During the Bronze Age, where did people typically lay their deceased to rest?
The Bronze Age in Britain, which lasted from around 2500 BC to 800 BC, saw significant changes in burial practices. Before this period, during the Neolithic era, communal burial sites like long barrows were common. However, the Bronze Age marked a shift towards individual burials, often accompanied by grave goods like pottery, weapons, and jewellery, reflecting a growing sense of personal identity and status. These individual burials were typically placed within round barrows. These are mounds of earth and stone built over the grave. The shape is the key here. While other cultures might have used caves or exposed the dead in other ways, the people of Bronze Age Britain specifically constructed these round barrows as their final resting places. So, when you think of Bronze Age burials, picture these distinctive, man-made, rounded hills dotting the landscape.
Envision the round barrows as ancient, earthen cradles, gently holding the Bronze Age's departed.