| Abstract: |
The volume describes the results of the large-scale excavations undertaken at Sutton Common in South Yorkshire, one of the best-known Iron Age multivallate sites in lowland Britain, between 1998 and 2003, which provided insights into the function and meaning of this fourth-century BC `marsh-fort'. The excavations exposed nearly the complete interior of the site, and uncovered a great part of the extensive ditch and bank defences. The excavations were part of a project which aimed to ensure the sympathetic management of the site, and included high-resolution hydrological monitoring of the water table and its effect on the archaeological burial environment, educational activities, and engagement with a range of other stakeholders, in particular the local community. An earlier phase of activity comprised a small mortuary enclosure; a single burial of pyre debris was dated to the Early Bronze Age. The main part of the fort comprised a D-shaped enclosure occupying the whole of the main island, surrounded by a box rampart, inner ditch, palisaded bank, outer ditch, and further elaborations of the defences. Two gatehouses, one facing east and the other west, provided the only access. The western gateway could only be reached by a causeway across the wetlands; a cross-bank and additional bank-and-ditch arrangements controlled access to the causeway. The integrated dendrochronological and radiocarbon analysis dated the onset of construction of the defences to 372BC. The limited items of material culture associated with the marsh-fort were all recovered from the ditch terminals of the east-facing entrance; these were accompanied by animal bones, two human crania and the only samples of yew wood found on site. These are interpreted as forming part of a structured deposition. The interior of the fort was dominated by four-post structures; some 150 granaries, ordered in rows of up to eight structures, occupied the site. In several instances charred grain was found in the postholes, and is interpreted as evidence of structured deposition during construction. No other structures were identified, and palaeoenvironmental studies indicate that the site was never inhabited. A second phase of activity within the interior was identified and dated provisionally to the fourth to second century BC. This phase comprises twelve enclosures of basic geometric shape, between 3m and 6m across, defined by narrow, steep ditches. It is suggested that these acted as `temenos' or sacred places where the ashes or pyre debris were scattered as part of mortuary rituals. This interpretation offers an evidence-based explanation for the lack of material evidence for Middle Iron Age cemetery remains in Britain and western Europe. Sutton Common is described in the volume as a place where the social identity of the local community was reinforced through the construction of the physical representation of the idea of community. The short-lived nature of the site is explained by its symbolic role, although the site's continued importance is indicated by its re-use in mortuary rituals over the following centuries. Includes French and German summaries. Separately authored contributions include |
