Content:
The COMMIOS project represents a unique opportunity to conduct the largest, most wide-ranging analysis of Iron Age funerary treatment in Britain thus far. The multidisciplinary nature of the project allows for the integration of biomolecular data (human osteology, isotope analysis and ancient DNA) and robust archaeological frameworks. Underlying more site-specific analyses is a relational database synthesising Iron Age human remains across mainland Britain, taking an holistic approach to the mortuary record, including inhumations and cremations, bone bundles and disarticulated remains.
Scotland adopts the Long Iron Age chronology which encompasses, in its latter stages, the spread of Christianity, and ends with Viking incursions c.AD 800-1000. The Roman presence was intermittent and limited to southern Scotland; even there, Iron Age communities remained relatively unaffected by the Romanisation that occurred elsewhere in Britain. This unique (pre-)history, the continuation of the Iron Age for hundreds of years beyond AD43, creates an opportunity for a significant time transect approach to funerary data, while providing a valuable comparative assemblage for studying other regions.
This paper presents the results of the COMMIOS database for Scotland, illustrating the wealth of data that is available for study, the value of large-scale analysis in understanding chronological and geographic shifts, and the ways in which traditional archaeological data can be interwoven with the scientific approaches of aDNA, isotope analysis and human osteology. Patterns in post-mortem treatment are explored, from depositional context, to skeletal position, to burial accompaniments. Evidence for post-mortem skeletal manipulation, complex funerary processes, and the meaning of the dead, are discussed on a local and regional scale.
Keywords:
Iron Age, Funerary, Human remains, COMMIOS, Scotland, Early Medieval