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Iron Age Discoveries & Heritage

I'm going to have some implants soon, I'm sure things have improved.

Grave find may be Western Europe's earliest false tooth

The iron pin may once have held a false tooth, but it's impossible to know for sure

Archaeologists have identified what could be remains of the earliest false tooth found in Western Europe.

The dental implant comes from the richly-furnished timber burial chamber of an Iron Age woman that was excavated in Le Chene, northern France.

The woman, who was between 20 and 30 years old when she died, had an iron pin in place of an upper incisor tooth.

It is possible the pin once held a false tooth made from either wood or bone, which could have rotted away.

"The best hypothesis is that it was a dental prosthesis - or at least, an attempt at one”

Guillaume Seguin
Archeosphere
The findings have been published in the scholarly journal Antiquity.

The grave was one of four adult female burials in an enclosure dating to the third century BC that were discovered during the construction of a housing development in the Champagne-Ardenne region.

The burials, which contained a rich array of grave goods, show all the hallmarks of the Celtic La Tene culture, which flourished across Central and Western Europe at the time.

"The skeleton was very badly preserved," Guillaume Seguin, who excavated the young woman's skeleton in 2009, told BBC News.

"But the teeth were in an anatomical position, with the molars, pre-molars, canines and incisors. Then there was this piece of metal. My first reaction was: what is this?"

The teeth were bagged and taken away for analysis. Mr Seguin later realised that the woman had 31 rather than 32 teeth, and photos taken at the excavation site show the iron pin in the place where the missing tooth would have been.

"The fact that it has the same dimensions and shape as the teeth means that the best hypothesis is that it was a dental prosthesis - or at least, an attempt at one," said Mr Seguin, from the Bordeaux-based archaeology firm Archeosphere.

There are reasons to doubt whether it was successful, says Mr Seguin. Firstly, the propensity for iron to corrode inside the body makes it unsuitable for use as a dental implant; titanium is the material of choice today for modern versions.

Secondly, the absence of sterile conditions during this period mean the pin could have caused an abscess, followed by an infection that could potentially have ended the individual's life.

However, the poor preservation of the remains means it is impossible to say whether the implant played any role in the woman's death.

While the find may be the earliest dental implant known from Western Europe, prosthetic teeth dating back 5,500 years have been found in Egypt and the Near East.

However, most are believed to have been inserted after death to restore the appearance of the deceased.

The researchers cannot completely rule out a post-mortem insertion of the pin in this case either. But they argue that several converging lines of evidence point to its use during life as an implant.

But it remains impossible to say for certain whether the pin once held a replacement tooth made of bone or wood, both of which could have perished in the acidic soil.

In Antiquity, Mr Seguin, along with co-authors from the University of Bordeaux, wrote that the burials "convey the image of a social elite concerned about their appearance".

They also note that the date of the burials coincides with a period when the Celtic Gauls were in contact with the Etruscan civilisation of northern Italy.

The Etruscans were known for their relative mastery of dentistry, although the partial dentures inserted into gold bands and fitted onto existing teeth represent a different approach to dental restoration than that seen in third century Gaul.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27587104
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ramonmercado said:
I'm going to have some implants soon, I'm sure things have improved.
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Really? Make sure to get the right bra size.






;)
 
Mythopoeika said:
ramonmercado said:
I'm going to have some implants soon, I'm sure things have improved.
Click to expand...
Really? Make sure to get the right bra size.
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Ramon stuffs the cups with cotton wool, and wears the bra on his head to keep his ears warm in cold weather... ;)
 
rynner2 said:
Mythopoeika said:
ramonmercado said:
I'm going to have some implants soon, I'm sure things have improved.
Click to expand...
Really? Make sure to get the right bra size.
Click to expand...
Ramon stuffs the cups with cotton wool, and wears the bra on his head to keep his ears warm in cold weather... ;)
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I'll sink my new teeth into both of you. :twisted:
 
Rare Iron Age remains discovered by builders at Porthleven housing development
1:00pm Wednesday 23rd July 2014

An Iron Age hearth and evidence of a Bronze Age settlement have been uncovered in Porthleven by builders working on a new housing development.
Archaeologists have been working alongside the contractors developing land off Shrubberies Hill and have been excited by the find.

Community archaeologist Richard Mikulski said of the Iron Age hearth: “It’s quite a big deal. It’s the first ever find in Cornwall and there’s only one other example that we know of that’s sort of similar found in the south west, if not the country, found at Glastonbury at the end of the 19th century.
“What’s been found at Porthleven is really exciting. It seems to be a late Iron Age industrial phase that’s gone on, or settlement.”

There is evidence of metalworking and iron, which indicates it is from the Iron Age, as prior to that softer metals such as bronze would have been used as they are easier to heat and work with at lower temperatures.
Mr Mikulski, who is based with the Cornwall archaeological unit at Cornwall Council, said it is not just a simple hearth but “quite complex”, suggesting a more industrial use.
It is stone lined, with what seems to be a flue, indicating a controlled fire. Baked clay or soil has indentations that are either decorative, or more likely are impressions of the pots that would have been fired there. They are circular with a “spout”, as there would be on an upside down jug.
There are at least five or six of these in a pattern within the baked soil in the stone lining.
Accompanying this find were examples of Romano-British pottery.

Mr Mikulski said it was likely this site in Porthleven was chosen for the work due to its strong winds, which would have fanned the flames in the hearth.

A bit further down the site is evidence of a Bronze Age settlement with round houses.
Worked stones suggesting the crushing of food and a rotary quern indicates settlers would have been processing wheat into flour to make bread.
Mr Mikulski said that while there had been a pause in work to record the findings, the discoveries had not affected the development.
He added: “The client has worked with us quite closely to ensure the archaeology is dealt with as best we can. We have had to do a lot more work than we originally anticipated, in terms of recording things!”

Mr Mikulski, together with archaeologists Ryan Smith and Andy Jones, who have been based at the site, showed pupils from Porthleven Primary School around last Friday to see the discoveries.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/11 ... nt/?ref=mr

From a map I see that Shrubberies Hill is alongside part of Porthleven named Gravesend, which I'd not heard of before.
I found a useful account of the local history here:

http://www.porthlevencottages.co.uk/porth_history.php

...It was the custom at this time to dispose of bodies cast up by the sea by burying the remains in a convenient pit on the cliff top. The name Gravesend in Porthleven is evidence of this custom. Even today it is said bits of bones are discovered! The disposal of unfortunates suffering these fates, especially those from the Anson, so angered the public that Parliament passed an act the next year [ie, 1808] ensuring that in future bodies cast up by the sea should be buried in churchyards and parochial cemeteries.
 
Archaeologists discover bronze remains of Iron Age chariot in the UK

University of Leicester archaeologists have made a "once-in-a-career" discovery of the decorated bronze remains of an Iron Age chariot.

A team from the University's School of Archaeology and Ancient History has unearthed a hoard of rare bronze fittings from a 2nd or 3rd century BC chariot which appears to have been buried as a religious offering.

The archaeologists found the remains during their ongoing excavation of the Burrough Hill Iron Age hillfort, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
The School has led a 5-year project there since 2010, giving archaeology students and volunteers valuable experience of archaeological excavations. ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 085031.htm
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Builders uncover Iron Age village in East Yorkshire

A "significant" ancient settlement unearthed by builders in east Yorkshire could boost experts' understanding of Iron Age Britain, it is claimed.
Archaeologists working on the housing development have dug up a sword and shield, spears and more than 75 burial sites, known as Square Barrows.
Parts of the site at Pocklington are believed to date back to about 800 BC.

Paula Ware, from MAP Archaeological Practice, described the find as a "hugely important discovery".
"We are hoping that these findings shed light on the ritual of Iron Age burial," she said.
"And, as we can assume from the shield and sword burials, these were significant members of society. So our understanding of culture and key figures of the time could be really enhanced."
Ms Ware added the site was unusual as most square barrow burial sites had been found in the south of England.

Peter Morris, development director at David Wilson Homes, said he believed the findings were "of international importance".
"At present we are still at the early analytical stages of reviewing these findings," he added.
"However, we do understand that this discovery is very rare and of international importance."
Mr Morris said that further analysis would be carried out on the finds.

The period known as the Iron Age lasted in Britain for about 800 years, beginning in about 800 BC
As the name suggests people began to make iron weapons and tools and began to live in settled farming communities.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-35823401
 
rynner2 said:
Builders uncover Iron Age village in East Yorkshire

A "significant" ancient settlement unearthed by builders in east Yorkshire could boost experts' understanding of Iron Age Britain, it is claimed.
Archaeologists working on the housing development have dug up a sword and shield, spears and more than 75 burial sites, known as Square Barrows.
Parts of the site at Pocklington are believed to date back to about 800 BC.

Paula Ware, from MAP Archaeological Practice, described the find as a "hugely important discovery".
"We are hoping that these findings shed light on the ritual of Iron Age burial," she said.
"And, as we can assume from the shield and sword burials, these were significant members of society. So our understanding of culture and key figures of the time could be really enhanced."
Ms Ware added the site was unusual as most square barrow burial sites had been found in the south of England.

Peter Morris, development director at David Wilson Homes, said he believed the findings were "of international importance".
"At present we are still at the early analytical stages of reviewing these findings," he added.
"However, we do understand that this discovery is very rare and of international importance."
Mr Morris said that further analysis would be carried out on the finds.

The period known as the Iron Age lasted in Britain for about 800 years, beginning in about 800 BC
As the name suggests people began to make iron weapons and tools and began to live in settled farming communities.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-35823401
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ARCHEOLOGISTS have discovered the remains of a youthful warrior, who had been ritually speared “to release his spirit”, more than 2,000 years ago at a “nationally and internationally significant” site in East Yorkshire.

The skeleton of the young man - who was lying with a broken sword by his side - were uncovered by archeologists during work on a housing development in Pocklington which revealed 75 square barrows containing remains from the Arras Culture - a group of people who lived in the region in the Middle Iron Age.



Read more: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news...rior-in-ancient-grave-1-7800485#ixzz43C4cXC9M
 
Coal said:
Or, spitefully speared, which is why he was in the grave (which seems more likely).
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Just exactly. To me, this 'releasing his spirit' stuff is just suppositional guff. Cultural imperialism, inventive interpretation.

Archeopsychology may tend to be largely a function of the copywriter than the historian, but it's much more a folksy hockum than an erudite synthesis of probability.
 
The largest Iron Age earthwork in Britain has been identified at the former site of a Norman castle.

The mound at Skipsea Castle in East Yorkshire is 278ft (85m) in diameter and 42ft (13m) high.

It was thought to be part of a Norman motte and bailey dating from 1086 but archaeological analysis of soil from its core showed it is 2,500 years old.

Dr Jim Leary, from the University of Reading, said: "We have a pristine, untouched, Iron Age monument".

For more stories about archaeology follow BBC England's Pinterest board

Dr Leary, who led the excavation of the site near Bridlington, added: "It's the largest Iron Age mound in Britain and there it was hiding from us in plain sight."

Further research is now being planned to establish the purpose and use of the mound.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-37539792
 
Another ritual sacrifice site discovered or maybe the small pit graves were due to austerity.

Iron Age skeletons dug up during work on a new water pipeline may have been the victims of ritual human sacrifice, archaeologists believe.

Some 26 human skeletons were found in pits at Childrey Warren, near Wantage, Oxfordshire, alongside evidence of dwellings, animal carcasses and household items including pottery, knives and a decorative comb. The remains date from around 3,000 years ago, before the Romans had invaded Britain, and the people were probably linked to the well-known Uffington white horse, a prehistoric figure carved into a nearby hillside.

Few graves survive from the period, because most communities engaged in ‘sky burials’ with bodies allowed to decompose naturally in the open or scavenged by animals. But the skeletons were found buried in small pits, suggesting they were part of a ritual or even human sacrifice.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science...tons-may-have-victims-ritual-human-sacrifice/
 
Phenomenal' 2,300-year-old bark shield found in Leicestershire

An “astonishing and unparalleled” 2,300-year-old shield made of tree bark has been discovered in Leicestershire, the only example of its kind ever found in Europe.
Archaeologists say the discovery of the shield, made between 395 and 250BC, has completely overturned assumptions about the weapons used in the iron age, sparking breathless reactions among experts of the period.

The shield was discovered in 2015 by archaeologists from the University of Leicester Archaeological Service in a site close to the River Soar. [So why is this being reported now?]

The malleable green wood would then tighten as it dried, giving the shield its strength and forming the rounded rectangles into a slightly “waisted” shape, like a subtle figure of eight.
That was significant, said Farley, because it was exactly the shape of the ornate Battersea shield, which was dredged from the Thames in the mid-19th century and dates from the same period.
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/23/2300-year-old-iron-age-bark-shield-leicestershire



 
Literally a multi-layered site.

Iron Age roundhouses, Roman burials and Saxon pottery have been discovered in a "hugely important and hitherto unknown settlement". The seven month-long dig in Warboys in Cambridgeshire also uncovered "a rare example" of "early Saxon occupation mingled with the latest Roman remains".

Archaeologist Stephen Macaulay said: "We almost never find actual physical evidence of this."

The settlement reverted to agricultural use after the 7th Century.

The earliest finds include eight roundhouses, some of which date back to about 100 BC, three crouched human burials and 2,500-year-old pottery remains.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-49019401
 
ramonmercado said:
Literally a multi-layered site.

Iron Age roundhouses, Roman burials and Saxon pottery have been discovered in a "hugely important and hitherto unknown settlement". The seven month-long dig in Warboys in Cambridgeshire also uncovered "a rare example" of "early Saxon occupation mingled with the latest Roman remains".

Archaeologist Stephen Macaulay said: "We almost never find actual physical evidence of this."

The settlement reverted to agricultural use after the 7th Century.

The earliest finds include eight roundhouses, some of which date back to about 100 BC, three crouched human burials and 2,500-year-old pottery remains.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-49019401
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Just up the A1 from me!
 
Iron Age Celtic Woman Wearing Fancy Clothes Buried in 'Tree Coffin' in Switzerland

During the late Iron Age, Celts laid one of their own to rest in a "tree coffin," but not before they dressed her to the nines; she wore a fine woolen dress and shawl, a sheepskin coat and a beautiful necklace strung with glass and amber beads, according to the Office for Urban Development in Zurich.

After studying the 2,200-year-old burial, archaeologists learned that the woman was about 40 years old when she died and had probably performed little physical labor during her lifetime. Moreover, an analysis of her teeth suggested this woman liked to eat starchy or sweetened foods.

Even her coffin was remarkable; the woman was buried in a hollowed-out tree trunk, which still had bark on its exterior.

The archaeologists were especially intrigued by the clasp on the woman's necklace. Both ends of the necklace had a garment clip known as a brooch that allowed her to wear the string of blue and yellow glass and amber beads, they said in a statement (translated from German with Google Translate).

The woman also wore bronze bracelets and a delicate bronze belt chain with pendants hanging from it. Several iron clasps held her clothes together.

The woman's remains were found buried about 260 feet (80 meters) from the grave of a Celtic man found in 1903 when the school's gym was being built, the Office for Urban Development reported. That man had been buried with a sword, shield and lance.

Because these two individuals were buried in the same decade, it's possible they knew each other, the archaeologists said.
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https://www.livescience.com/66056-iron-age-celtic-woman-burial.html
 
This is a capture from the video on the website—could it be a "hag stone"? (No reference to the lady's appearance!)
stone.jpg
 
An interesting head case.

Scientists have unlocked some of the secrets behind the preservation of a 2,600-year-old human brain that was discovered in York.

The Iron Age brain was spotted inside a skull found in a muddy pit during excavations in the Heslington area in 2008. It is believed to be one of the oldest to be found in the UK (673-482 BC). When it was discovered, scientists were immediately intrigued by how the delicate tissue had been preserved. The brain matter was the only soft tissue that remained in the skull.

In a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers spent a year unpacking the densely folded proteins that had created such a stable state for the brain tissue, and found it regained many of the features found in normal, living brain tissue.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/break...ngton-brain-preservation-unlocked-974196.html
 
ramonmercado said:
In a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers spent a year unpacking the densely folded proteins that had created such a stable state for the brain tissue, and found it regained many of the features found in normal, living brain tissue.
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Regained?
 
Iron Age tomb discovered in Italy filled to the brim with weapons and a chariot.

Found via crop marks in a field.

even though the body is missing, the treasures in this 2,600-year-old grave reveal much about this mystery man, Boschi said. The "extraordinary collection of cultural material" is "unequivocal testimony to the aristocratic status of the tomb’s owner," Boschi told Live Science in an email.

The burial goods are so swanky, she began referring to the site as the "princely tomb,"

The tomb dates to the seventh century B.C., so it likely belonged to the Piceni culture, a group of Iron Age people who lived along the Adriatic coast of Italy. Evidence, including the artifacts from this burial, indicate that the Piceni were warlike, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. In 268 B.C., Rome annexed their land.
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SpKFtDJ87XFcYEDn3Z2o8Y-320-80.jpg
 
Iron Age murder victim found in Wendover

Uncovered in HS2 works.

An Iron Age skeleton with his hands bound has been discovered by HS2 project archaeologists, who believe he may be a murder victim.

The remains of the 2,000-year-old adult male were found face down at Wellwick Farm near Wendover in Buckinghamshire.
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And

A Stonehenge-style wooden formation and Roman burial have also been discovered.

A large Neolithic circular monument of wooden posts 65m (213 ft) in diameter and aligned with the winter solstice, "similar to Stonehenge", was uncovered.

The site also has evidence of domestic occupation during the Bronze to Iron Ages (3000BC to AD43), including a roundhouse and animal pits.

Dr Wood said the fascinating thing about the site was its "persistent use over centuries for the burial of specific, high status people".

The only exception was the Iron Age skeleton.

Dr Wood said: "The death of the Wellwick Farm man remains a mystery to us, but there aren't many ways you end up in a bottom of a ditch, face down, with your hands bound.
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More evidence of this being site being of ritual importance was the discovery of this Neolithic wooden circle, which is between 4,000 to 5,000 years old
 
hunck said:
Iron Age murder victim found in Wendover

Uncovered in HS2 works.



And

A Stonehenge-style wooden formation and Roman burial have also been discovered.



More evidence of this being site being of ritual importance was the discovery of this Neolithic wooden circle, which is between 4,000 to 5,000 years old
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Wonder what the poor guy's story was to die with his hands tied behind his back like that.
Whoever he was, he was quite a robust individual. The skull has obviously become compressed and fractured over time, but it looks like he didn't have much of a forehead and his lower jaw was massive, but receding. Those lower leg bones look very substantial too.
Even though the grave dates to just a little over 2,000 years, there seems be be a hint of the archaic Cro-Magnon about this unfortunate individual.

skull1.JPGskull2.JPG
 
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