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DEATH BY COMBAT AT THE DAWN OF THE BRONZE AGE? PROFILING THE DAGGER-ACCOMPANIED BURIAL FROM RACTON, WEST SUSSEX

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 July 2017

Stuart Needham ,
James Kenny ,
Garrard Cole ,
Janet Montgomery ,
Mandy Jay ,
Mary Davis  and
Peter Marshall
Stuart Needham
Affiliation:
Stuart Needham, Langton Fold, North Lane, South Harting, West Sussex GU31 5NW, UK. Email: [email protected]
James Kenny
Affiliation:
James Kenny, Archaeology Officer, Chichester District Council, East Pallant House, 1 East Pallant, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1TY, UK. Email: [email protected]
Garrard Cole
Affiliation:
Garrard Cole, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 31-4 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK. Email: [email protected]
Janet Montgomery
Affiliation:
Janet Montgomery, Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK. Email: [email protected]
Mandy Jay
Affiliation:
Mandy Jay, Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK. Email: [email protected]
Mary Davis
Affiliation:
Mary Davis, 61 Talbot Street, Cardiff CF11 9BX. Email: [email protected]
Peter Marshall
Affiliation:
Peter Marshall, Chronologies, 25 Onslow Road, Sheffield S11 7AF, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

A previously unresearched Early Bronze Age dagger-grave found in 1989 at Racton, West Sussex, is profiled here through a range of studies. The dagger, the only grave accompaniment, is of the ‘transitional’ Ferry Fryston type, this example being of bronze rather than copper. Bayesian analysis of relevant radiocarbon dates is used to refine the chronology of the earliest bronze in Britain. While the Ferry Fryston type was current in the earlier half of the twenty-second century bc, the first butt-riveted bronze daggers did not emerge until the second half. The Racton dagger is also distinguished by its elaborate rivet-studded hilt, an insular innovation with few parallels.

The excavated skeleton was that of a senior male, buried according to the appropriate rites of the time. Isotopic profiling shows an animal-protein rich diet that is typical for the period, but also the likelihood that he was brought up in a region of older silicate sedimentary rocks well to the west or north west of Racton. He had suffered injury at or close to the time of death; a slice through the distal end of his left humerus would have been caused by a fine-edged blade, probably a dagger. Death as a result of combat-contested leadership is explored in the light of other injuries documented among Early Bronze Age burials. Codified elite-level combat could help to explain the apparent incongruity between the limited efficacy of early dagger forms and their evident weapon-status.

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The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 97 , September 2017 , pp. 65 - 117
Copyright
© The Society of Antiquaries of London 2017 

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