Alexandra Baldwin, British Museum
Iron Age cauldrons are rare, so when an excavation in Basel, Switzerland uncovered two Iron Age cauldrons in 2010, collaborations between the British Museum and the Swiss team were inevitable. In the spring, archaeologist Sophie Hugelin and conservator Janet Hawley visited us in London to see our work on the Chiseldon cauldrons. In early December Jamie Hood and I made a return visit to Basel.
The excavation site in Basel, Switzerland
The Swiss cauldrons are of a similar date and construction to the Chiseldon cauldrons and in a ‘pit’ deposit with a number of other ceramic and metal vessels, possibly as a result of ritual activity. But here the similarity of the find ends. Basel Gasfabrik is a large urban excavation on the banks of the river Rhine at the site of an old gasworks currently undergoing redevelopment. Jamie and I visited the site and were amazed at the vast scale of the excavation compared to the rural setting and small rescue excavation of the Chiseldon cauldrons.
With complex archaeological deposits the ideal method of excavation is to carry out a large three or four metre block lift of the entire deposit enabling further excavation work to be carried out in a more controlled manner away from the site. The scale and equipment required made a large lift impossible at Chiseldon, but at Basel Gasfabrik such equipment was readily available on the building site.
British Museum and Swiss conservators examine the cauldrons found in Basel
Although we had seen photographs of the find, seeing the block and cauldrons in person was fascinating and made the similarities in cauldron type with ours more readily obvious and recognisable. It was really valuable to exchange ideas about the archaeology and the conservation of the cauldrons with Janet and Sophie and see the different methods and approaches used.
It is amazing to think that over 2,000 years ago Iron Age man had cultural links hundreds of miles away on the continent, and through the discovery of these two finds we are now establishing links of our own with colleagues in Switzerland.
The Chiseldon cauldrons research project is supported by the Leverhulme Trust
Filed under: Archaeology, Chiseldon cauldrons, Conservation
Alexandra, I’m interested in all things from Iron Age Britain and Europe. Could you please tell me who is doing on-going excavations on Iron Age sites in Britain and Europe so that I can read about their work and possibly ask them questions? In particular, I’m interested in the dress and diet of Iron Age people. Thank You.
There are plenty of ways to find out more about Iron Age Britain and Europe.
If you want to find out about excavations, a good place to start is the Current Archaeology guide, which includes digs that encourage volunteers and community involvement:
http://www.archaeology.co.uk/tag/digs+iron-age
To find out about other digs near where you live, you could approach your local museum, university archaeology department, or local council (archaeologists are usually attached to the planning department).
Places you might visit to learn more about Iron Age diet and dress include:
The Crannog Centre, Scotland: http://www.crannog.co.uk/ and Butser Ancient farm: http://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/
Both regularly run events and workshops for the public, and I believe the Crannog centre has an Iron Age food festival coming up in the spring (no details on the website yet, but their ‘Celtic Food & Drink Festival’ is an annual event).
Here at the British Museum, there is a lot of content about Iron Age Europe on our website, including an article on clothing in Iron Age Britain:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/c/clothing_in_iron_age_britain.aspx
and two on Iron Age food and drink:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/f/food_and_drink_in_iron_age.aspx
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/i/iron_age_britain.aspx
Julia Farley, Curator of European Iron Age Collections, British Museum
Julia, thanks so much for the info. unfortunately i live in Canada and as far as i know there are no Iron Age settlements here. there are a number of 1st peoples sites but i’m really interested in MY ANCESTORS who all came from Northern areas of Europe (Britain, Germany, France and Northern Ireland). guess i’ll just have to come to Britain to participate in “Celtic Food & Drink Festivals”. in the mean time i’ll read about other peoples work thanks to your great suggestions.