Using and Abandoning Roundhouses: A Reinterpretation of the Evidence From Late Bronze Age–early Iron Age Southern England

Abstract

It has recently been demonstrated that a number of roundhouses of the early first millennium BC in southern England show a concentration of finds in the southern half of the building. It has thus been argued that this area was used for domestic activities such as food preparation, an idea which has formed the basis for discussion of later prehistoric 'cosmologies'. However, reconsideration of the evidence suggests that this finds patterning does not relate to the everyday use of the buildings, being more likely to derive from a particular set of house abandonment practices. Furthermore, evidence can be identified for the location of domestic activities within contemporary roundhouses that appears to contradict the established model.

Flintworking in the British Later Bronze and Iron Ages: Acruical Review and Statement of Research Potential

“…Central to this potential are wider theoretical and interpretive developments in later Bronze and Iron Age studies over the past three decades, most notably a rapidly growing interest in the nature and archaeological manifestations of ritual in later 2"d and 1st millennia BC Britain. Innovative studies of "structured" or "odd" depositional practises (e.g., Cunliffe 1992;Needham 1992;Briick 1995Briick , 1999aBriick , 1999bBriick , 2001Briick , 2006Hill1995b;) and the ordering of settlement space (e.g., Fitzpatrick 1994;Parker Pearson and Richards 1994;Parker Pearson 1996Oswald 1997;Pope 2007;Webley 2007) have combined to clearly demonstrate the continuing importance of ritual for later Bronze and Iron Age communities. Of particular concern here is the attention that has been afforded to everyday items of material culture in ritual practises .…”

Does form follow function? Towards a methodical interpretation of archaeological building features

“…'Structured deposits' in British roundhouses, for example, have yielded insight not so much into routine activities as into planned (ritual) abandonment processes (Bru¨ck 1999;Webley 2007b).…”

Reconfiguring Experimental Archaeology Using 3D Movement Reconstruction

“…The layout of round houses makes them interesting environments in which to experiment. As Webley has noted [9], most round houses are usually configured with the door facing to the south east. This means that most advantageous use of day light is made, and this is generally reflected in the layout of finds from structures of this type.…”

“…This means that most advantageous use of day light is made, and this is generally reflected in the layout of finds from structures of this type. Finds reflecting domestic occupation, such as ceramics, loom weights and cooking paraphernalia typically cluster in the eastern section of the house, with the western section, which is often inferred to have contained sleeping quarters, relatively free of finds [9]. It has been argued that this so-called 'sunwise' model of configuration reflected not only a practical solution to the problem of round houses not containing windows, but also that it may have reflected the cycle of life and death, given that some contain burials of humans and dogs in the northeast quadrants.…”