New light on old iron

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of projects and discoveries relating to Iron Age iron in the UK. These include the discovery of one of the earliest smelting furnaces at Messingham, North Lincolnshire, an extensive industry along the Thames Valley and finds of iron objects including swords and spearheads within the graves of the Arras culture of Eastern Yorkshire, for example at Pocklington. There has also been an encouraging increase of the number of PhD theses being undertakenin UK universities on early iron objects and their production and deposition, including those supervised and examined by the writer. This contribution will consider the origins of iron production in Iron Age Britain and the relationship between iron production, its uses and the deposition of iron artefacts within the landscape in the light of these recent discoveries.