The Funerary Architecture of the La Tène Period in North-western Gaul and Southern Britain

Abstract

This paper concerns the architecture of formal burials from the La Tène period in north-western Gaul and southern Britain. The research focuses on the shape and dimensions of sepulchral pits containing inhumed or burnt human remains, on the different materials used for the internal elements, and the external constructions and structures covering, framing, or marking the burials. The study of these data exposes the preferred choices in the funerary architecture of Gallic and British communities during the last five centuries bc. The results reveal different regional funerary groups within three main cross-Channel zones according to the architectural elements of the graves and the main treatments of the body. The distinct characteristics of these groups highlight their common features and relationships with neighbouring areas of the Continental and Atlantic zones.