The Arras Culture of Eastern Yorkshire – Celebrating the Iron Age: Proceedings of ‘Arras 200 – celebrating the Iron Age’, Royal Archaeological Institute Annual Conference, 2017 [Paperback]

In 1817 a group of East Yorkshire gentry opened barrows in a large Iron Age cemetery on the Yorkshire Wolds at Arras, near Market Weighton, including a remarkable burial accompanied by a chariot with two horses, which became known as the King’s Barrow. This was the third season of excavation undertaken there, producing spectacular finds including a further chariot burial and the so-called Queen’s barrow, which contained a gold ring, many glass beads and other items. These and later discoveries would lead to the naming of the Arras Culture, and the suggestion of connections with the near European continent. Since then further remarkable finds have been made in the East Yorkshire region, including 23 chariot burials, most recently at Pocklington in 2017 and 2018, where both graves contained horses, and were featured on BBC 4’s Digging for Britain series.

This volume bring together papers presented by leading experts at the Royal Archaeological Institute Annual Conference, held at the Yorkshire Museum, York, in November 2017, to celebrate the bicentenary of the Arras discoveries. The remarkable Iron Age archaeology of eastern Yorkshire is set into wider context by views from Scotland, the south of England and Iron Age Western Europe. The book covers a wide variety of topics including migration, settlement and landscape, burials, experimental chariot building, finds of various kinds and reports on the major sites such as Wetwang/Garton Slack and Pocklington.

"It is small, but perfectly formed [...] a worthy tribute to the many outstanding researchers who have contributed to our understanding of the Iron Age of the region. The editor should also be congratulated on the well-balanced and varied choice of papers presented [...]"
Jody Joy
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (30/07/2020)

"This up-to-date survey is most welcome, with papers on excavations still awaiting full publication (including a helpful outline of excavations at Pocklington, otherwise known from media reports), building experimental chariots, warfare, women (in an article brimming with ideas) and migration, and a notable contribution on isotope analysis."
Mike Pitts
British Archaeology (10/02/2020)