Wetwang Slack : an Iron Age cemetery on the Yorkshire Wolds.

This work is an examination of a large Iron Age cemetery which was
excavated by the writer at Wetwang Slack on the Yorkshire Wolds between
1975 and 1979.
The chief features which make this site exceptional are the large number
of inhumation burials involved (446), the unusually good stratigraphical
evidence for the relative chronology of the cemetery, and the extensive
remains of the contemporary settlement which the cemetery served.
In an introduction British Iron Age studies and the extent of
archaeological research in the region are summarised to indicate the
extent of knowledge at the time when excavations were underway.
Part 1 describes the circumstances of excavation and the location of the
site, isolates the ditched enclosures and graves which were the principle
constituents of the cemetery, and details the types of burial which were
encountered.
In Part 2 the evidence for a relative chronology of the cemetery is
considered at length and from the stratification, the artifacts, and some
changing characteristics recognisable among the burials and enclosures
different chronological horizons can be recognised. Unlike artifacts
found on settlement sites those found in graves can reasonably be assumed
to have been in use up until the time of their burial. For this reason
the cemetery provides a much needed guide to the relative date of
artifacts, many of which are types with a widespread distribution.
The skeletal evidence is examined in Part 3 for evidence of physical
type, disease etc. and the data is searched for signs of social
organisation.
The settlement evidence in the form of buildings, land boundaries and
trackways is described in Part 4 and the inter-relationship of burials
and settlement is examined. Finally, the cultural affinities of the whole complex with the East
Yorkshire "Arras Culture" and other traditions of Iron Age Britain are
sought and an interpretation is given which identifies population growth
as a principle underlying cause of changes which took place in society,
settlement patterns and economy in the region during the Iron Age.