History

Digging deep for Duropolis’ Iron Age bones

by Faith Eckersall

‘Why would anyone bury a cow’s head on the body of a sheep?’

Just one of the questions archaeologists from Bournemouth University are hoping to answer, following their recent discovery of five skeletons at a pre-Roman settlement near Winterbourne Kingston.

The Iron Age village south of Blandford Forum, consisting of round houses and storage pits, was discovered by archaeology students last September. It’s part of an on-going dig of a town they named Duropolis, after the Durotriges tribes, who lived in the region.

The settlement containing the prehistoric human and animal remains is half a mile north of the main Duropolis site.

Excavated

Over three weeks during June, a team of 65 students from the university excavated the site, uncovering the bodies of women and men, as well as animal body parts, in storage pits originally used to hold grain.

Dig leader, Bournemouth University archaeologist Dr Miles Russell, said: “Sites across Dorset in the Late Iron Age are unique because the communities here buried their dead in defined cemeteries.

“Elsewhere in the country they would either be cremated or placed in rivers, but in Dorset it seems they did things rather differently.”

The bodies were found in crouched positions in ovalshaped pits and had been buried with joints of meat and pottery bowls originally containing drinks.

“The animal remains that we’re finding placed in the bottom of pits would have provided weeks of food for this settlement, so it’s a significant sacrifice to their gods to bury so much in the ground,” said Dr Russell. “In some pits, animal parts had been placed onto and together with other animals – for example, we found a cow’s head on the body of a sheep.

“We don’t know why they would have done this – to us it’s frankly bizarre, but it’s a fascinating new insight into their belief systems.”

Large numbers of visitors were welcomed to the site recently for an open day when they were able to view the pits, plus some of the finds, including large pots and animal bones.

Meanwhile, the university team says it will continue to scan the area for further clues which could unlock the secrets about life in pre-Roman Britain.

The site’s unusual discovery follows one made in another part of Dorset in 2019. In 2013, while a new sewage pipe was being installed at Bottle Knapp cottage in Long Bredy, human bones were unexpectedly unearthed.

Five skeletons have been found at the pre-Roman settlement.

National Trust archaeologists began a dig which eventually discovered the skeletons of three teenage individuals, whose remains dated from 800-700 BC. These were also buried in crouched positions.

And the county has also benefited from the installation of the VIP – Visual Impact Provision Project – which is removing 22 pylons to improve the look of the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Archaeologists working on behalf of the project have identified several interesting finds, including ancient stone burial chambers and Roman settlement remains.