Books of Life: Biography and Memory in a Bronze Age Barrow

An important round barrow with a primary Beaker interment and numerous secondary burials was excavated at Barnack, Cambridgeshire, in 1974–6. Reading the published report gives the impression that many of the secondary interments, by their location and attitude, reveal a memory of the primary rite. It is argued that the sequence of burials at Barnack reflects the genealogical history of the group which used the site. A series of events emerges, structured primarily by the concept of 'difference', which both retain the unique identities of the buried individuals and form a constructed narrative of society. Similar sequences are evident at other Bronze Age barrows in the east Midlands and elsewhere. Such sites seem to represent our closest approach to the 'embodied experiences' of prehistoric actors.