Fiona Tucker & Ian Armit (University of Bradford, UK)

Iron Age Atlantic Scotland, like most of the rest of Britain, lacks an archaeologically identifiable burial tradition. The majority of human remains that have been found dating to this period were deposited on settlement sites, in a variety of contexts. These remains rarely comprise entire individuals; partial skeletons, articulated limbs or single bones are the characteristic deposits. Many of these human remains were obviously treated, modified, displayed or used as objects before their deposition.

Antiquarian excavators dismissed these domestic finds as evidence of a casual attitude to the disposal of the dead, or as the results of massacres, headhunting or cannibalism. Modified human remains, or those adapted for artefactual use were seen as evidence of a callous indifference to the integrity of the human body and lack of respect for the dead. From a 21st century perspective, how should these remains be viewed in terms of the ritual life of the inhabitants of this area, and past attitudes to the bodies of the dead?