The Bedd Branwen Period is the name given by
Colin Burgess to a division of the early
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
covering the period between 1650 BC and 1400 BC. It follows his
Overton Period and is superseded by his
Knighton Heath Period.
It covers the period after the end of the
Beaker tradition and the early
Wessex culture
The Wessex culture is the predominant prehistoric culture of central and southern Britain during the early Bronze Age, originally defined by the British archaeologist Stuart Piggott in 1938.[cremation
Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...]
became an almost universal burial rite in Britain. Earlier
round barrow
A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...
s were re-used for
cremation cemeteries although new barrows were also still being built.
The pottery of the
Deverel-Rimbury culture appears alongside the earlier collared urns in the archaeological record during this period and metalworking developed through the
Arreton Down
Arreton Down () is a 29.77 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Isle of Wight, originally notified in 1979 for its geological interest and then renotified in 1987, but for its biological interest only. It is public acce ...
and
Acton Park industries.
In his 1986 article Burgess acknowledged that the Bedd Branwen site was wrongly dated. Most of the burials actually date from a new period, the
Fargo Phase c. 1800 - 1600 bc, (which used to be incorporated in the
Overton Period). Burgess renamed the Bedd Branwen period the
Aldbourne-Edmondsham phase.
Bibliography
Burgess, C., 1980. ''The Age of Stonehenge''. London, Dent & Sons
Burgess, C., 1986. 'Urnes of no Small Variety': Collared Urns Reviewed ''Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society'' 52, 339-351
Periods of the British Bronze Age
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