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Durham Research Online Deposited in DRO: 06 September 2010 Version of attached le: Published Version Peer-review status of attached le: Peer-reviewed Citation for published item: Jay, M. and Richards, M. P. (2007) 'British Iron Age diet : stable isotopes and other evidence.', Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society., 73 . pp. 169-190. Further information on publisher's website: http://www.prehistoricsociety.org/ Publisher's copyright statement: Additional information: Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Durham University Library, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3LY, United Kingdom Tel : +44 (0)191 334 3042 | Fax : +44 (0)191 334 2971 https://dro.dur.ac.uk Pr ;ceedings of the Prehistoric Society 73, 2007, pp. 169-190 British Iron Age Diet: Stable Isotopes and Other Evidence By Mandy Jay) & Michael P. Richards2 This paper presents the results ofnew research into British Iron Age diet. Specifically, it sunlmarises the existing cl'idence and conlpares this with neuJ elJidence obtained front stable isotope analysis. The isotope data come (rum hoth humans and ani,nals fron1 ten British middle Iron Age sites, from four locations in East Yorkshire, FJSf Lothian, Hampshire, and Cornwall. These represent the only significant data-set of comparative humans i11 = 138) and animals (n = 212) for this period currently available for the UK. The)' are discussed here .1Iongside other el'idence for diet during the middle Iron Age in Britain. In particular, the question of whether ti'sh, or other aquatic foods, ulere a maior dietary resource during this period is examined. The isotopic data suggest sin1ilar dietary protein conslunption patterns across the groups, both u'ithin local populations and betuJeen them, although outliers do exist ulhich 11tay indicate mobile individuals moving into the sites. The diet generally includes a high leL'el of animal protein, with little indication of the use of marine rcsources at an)' isotopically distinguishable leuel, even Ivhen the sites are situated directly on the coast. The llitrogen isotopic values also indicate absolute variation across these locations which is indicatil'e of c11l'ironmental background differences rather than differential consumption patterns and this is discussed in the (()l1text ofthe difficulty ofinterpreting isotopic data without a conlplete understanding ofthe 'baseline' values /or any particular time and place. This reinforces the need for significant numbers ofconte1nporaneous animals to he analysed fron1 the same locations u'hen interpreting hlonan data-sets. INTRODUCTION Iron Age sites across Britain to obtain new The archaeological and environmental evidence for information on the relative amounts of plant British Iron Age diet shows that domesticated compared to animal foods in the diet, and especially animals, especially sheep/goat, cattle, and pigs, \vere to estimate the level of fish consumption at sites along of key importance. There is little evidence for the rivers or on the coast. This method works well in extensive use of wild game, especially fish, which may concert \\,ith more traditional methods of dietary he due to factors such as poor preservation or off-site reconstruction, and later in this paper \ve compare our processing, or to a situation in which they \vere of no isotopic results \\rith other available lines of evidence. real importance in the diet. Similarly, there is little Dietary studies employing carbon and nitrogen evidence for the use of non-domesticated plant foods. stable isotope analyses of hone are currently This paper presents the results of a new study using a flourishing, with site-specific papers relating to direct method of determining diet, namely stable prehistoric material appearing in academic journals, isotope analysis of bone coHagen. We applied this and many site monographs providing the data from method to humans (and anin1als) from a number of such analyses in specialist reports. It is currently rare, however, for a study to bring together such data for a specific time period, from a number of geographically J Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, dispersed sites within a region, and to discuss these in South Road, Durham, DHl 3LE, UK. the light of the other evidence available for general r-m.lil: [email protected] consumption patterns at that time. ~ Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute Bone collagen from both humans and animals was t()~ f \ 01 utionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 l.Clp, :g. Germany analysed from ten different sites at four general locations across England and southern Scotland, this ReCt ol?d: December 2006; Accepted: April 2007 allowing inter-group isotopic comparisons in term~ of 169 THE PREHISTORIC SOCIETY both dietary patterns and environmental background. Dent 1984). These include five of the well-kno',vn The period from the 4th to 1st centuries Be was ~chariot' burials, Wetwang and Garton Slack being the focused upon, using skeletal material from East site which has produced the largest number of these Yorkshire, East Lothian, Hampshire, and Cornwall. from one location (Brewster 1971; Dent 1985; J-fill The data-set provides a valuable reference point for 2002). It is the largest Iron Age cemetery in Britain and the discussion of other British material from this one of the largest in western Europe. It is also the onh­ period, particularly because of the large number of one of its kind in Britain to have associated. animals which have been included in this study. contemporaneous settlement evidence (Brewster 1980~ Fenton-Thomas 2003,54). Four sites were investigated from East Lothian in southern Scotland. Broxmouth is an hillfort within THE SITES 900 m of the sea (Hill 1982, 145), with an associated The sites were chosen to allow sampling of a cemetery area containing ten individuals and some significant number of both humans and animals from inhumations within the hillfort itself. Dryburn Bridge the same locations. The emphasis is on the middle is a palisaded enclosure approximately 3 km from Iron Age, prior to the point at which Roman Broxmouth. Similarities in some of the house influences were likely to have affected dietary structures between the t\VO sites, together \vith patterns. Sites with significant numbers of humans are radiocarbon dates, suggest that there was at least some not easily identified for this period, since the normal overlap in their dates of occupation (Ashmore & Hill corpse disposal rite was not inhumation in cemetery 1983, 91). Ten inhumation burials in pits were groups. It is more usual to find disarticulated remains excavated from Dryburn Bridge, with five of these in the context of ditches and pits, which may indicate possibly representing a formal cemetery (Triscott that the norm was excarnation and secondary burial 1982, 122). The Port Seton excavations are t\\'() of selected bones or body parts (Carr & Kniisel 1997). enclosure complexes excavated separately, bur Isotopic analysis was undertaken on material from published together, known as Fishers Road West and the following sites: Wetwang and Garton Slack (East Fishers Road East (Haselgrove & McCullagh 2000 i. Yorkshire), Broxmouth, Dryburn Bridge, Port Seton, Fishers Road East, from which animal samples \\'ert' and Winton House (East Lothian), Winnall Down and taken, \vas an occupation complex inhahited b\" .it Micheldever Wood (Hampshire), and Harlyn Bay, least three separate households (Haselgrove' LX Trethellan Farm and Trevelgue Head (Cornwall). Lowther 2000, 175). Only two human samples wert They are located on Figure 1. Summaries of the available from this site (One of which did not produce material analysed from each site are provided in Table acceptable results), these being from isolated finds of 1. The East Lothian and Cornwall sites are directly on bone fragments. Very close to Port Seton is Winton the coast, allowing easy access to marine resources, House, which comprised six inhumations from a small whilst the Hampshire sites are close to major river group of pit and stone cist burials (Dalland 19911. systems, making freshwater and estuarine resource These four sites are located along the East Lothian utilisation a clear possibility. The East Yorkshire site is coast east of Edinburgh. Broxmouth and Dn;hurn currently more than 20 km from the coast and does Bridge are furthest east, Broxmouth o'bein~ not have easy access to aquatic resources. It is located approximately 2.5 km south-east of Dunbar an~l on the Yorkshire Wolds, where surface water is in Dryburn Bridge around 3 km south-east of that. short supply and tends to flow in the local streams Winton House and Port Seton are closer [(1 only after heavy rainfall. Edinburgh, approximately 30 km from the other t\\'(1 The East Yorkshire material is effectively from one sites. They are less than 1 km from each other. AJJ four large site, comprising both cemetery and settlement sites are less than 1 km from the sea. area. It runs along a dry valley (or 'slack') and stretches Winnall Down and Micheldever Wood across the parish boundary between Wetwang and (Hampshire) are located close together near Garton. The burials are from a large cemetery (over Winchester in southern England and are 450 inhumation burials), of which more than 250 were approximately 7.5 km apart. The former is a con1ple\ beneath barrows within four-sided ditched enclosures of settlement features, including enclosures, houses. (the so-called 'square barrows' of the Arras culture; and burials, which span a use period fron) the 170 9.
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