posted on 2015-07-03, 09:28authored byWilliam Derek Hamilton, Colin Haselgrove, C. Gosden
Radiocarbon dating was long neglected in Iron Age research, with dates on the ‘Hallstatt plateau’ (800–400 BC) considered too broad to be useful compared to artefact typo-chronologies. Such views are now untenable. Around fifty British Iron Age settlements and cemeteries have been dated using Bayesian methodologies, yielding two important general results: (1) typological dating produces sequences that are regularly too late; and (2) many phenomena, from chariot burials to settlement shifts, represent brief horizons, rather than being long lived. Drawing on a selection of studies, this article explores the impact of Bayesian modelling on British Iron Age studies. It highlights potential pitfalls and issues that must be considered when dating the period, illustrates some major successes and looks to the future.
Funding
The recent dating programmes for Broxmouth were made
possible through funding from Historic Scotland and the Arts and Humanities Research
Council (AHRC). The dates for Stanwick were funded through English Heritage (EH). The
Dating Celtic Art project involved individuals in museums, universities and archaeological
units across Britain and was funded through the AHRC. The new dates generated by the
project were funded by NERC and AHRC via the NRCF (formerly ORADS) programme. The
dating of the East Yorkshire burials was funded from a variety of sources over the years.
Small grants were received from the East Riding Archaeological Society, the East Riding
Archaeological Trust, and CBA Yorkshire. The stable isotope research was partly funded by
AHRB and the Department of Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bradford. The
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new dates for Wetwang Slack were funded through the NRCF scheme, apart from two dates
funded by the University of Leicester. Hamilton’s PhD research on later Iron Age settlement
in north-east England and south-east Scotland was funded through an AHRC Collaborative
Doctoral Award with EH, held at the University of Leicester. A number of dates were
obtained for sites not eligible for EH-funded dating through the NRCF scheme.
History
Citation
World Archaeology, 2015
Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND LAW/School of Archaeology and Ancient History