Overview: Iron Age, 800 BC - AD 43

Page 4 of 6

• 1. Growth and development
• 2. Hill forts
• 3. Crannogs
• 4. Bog bodies
• 5. Growing Roman influence
• 6. Find out more
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Bog bodies

Burial practices in Iron Age Britain were extremely varied. In some regions, such as southern England, formal burials were rare, with only a relatively small number of adult burials known from pits inside hill forts and other settlements.

Finds of fragmentary human bone on many sites have led to the suggestion that the majority of the population in this region were disposed of by 'excarnation' - the deliberate exposure of the corpse.

In the south west and west, bodies were sometimes interred in small stone coffins, known as 'cists'. In East Yorkshire, large formal cemeteries including burials with cart and horse equipment have been discovered. These show strong similarities with Iron Age burials in the Champagne region of France.

Most remarkable of all are the bog bodies, examples of which are known from across the British Isles and northern Europe. Many of these show evidence of a violent death, and in the cases of Lindow Man from Lindow Moss in Cheshire and the recent Irish discoveries at Clonycavan and Croghan, a possible ritual or sacrificial killing has been suggested.

'Many bog bodies show evidence of a violent death, and possible ritual or sacrificial killing'

The placing of these individuals in wet locations may also link with the later prehistoric ritual practice of depositing metalwork in rivers, lakes and bogs. Such locations have produced some of the finest Iron Age metalwork known in the British Isles. These include the Waterloo Helmet and Battersea Shield, both from the River Thames; the Llyn Cerig Bach hoard from a bog on Anglesey in North Wales; and the gold torc from a bog at Clonmacnoise in Ireland.

The Iron Age saw the production of some of the finest prehistoric metalwork known from the British Isles. Native bronze and goldsmiths were producing very high quality items that indicate close contacts with their continental counterparts.

Inspired by the so-called 'Celtic' style emanating from La Tene in Switzerland, the smiths produced a wide range of high quality items, many richly decorated with incised designs accompanied by enameled inlays. The artefacts produced ranged from personal items such as brooches to prestige objects including torcs (neck rings), shields, helmets, swords and scabbards, mirrors and ornate horse harnesses and vehicle fittings.

Coinage first appeared in Britain at the end of the second century BC, and by 20 BC coins were found across much of south eastern England. The use of coins never extended into northern and western Britain or Ireland during this period.

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Published: 2006-09-06