Where are all the ‘Elites’? Hallstatt C metalwork from Britain and connections with the Continent

Knight, Matthew; O'Connor, Brendan

Where are all the ‘Elites’? Hallstatt C metalwork from Britain and connections with the Continent

Resource type

Conference paper (unpublished)

Creator (person)

Knight, Matthew

ORCID

O'Connor, Brendan

Abstract

It is well-established that, in contrast to many parts of the Continent, Britain lacks clear evidence of ostentatious funerary practices so, as a result, evidence of elites during the Hallstatt C period is largely circumstantial. Many bronze and a few iron objects of the Llyn Fawr metalwork assemblage remain some of the clearest archaeological evidence of how we might interpret prehistoric social structures in Britain and what inter-regional connections people had. This paper collates existing evidence and presents new discoveries of metalwork that are refining how we might understand Britain's relationship with contemporary developments on mainland Europe. These include bronze swords with related chapes and trapezoidal razors, which must belong to the beginning of Hallstatt C, hoards, and socketed axeheads.