Think Global, Act Local: multi-scalar connections of Iron Age communities in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England.

Abstract

Trade and connectivity are generally considered at a high level and large scale, where as the productive industries which often fed exchange networks, have tended to be examined at a more intimate scale. The two milieus cannot exist in isolation from each other, but the articulation between the two has generally evaded consideration. This examination of Poole Harbour, Dorset during the Late Iron Age provides an example of a cluster of productive industries linked to regional and international trade networks providing the potential to consider those links. The picture which is provided is of complexity at local level rather than any overarching control or direction in production, and networks which coalesced over time from the personal actions and activity of individuals.