Metallurgical craft composition at Later Iron Age (50BCE-CE50) Hengistbury Head, Dorset, Britain. An analytical-experimental re-investigation of the site with a focus on Iron Age copper smelting practices.

Abstract

This thesis characterizes the metallurgical production processes evidenced on the Later Iron Age II (50BCE-CE50) site at Hengistbury Head in Dorset, Britain and presents new evidence for the primary production of copper in Britain and Ireland in the Iron Age. Copper and its alloys play an essential role in understanding past material culture and society. Despite this, in Britain and Ireland, the primary production of copper in prehistory is poorly understood, with no site dating from the Iron Age evidencing a fully characterised copper smelting process. Previous literature on Hengistbury Head indicated that copper smelting may have occurred during the Later Iron Age phase of the site prompting a re-evaluation of the archived slag assemblage. An integrated method of metallurgical debris analysis and concurrent archaeometallurgical experiment is employed to investigate the character of metallurgical craft on the site. The results indicate that a complex copper smelting process utilizing imported copper- iron sulphide ores was carried out at Hengistbury Head in the Later Iron Age. By placing these results within the site's context and the broader technological context of Iron Age metallurgy in Britain and Ireland, it is argued that the metalworkers from Hengistbury Head originated from outside Britain and Ireland. The method employed in this thesis is also evaluated, indicating the benefits of reflexive materials analysis and experimental reconstruction for guiding investigations, the rapid testing of hypotheses and the gathering of contextually applicable data. Several analytical methods are also advocated for further investigation of potential copper smelting sites in the Iron Age.