The Dunaverney and Little Thetford Flesh-Hooks: History, Technology and Their Position within the Later Bronze Age Atlantic Zone Feasting Complex
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Discovered in County Antrim and Cambridgeshire respectively, the Dunaverney and Little Thetford flesh-hooks are two of only thirty-six currently known examples from the Bronze Age of the Atlantic seaboard of Europe. Both are impressive and enigmatic objects and are among the most elaborate of later-series flesh-hooks dating to c 1100–800 BC. Not surprisingly, from the time it was found in 1829, Dunaverney was the subject of much antiquarian interest. Yet, despite their rarity and unusualness, the Dunaverney and Little Thetford flesh-hooks have never been adequately studied. Our investigations have provided an understanding of the technology of these two fleshhooks, as well as new chronological information for the type as a whole. They have also revealed new uses of lost-wax casting in the British Isles, where the use of this technique is otherwise rare. The bird motifs on the Dunaverney flesh-hook remain unique, although it is now possible to set them against a broader background of iconographic representations on Atlantic feasting gear. Moreover, certain recurring design features may suggest that iconographic symbols were originally more often present on flesh-hooks. The findspot of Dunaverney lies at the heart of deposits of other contemporary prestige metalwork and that of Little Thetford within the greatest concentration of finds of the innovative Wilburton-stage metalworking tradition; both re-enforce the social significance of these rare objects.Keywords:
Flesh
An investigation by Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd took place in early 2013 in advance of a housing development at Ness Gap, Fortrose, Highland. The excavation revealed domestic activity dating from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. A cluster of Neolithic pits provided insights into the development of agriculture in the area, with evidence for cereal production and the gathering of wild resources. The use of the site changed in the Bronze Age, with the landscape utilised for funerary practices, which were represented by stone cists and cremation burials, both urned and unurned. Analysis has further informed on the burial practices of the Bronze Age and added to our understanding of a unique peninsular landscape rich in prehistoric activity.
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Investigations of the oldest prehistoric settlement in the western Austrian county of the Vorarlberg reveal a deeper insight into the colonization of the Alps. The human presence is recorded from the Late Neolithic ( c . 3000 cal. bc ) onwards, reflecting farming and possible mining activities. Three distinct settlement phases are recognized palynologically: (1) in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages ( c . 1700 cal. bc ), (2) during the Iron Age ( c . 500 cal. bc ) and (3) at the beginning of the medieval era ( c . cal. ad 800). In addition plant macrofossil analyses of soil samples from the archaeological excavation of the Bronze Age settlement of Friaga indicate a complex subsistence strategy of the Middle Bronze Age settlers, whereby cereals and pulses reveal a balanced diet.
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Bronze
Iron Age
Human settlement
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This volume presents the results of a five year research project which investigated the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age of Southern Kintyre. This area of western Scotland had seen little previous archaeological research prior to this project, but work centred on Blasthill has revealed the remains of a rich prehistoric landscape. Alongside a known Neolithic chambered tomb, this project also identified a range of prehistoric features including Bronze Age domestic and ritual structures as well as a series of well-preserved curvilinear field systems. Excavations were conducted at the chambered tomb on Blasthill and revealed a complex and long-lived sequence of construction at this site in association with material culture including a small pottery assemblage. Trial excavations and geophysical surveys were also conducted over other features on Blasthill and at other locations in the wider area, and as such we have been able to identify several other key areas of prehistoric activity, particularly in relation to monument construction. Lithic scatters were also recovered from ploughed fields in Southern Kintyre, revealing a series of hitherto unknown sites. This includes two substantial Mesolithic sites and a number of smaller Neolithic and Bronze Age spreads. The excavations conducted by the late Jack Scott at Ardnacross II chambered tomb are also reported on here in detail for the first time. Research has also been conducted on the pottery assemblages from Southern Kintyre in comparison with other mortuary assemblages from western Scotland and eastern Ireland. All of this is set against a broader research question which addresses the issue of how archaeology can inform our understanding of the nature of interactions between prehistoric communities in Southern Kintyre with people in other areas of Britain and Ireland. It seems that there were fluctuating relationships between Kintyre, other parts of western Scotland and eastern Ireland throughout the periods under consideration which we have been able to identify as a result of this project.
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The article deals with fragments of ceramics originating from the archaeological complex of the Bronze Age located on the terraces above the floodplain at the exit of the Rakhat River from the gorge of the same name, between the cities of Talgar and Esik along the road to the gorge. Orman and 1.5 km southeast of the ancient settlement of Rakhat. The complex consists of a settlement and memorial and burial fences of the Bronze Age. This monument was studied by the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Esik". The settlement and mounds have layers of the Saka community, early and late Middle Ages. The main materials i.e. archaeological sources for the interpretation of the cultural layers of the site are fragments of ceramics of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. This article will consider fragments of ceramics and tools of the Bronze Age. The task of the study was the scientific attribution of ceramic fragments based on the traces of work, the identification of separate groups among them with features characteristic of each series, and the restoration to some extent of those production processes that took place in the economy of the tribes of the Bronze Age. To achieve this goal, a comparison and comparative typological analysis of artifacts from the collection of ceramics of the Bronze Age of the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan was carried out. Ceramics is the most widely used material in any archaeological site. Definable fragments of ceramics are reliably associated with their own characteristics, for example, pottery school, visual culture, sign system, etc. An analysis of the studied artifacts shows that in the Bronze Age, traditional stone tools were mainly used, which were used in metallurgy and ceramic production in the extraction and processing of minerals, successively associated with the previous era. These are tools used in mining, copper smelting, agriculture, hunting and domestic crafts. Key words: Rahat settlement, ceramics, collection, bronze Age, typology, archaeological expedition, settlements, analysis, monument, foothills of Ile Alatau
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Iron Age
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Osteology
Bronze
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The Bronze Age barrows on the downs of southern England have been investigated and discussed for nearly 200 years, but much less attention has been paid to similar structures in the areas of heathland beyond the chalk and river gravels. They were built in a phase of expansion towards the end of the Early Bronze Age, and more were constructed during the Middle Bronze Age. They have a number of distinctive characteristics. This paper considers the interpretation of these monuments and their wider significance in relation to the pattern of settlement. It also discusses the origins of field systems in lowland England.
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Bronze
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An investigation by Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd took place in early 2013 in advance of a housing development at Ness Gap, Fortrose, Highland (NGR: NH 73290 56510). The excavation revealed domestic activity dating from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. A cluster of Neolithic pits provided insights into the development of agriculture in the area, with evidence for cereal production and the gathering of wild resources. The use of the site changed in the Bronze Age, with the landscape utilised for funerary practices, which were represented by stone cists and cremation burials, both urned and unurned. Analysis has further informed on the burial practices of the Bronze Age and added to our understanding of a unique peninsular landscape rich in prehistoric activity.
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Iron Age
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This study focuses on an area which up until now has not been studied in any great detail, and this is mainly due to a lack of any major visible archaeological remains. This study takes a thematic approach, first listing previous research and models for the Bronze Age in the chosen area of the Northern Midlands, a low-lying landscape formed after a period of glaciation and retreat, as well as giving a background to the Bronze Age in general. The thesis encompasses a study area comprising Cheshire and Northern Staffordshire and Shropshire. The region in question is very different in nature from the landscape of Wessex and southern England, with the soils here being heavy and damp, and the majority of archaeological remains coming from Roman sites such as Chester and Wroxeter. This is a landscape-based study, bringing together a wide range of information for a specific homogenous region during the Bronze Age. Mullin makes it clear that the different soil types of the study area play an important role in the archaeological interpretation of various sites, and he divides these soils into five main types: Brown Soils, Surface water gleys, Ground water gleys, Podzols and Peats. The study looks at a number of different aspects of this region, including burials, lithic remains, settlement evidence (especially in relation to the surrounding environment), metalwork and metal production. One of the main conclusions Mullin makes is that the data given by the soil analyses carried out shows that those soil types present during the Bronze Age were very different from those present prior to forest clearance. This shows that farming did indeed play an important role during this period, but there is an accompanying lack of the major settlement evidence that this would suggest. Mullin explains this, and the lack of any large field systems on a mobile way of life, linking with it patterns of trade that had already been set in the Neolithic period, and many of the decorative and new items appearing in this period are attributed to this purpose. Although settlement was not widespread, Mullin states that burials are significantly linked to specific places, and that their spatial positioning is of importance, as is the link between the placing of metalwork in relation to burials. One important conclusion is that relating to the nature of hilltop enclosures. Mullin believes that these were the hubs of Late Bronze Age social networks, and cites the movement of pottery in this area as a good indicator of this pattern. Mullin states that it is probable that these sites were for specialist purposes only, and were thus located away from the regular and more obvious lowland sites, again stressing the importance of mobility in Bronze Age society in the period in question. This thesis does lack evidence of lowland settlement during this period, and as such this is an area which obviously requires more study. However, this thesis does succeed in shedding light on some of the regional diversity in Bronze Age Britain, as well as giving more relevance, perspective and meaning to the material culture of Bronze Age Britain in this region.
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