The First Brooches in Britain: from Manufacture to Deposition in the Early and Middle Iron Age

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The First Brooches in Britain: from Manufacture to Deposition in the Early and Middle Iron Age The First Brooches in Britain: from Manufacture to Deposition in the Early and Middle Iron Age Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester by Sophia Anne Adams MA School of Archaeology and Ancient History University of Leicester September 2013 Abstract Title: The First Brooches in Britain: from manufacture to deposition in the Early and Middle Iron Age Author: Sophia Anne Adams This thesis explores the evidence for the earliest brooches in Britain. The first brooches were used and made in Britain in the Early Iron Age from c.450 BC. During this period, and into the Middle Iron Age, methods were devised for constructing brooches with mock springs and hinges. In tandem with these changes a greater variety of types came into use. Some are relatively widespread across Wales, England and into Scotland. Others are concentrated in central or western and eastern regions of England. Brooches were manufactured from both bronze and iron. Bronze brooches dominate in the earlier period but iron brooches are as common as bronze in the Middle Iron Age. Some bronze brooches are constructed with small elements of iron and vice versa. Other materials are also employed as decoration on the body of the brooch including coral and glass. A revised chronology and typology are proposed, drawing on both intrinsic attributes and external archaeological evidence. The evidence from burials shows brooches were used to clasp fabric. The fabric was probably a woollen cloak wrapped around the body as a shroud. The brooch was positioned so it was visible during the funerary process. Some brooches fastened bags and other small brooches were better suited as ornaments or badges. These have distinctive designs that would have made them recognisable, perhaps as objects belonging to a particular person and/or associating that person with a specific group. Brooches are also found at settlements, at hillforts and in rivers, as well as at sites with or deposits of a ritualised character. Aside from cemeteries these latter sites contain the highest numbers of brooches. The deposition of personal objects at these types of site may have asserted the individual’s connection to the community in a manner comparable to the burial of a person in a cemetery. Acknowledgements This research was made possible by funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council with extra financial support from the British Museum and the University of Leicester. My research has greatly benefitted from the facilities, opportunities and training provided by both partner institutions: the University of Leicester and the British Museum. Thank you to the interview panel for accepting my application for this position: Colin Haselgrove, Jody Joy, Sally Worrell and Simon James. I am exceedingly grateful for the support, advice and encouragement I have received from my supervisors Colin Haselgrove and Jody Joy throughout the course of this research. Both the research process and my written work has benefitted from their comments, criticisms and editing advice. Thank you to the many staff at the School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester who have given me support and encouragement in a number of ways. I owe particular thanks to a number of people. To Penelope Allison and Sarah Scott for examining my APG upgrade and raising some salient points in the discussion. To Rachel Godfrey, thank you for effectively and efficiently dealing with a range of issues. Dave Edwards, thank you for all the inspiring discussions, it has been a real pleasure talking about the specific detail of my research with you. Thank you to Jeremy Taylor, John Thomas, Andy Hyam and the other ULAS staff for letting me roam free on the hill. Digging at Burrough Hill has been a great reminder about the process of collecting evidence. Sincere thanks also to Pamela Lowther for such swift editing and proof reading. Thank you also to the staff in Prehistory and Europe and PAS at the British Museum. I am grateful to Sally Worrell for her guidance and advice, particularly in the early stages of my research. Particular thanks to the museum assistants, especially Marianne Eve, for enabling me to access and study the collections first hand. Dan Pett, thank you for all the massive improvements you have made to the PAS database and all your assistance no matter how minor or major the issue. Thank you to the FLOs for all the data they input and the questions they ask. To the Science Department especially Duncan Hook, Janet Ambers and Melanie Keable thank you for carrying out the scientific research on my behalf and being willing to involve me and teach me about the processes. Thank you Stephen Crummy and Craig Williams for drawing such precise and detailed brooch illustrations. Thanks to JD Hill and Alexander Fletcher for orchestrating the CDA programme and always sorting out the paperwork. Thank you also to the curators for all being so happy to share their knowledge and support me with caffeine. Thanks to Nina Crummy for making all her digitised data and images from Grace Simpson’s manuscript available to me so early on in my research. Thank you also to all the staff at museums around the country who not only facilitated my access to their collections but have shown immense knowledge of and enthusiasm for the material and its analysis. It has been a real highlight meeting you all: Adam Gwilt (National Museum of Wales); Alison Roberts (Ashmolean Museum); Ann Taylor and Imogen Gunn (Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge); Giles Guthrie (Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery); Jill Greenaway (Reading Museum); Jon Cotton and Caroline McDonald (Museum of London); Lisa Webb (Wiltshire Museum); Steve Minnitt (Somerset County Council Heritage Service). Data have also been made available to me by a number of professional archaeologists and academic staff including Grahame Appleby, Justine Bayley, Katharina Becker, David Dungworth, Chris Evans, Michael Farley, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Ian Freestone, Mike Hemblade, Ian Jackson, Grace Jones, Zena Kamash, Kevin Leahy, Steve Malone (APS), Rose Nicholson, Stuart Palmer, Colin Palmer-Brown, Keith Parfitt, Sheila Raven, Helen Rees, Brett Thorn. Thank you to Anna Booth for kindly sharing the current results of her penannular brooch research with me. Thanks also to Ben Croxford at Kent County Council for all the GIS assistance. Neil Burridge, thanks so much for having a go at making brooches with me, it was a truly memorable experience. The analytical process has also been aided by a number of opportunities to describe and discuss my research to an audience. So, thank you to the organisers of IARSS, Otzenhausen 2011 (especially Sabine Hornung), East Riding Archaeological Society, the British Museum public engagement team, and the postgraduate community at the University of Leicester. It would not have been possible to keep going without the support of my friends and family. They have suffered my stress and neglect, cheered me up, listened to my rants, avoided the question and reminded me how to interact with people. Thank you for keeping me human. Especially thanks to my mum and dad, sisters, the ‘mice’, and the in-laws: thanks for all the laughter, meals and episodes of bad dancing. To my husband, Andrew Mayfield, thank you for loving me even when I am in study mode; thank you helping me through the tough parts and revelling in the fun parts, and thank you for wanting to marry me in spite of it all. So many people have been involved in and assisted with my research in many ways. Sorry I have not managed to name you all but I remain ever grateful. All errors and omissions remain my own. For Anders Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 Research Context .......................................................................................... 3 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.1.1 Brooches in Britain ......................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Nomenclature and Chronology ............................................................................................. 6 1.3 Setting the Scene ................................................................................................................... 12 1.3.1 Settlements in Iron Age Britain ............................................................................... 13 1.3.2 Hillforts ............................................................................................................................. 14 1.3.3 Artefacts ........................................................................................................................... 15 1.3.4 Production ....................................................................................................................... 16 1.3.5 Deposition and Distribution ..................................................................................... 16 1.3.6 Sites with a Ritual Character .................................................................................... 17 1.3.7 Iron Age Society ............................................................................................................. 18 Chapter 2 Past and Present Research on Brooches ............................................ 21 2.1 The Brooches .........................................................................................................................
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