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Out of the ordinary. The materiality of the south-east Scottish Iron Age.
Maxwell, Mhairi L.
Maxwell, Mhairi L.
Publication Date
2013-12-02
End of Embargo
Supervisor
Rights
The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
Peer-Reviewed
Open Access status
Accepted for publication
Institution
University of Bradford
Department
Department of Archaeological Sciences
Awarded
2012
Embargo end date
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MMaxwell PhD thesis Out of the Ordinary.pdf
Adobe PDF, 68.81 MB
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Appendix 1 (Table of all sites).pdf
Adobe PDF, 125.64 KB
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Appendix 2a (Broxmouth Project 2008-12, Final Phased Artefact Catalogues).xls
Microsoft Excel, 997 KB
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Appendix 2b (all finds referred to in text from excavated East Lothian sites).xls
Microsoft Excel, 520.5 KB
Additional title
Abstract
A materiality approach is developed in this thesis in order to understand social-material
relationships during the south-east Scottish Iron Age. The focus is on everyday objects,
traditionally lesser studied in terms of cosmological value, made of bone and antler,
stone, clay/pottery and metal (copper alloy and iron) from the Broxmouth Hillfort
assemblage and other excavated Iron Age sites in East Lothian. This study sets out to
move away from typology to examine the connections between these materials through
their sourcing, affordances (signative and pragmatic), design, manufacture, use and
deposition. In addition to the archaeological evidence, a range of analytical methods are
employed; including laser scanning confocal microscopy, raman spectroscopy, and
residue and isotopic analysis.
It becomes evident that the materials studied, despite their predominantly local
availability, were invested with meaning in appropriation, making, and were
deliberately curated and maintained in use, assembling rich personal biographies.
Identities were tied up with making, using and depositing of materials in turn
embodying beliefs of fertility, renewal and productivity which were central to Iron Age
cosmology, continuing into the Roman Iron Age. These results contribute to our
understanding of the construction and practice of society in the Iron Age of Britain, with
implications for how we may design our own 21st Century material worlds. It is
proposed that social relations in the Iron Age of south-east Scotland were heterarchical.
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Type
Thesis
Qualification name
PhD