COIN SCALES IN LATE PRE-ROMAN IRON AGE BRITAIN

A survey of excavation reports for sixty-one LPRIA sites in Britain reveals five 'fine' balances and objects possibly representing seven more. This paper describes the scales and discusses their use in Iron Age Britain.     

SEALED SILVER IN IRON AGE CISJORDAN AND THE 'INVENTION' OF COINAGE

Summary. Recent finds of hoarded silver in Cisjordan present new material for the consideration of the conceptual history of coined metals. When the fundamental concepts associated with coinage are abstracted from the various objects that express them, it is possible to see that a kind of coined metal existed in Cisjordan and other parts of the Near East prior to the traditional 'invention' of coinage by the Lydians and Greeks c. 600 BC. ¹ Both hoards and written sources indicate that seals affixed to precious metals at times qualified them in a numismatic sense by guaranteeing weights set to standards as well as controlled composition. What has been characterized as the 'invention' of coinage was rather an adaptation of these same principal concepts. The frequency and size of silver hoards from Cisjordan point to a proliferation in the 'monetary' use of silver in that region during the Iron Age and suggest a relationship to the overwhelming preference for silver coinages among the Greeks.     

BEYOND THE OPPIDA: POLYFOCAL COMPLEXES AND LATE IRON AGE SOCIETIES IN SOUTHERN BRITAIN

Terms such as ‘oppida’ have often obscured how we understand the nature and role of the dyke complexes which emerged at the end of the Iron Age. Developing from recent research at the Late Iron Age complex of Bagendon in Gloucestershire, this paper argues that a group of such polyfocal complexes share common characteristics, most significantly a relationship with ‘banjo’ enclosures, as part of wider landscape constructs. The paper suggests that the topography and morphology of these complexes have important implications for understanding the role of these sites and the nature of social change in the Late Iron Age.     

RAVENS AND CROWS IN IRON AGE AND ROMAN BRITAIN

The raven and crow skeletons from Danebury are re‐examined, taking into account their taphonomy, their context and the associated finds. Raven and crow burials from other Iron Age and Roman sites are surveyed, again with a discussion of their context and associated finds where these could be ascertained. Taken together, the evidence makes it clear that most if not all were deliberate burials, often at the base of pits. We demonstrate how interpretations of such burials have changed, with zooarchaeologists initially proposing functional explanations and archaeologists readier to accept that the burials were deliberate. We go on to argue that the unique character of ravens and crows, including their tolerance of humans, their scavenging habits, and their voice, led to their playing an important role in Iron Age and Roman rites and beliefs.     

POTS AND PITS: DRINKING AND DEPOSITION IN LATE IRON AGE SOUTH-EAST BRITAIN

Summary. This paper considers the role of pottery in the Late Iron Age to Roman transition in south-east Britain. Traditional concern with the significance of Continental imports is rejected in favour of a more holistic and bottom-up approach giving equal emphasis to locally made forms and imports in complete assemblages. Several stages of inter-site correspondence analysis are conducted on a range of sites and assemblages in the region. Patterning pertaining to the use and deposition of both imported and local pottery vessels can be seen to contradict simplistic models for 'Romanization before conquest'. The main conclusions include evidence for the selective disposal of drinking vessels and table wares in pits, the likely widespread consumption of beer as opposed to wine, and the implied importance of indigenous social practices such as feasting and communal drinking.     

PERCEIVING COMMUNITIES: EXCHANGE, LANDSCAPES AND SOCIAL NETWORKS IN THE LATER IRON AGE OF WESTERN BRITAIN

Summary.   In recent years British Iron Age studies have focused on regionality whilst critiquing the hierarchical model of Iron Age society. Despite the success of these approaches there has been little detailed replacement of previous social models with an understanding of how Iron Age societies worked. Looking at the later Iron Age of western Britain this paper combines examination of the exchange of material culture alongside study of the landscape to explore the nature of Iron Age communities. It is argued that Iron Age societies in the region used material culture to construct and maintain social relationships, while using visual landscape references allowed groups to engage in larger perceived communities.     

NEW EVIDENCE FOR IRON AGE BURIAL AND PROPITIATION PRACTICES IN SOUTHERN BRITAIN

It has been 30 years since the first scheme that categorized fragmentary Iron Age human remains in southern Britain ( Wilson 1981 ), and nearly 20 years since Cunliffe's paper ‘Pits, Preconceptions and Propitiation’ was published ( Cunliffe 1992 ). This study integrates the osteological, forensic and field evidence to identify archaeological signatures from three interrelated areas. The results show different depositional trends for five sites in Hampshire, and that the hillforts studied – Danebury (Hampshire) and Maiden Castle (Dorset) – demonstrate yet another pattern. Three main depositional practices were observed; intentional exposure, propitiatory deposits, and intentional practices, in which the body was kept whole in death, ran in parallel with each another.     

岐山县出土北宋铁钱窖藏和小银铤范模

1998年12月28日,岐山县城西大街公安办公大楼工地发现一处宋代铁钱窖藏,岐山县博物馆对窖藏进行了清理,现将清理结果简述如下: 窖穴距地表5米,呈不甚规则东西向长方形,长1.5,宽1.1,高度（因上部破坏）不详。距窖穴南壁1米处有一口直径     

WOAD, TATTOOING AND IDENTITY IN LATER IRON AGE AND EARLY ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary. This paper explores the archaeological evidence for the practice of facial and corporeal dyeing, painting and tattooing in the later Iron Age and early Roman period. The aim is to construct a hypothesis which explains how, why, when and by whom such pigments were worn. Although this hypothesis discusses woad-derived indigo, this is used mainly, although not exclusively, as an experimental tool, as no conclusive archaeological evidence exists which reveals the identity of the 'real' pigment(s). Woad has also long held a place in the popular imagination as the source of the dye which the ancient Britons used to paint themselves.
This paper explores the possibility that the cosmetic grinder was the focal artefact used in body painting or tattooing, and was used for grinding and mixing body and face paint. It is suggested that, rather than being a 'Roman'-style tool for cosmetic application from the start, it may have begun life as an artefact first used by the later Iron Age Britons for body painting and expressing indigenous identities.     

武威出土银铤应为金代银铤

1987年甘肃省武威市内出土一批银铤,共21铤,其中11枚有铭文。黎大祥先生发表报告认为是“西夏通用银锭”。①但是,根据形制和铭文,该批银铤具有明显的金代银铤特征。西夏用银作货币,只有零星的记载。是否铸为铤形,则不清楚。黎先生主要是根据出土地在西夏境内和伴随有西夏瓷片出土来确定为西夏银铤的。出土地当然是重要的断代依据,但不是唯一的。特别是像货币和商品一类东西,还应该有更明确的证据。内蒙古辽上京出土的北宋银铤,新疆出土的北宋“南剑州”银铤,四川省双流县出土的“解盐使司入纳银”金代银铤等都不是出土在该政权统治范围内。…     

THE EARLY IRON AGE IN THE PARIS BASIN: A STUDY IN CULTURE CHANGE

Summary. The archaeological evidence for Iron Age cultures in the Paris Basin is outlined. The data are heavily weighted to burials, there being little evidence available of settlements, but regional patterns of variation can be recognized. The broader contacts of the region are discussed and the effects of external trade and internally generated pressures on socio-economic systems are considered.     

THE ROLE OF DAGGERS IN EARLY BRONZE AGE BRITAIN: THE EVIDENCE OF WEAR ANALYSIS

Summary. This paper examines the detailed condition of 55 Early Bronze Age daggers from central southern England. It appears that the more elaborate weapons had remained in circulation for a longer period than other examples.     

南宋"经总制银"银铤考

经总制钱是南宋时期一种无名杂敛,一种特殊的附加税,是南宋财政收入的主要来源之一。其显现在银两上被称作经总制银。“经总制银”银挺的出土发现,说明在南宋时白银已广泛应用于赋税等领域。研究经总制钱（银）的成因、种类及收缴情况等,     

THE RIVER HAS NEVER DIVIDED US: BRONZE AGE METALWORK DEPOSITION IN WESTERN BRITAIN

The significant quantities of Bronze Age metalwork recovered from the River Thames have focused archaeological attention on the presence of metalwork from riverine locations and led to the expectation that rivers should contain metalwork. Finds from bogs and marshes have also been considered to be part of this practice of deposition in ‘wet places’. Whilst rivers and bogs can indeed be thought of as ‘wet’, this overlooks the fundamental physical and cosmological differences between these two types of wetland. This paper will consider Bronze Age metalwork finds from rivers in the west of Britain, paying particular attention to Britain's longest river, the Severn. The finds will be compared to those from bogs and marshes, and an attempt will be made to explain these differences in terms of the opposing metaphorical qualities of flowing and standing water, and the landscapes in which these wet places are located.     

MAKING METAL AND FORGING RELATIONS: IRONWORKING IN THE BRITISH IRON AGE

Summary.   This article explores the social significance of metalworking in the British Iron Age, drawing ethnographic analogies with small-scale, pre-industrial communities. It focuses on iron, from the collection of ore to smelting and smithing, challenging the assumption that specialized ironworking was necessarily associated with hierarchical chiefdoms, supported by full-time craft specialists. Instead, it explores more complex ways in which social and political authority might have been associated with craftwork, through metaphorical associations with fertility, skill and exchange. Challenging traditional interpretations of objects such as tools and weapons, it argues that the importance of this craft lay in its dual association with transformative power, both creative and destructive. It suggests that this technology literally made new kinds of metaphorical relationships thinkable , and it explores the implications through a series of case studies ranging from the production and use of iron objects to their destruction and deposition.     

THE SHEPHELAH IN THE IRON AGE: A NEW LOOK ON THE SETTLEMENT OF JUDAH

Abstract

The Shephelah was densely settled in the Late Bronze Age, but most of the settlements were gradually abandoned during the transition to the Iron I period. Only a few Iron I settlements existed in the eastern part of the region (excluding the Philistine sites at the northwestern edge of the Shephelah), forming a small Canaanite enclave. During the Iron II period the region was gradually resettled, and it became part of Judah. This process lasted until the 8th century BCE, when the region reached an unparalleled demographic peak. Sennacherib's campaign brought wide-scale destruction, and the region recovered only partially before being devastated by Nebuchadnezzar. After reconstructing the region's settlement history, the article reassesses its political and demographic history in comparison to the neighbouring regions of the Judean highlands and the southern coastal plain, it is concluded that the Shephelah had a lesser role in the history of Judah than some recent studies suggest.     

THE COMPOSITION OF IRON AGE STRUCK 'BRONZE'COINAGE IN EASTERN ENGLAND

EDXRF was used to analyse the composition of 88 Iron Age copper and copper alloy coins excavated from the site of a pre-Roman shrine and Roman temple at Harlow, Essex. Most of the coins are local to the Essex-Hertfordshire region, with a few of Kentish origin. The earliest struck base metal issues were struck from almost pure copper, but from the late first century BC, their composition shows more variety. Particularly interesting are a group of types belonging to the Romanizing phase of Tasciovanus'coinage, which were struck in brass and possibly represent a distinct denomination. Roman coinage and other metalwork imports from the Roman world presumably provided the initial impetus, and the ultimate source of the brass. However, this experiment was relatively short lived. Cunobelinus, who ruled eastern England during the earlier first century AD, mainly employed bronze to strike his abundant base metal coinage. The products of his Colchester mint reveal a consistently different composition from those struck at his unlocated second mint in the Hertfordshire area, although the precise alloy does vary, sometimes within the same type. This suggests that unlike gold and silver issues, the source and purity of the metal used for minting base metal coinage was not always critical.     

BLACKSMITHING TECHNOLOGY IN IRON AGE WESSEX

Summary. The sophistication of Iron Age blacksmithing technology in Wessex was determined by the metallurgical examination of 503 iron artefacts using Optical Metallography, Electron Microprobe Analysis and Vickers Hardness Testing. Iron artefacts from the different regions and site types of Southern Britain were examined to determine both the capabilities of Iron Age blacksmiths to alter the properties of iron artefacts through cold-working, carburization, heat-treatment and alloy selection, and the distribution of these possible techniques. The reasons for the selection of the areas, the sites, and the actual artefacts chosen for examination are discussed.