1. ABOUT THE DATASET ------------ Title: Material specific dataset covering information for decorated Iron Age artefacts. Creator(s): Sarah Downum Organisation(s): University of Reading Rights-holder(s): Sarah Downum Publication Year: 2022 Description: This dataset includes recorded information for five material types: ceramic pottery, antler/bone combs, stone, wood, and metal. This information has been accumulated into four Access databases [Pottery, Antler/Bone, Stone/Wood, and Metal]. Stone and Wood have been combined into one database for recording due to the number of examples compared to the other material sources. All four of these databases include information covering General Information [site name, type of site, county, regional zone, period of occupation], Context [previous artefact number, location on site, date of object], Material [general material, form type, inclusions, colour, condition], Decoration [general typology, location on object, direction on decoration, general decoration, motifs], Decorative Techniques, and Reference Information. This information was collected from object descriptions and illustrations within site reports and previous literature. In order to avoid any overlap, all of the artefacts were re-labelled based on the material and order in which they have been recorded within my database. My final database includes a Reference Database. This database includes a list of all materials covered within my previous Access databases, their current artefact numbers, and a citation of their original sources. This dataset was created to determine the visual qualities of different artefacts based on their material associations; their similarities, differences, and connections to form, function, and decoration. In turn, these databases were used within my PhD thesis to highlight the potential social connections between different groups and regions within southern Britain during the Iron Age. Cite as: Downum (2022): Visual Culture and 'Decoration' in Iron Age Britain: seeing beyond metal. University of Reading. Dataset. 10.17864/1947.000421 Related publication: Downum, 2022. Visual Culture and 'Decoration' in Iron Age Britain: seeing beyond metal. University of Reading, School of Archaeology, Geography, and Environmental Studies, PhD Thesis. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my supervisors Duncan Garrow and John Creighton for their guidance and support throughout the completion of my PhD thesis and the accumulation of this dataset. I would also like to thank the previous archaeologists who originally collected the information and recorded the illustrations for the objects included within my research. Without the prior recording of these objects within site reports and previous literature, I would not have been able to complete my data collection during Covid-19 lockdown. 2. TERMS OF USE ------------ Copyright 2022 Sarah Downum. This dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. 3. PROJECT AND FUNDING INFORMATION ------------ Title: Visual Culture and 'Decoration' in Iron Age Britain: seeing beyond metal. PhD project. Dates: 2018-2022 4. CONTENTS ------------ Decorated_Pottery_Database.accdb Contains information for 1351 objects of pottery. Data covers Site Information, Context, Object Descriptions, Decoration, Decorative Techniques, and Reference Information for each object listed. For this database CP/CS within the Context subsection stands for Ceramic Phase/Ceramic Stage, as recorded in the original site reports. Form and Fabric codes within Object Descriptions were based classifications listed in the original site reports. Occupational dates for the different sites are recorded in Site Information, while dates for the different objects are recorded in Context. Decorated_Antler_Bone_Comb_Database.accdb Contains information for 300 objects of antler/bone. Data covers Site Information, Context, Object Descriptions, Decoration, Decorative Techniques, and Reference Information for each object listed. For this database, form and Fabric codes within Object Descriptions were based classifications listed in the original site reports. Occupational dates for the different sites are recorded in Site Information, while dates for the different objects are recorded in Context. Decorated_Stone_Wood_Database.accdb Contains information for 77 objects of stone and wood. Data covers Site Information, Context, Object Descriptions, Decoration, and Reference Information for each object listed. Object dates are recorded in Context. Decorated_Metal_Database.accdb Contains information for 286 objects of metal. Data covers Site Information, Context, Object Descriptions, Decoration, Decorative Techniques, and Reference Information for each object listed. Object dates are recorded in Context. Reference_Database.xlsx Contains reference information for each object included within my databases - all under separate tabs. Information included covers the material, my database number, the site, the original reference number, and original source of images/descriptions. Final tab contains a full list of references, including: Bulleid, A. and St. George Gray, H. 1911. The Glastonbury Lake Village: a full description of the excavations and the relics discovered 1892-1907, Vol. 1. The Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. Bulleid, A. and St. George Gray, H. 1948. The Meare Lake Village, Vol. 1. Taunton: Hammet & Company (Taunton) Ltd. Bulleid, A. and St. George Gray, H. 1953. The Meare Lake Village, Vol. 2. Taunton: Hammet & Company (Taunton) Ltd. Coles, J.M. 1981. Somerset Levels Papers, no. 7. Cambridge: Somerset Levels Project. Coles, J.M. 1987. Meare Village East: The Excavations of A. Bulleid and H. St. George Gray 1932-1956. Somerset Levels Papers, no. 13. England: Somerset Levels Project. Cunliffe, B. 1984. Danebury: An Iron Age Hillfort in Hampshire, Vol. 2, The Excavations, 1969-1978: the finds. London: Council for British Archaeology Report 52. Cunliffe, B. 1991. Danebury: An Iron Age Hillfort in Hampshire, Vol. 5, The Excavations, 1979-1988: the finds. London: Council for British Archaeology Report 73. Cunnington, B.H. and M.E. Cunnington. 1923. The Early Iron Age Inhabited Site at All Cannings Cross Farm, Wiltshire: a description of the excavations and objects found. Devizes: George Simpson. Jope, E.M. 2000. Early Celtic Art in the British Isles, Vol. I and II. Oxford: Oxford University Press. May, J. 1996. Dragonby: Report on Excavations at an Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement in North Lincolnshire, Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxbow Books. Sharples, N.M. 1991. Maiden Castle: excavations and field survey 1985-6. London: English Heritage. Tuohy, C. 1995. Prehistoric Combs of Antler and Bone. University of Exeter, PhD Thesis. Wheeler, R.E.M. 1943. Maiden Castle, Dorset. London: Society of Antiquaries of London. 5. METHODS ----------- Microsoft Access was used to record the four material databases [Pottery, Antler/Bone combs, Stone/Wood, and Metal]. Microsoft Excel was used to record the reference information for each object included within my dataset, including new artefact numbers and original sources.