Sutton Common in South Yorkshire is one of the best-known Iron Age multivallate sites in lowland Britain. This volume describes the results of the large-scale excavations undertaken there between 1998 and 2003, which have provided unparalleled insights into the function and meaning of this 4th-century BC 'marsh-fort'. Sutton Common is described as a place where the social identity of the local community was reinforced through the construction of the physical representation of the idea of community, using a bank-and-ditch arrangement that resembles the defences used elsewhere, particularly at hillforts. No houses were found within the enclosure, but some 150 four-post structures were excavated, many containing deposits of charred grain in one or two of their postholes. This well-dated site makes significant contributions to the debates on prehistoric enclosure, cosmology, food storage, and mortuary practices in prehistoric Britain and Europe.

About the Author
Henry Chapman is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham. His research interests centre on the later prehistoric period, and particularly the relationships between human activity and environmental change within past landscapes, focusing on wetland sites.


Book Information
ISBN 9781902771700
Author Robert Van de Noort
Format Paperback
Page Count 235
Imprint Council for British Archaeology
Publisher Council for British Archaeology