A People Apart…New insights into life, death and society in Iron Age Dorset
Authors: Smith, M., Russell, M., Cheetham, P., Cassidy, L., Bradley, D., Delbarre, G., Lawson, D. and Endicott, P.
Conference: Iron Age Dialogues
Dates: 30 April-2 May 2025
Abstract:Bournemouth University’s ‘Durotriges’ project has investigated later prehistoric settlement and land use on farmland near Winterborne Kingston, Dorset, since 2009. Successive seasons of excavation have uncovered a wealth of new information about the people who inhabited the landscape during the centuries before and after the Roman Conquest. In particular the project has revealed a large number of human burials, distributed amongst multiple cemetery areas adjacent to contemporary occupation. By taking a holistic approach combining osteology, archaeothanatology, artefact studies and ancient DNA analysis, the project has obtained a rich and nuanced view of social relations and conceptions of community during the later and final Iron Age, and how these persisted after the Conquest. This paper presents the project’s latest findings, including intriguing genetic results that reveal the people of Iron Age Dorset as a unique group with well defined traditions and a highly distinctive identity.
Source: Manual