British Bronze Age

Hoards have played a significant role in our narratives of the European Bronze Age, but their purpose and meaning have been the source of much debate. These debates have been positively impacted by studies that investigate the ways in which hoards are connected to specific landscape contexts. In this paper, we discuss the outcome of one such in-depth
field study of 62 Bronze Age metalwork deposition locations from the Swedish province of Halland. By systematically analysing digital sources such as museum archives, church records and historical maps, we were able to establish the locations of a number of previously unlocated finds, which were then visited in the field. Through this combined archival work and fieldwork, we distinguished several patterns that allude to a connection between metalwork deposits, object types and specific places in the landscape. These patterns shed light on the landscape context of hoards in this region and illuminate how deposition patterns changed over time; we consider some factors that may help to explain these changes. The results emphasize the importance of landscape studies for understanding the role of selective deposition in European Bronze Age societies, and more broadly, the social implications of hoards in their context.

The news in 2024 has been full of articles stating that the ancient monument known as King Arthur's Hall on Bodmin Moor has been researched and found to be 5000 years old; i.e,MEGALITHIC If notice had been made of the original survey detailed in the "Journal of the Anthropological Society, 1895" an article by A L Lewis and the VCH Journal for Cornwall of 1906, then the metrology would have clearly indicated it was based upon megalithic measurements and particularly the Rod or Cane of 4.714 feet. Thus having established that fact in 1998 and decided with the furor of the "anti megalithic measures" of previous decades to place the research on hold, it is now time to "Bang the Drum" for Megalithic Metrology and hope that more notice of it is given in research by archaeologists The text is 06, A4 pages and contains 08 A3 diagrams.

The vast necropolis from the Hallstatt period with 803 cremation burials, including about 300 chamber graves, was discovered in Domasław, near Wrocław in Lower Silesia (Poland). It appears that those who buried the dead at the cemetery maintained extensive contacts with the important Early Iron Age centres and adopted the customs of the Hallstatt elites among the local community. One of the notable practices was wrapping urns, jewellery, dress accessories, tools, and weapons in fabric. The remnants of textiles were preserved in 62 graves, but their presence was confirmed in many others.
Exceptionally numerous organic remnants were preserved in the graves. The pieces of bark have been found on and underneath the urns and grave goods. In the most opulent burials in the necropolis, the remnants of the wickerwork, including baskets with bronze vessels, were uncovered. The unique discoveries on this site are a wooden needle and beetles coiled on a blade of grass; the latter one is most likely a form of decoration or amulet. All these findings may contribute to understanding the organization of funeral ceremonies, including the intentions behind these customs. Clearly, these practices allow one to connect local rituals with cultural traditions of European communities.

The earliest textiles in Scotland belong to a period called the Bronze Age dated 2400 BCE to 700 BCE. Since its conception in the early 19th century, the story of the Bronze Age has been dominated by the societal effects of early metals. However, the Bronze Age is also a time of innovation in textiles and the societal impacts they engendered. In August 2024, a one-year Personal Research Fellowship Uncovering Scotland’s Earliest Textiles started for Susanna Harris at the University of Glasgow. It is funded by The Royal Society of Edinburgh. 1). The project will use scientific and archaeological approaches to reveal new evidence for the start of Scotland’s iconic textile industry.

This publication from the British museum reviews-in the light of the crushed, corrugated, gold cup recently (2001) found on ringlemere farm, near Sandwich-the nature of western europe's precious cups, unique and distinctive vessels. Investigation of the Ringlemere cup's find-spot showed that it was likely to have been ploughed from a huge barrow, 150m in diameter, which had been sited upon a single-entranced henge. This remarkable discovery, made by a responsible metal detectorist, has now been definitively published. The A4 sized, glossy-backed publication is entitled The Ringlemere Cup, Precious Cups and the beginning of the Channel Bronze Age. It has been edited by Stuart Needham, Keith Parfitt and gill varndell. They are joined by Aaron Birchenough, Chris Butler, Caroline Cartwright and Susan la niece. The illustrations are by Barry Corke and Stephen Crummy. following upon the introductory apparatus there are nine comprehensive chapters, the work of the principals. Thus The Background and Survey Work (1) and The Excavations 2002-2005 (2) are the work of Keith Parfitt. The Gold Cup (3) has been studied by Stuart needham, supported by Susan la niece, and Other Prehistoric Material (4) together with some radiocarbon dates are the province of Stuart needham, gillian varndell, Chris Butler and Keith Parfitt, who also examines Ringlemere and Ritual and Burial Landscapes of Kent (5). Thereafter Stuart needham discusses the Precious Cups of the Early Bronze Age (6), Precious Cups: Concept, Context and Custodianship (7), Networks of Contact and Meaning: The Beginning of the Channel Bronze Age (8) and, with gill varndell, has set down a catalogue of Early Bronze Age Precious Cups in north west Europe (9). There is a modest but effective bibliography with lists of figures, Tables, Plates and remarkable colour Plates. The catalogue is of considerable value to all concerned with the series of cups termed 'precious'. The Ringlemere cup, found in a plough-crushed condition, takes pride of place with an 'ideal reconstruction', a computer

This paper attempts to consider the social dimensions of metalworking during the Beaker period and Bronze Age in southern England. However, any attempt to discuss the social context of metalworking in these periods, i.e. who was working metals and where these activities occurred, is confronted with an extremely low evidence base of excavated archaeological sites where metalworking is known to have taken place. This lack of data and subsequent understanding of metalworking locations stands in stark contrast to the thousands of Beaker and Bronze Age metal artefacts housed in museum archives across Britain. These metal artefacts bear witness to the ability of people in Beaker and Bronze Age societies in Britain, and particularly southern England, to obtain, transform and use metals since the introduction of copper at c.2450 BC. Such metal artefacts have been subject to detailed analytical programmes, which have revealed information on the supply and recycling of metals. Likewise, there...

This report describes the results of excavations undertaken within the burial chamber and entrance area of the chambered cairn at Geirisclett, North Uist, Western Isles in 1996–7. The chamber of this cairn had been investigated by Erskine Beveridge in the early years of the 20th century, and the work described here was conducted because of the threat of tidal scouring of any remains which had survived previous attention. The excavation revealed evidence of disturbed Neolithic and Beaker funerary deposits within the two compartments of the chamber, which on architectural grounds falls into Henshall’s Clyde group. The burial chamber appears to have been used over the same time period both by humans as a burial place and by otters as a holt. The application of palaeoenvironmental studies has allowed the formation processes of the deposits and artefacts in the chamber to be understood, permitting the character of the burial rites to be better appreciated. The past and present landscape ...

A rare Bronze Age linen textile was found inside a socketed axe, part of a bronze age hoard dating to circa 800 BCE, discovered in Somerleyton, Suffolk, in the 1920s. The recent loan of the objects from the hoard provided the opportunity for a
collaborative study of the fragmentary textile and its original context and significance. Scanning electron microscopy and
energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were undertaken to update and inform interpretations of its condition, character and
function. The remounting of the textile was necessary for display. The conservation challenges this raised, and the solutions
found, are detailed here. The wider study of the metalwork associated with the hoard and of the current state of knowledge regarding Bronze Age textiles in Britain allowed for several hypotheses to be put forward about the textile’s functional
significance in efficient hafting techniques and its potential votive symbolism. The Somerleyton textile serves as a reminder
of the need to contextualise Bronze Age metalwork within wider networks of (organic) materials and the potential of older
collections to provide new insights.

This report describes the results of excavations undertaken within the burial chamber and entrance area of the chambered cairn at Geirisclett, North Uist, Western Isles in 1996–7. The chamber of this cairn had been investigated by Erskine Beveridge in the early years of the 20th century, and the work described here was conducted because of the threat of tidal scouring of any remains which had survived previous attention. The excavation revealed evidence of disturbed Neolithic and Beaker funerary deposits within the two compartments of the chamber, which on architectural grounds falls into Henshall’s Clyde group. The burial chamber appears to have been used over the same time period both by humans as a burial place and by otters as a holt. The application of palaeoenvironmental studies has allowed the formation processes of the deposits and artefacts in the chamber to be understood, permitting the character of the burial rites to be better appreciated. The past and present landscape ...

ABSTRACTOver the centuries many archaeologists have investigated the site of Stonehenge and we now know a great deal about the phasing and nature of the site. However, the area around the henge, while containing many symbolic and ritual elements, is curiously ‘blank’. The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project aims to place the site and its development through time within a landscape context using fast and accurate ground‐based geophysical techniques. The project has developed a rapid strategy to map, visualize and interpret landscape‐scale data and is applying the strategy to the area known as the Stonehenge ‘envelope’. The data are interpreted within a data rich three‐dimensional data cube that has provided new insights regarding the apparent blank areas surrounding Stonehenge. It is an aim of the project to discover more about Stonehenge by looking out from the site rather than looking at it. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This report describes the results of excavations undertaken within the burial chamber and entrance area of the chambered cairn at Geirisclett, North Uist, Western Isles in 1996–7. The chamber of this cairn had been investigated by Erskine Beveridge in the early years of the 20th century, and the work described here was conducted because of the threat of tidal scouring of any remains which had survived previous attention. The excavation revealed evidence of disturbed Neolithic and Beaker funerary deposits within the two compartments of the chamber, which on architectural grounds falls into Henshall’s Clyde group. The burial chamber appears to have been used over the same time period both by humans as a burial place and by otters as a holt. The application of palaeoenvironmental studies has allowed the formation processes of the deposits and artefacts in the chamber to be understood, permitting the character of the burial rites to be better appreciated. The past and present landscape ...

The research which informs this paper owes its thanks to a broad set of people: EPSRC-AHRC network cluster grant Touching the Untouchable and the AHRC development grant Touching the Past along with the Openarch EU funded project and the REACT HEIF University of Exeter grant – all contributed to the development of the ideas and eventually the installation.

Wooler (11 km northwest) and Alnwick (15 km southeast). The moor is drained principally by the Harehope Burn, but patches of land are waterlogged. The soil profile is a typical podsol: thin and acidic, with scatters of glacial detritus. It is colonised by heather, bracken and grasses. Trees are represented by occasional rowan, hawthorn, silver birch, and Scots pine. Pollen analysis has indicated that there was a greater diversity of trees on Bewick Moor during the later Neolithic/earlier Bronze Age. Birch, alder, and hazel were the most prevalent but pine, oak, lime, and willow were also present. In other respects the vegetation was much the same at it is today: heather, grasses, bracken, and plantain being amongst the most common species. ARCHAEOLOGY OF BEWICK MOOR As the best arable land lies to the west, in the Breamish valley, and to the east, on the coastal plain, it is unlikely that the high moorland was cultivated during prehistory; the soil would always have been easily degraded. Instead, food was available from the natural vegetation and from animals, both wild and herded. Flints found locally on the moorland point to a hunting economy (Newbigin 1941, 104-16; Jobey 1981, 39-42). Cairns proliferate on Bewick Moor but no comprehensive survey has been published (Hardie, pers. comm.). The West Blawearie cairnfield lies 350 m

proposed development. Two main archaeological sites were examined. The first, a flat cist cemetery covered by an earthen mound, comprised 23 separate burial features of varying morphology from two separate phases of burial, including cists, pits and what has been interpreted as a 'boat-shaped' setting. Nine cremations and four possible inhumations were recovered from within the burial features as well as a range of material culture including Food Vessels, flint artefacts and a bone pin. Dating of cremated bone from the cists indicated that activity at the site stretched from the late third to the early second millennium bc. The second site, a demolished or fallen standing stone, was located some 35m to the north and east of the first. Although the sequence of monument construction and demolition is clear, the reasons for the demolition of the stone are less so. However, a rare opportunity to date the stone was presented with the identification of a cremation deposit within the construction pit backfill. This indicated that the stone was constructed in the last quarter of the second millennium bc, suggesting a continuum of activity in the area late into the second millennium bc.

The first two authors report on the excavation of a series of cairns in the Aline Valley, Morvern: Acharn (NM 702504, NM 697507), Claggan (NM 697493) and Kinlochaline (NM 692474). The latter two sites belong to the kerb-cairn class of monument, and a discussion of kerb-cairns in Argyll, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and N Wales is provided by Lynch and Ritchie. Charcoal associated with central cremation burials at Claggan gave radiocarbon dates centred on c 1000 bc. D N Marshall reports on the excavation of an allied monument at Portavadie, Cowal (NR 933691). An appendix records mesolithic sites with microburins and microliths at Acharn, Morvern (NM 697504). AR

Excavation at Cloburn Quarry, Cairngryffe Hill, Lanarkshire, of a Bronze Age ring cairn in 1986-7 revealed a monument of considerable complexity. Its earlier phases appear to have consisted of timber and stone rings around a central cremation pit, with other cremations in small pits within the rings. The most intensive period of funerary activity followed the removal of these circular architectural elements and coincided with the deposition offelsite chips across the site. These later interments included a cremation accompanied by an entire Food Vessel Vase. The final phase saw the construction of the outer ring and an irregular platform cairn within it. A number of cremations were later put into the cairn. Radiocarbon dates of 3450 ±50 BP and 3460 + 60 BP (1890-1630 and 1910-1620 cal EC) suggest an Early Bronze Age date for the pre-cairn monument. The project was funded throughout by Historic Scotland and its predecessor department (SDD/HBM).

On 9-11 May 2011, an examination of The Goldhanger Hoard was undertaken. Examination included metric recording, photography, visual description and analysis of chemical composition using a portable XRF.
The examination of the hoard was undertaken as part of a PhD project in association with the University of Sheffield, which includes a study of British Bronze Age metalsmithing tools.

The Wakering hoard was found by a metal detectorist in January of 1994 and was acquired by the museum in June 1994. The hoard was found on river brickearth and possibly deposited in a shallow, flat-bottomed pit. The hoard was arranged with socketed axes on the bottom that were completely covered by ingot fragments. Smaller metal objects were wedged into the sockets of larger tools, although these were all removed by the finder before presenting to the museum (Crowe 2003, 7).

The hoard consists of 9 axes, both whole and fragmented, 3 sword fragments, 2 spear tips, a bugle shaped object, a tanged tool, 2 possible knife blades, a bracelet fragment, a socket fragment, 2 pieces of bronze plate, 7 pieces of copper alloy sheet, and 6 ingot fragments.

The majority of the axes are of the south eastern type, with others having various rib decorations, and one Stogursey type axe.

On 23 May 2011, an examination of the Inshoch Wood Hoard was undertaken. The study included metric recording, photography, visual description and analysis of chemical composition using a portable XRF.
The examination of the hoard was undertaken as part of a PhD project in association with the University of Sheffield, which includes a study of British Bronze Age metalsmithing tools.

The Inschoch Wood Hoard consists of a small anvil, a hammer, and a spear fragment cast from a copper alloy.

The hoard was found by a Canadian soldier at the edge of Inshoch Wood, near Woodend, between Auldearn and Brodie Stations (NH9465774). There are possible mounds in the vicinity.

On 9 July an examination of a bronze hammer from the Taunton Workhouse Hoard and a bronze mould was undertaken as part of a PhD project in association with the University of Sheffield which includes a study of British Bronze Age metalsmithing tools. The study included metric recording, photography, and visual description. On a second visit on 12 April 2013, a second hammer was examined and photographed.

The hammer from the Taunton Workhouse hoard was found in February 1877 by a crew working on the grounds of the Taunton Union Workhouse. The hoard consists of 11 palstaves, a hammer, a spearhead, an axe, a razor, 2 sickles, 2 torcs, 4 pins, 4 rings and 20 fragments from five rings.

On 19 April 2011, an examination of the Donhead St. Mary Hoard was undertaken as part of a PhD project in association with the University of Sheffield, which includes a study of British Bronze Age metalsmithing tools. The study included chemical analysis using NITON XL3T portable XRF, metric recording, photography, and visual description.
The Donhead St. Mary Hoard is a Late Bronze Age founders’ hoard that consists of two halves of a bronze mould for socketed axes, 3 socketed axes, 8 winged axes, 3 fragments of copper ingots, a socketed hammer, a socketed gouge, a bronze ring, and bundles of wire.


The hoard was initially discovered 1 May 1896 by a labourer digging for chert near Shaftsbury, Wiltshire. The hoard was found 17 inches (43 cm) below the surface. The hoard was subsequently purchased by General Pitt Rivers who returned to the site and found more of the bronze wire. The collection was housed at the Farnham Museum in Dorset and later acquired by the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, as part of the Pitt Rivers Collection (Passmore 1931).

On 21 March 2011 an examination of a founders’ hoard was undertaken as part of a PhD project in association with the University of Sheffield, which includes a study of British Bronze Age metalsmithing tools.
The study included metric recording, photography, and visual description.

On Wednesday 17th March 2004 a hoard of 56 metal artefacts was found by metal detectorist, Mr. George Jane 30-40 cm below the ground surface on grassland near a henge within a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure. The objects had been scattered in an area approximately 10m x 8m, with one axe recovered from outside this area (Worrell 2005, 1).

The hoard consists of seven complete, and 17 incomplete socketed axes, two socketed knives, a tanged knife, three sword fragments, a tanged spearhead and four spearhead fragments, two casting jets, a complete ingot, and nine ingot fragments, a socketed hammer, a mortising chisel, a bucket baseplate and fragments of sheet metal (Worrell 2005b).

The report gives detailed typological information that identifies the objects as dating from the Ewart Park phase of the Late Bronze Age (1000-800 BC), noting their similarity to objects found in hoards in Southeast Britain.

On 21 April 2011 an examination of the West Kennet Long Barrow Hoard was undertaken as part of a PhD project in association with the University of Sheffield, which includes a study of British Bronze Age metalsmithing tools.
The study included metric recording, photography, and visual description.

The hoard was found about 500 metres from the West Kennet Long Barrow in 1986 and was subsequently bought by the museum.
The hoard consists of a socketed hammer (DZSWS 1987.45.1), a graver (DZSWS 1987.45.2) and a socketed gouge (CZSWS 1987.45.3).

According to the English Heritage Pastscape web page, the objects were not found as a discreet hoard. The hammer and graver were supposedly found together with six (now lost) axes in the Hanging Langford area. The gouge may have come from the area around Cold Kitchen Hill.

Excavation was carried out at Denham Park Farm, which lies to the east of the M25 motorway between junctions 16 and 17, in compliance with a planning condition. The site lies in an area in which significant evidence of prehistoric activity has been recorded. The excavation revealed a multi-period archaeological landscape with the most extensive activity dating to the late Bronze Age and Romano-British periods. Further, but quite limited, evidence of Neolithic, medieval, post-medieval and modern activity was recorded. No Bronze Age activity has previously been recorded in the immediate vicinity of the site and, similarly, very little material associated with human activity during the Roman period has been recorded locally, despite the purported route of a Roman road running nearby. The late Bronze Age archaeology recorded at Denham Park Farm appears to represent activity adjacent to, or on the periphery of, a settlement. The topographical position of the western part of the site may have afforded any settlement located here, or in the immediate vicinity, commanding views of the surrounding landscape and particularly the valley of the river Colne. The Roman archaeology consisted of a set of boundary ditches representing a field system or set of enclosures and associated pits located in the western part of the site. Further Roman features were sparsely distributed across the eastern part of the site. To the north of the Roman enclosures was a focus of industrial activity associated with iron smelting. This type of industrial activity is not unusual for this area; sites across the Solent-Thames region attest small-scale ironmaking, including the continuation of prehistoric traditions alongside shaft furnaces. The Roman activity here may represent areas appended to a low-status agricultural settlement in the immediate vicinity but alternatively could represent a small part of a larger estate focussed on the villas and high status sites known from the Colne valley.

Archaeological monitoring of works on a gas pipeline route in Aberdeenshire, north-west of Inverurie, resulted in the discovery and excavation of several groups of Neolithic pits and four Bronze Age roundhouses. The Neolithic pits were concentrated around the Shevock Burn, a small tributary of the Ury, and in the East and North Lediken areas to the north. They produced significant assemblages of Early Neolithic Impressed Ware and of Modified Carinated Bowl. The Bronze Age roundhouses included the heavily truncated remains of a post-built structure near Pitmachie, the remains of a pair of ring ditch structures near Little Lediken Farm, and another ring ditch structure close to Wrangham village.

An archaeological watching brief was carried out in advance of a housing development in two fields to the north west of Tower Meadows, St Buryan. A burnt spread containing Bronze Age Trevisker ware pottery, cereal grains and the seed of a Celtic / field bean was recorded, in possible association with three pits or postholes. A radiocarbon determination from the Celtic bean produced a Middle Bronze Age date. A single pit in a neighbouring field was undated but fragments of early medieval Grass-marked pottery including part of a bar-lug were found in close proximity to it.

In March 2005, excavations were undertaken by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) at the Craig Tara Holiday Park, Dunure Road, Ayr in advance of proposed development. Two main archaeological sites were examined. The first, a flat cist cemetery covered by an earthen mound, comprised 23 separate burial features of varying morphology from two separate phases of burial, including cists, pits and what has been interpreted as a ‘boat-shaped’ setting. Nine cremations and four possible inhumations were recovered from within the burial features as well as a range of material culture including Food Vessels, flint artefacts and a bone pin. Dating of cremated bone from the cists indicated that activity at the site stretched from the late third to the early second millennium BC. The second site, a demolished or fallen standing stone, was located some 35m to the north and eastof the first. Although the sequence of monument construction and demolition is clear, the reasons ...

proposed development. Two main archaeological sites were examined. The first, a flat cist cemetery covered by an earthen mound, comprised 23 separate burial features of varying morphology from two separate phases of burial, including cists, pits and what has been interpreted as a 'boat-shaped' setting. Nine cremations and four possible inhumations were recovered from within the burial features as well as a range of material culture including Food Vessels, flint artefacts and a bone pin. Dating of cremated bone from the cists indicated that activity at the site stretched from the late third to the early second millennium bc. The second site, a demolished or fallen standing stone, was located some 35m to the north and east of the first. Although the sequence of monument construction and demolition is clear, the reasons for the demolition of the stone are less so. However, a rare opportunity to date the stone was presented with the identification of a cremation deposit within the construction pit backfill. This indicated that the stone was constructed in the last quarter of the second millennium bc, suggesting a continuum of activity in the area late into the second millennium bc.

The first two authors report on the excavation of a series of cairns in the Aline Valley, Morvern: Acharn (NM 702504, NM 697507), Claggan (NM 697493) and Kinlochaline (NM 692474). The latter two sites belong to the kerb-cairn class of monument, and a discussion of kerb-cairns in Argyll, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and N Wales is provided by Lynch and Ritchie. Charcoal associated with central cremation burials at Claggan gave radiocarbon dates centred on c 1000 bc. D N Marshall reports on the excavation of an allied monument at Portavadie, Cowal (NR 933691). An appendix records mesolithic sites with microburins and microliths at Acharn, Morvern (NM 697504). AR

Over the centuries many archaeologists have investigated the site of Stonehenge and we now know a great deal about the phasing and nature of the site. However, the area around the henge, while containing many symbolic and ritual elements, is curiously 'blank'. The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project aims to place the site and its development through time within a landscape context using fast and accurate ground-based geophysical techniques. The project has developed a rapid strategy to map, visualize and interpret landscape-scale data and is applying the strategy to the area known as the Stonehenge 'envelope'. The data are interpreted within a data rich three-dimensional data cube that has provided new insights regarding the apparent blank areas surrounding Stonehenge. It is an aim of the project to discover more about Stonehenge by looking out from the site rather than looking at it.

In 1999, the late Professor Charles Thomas donated a Middle Bronze Age spearhead to the National Museum collection. This spearhead came with a label indicating that it was part of the pennant taken into the Battle of Flodden by Robert Chisholme in 1513. This paper investigates the likelihood that such a claimed association could have any basis in truth, as well as briefly contributing some thoughts on the discovery of already ancient objects in the past.

Over the centuries many archaeologists have investigated the site of Stonehenge and we now know a great deal about the phasing and nature of the site. However, the area around the henge, while containing many symbolic and ritual elements, is curiously 'blank'. The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project aims to place the site and its development through time within a landscape context using fast and accurate ground-based geophysical techniques. The project has developed a rapid strategy to map, visualize and interpret landscape-scale data and is applying the strategy to the area known as the Stonehenge 'envelope'. The data are interpreted within a data rich three-dimensional data cube that has provided new insights regarding the apparent blank areas surrounding Stonehenge. It is an aim of the project to discover more about Stonehenge by looking out from the site rather than looking at it.

In 1990 a stone covered pit containing a Trevisker Ware vessel was found eroding from the cliffs at Harlyn Bay and excavated. The vessel contained cremated bone from several individuals with some animal bone, quartz pebbles, and a small bronze pendant. A radiocarbon date on the cremated bone fell in the range 2120–1880 calbcand is a valuable addition to the small number of securely-dated Early Bronze Age burials in Cornwall with metalwork associations. This early date also makes a major contribution to the debate on the sequence of Trevisker Ware as the vessel, of gabbroic clay, has a band of incised chevron decoration. Lipid residue analysis showed traces of ruminant dairy fat. This paper examines the significance of unmounded burial sites in Cornwall and also assesses the importance of Early Bronze Age burials around Harlyn Bay which have produced an unusually wide range of artefacts.

The stripping, for commercial purposes, of an area of chalk downland near Leckford, Hants., led to the excavation of a small ring ditch containing the remains of two male inhumations. The earlier, 3740±80 BP uncal., buried in a mortuary chamber, was accompanied by a bell-shaped beaker of early type (with European or Wessex/Middle Rhine affinities), an antler spatula, two pairs of gold earrings, a gold tubular bead, 55 stone beads, a copper dagger, a flint strike-a-light, a marcasite nodule and a number of flint tools and flakes. The second burial, 3780±80 BP uncal., interred shortly after the first in the same grave, was accompanied by a finger-nail decorated beaker and two flint flakes.

Over the centuries many archaeologists have investigated the site of Stonehenge and we now know a great deal about the phasing and nature of the site. However, the area around the henge, while containing many symbolic and ritual elements, is curiously 'blank'. The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project aims to place the site and its development through time within a landscape context using fast and accurate ground-based geophysical techniques. The project has developed a rapid strategy to map, visualize and interpret landscape-scale data and is applying the strategy to the area known as the Stonehenge 'envelope'. The data are interpreted within a data rich three-dimensional data cube that has provided new insights regarding the apparent blank areas surrounding Stonehenge. It is an aim of the project to discover more about Stonehenge by looking out from the site rather than looking at it.

Resumen: Este artículo inicia con el recuerdo de Michel Graulich, con quien compartí el interés por estudiar las fiestas del calendario mexica. En esta aportación se retoman los resultados de numerosas investigaciones que he realizado sobre las fiestas mexicas de los dioses de la lluvia, y las fuentes del siglo xvi que proporcionan información detallada acerca de la realización de ritos en la geografía de la Cuenca. Uno de los aspectos más interesantes de éstos eran los sacrificios de niños que se efectuaban en la estación seca en petición de lluvias. Mediante recorridos de campo en la Cuenca, se registraron los lugares concretos donde estos sacrificios se llevaban a cabo. Se descubre así que estos ritos conformaban un cosmograma de los rumbos del universo y estaban ligados al registro calendárico y la observación astronómica; es decir, estaban basados en las condiciones geográficas y climáticas

Resumen: Este artículo inicia con el recuerdo de Michel Graulich, con quien compartí el interés por estudiar las fiestas del calendario mexica. En esta aportación se retoman los resultados de numerosas investigaciones que he realizado sobre las fiestas mexicas de los dioses de la lluvia, y las fuentes del siglo XVI que proporcionan información detallada acerca de la realización de ritos en la geografía de la Cuenca. Uno de los aspectos más interesantes de éstos eran los sacrificios de niños que se efectuaban en la estación seca en petición de lluvias. Mediante recorridos de campo en la Cuenca, se registraron los lugares concretos donde estos sacrificios se llevaban a cabo. Se descubre así que estos ritos conformaban un cosmograma de los rumbos del universo y estaban ligados al registro calendárico y la observación astronómica; es decir, estaban basados en las condiciones geográficas y climáticas de la Cuenca en la época mexica.Summary:This article begins by remembering Michel Grauli...

This report describes the results of excavations undertaken within the burial chamber and entrance area of the chambered cairn at Geirisclett, North Uist, Western Isles in 1996–7. The chamber of this cairn had been investigated by Erskine Beveridge in the early years of the 20th century, and the work described here was conducted because of the threat of tidal scouring of any remains which had survived previous attention. The excavation revealed evidence of disturbed Neolithic and Beaker funerary deposits within the two compartments of the chamber, which on architectural grounds falls into Henshall’s Clyde group. The burial chamber appears to have been used over the same time period both by humans as a burial place and by otters as a holt. The application of palaeoenvironmental studies has allowed the formation processes of the deposits and artefacts in the chamber to be understood, permitting the character of the burial rites to be better appreciated. The past and present landscape ...

Book Reviews N. sharples 8c A. sheridan (eds) Vessels for (he Ancestors, 366 + ix pp., numerous figs, Edinburgh University Press, 1992. The subtitle of this volume is "Essays on the Neolithic of Britain and Ireland in honour of Audrey Henshall", and it is dedicated to Audrey on the occasion of her 65th birthday. There are 23 papers classified under the four main headings of'Funerary Studies', 'Decorated Stones', 'Artefact Studies' and 'Regional Studies'. A brief but useful review of the state of Neolithic studies in Scotland serves as an introduction. The papers in this collection suggest

Over the centuries many archaeologists have investigated the site of Stonehenge and we now know a great deal about the phasing and nature of the site. However, the area around the henge, while containing many symbolic and ritual elements, is curiously 'blank'. The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project aims to place the site and its development through time within a landscape context using fast and accurate ground-based geophysical techniques. The project has developed a rapid strategy to map, visualize and interpret landscape-scale data and is applying the strategy to the area known as the Stonehenge 'envelope'. The data are interpreted within a data rich three-dimensional data cube that has provided new insights regarding the apparent blank areas surrounding Stonehenge. It is an aim of the project to discover more about Stonehenge by looking out from the site rather than looking at it.

Concern over the origin of the Celts and the patterns of the dispersal of the Celtic language have a long history, both in the study of prehistoric archaeology and ancient languages, with discussions dating back to the beginnings of both disciplines but with a general conception of a pan-European Celtic culture stretching from Ireland to the Black Sea. During the 1980s, an often hotly-tempered debate developed between those scholars who believed in a connected Celtic Europe and those who were sceptical of the idea and saw differences between regions and over time (Collis 2003; 1997; James 1999; Megaw & Megaw 1989; 1996). In more recent years, genetic data gathered from modern populations and prehistoric human remains have reignited discussion (e.g. Oppenheimer 2006). The 'Celtic from the West' (CftW) project has also driven debate. It originates from an idea first presented in Barry Cunliffe's book Facing the Ocean (Cunliffe 2001, 293−7) and further developed in the first two volumes of the 'Celtic from the West' series,

The appearance of Beaker pottery in Britain and Ireland during the twenty-fifth century BC marks a significant archaeological horizon, being synchronous with the first metal artefacts. The adoption of arsenical copper, mostly from Ireland, was followed by that of tin-bronze around 2200 BC. However, whilst the copper mine of Ross Island in Ireland is securely dated to the Early Bronze Age, and further such mines in the UK have been dated to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, the evidence for the exploitation of tin ores, the other key ingredient to make bronze, has remained circumstantial. This article contains the detailed analyses of seven stone artefacts from securely dated contexts, using a combination of surface pXRF and microwear analysis. The results provide strong evidence that the tools were used in cassiterite processing. The combined analysis of these artefacts documents in detail the exploitation of Cornish tin during this early phase of metal use in Britain and Ireland.

Survey and interpretation of the early Neolithic cromlech, or simple chambered tomb, that gave its name to the medieval settlement of Grumbla in Sancreed in west Cornwall. Grumbla Quoit, as it is known in the archaeological literature, was partially dismantled in the early 19th century when transformed into a small cottage. Its remains were recognised by the late Peter Pool, who requested it be scheduled. It is unusual among west Cornish chambered tombs in being low-lying, but appears to have been typical in being a simple box of four tall slabs supporting a large capstone.

The outlines of two archaeological features (a cave and pit) were exposed by chalk quarrying at Spratling Court Farm, Manston in 1996. Both are deeply buried and have wellstratified natural infills extending to a thickness of 3-4 m, including three layers of residual brickearth. Faunal and molluscan evidence within the infills points to a Late Holocene chalk grassland habitat within shallowing surface depressions, with the possible addition of butchery waste. Radiocarbon dating of four vertebrate samples confirms that the cave dates to 179 cal. AD, while the pit alongside, at 124 cal. BC, predates it by about 300 years. The pit (one of two identified at Spratling Court Farm) appears to have been a sizeable chalk quarry, excavated in the Mid to Late Iron Age, while the later boot-shaped cave is tentatively interpreted as a ritual chamber of Early Roman origin, located in remnant woodland on the Thanet ridge. A few pottery sherds in the pit infill date to the Iron Age, but there are no contemporary artefacts within the cave infill. A total of 150 struck flints has been recovered from and near the residual brickearth units, clearly predating the features that contain them. These have been identified as a mixed residual assemblage dating from between the Later Mesolithic and the Late Bronze Age. Optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating has revealed the age of the former periglacial coversand source from which the residual brickearths must have originated. A unique OSL signal of Later Mesolithic date has also been detected, which may be linked to either human soil disturbance or climatic deterioration around 8200 years ago (6200 BC). detail, involving sectioning 10-20 cm baulks one to two metres into the quarry face through the whole depth of infill. About 15 m³ of brickearth were excavated and examined at the pit west wall. Soil samples were collected from four locations for OSL dating in