The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca

• 132 • Colin Haselgrove
through indigenous exchange networks as cross-Channel contacts once again intensified. From
20 BC, however, south-east England was increasingly influenced by the Romanized culture
emerging in northern France. Imported brooch, coin and pottery types were widely copied and
the range of imports diversified. Differing attitudes to the body and changes in personal appearance
are suggested by the use of toilet instruments, while the new vessel forms indicate differences in
the way in which food and drink were prepared and served. A degree of literacy is implied by the
use of Roman style inscriptions on coins, and by graffiti on pottery, although the latter could be
the work of foreign traders.
CURRENT PROBLEMS AND PERCEPTIONS
Little is known for certain about how Iron Age societies were organized. Until recently, this
theme was usually approached by extrapolating from texts relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples
of Gaul and (much later in time) Ireland. However, the archaeological record implies that the
social and political organization of individual Celtic peoples differed significantly, while Classical
authors consistently treat the Britons as distinct from the Gauls. Modern excavation has shown
that the surviving Iron Age material is much less straightforward to interpret than was previously
realized, for the ritual deposits placed in many settlement contexts produce a distorted and selective
picture of everyday life (Champion and Collis 1996; Gwilt and Haselgrove 1997). We can no
longer speak confidently of rich or poor inhabitants, or even of diet, without careful analysis of
the formation processes of the archaeological record.
For the Early and Middle Iron Age, the existence of socio-political hierarchies has come
under scrutiny, since even extensively excavated settlements yield remarkably little evidence of
elites (Hill 1995a; 1995b). Unless visible signs of ranking were deliberately suppressed, relatively
low levels of social differentiation are probably indicated. The reduction in the number of occupied
hillforts after 300 BC nonetheless suggests some concentration of power at this time.
Archaeologists are also actively questioning whether the substantial houses found on Iron Age
settlements in northern Britain represent high status dwellings within a hierarchical social system,
or served to express the identity of individual households in more egalitarian structures (Hingley
1992). In practice, no single model can possibly account for the strong regional differences apparent,
and answers will have to be sought at increasingly local levels.
The view of the period as dominated by endemic warfare is being overturned. Although
particular groups of hillforts were possibly constructed in response to military crises, and several
sites show signs of conflict, warfare need not have been any more frequent than in other prehistoric
societies. Indeed, evidence of wounding and violent death is not especially common in
the known Iron Age burials. The construction of fortified enclosures appears to have been
connected as much with status as with defence. Many settlements become increasingly ostentatious
with time, but the embellishments were often confined to their most conspicuous sectors,
suggesting that military considerations were not uppermost.
Debate continues over the relative importance of internal and external factors in the changes
of the Late Iron Age. To what extent should this economic and social differentiation be regarded
as a culmination of indigenous processes that were already underway by the Middle Iron Age?
While Roman imperialism was increasingly influential in southern Britain from 20 BC, did the
pre-existing cultural contacts with northern France have an equally significant role? Whether
innovations such as coinage and literacy are symptomatic of profound structural changes, such
as the emergence of a market economy, or centralized kingship, remains debatable. Much of the
evidence is at best ambiguous. Coinage, for example, appears to have served largely for political,
social and religious purposes, and few finds can be convincingly interpreted as losses from