The Iron Age in Southern Britain (U00212)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : ACE-3-AlronSth

The course provides an opportunity for study and analysis of the Iron Age settlement archaeology of Southern Britain until the Roman Conquest. Conventional approaches to the later prehistory of Southern Britain have placed emphasis on Wessex and south-eastern England, and a series of excavated 'type-sites' such as Little Woodbury, Maiden Castle and Danebury. This bias was partly induced by an older diffusionist model, in which insular Iron Age culture was seen as the product of invasion or settlement from continental Europe. This course attempts to redress that imbalance by introducing consideration of other adjacent regions, without prejudice to any one explicatory model of origins or cultural affinities. The course examines key categories of field monuments, the main cultural groupings and the accumulating evidence for environmental reconstruction in Southern Britain. It includes a consideration of the theoretical and methodological models applicable to the archaeology of the region.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Archaeology 2A and 2B

? Costs : None

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Archaeology, (School of Arts, Culture and Environment, Schedule A)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Additional Class Information : Timetable is arranged annually.

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

- Knowlegde of the broad outline of the patterns of settlement and associated material culture from the end of the Bronze Age through the Iron Age from c.800 BC to the Roman Conquest;
- an understanding of the sequence of settlement and the factors impacting upon them in at least one region of intensive archaeological reasearch;
- an understanding of the potential and apparent interaction between Southern Britain and continental Europe in the periods under review;
- a critical awareness of how archeological perceptions and approaches to research have histroically influcenced interpretations of the evidence; and
- a familiarity with the suite of archaeological techniques and resources which can be brought to bear to illuminate an understanding of the topics, and formulate research strategies for the future.