Handling artefact box sponsored by:
Altogether Archaeology
 What does “Iron Age” mean?
 The Iron Age!
 Iron Tools
 New tools,
new lifestyle
Iron Age sword in Great
North Museum. Photo ©
Northumberland National
Park
Iron Age bronze bowls and
strainers, and a copperalloy brooch, from
Northumberland.
Photographs © Portable
Antiquities Scheme/ British
Museum.
 When was the Iron Age?
NEWER
Romano-British
Iron Age
Bronze Age
Neolithic
Mesolithic
AD 80 to AD 410
700 BC to AD 80
2500 to 700 BC
4000 to 2500 BC
8000 to 4000 BC
OLDER
 What was Iron Age life like in
our area?
(Images from Creative Commons & public domain – see references for details).
Much more reliance on farmed food, but
probably some hunted/gathered food as
well. No evidence for fish.
X
(Images from Creative Commons & public domain – see references for details).
 Who were the Iron Age people
of our region?
Examples of Iron Age art
and the La Tène style,
from Britain and Europe.
“Warrior” head sculpture
from Czech Republic, a
mirror from Desborough,
and a twisted gold torc
from Snettisham Hoard.
Creative Commons © FuzzyPeg
Creative Commons © CeStu
Creative Commons © Ealdgyth
 What was Iron Age technology
like?
Iron sword and scabbard
from Great North
Museum. Photographs ©
Northumberland
National Park.
Iron slag: a by-product of the
iron smelting process often
found by archaeologists
(Public domain image).
Iron Age tools objects used many
materials. Metal was used more for
everyday objects, tools and
ornaments – and even practical
objects were beautifully decorated.
In contrast, Iron Age pottery is rare
and poor quality.
Pot fragment and grindstone from
Great North Museum. Photographs
© Northumberland National Park.
Miniature socketed axe ,
harness fittings and beehive
quern from Northumberland
Photographs © Portable Antiquities Scheme/ British Museum
Reconstruction of a roundhouse at South
Shields, Northumberland © English Heritage.
Building a roundhouse © Northumberland
National Park (drawing by Victor Ambrus).
A bird’s-eye view
sketch of hillfort
design
Reconstructions of
Northumberland hillforts ©
Northumberland National Park
(drawings by Victor Ambrus).
 What Iron Age features are in
our region?
© RCHM, Figure 2 Oswald et al 2008 Archaeologia Aeliana 5 XXI p18
Two plans of Lordenshaws hillfort – see the
multiple defensive ditches & renovations.
© English Heritage
© Northumberland National Park
•La Tene Celtic Art Mirror "Romano-Celtic mirror (Desborough)" by Photo by Fuzzypeg - Photographed in the British Museum.. Licensed under Public
domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Romano-Celtic_mirror_(Desborough).jpg#mediaviewer/File:RomanoCeltic_mirror_(Desborough).jpg
•Iron Age Head "Stone sculpture of celtic hero" by CeStu - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stone_sculpture_of_celtic_hero.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Stone_sculpture_of_celtic_hero.jpg Stone head from
Mšecké Žehrovice, Czech Republic, wearing a torc, late La Tène culture, Stone sculpture of Celtic hero, from the sanctuary at Mšecké Žehrovice near
Slaný, Czech Republic.
•Snettisham Torc "Britishmuseumsnettishamgreattorc" by Ealdgyth (Own work). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via
Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Britishmuseumsnettishamgreattorc.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Britishmuseumsnettishamgreattorc.jpg
•Hazelnuts This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Available at:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hazelnuts_02.jpg
•Blackberries SU4592 : Blackberries by Hanney Road near to Steventon, Oxfordshire, Great Britain http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1469378 ©
Copyright Steve Daniels and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. Image Copyright Steve Daniels. This work is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or
send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
•Typha: © Copyright Ian Cunliffe and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. Image Copyright Ian Cunliffe. This work is licensed under
the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or
send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
•Rhizomes: Image accessed from: Galloway Wild Foods website : http://www.gallowaywildfoods.com/?page_id=199
•Crabapples: "Crabapples" by Wehha - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crabapples.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Crabapples.jpg http://www.gallowaywildfoods.com/?page_id=199
•Mountain Hare: Lepus timidus by Andrew, Flickr user http://www.flickr.com/photos/polandeze/429338436/
•Wild Boar Piglet: "Young wild boar" by Michael Gäbler - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 via Wikimedia
Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Young_wild_boar.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Young_wild_boar.jpg
•Red Grouse Eggs: "Lagopede d'Ecosse MHNT" by Didier Descouens - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons AttributionShare Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lagopede_d%27Ecosse_MHNT.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Lagopede_d%27Ecosse_MHNT.jpg
• Salmon: "Salmo salar GLERL 1" by U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/photogallery/Fish/pages/1037.html. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salmo_salar_GLERL_1.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Salmo_salar_GLERL_1.jpg
•Red Grouse: Red Grouse http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3729880 © Copyright Neil Theasby and licensed for reuse under
this Creative Commons Licence. Image Copyright Neil Theasby. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share
Alike 2.0 Generic Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to
Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
•Grey Partridge: "Perdix perdix (Marek Szczepanek)". Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia
Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Perdix_perdix_(Marek_Szczepanek).jpg#mediaviewer/File:Perdix_perdix_(Marek_Szczepanek
).jpg
• Aurochs: "Aurochs reconstruction" by Jaap Rouwenhorst (photograph) DFoidl (GIMP modifications) - Own work. Licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aurochs_reconstruction.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Aurochs_reconstruction.jpg
•Red Deer, from the Great North Museum Hancock: Photograph © Northumberland National Park.
•Chillingham Cattle: "White Park" by Cgoodwin - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0
via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White_Park.jpg#mediaviewer/File:White_Park.jpg
•Cheese: Comte (cheese) image from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Comte_(cheese).jpg
•Soay Ewe: "Soay ewe" by Tomek Augustyn from Glasgow, UK - do I look mad?. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share
Alike 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soay_ewe.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Soay_ewe.jpg
•Pigs: Large Black UK Pig Breed. Image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Large_Black_pigs.jpg
•Emmer Wheat: Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmer#mediaviewer/File:Usdaemmer1.jpg
•Barley: Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley#mediaviewer/File:Hordeum-barley.jpg
•Oats: Image from: http://www.public-domain-image.com/plants/flowers/slides/oats-closeup.html
•Hillfort plans:
Oswald, A., S. Ainsworth and T. Pearson 2008. Iron age Hillforts in their landscape contexts: a fresh look at the field evidence in the
Northumberland Cheviots. Archaeologia Aeliana 5(37):1-45. Figure 2, page 18. © RCHM,
Oswald, Al., Stewart Ainsworth and Trevor Pearson 2006. Hillforts: Prehistoric strongholds of Northumberland National Park. English
Heritage: Swindon. Figure 3.6, page 36. © English Heritage