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duropolis Iron Age settlement above A plan showing the approximate boundaries of the major Iron Age tribes in southern England and southern Wales acknowledged by Rome. below The obverse and reverse of a Durotrigian coin found during the excavations. to a specific historical event, namely the Roman Conquest. At least 14 of the 52 bodies exhumed by the Wheelers showed signs of trauma, most clearly the famous burial of an adult male with an iron projectile, probably a bolt fired from a Roman ballista (catapult) embedded in his spine. As a former artillery officer, Wheeler found such evidence hard to resist, and his published report is a beautifully written, if semifictionalised, account of the industrial carnage resulting from a Roman assault. the county has been exposed, excavated, and recorded. In recent years, National Trust archaeologist Martin Papworth has conducted a detailed reinvestigation of the various archaeological components that comprise the Durotriges, his work and publications helping to create a more balanced and objective understanding of the tribe. Despite recent work, however, there is still a feeling that we remain in the shadow of Maiden Castle, arguably the most impressive Iron Age hillfort in Britain, which was memorably excavated by the husband-and-wife team of Tessa and Mortimer Wheeler in the 1930s. It is almost impossible today to discuss the Durotriges without mentioning the Wheelers; so important was their investigation and subsequent publication of Maiden Castle, that it has impacted on all discussion of prehistoric Dorset. The Iron Age burials excavated within the eastern entrance of the hillfort, which lies a mere 16km from Winterborne Kingston, appealed to Mortimer Wheeler’s sense of drama, offering him an opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence Digging the Durotriges Excavations directed by Sir Ian Richmond within the multivallate hillfort of Hod Hill, also in Dorset, in the 1950s, built on and developed the Wheeler story. Here, a series of iron projectiles, again interpreted as ballista bolts, were recovered. Richmond interpreted these as the residue of a withering Roman artillery barrage directed against the ‘chieftain’s hut’, which undoubtedly brought about the defenders’ capitulation. Unfortunately, Richmond’s well-written report focused on the ‘death’ of the Iron Age settlement, rather than its occupation. Once again, the Durotriges were defined by their apparent fiery demise, instead of by their life and culture. Whetherone agrees with the approach taken by Richmond and the Wheelers or not, it can be difficult to see the archaeological reality beyond these evocative accounts. Wheeler’s understanding of Maiden Castle has since been questioned, on the basis that signs of violent injury on the skeletons could relate to longer-term indigenous processes – such as sacrifice, execution or single combat – rather than a single dramatic event. But it is difficult, when looking at Iron Age Dorset, to extract oneself from the narrative of conquest and assimilation, a narrative that focuses on the notion of unrelenting Roman invaders brutally subduing the native population. opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence igging the Durotriges Digging the Durotriges While not wishing to turn our backs on the excellent work of the Wheelers and Richmond, While not wishing to turn our backs on the excellent work of the Wheelers and Richmond, While not wishing to turn our backs on the excellent work of the Wheelers and Richmond, we wanted the Durotriges Project to provide we wanted the Durotriges Project to provide we wanted the Durotriges Project to provide a more nuanced approach to the past, moving away from the archaeo-historical a more nuanced approach to the past, moving away from the archaeo-historical a more nuanced approach to the past, moving away from the archaeo-historical accounts that have tended to dominated the literature. We also wanted to distance ourselves from the hillfort, a type of archaeological monument that has overshadowed most studies of the period, to see whether an examination of more open rural settlements could shed light on the true accounts that have tended to dominated the literature. We also wanted to distance ourselves from the hillfort, a type of archaeological monument that has overshadowed most studies of the period, to see whether an examination of more open rural settlements could shed light on the true accounts that have tended to dominated the literature. We also wanted to distance ourselves from the hillfort, a type of archaeological monument that has overshadowed most studies of the period, to see whether an examination of more open rural settlements could shed light on the true 14 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk april 2016 |
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nature of later Iron Age tribal society, and reveal what cultural aspects, if any, endured into the Roman period and beyond. The fieldwork of the Durotriges Project forms an essential component of all undergraduate archaeological training at Bournemouth University. It is entirely funded, facilitated, and resourced by the Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science in the Faculty of Science and Technology. From the start of the Project, all survey, excavation, and post-excavation has been carried out by a combination of Bournemouth University staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students, participants on the archaeological field school, and a variety of local volunteers. If it is sometimes an exhausting process, with anything up to 200 people participating daily, it is never less than rewarding. In 2015, however, the results were greater than we could ever have hoped for. Surprising settlement Both sample trenches revealed that the area had originally been far more densely occupied than we suspected. Although only three roundhouses were clear on the geophysical survey within the trenched areas, the footprints of at least 16 discrete buildings were revealed. The defining feature of each potential roundhouse was the ‘ring gully’, a shallow cut that seemed to represent above The 2015 excavations from the air. In the foreground the large roundhouse in trench B is clearly visible, while beyond the intersecting gullies of two roundhouses in trench A appear as brown earth against the white chalk. below Trench A under excavation. The two intersecting roundhouses lie to the left of the photograph, while traces of a further five structures can be seen across the trench. | Issue 313 the foundation slot for a cob or wattle-and-daub wall. Where gaps in the gully circuit were identified, these faced in a south-easterly direction, towards the general direction of sunrise in midwinter and, perhaps more critically, away from the prevailing wind, in the manner of many other, later prehistoric roundhouses. All ring gullies enclosed large pits that appeared to be broadly contemporary, although few traces of other internal elements, such as postholes were recorded. It is possible, of course, that such features have been removed by plough attrition. Within and outside the areas defined by the ring gullies, a total of 18 cylindrical pits, measuring between 50cm and 2.5m in depth, were examined in 2015. As has already been noticed  www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 15

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duropolis Iron Age settlement above A plan showing the approximate boundaries of the major Iron Age tribes in southern England and southern Wales acknowledged by Rome.

below The obverse and reverse of a Durotrigian coin found during the excavations.

to a specific historical event, namely the Roman Conquest. At least 14 of the 52 bodies exhumed by the Wheelers showed signs of trauma, most clearly the famous burial of an adult male with an iron projectile, probably a bolt fired from a Roman ballista (catapult) embedded in his spine. As a former artillery officer, Wheeler found such evidence hard to resist, and his published report is a beautifully written, if semifictionalised, account of the industrial carnage resulting from a Roman assault.

the county has been exposed, excavated, and recorded. In recent years, National Trust archaeologist Martin Papworth has conducted a detailed reinvestigation of the various archaeological components that comprise the Durotriges, his work and publications helping to create a more balanced and objective understanding of the tribe.

Despite recent work, however, there is still a feeling that we remain in the shadow of Maiden Castle, arguably the most impressive Iron Age hillfort in Britain, which was memorably excavated by the husband-and-wife team of Tessa and Mortimer Wheeler in the 1930s. It is almost impossible today to discuss the Durotriges without mentioning the Wheelers; so important was their investigation and subsequent publication of Maiden Castle, that it has impacted on all discussion of prehistoric Dorset. The Iron Age burials excavated within the eastern entrance of the hillfort, which lies a mere 16km from Winterborne Kingston, appealed to Mortimer Wheeler’s sense of drama, offering him an opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence Digging the Durotriges

Excavations directed by Sir Ian Richmond within the multivallate hillfort of Hod Hill, also in Dorset, in the 1950s, built on and developed the Wheeler story. Here, a series of iron projectiles, again interpreted as ballista bolts, were recovered. Richmond interpreted these as the residue of a withering Roman artillery barrage directed against the ‘chieftain’s hut’, which undoubtedly brought about the defenders’ capitulation. Unfortunately, Richmond’s well-written report focused on the ‘death’ of the Iron Age settlement, rather than its occupation. Once again, the Durotriges were defined by their apparent fiery demise, instead of by their life and culture. Whetherone agrees with the approach taken by Richmond and the Wheelers or not, it can be difficult to see the archaeological reality beyond these evocative accounts. Wheeler’s understanding of Maiden Castle has since been questioned, on the basis that signs of violent injury on the skeletons could relate to longer-term indigenous processes – such as sacrifice, execution or single combat – rather than a single dramatic event. But it is difficult, when looking at Iron Age Dorset, to extract oneself from the narrative of conquest and assimilation, a narrative that focuses on the notion of unrelenting Roman invaders brutally subduing the native population.

opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence opportunity to link the archaeological evidence igging the Durotriges

Digging the Durotriges

While not wishing to turn our backs on the excellent work of the Wheelers and Richmond,

While not wishing to turn our backs on the excellent work of the Wheelers and Richmond,

While not wishing to turn our backs on the excellent work of the Wheelers and Richmond,

we wanted the Durotriges Project to provide we wanted the Durotriges Project to provide we wanted the Durotriges Project to provide a more nuanced approach to the past, moving away from the archaeo-historical a more nuanced approach to the past, moving away from the archaeo-historical a more nuanced approach to the past, moving away from the archaeo-historical accounts that have tended to dominated the literature. We also wanted to distance ourselves from the hillfort, a type of archaeological monument that has overshadowed most studies of the period, to see whether an examination of more open rural settlements could shed light on the true accounts that have tended to dominated the literature. We also wanted to distance ourselves from the hillfort, a type of archaeological monument that has overshadowed most studies of the period, to see whether an examination of more open rural settlements could shed light on the true accounts that have tended to dominated the literature. We also wanted to distance ourselves from the hillfort, a type of archaeological monument that has overshadowed most studies of the period, to see whether an examination of more open rural settlements could shed light on the true

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