In search of the spear people : spearheads in context in Iron Age eastern Yorkshire and beyond
Spearheads have long been an understudied class of object for the Iron Age, and for the British Iron Age in particular. No satisfactory typology has yet been published and this thesis addresses that lacuna through the creation of a new typology of spearheads for Iron Age Britain. The typology is a significant step-forward in the study of Iron Age weaponry, and forms a useful tool which facilitates not only the study of martial practices but also contextual studies of this important class of object. The typology has been designed with the end-user in mind and offers guidelines for practical application. The data collection conducted for this thesis forms the largest dataset of Iron Age spearheads for Britain which has been conducted to date. This data is made freely available as an online resource to facilitate future research. To this end, the typology has been designed as an open system which can accommodate the addition of new types, should they come to be identified. Spearheads did not exist in a cultural vacuum and this work applies the typology in a number of contextual analyses. The Arras Culture of Iron Age East Yorkshire featured an unparalleled burial rite involving spears, known as the âspeared
Inall, Yvonne Louise
History
In search of the spear people : spearheads in context in Iron Age eastern Yorkshire and beyond. Spearheads have long been an understudied class of object for the Iron Age, and for the British Iron Age in particular. No satisfactory typology has yet been published and this thesis addresses that lacuna through the creation of a new typology of spearheads for Iron Age Britain. The typology is a significant step-forward in the study of Iron Age weaponry, and forms a useful tool which facilitates not only the study of martial practices but also contextual studies of this important class of object. The typology has been designed with the end-user in mind and offers guidelines for practical application. The data collection conducted for this thesis forms the largest dataset of Iron Age spearheads for Britain which has been conducted to date. This data is made freely available as an online resource to facilitate future research. To this end, the typology has been designed as an open system which can accommodate the addition of new types, should they come to be identified. Spearheads did not exist in a cultural vacuum and this work applies the typology in a number of contextual analyses. The Arras Culture of Iron Age East Yorkshire featured an unparalleled burial rite involving spears, known as the âspeared
search spear people spearhead context iron_age eastern yorkshire beyond long understudied class_object iron_age british_iron_age particular satisfactory typology yet publish address_lacuna creation_new typology spearhead iron_age_britain typology significant step forward study iron_age weaponry form useful_tool facilitates study martial practice also contextual_study important class_object typology design end user mind offer guideline practical_application data_collection conduct form large_dataset iron_age spearhead britain conducted date data make freely available online resource facilitate future_research end typology design open system accommodate addition new_type come identify exist cultural vacuum work applies typology number contextual_analysis culture iron_age east_yorkshire feature unparalleled burial_rite involve spear know spear