Since I cannot resist a bit of alliteration, this week’s
blog post will be featuring a few of my favourite finds from British archaeology.
First is an artefact dated to the Late Neolithic in Britain
(around 2500 BC), found in West Kennet Long Barrow, near Avebury, Wiltshire.
This beaker is typical of the Bell-Beaker culture, prevalent throughout Western
Europe at that time. Its intact condition means it is one of the more
well-known finds of the British Neolithic, and the fact that it is so
beautifully conserved makes it an excellent example of the beakers that give
the culture its name.
Second is an artefact found a few miles away from my
parent’s home in Cornwall – near St. Keverne on the Lizard Peninsula.
This decorated bronze mirror dates to the Iron Age (dated to
around 100-1 BC), and is akin to other mirrors found dating to that time. This
mirror was found buried in conjunction with jewellery, and as such the grave
was assumed to be a woman. However, several years later a similar mirror was
found in a burial along with a sword. Iron Age swords are assumed to be male
grave-goods, but there is no conclusion available on whether this second burial
was male or female, or whether the first was actually male.
Either way, it shows us that as archaeologists we must be
careful about assuming sex based on grave goods or possessions – gender
stereotypes are alive and kicking in burial archaeology it would seem.
In 2010 I was lucky enough to be part of an excavation at
Roman Caerleon – one of three Roman Legionary Fortresses in England, and the
only one not currently buried beneath a modern town (the other two being Chester
and York). Once assumed to be an Arthurian site (the amphitheatre was Arthur’s
“round table”), nowadays this link is not thought to be true. There’s also an
Iron Age hillfort at Caerleon (yay).
This fish brooch was one of three found on the dig, and was
likely to have been used for decoration on clothing. Other animal-themed finds
include a dolphin, and a pin head fashioned into the likeness of a lion. It is
interesting to think about the symbolism of animals and what these specific
ones would have meant.
Of course, one of the most exciting recent finds is that of
Richard III, confirmed today by archaeologists at the University of Leicester. Found
last year, the skeleton gave certain clues as to its identity – you can see
from the image the curvature of the spine, from a condition known as scoliosis,
which causes one shoulder to sit higher than the other. This could have given
the “hunchback” that Richard III was famed for.
The remains were confirmed as Richard through DNA testing,
as well as radio-carbon dating of the bones. What I find fantastic is the
media-focus of this event in Britain, and how great it is for archaeology to
have such a prominent feature in the news.
Next week – a brief history of maps - were there really
dragons?
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