Abstract/Summary

Metalwork has completely dominated our view of Iron Age decoration/art. This study, therefore, aims to broaden our study to include ceramics, antler/bone, stone, and wood – to examine the interplay between decoration on those different media and enhance our understanding of Iron Age visual culture. This study asks: What role did decoration serve, and what can it reveal about social connections and visual communication? Did different materials present similar forms of visual expression, and were these used to define Iron Age communities? How did artistic expression change during the later Iron Age and into early Roman Britain? Expanding on previous visual recording methods, this research examines decorated material from three different ‘style zones’ within Southern Britain, from c. 6th century BC to 2nd century AD. The decorated artefacts are compared based on their decoration, material, location, and time period. I argue that similarities and differences in motif selection, based on a general decorative scheme, suggest a level of social interaction and communication, in regard to individual/communal identity, regional allegiance, tradition/resistance, etc., whereby changes within society directly affected the decoration found on different materials, forms, and sites. While different materials and artefact types presented different forms of visual expression, they all played a role in establishing social boundaries, both within and between communities. This is most notably seen during the later Iron Age and early Roman Britain when different decorated materials demonstrated either a return to ‘traditional’ styles or an adoption of new ones. I conclude that the decorative choices present on the different materials act as a visual response to social change, representing a varying interest in resisting or accepting this change, as well as a growing standardization and general accessibility, particularly through the use of non-metalwork which would have reached a wider audience.