Swords in Iron Age Britain

The sword is the only weapon to be solely designed to maim or kill another human being (James 2011). This makes it a symbol par excellence of both martial power and violent potential, and helps explain why British Iron Age swords and their scabbards are some of the most complex composite prehistoric objects (Giles 2012). However, whilst an impressive corpus of 280 swords was published by Stead (2006), this study focused on the construction of a typo-chronology, highlighting regional traditions and presenting limited scientific studies of both blade construction and decorative embellishment. There is a pressing need for an interpretive interdisciplinary study of the use-life and depositional history of swords, how they were worn and wielded in combination with other weaponry, and osteological evidence which would help understand how they were deployed in conflict. The British Museum holds the largest collection of these objects (with 73 Merlin records), which makes this institution the ideal place for a CDA. Important new discoveries make a re-examination of Iron Age swords timely. These include swords from South Cave (Evans and Marshall, forthcoming), West Cumbria (2016 T241) and Pocklington square barrow cemetery in East Yorkshire, in addition to numerous PAS finds of sword and scabbard components.
Key research questions:
-How were swords made, worn, used and deposited in different regions of Iron Age Britain?
-Can this help us understand contrasting regional traditions of warrior identity and appearance, as well as styles of combat,
challenging the stereotype of 'Celtic warfare'?
-How were swords integrated with other aspects of martial material culture (weapons sets and assemblages) as well as
wider social traditions?
-What role did swords play in establishing personal, community and regional identities (as high-status gifts, customised
possessions, repaired heirlooms, wounding, killing etc.)?
-How do these British Iron Age patterns fit within wider Continental 'Celtic' sword traditions?
Data will be collected from across Britain, drawing on museum collections, published sites, HER records and the PAS. This will involve research visits to national and regional museums to investigate any evidence for use wear, repairs etc. Swords will be examined alongside related objects, e.g. 'baldric rings', thought to have been used in the suspension of scabbards from sword belts, and mineralised staining on scabbards, blades and related fixtures. Other comparative data sets considered in brief will be those of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the near Continent. In addition to studying the objects themselves, evidence which will be incorporated includes:
-Investigation of the materials, technologies and processes used in sword production;
-Use and significance of different colours, materials and decoration in contemporary material culture, for example the use
of red-coloured materials or animal symbolism and products on martial objects, and the use of La Tène style designs on scabbards and other containers;
-Depictions of warriors bearing swords, for example, the chalk figurines from East Yorkshire;
-Osteological evidence for sword-related injuries;
-Burial evidence suggesting how swords and other forms of offensive and defensive weaponry may relate to the
construction of gender and martial identities, and;
-Experimental archaeology and production of replica artefacts to investigate both the production and use of swords.
The student will have significant input into selection of study areas, with the option to focus on one or more distinctive regional traditions. While they will be encouraged to take an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on many different strands of evidence, they will be able to choose to focus on a specific theme or strand of evidence such as mortuary or osteological studies, materials analysis or experimental archaeology.