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A first ‘Wessex 1’ date from Wessex

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Stuart Needham ,
Mike Parker Pearson ,
Alan Tyler ,
Mike Richards  and
Mandy Jay
Stuart Needham
Affiliation:
Langton Fold, North Lane, South Harting, West Sussex, GU31 5NW, UK
Mike Parker Pearson
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 4ET, UK
Alan Tyler
Affiliation:
22 Albert Road North, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 2TP, UK
Mike Richards
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
Mandy Jay
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
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Abstract

The furnished barrow burials of Wessex represent a maturation of the Beaker rite during the Early Bronze Age in Britain. Many of these burials were unearthed centuries ago, when archaeology was at its most eager and insouciant, but – happily for us – there were often a few careful recorders on hand. Thanks to their records, the modern scientists engaged in the Beaker People Project can still follow the trail back to a museum specimen and obtain high precision dates – as in the case of the ‘Wessex 1’ grave from West Overton in Wessex reported here.

Keywords

BritainBrittanyWessexOverton DownBronze AgeBeakerradiocarbon dating
Type
Research articles
Information
Antiquity , Volume 84 , Issue 324 , June 2010 , pp. 363 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2010

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