental, archaeological and material culture evidence is available there. A sample of N = 77 human adult and N = 17 faunal rib samples were utilized for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis to test the hypothesis that Romanization of the diet would result in greater dietary variation. The results of this study indicate that the late Iron Age sample did not show any sex-related differences in diet and consumed a diet that was heavily reliant on terrestrial resources. In contrast, the Romano-British population exhibited enriched isotopic values, though the data did not indicate a widespread increase in the use of marine resources across all sex and age cohorts. Instead, the data suggest that it was females rather than males who had a small component of enriched 13C food in their diet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines the role of a range of large settlements in late Iron Age and early Roman southern Britain (c.100 BC-AD 70) conventionally described as oppida. After reviewing current perspectives on the function and chronology of British oppida, new insights are provided through the statistical analysis of assemblages of brooches and imported ceramics at a broad sample of sites. Analysis of material culture reveals distinct similarities and differences between several groups of sites, often transcending regional traditions and supposed tribal boundaries. This patterning is primarily explained by the emergence of new forms of political organization prior to Roman annexation, particularly the creation of the Southern and Eastern Kingdoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Archaeology volume 'The Cultural Biography of Objects' (Marshall and Gosden 1999) retains its currency ten years after its publication and the ideas highlighted in it continue to be developed. However, the relative success of biographical studies which rely on anthropological or historical information compared with biographical studies of prehistoric objects is evident. Through the example of a British Iron Age mirror this paper explores ways of redressing the difficulties of applying a biographical approach to prehistoric objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to consider the value of an embodied account of Hadrian's Wall. This heritage site has often been understood in predominantly imperial and military terms. While this is a crucial aspect of the historical meanings of the monument, there has been little focus on factors such as changing social role, socialities produced through its presence, and perceptions of the Wall evident in historical accounts. Drawing on theoretical approaches in archaeology, geography and anthropology, this article investigates the potential for enriching archaeological knowledge through these approaches. We focus on accounts of some early visitors to the Wall to consider movement on, and encounter with, the Wall through an embodied account. This account seeks to enrich our archaeological history by being attentive to the power of the material landscape on the senses of being and feeling of those that encounter it. The experience of the Wall is made intelligible through a body-centred account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal erosion around Formby Point occasionally reveals in the upper intertidal-zone discontinuous, laminated 'outcrops' of Flandrian sediments that formed between 7,500 and 4,500 years ago. Within some strata, footprints of animals, birds and humans have been preserved. Once the footprints are exposed by the tides and longshore currents, those same natural forces bring about their inevitable destruction. In addition, a first millennium B.C., dune-edge peat stratum contains hoofprints of domestic oxen. This exposure is also being subjected to destructive coastline erosion. The footprints demonstrate how the Sefton Coast was populated in the past. Their importance to understanding the prehistory of the locality is outlined, as is the wider significance of ichnology to archaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Middle and Late Iron Age samples of disarticulated human remains from the settlement site of Gussage All Saints and the hillfort of Maiden Castle (Dorset, England) were investigated for evidence of funerary rites. The samples were examined using osteological, forensic and archaeological methodologies for evidence of excarnation and secondary burial. The study found evidence for dry-fractures, animal gnawing and peri-mortem trauma, indicating that many individuals had received blunt-force cranial fractures and/or weapon injuries at the time of death. The taphonomic indicators showed that bodies were excarnated, received secondary burial treatment and then selected skull and long bones were incorporated into structured deposits. Osteological analysis also showed that the majority of individuals were adult males, which corresponded to patterns of trauma in the inhumated sample from Dorset. Two bones also provided unique evidence within Dorset for the cultural modification of human remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-period site was exposed during topsoil stripping at Town Farm Quarry, Burlescoinbe, Devon, in 2005. Surviving remains included two Bronze Age burnt mounds with timber-lined troughs and pits, and a collection of well-preserved timber structures associated with a natural spring, constructed in the seventh century AD. A complete leather shoe of the same date was recovered from the fill of a hollowed tree trunk, probably used as a welihead. A range of studies, including an extensive dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating programme, has illustrated the changing environment of the site and contributed to the interpretation of the assemblage. Early post-Roman sites remain particularly uncommon in Devon, with burnt mounds otherwise yet to be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has recently been demonstrated that a number of roundhouses of the early first millennium BC in southern England show a concentration of finds in the southern half of the building. It has thus been argued that this area was used for domestic activities such as food preparation, an idea which has formed the basis for discussion of later prehistoric ‘cosmologies’. However, reconsideration of the evidence suggests that this finds patterning does not relate to the everyday use of the buildings, being more likely to derive from a particular set of house abandonment practices. Furthermore, evidence can be identified for the location of domestic activities within contemporary roundhouses that appears to contradict the established model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen analyses of a peat profile collected from Butterburn Flow, northern England have been used to reconstruct vegetation and land-use change from the late Neolithic (c. 3230 cal. BC) to the present day. ‘Wiggle-matching’ of 42 AMS 14C dates has enabled a precise (decadal scale) chronology to be established, and the results are interpreted within the context of previous studies of vegetation change in the area. Three late Neolithic-Bronze Age woodland clearance phases occurred, with the first beginning c. 2290 cal. BC. Cleared areas were utilized for pastoral and limited arable agriculture. Late Iron Age clearance and agricultural intensification began at Butterburn Flow c. 300 cal. BC; the peak period of clearance c. 90 cal. BC-AD 50 cal. was comparable in intensity with that in the fourteenth century AD. Farmland in the area was abandoned during the period c. AD 90ȁ3450 cal., contemporaneous with the Roman occupation of the region; Following Roman withdrawal, a resurgence of agriculture occurred. The timing of later periods of agricultural decline relate to climatic deterioration, political instability and disease in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study highlights regional variation in the composition of iron-smelting slag produced in England prior to the medieval period and attempts to link slag composition to the type of ore smelted. For many sites, the slag compositions were consistent with the use of limonite ore, but there is evidence that siderite ore was smelted at sites in Sussex in the late Iron Age/Romano-British periods. A compositional comparison of smelting slags and slag inclusions in Iron Age currency bars, using data from Hedges and Salter (1979 ), illustrates the potential of smelting slag compositional data in provenance studies of early iron objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the results of phenomenological research on the significance of landscape features, in particular ridges and coombe (dry valley) systems, in relation to the locations of Bronze Age round barrows and late Bronze Age/early Iron Age crossridge and spur dykes constructed along a chalk ridge in central southern England. It considers the locations of these monuments in a holistic manner and argues that together the round barrows, and then subsequently the dykes, network or draw together very different aspects of the topography in narratives about life and death. The round barrows differentially reference the significance of these places metaphorically through a combination of their specific locations. By contrast, the monumental courses of the dykes physically impose themselves on, or objectify the significance of, the same landscape features, but in a radically different manner indicating both continuity and difference in the historical significance of place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines archaeological excavations at the site of Le Pinacle, on the northwest corner of Jersey in Channel Islands, which reveals stratigraphic sequence with early neolithic, chalcolithic, middle bronze-age, iron-age and Gallo-Roman deposits. The site was excavated since 1930 and suggested that the extent of remaining in situ deposits were very limited. While Godfray and Burdo identified distinct stratigraphic horizons, there was also confusion caused by the distribution of artefacts and animal bones in the site, with some of them assigned to the wrong grid position.

The remains of an iron dagger within an iron sheath were found in 1998 at Castlethorpe, Buckinghamshire: the only one recorded in Britain and Ireland. Their typological characteristics are these of early iron-age examples, made somewhere between 600 and 400 B.C. A unique design feature and the circumstances of its deposition are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]