The Yorkshire Wolds hold an air of mystery for students of the Iron Age. As is well known these chalk hills lie at the heart of the largest group of Early Iron Age burials in Britain, the ‘Arras Culture’, so-called after the first and richest cemetery to be excavated (fig. 1; Stead 1979). Although these burials are often quoted in general discussions and formed an important piece of evidence in the ‘invasion controversy’, it is only in the last few years that up to date illustrations of the material have begun to appear in textbooks (Cunliffe 1978; Champion 1979) following the publication of interim excavation reports (Brewster 1976; Stead 1977). Little is known of the settlements which these cemeteries served and even less is published. The present paper is an attempt to trace settlement patterns by an examination of the funerary material in conjunction with the domestic evidence which was found in the very large-scale excavations in Garton and Wetwang Slacks (Brewster 1981; Dent 1982).A heavy funerary bias in the material is further exaggerated because the distinctive square-plan barrows of the ‘Arras Culture’ are readily identifiable from the air whereas settlement can rarely be dated without excavation. Many hundreds of barrows are now known in this way (Ramm 1973; 1974; Loughlin and Miller 1979) and all but the most recently excavated have been catalogued (Stead 1979). An essential requirement for a discussion of these is the ability to date the material involved, either in absolute or in relative terms. It would be useful if distinctive groups could be recognized among the pottery from these sites since the metalwork is rare in domestic contexts, whereas even poor sites usually produce some sherds. Unfortunately there is virtually no decorated pottery and the plain jars which are found in graves cannot at present be used as a basis for a chronology. It is the metalwork which presents the best opportunity for such a classification.

Summary This paper presents 21 new radiocarbon dates for Iron Age burials excavated at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, including three chariot burials. The dates are analysed using a Bayesian approach, along with previous dates from the cemetery and from other chariot burials in the region. The model suggests that regular burial at Wetwang spanned the third and earlier second centuries cal BC, a shorter period than once thought, whilst the chariot burials all belong to a short‐lived horizon centred on 200 cal BC. The dating of brooch types present in the burials is also reassessed. Our results imply that brooches of La Tène D form appeared in Britain in the later second century cal BC, in line with Continental evidence, but reinforcing the void in the later Iron Age sequence revealed in a recent study of decorated metalwork. Both this apparent gap and the end of the classic East Yorkshire mortuary tradition may well be manifestations of the more general changes that swept across Europe at this period, ushering in the new forms of political organization and social practices that define the Late Iron Age.

In Garton Slack and Wetwang Slack, which together constitute one stretch of a dry valley to the west of Driffield, gravel extraction over 20 years has resulted in the excavation of a large part of an extensive Iron Age settlement.Roads and ditches formed a focus for scores of buildings—roundhouses and post squares—as well as a cemetery of 446 inhumations in the ‘Arras Culture’ tradition and the first cart burial (in 1971) to be excavated under modern conditions (Dent, 1982, 1983; Brewster, 1971; 1981; Stead, 1984). Startling though many of these finds were, none exceeded the discovery of a group of three cart burials in the summer of 1984.The first grave was discovered by the quarry manager, Mick Ward, who recognized it as a cart burial (he had seen the 1971 find, as well as numerous other burials in the valley) when the dark discolouration of the fill appeared in the quarry face and part of one tyre and the skull were exposed. He reported his discovery at once and I visited the site the same afternoon. The part of the quarry where the find was made had been stripped of topsoil a week or two earlier.

The excavation by T. C. M Brewster and J. S. Dent between 1964 and 1989 of the multiperiod site at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, has gained international importance for its square barrow cemetery and multiple Arras-style Iron Age cart/chariot burials. A lesser known fact is that the excavations also produced the largest Iron Age faunal assemblage identified outside of southern Britain, in addition to several late Iron Age/early Romano-British articulated animal bone groups (ABGs). The presence of pathological human and articulated faunal remains provides the unique opportunity to review the macroscopic evidence for zoonotic diseases, specifically bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in an Iron Age community where close working relationships with animals, the use of animal by-products, and the consumption of infected dairy products all form potential avenues of infection. This paper presents the palaeopathological evidence for possible infectious disease in the ABGs at Wetwang Slack with a focus on bTB. Several cases of suspected tuberculosis are described in the human remains, with one example of gastrointestinal infection that could potentially indicate a case of bTB. Ancient DNA (aDNA) samples were taken from five ABGs testing for both Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and Brucella pathogen DNA. The results were negative, but DNA degradation was highlighted as a contributing factor. This paper highlights the importance of considering the evidence for zoonotic diseases at sites where human and faunal assemblages are recovered and especially where articulated animal skeletons are present. The paper also emphasizes that future aDNA studies of diseased faunal remains should focus on smaller amplicons or whole genome sequencing to amplify pathogen DNA.

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