The Social Context of Technology: non-ferrous metalworking in later prehistoric Britain and Ireland

Database generated by the Leverhulme Trust funded research project at the University of Bristol investigating excavated evidence for later prehistoric non-ferrous metalworking. The data from excavated sites was used to explore how the social context and significance of non-ferrous metalworking varied regionally and developed over time from c.2500 BC to AD 50 (Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age) in Britain and Ireland. The database is a record of the excavated archaeological sites where evidence for non-ferrous metalworking has been identified. This consists of three spreadsheets: 1. The sites, location and brief description 2. The relevant finds from those sites 3. The published and unpublished references for those sites These spreadsheets are derived from a relational database whereby each site is identified by a randomly generated number. Readers are encouraged to use the database as a guide to the evidence from each site and an overview of the contemporary sites. These should be explored in tandem with more detailed information included in the relevant references and discussion of the interpretation of this evidence in the project monograph (which will be published by the Prehistoric Society in due course). It should also be noted that some sites originally thought to have contained relevant evidence were discounted where there was no positive connection with specifically non-ferrous metalworking. Hoards of metalworking debris were also excluded but are discussed in the relevant part of the publication. Excavated sites with possible metalworking tools are included but these are indicated by '(tools only)' in the site type description owing to issues over identifying the specific use of the tools