Brittany Hill

Birds, Beasts and Burials: Transition in Late Iron Age to Romano-British Funerary Practices

Supervisor: Professor Yannis Hamilakis

Abstract:

At one extreme, the body and its skeletal remains are seen by osteoarchaeologists as a source of objective data that can be extracted for scientific analysis. At the opposite end of the spectrum, skeletal remains are seen as invested with symbolic meanings used as strategic resources in societies both past and present. This study seeks to find a balance between the two extremes by examining changes in human-animal relationships occurring during the transition from Late Iron Age (150 BC-1AD) to early Roman occupation of Britain (1st -2nd century AD) leading to the inclusion of animals as “grave goods” in burials.

contact: beh1g10@soton.ac.uk