DUBLIN, IRELAND—DNA analysis of 57 individuals whose remains were unearthed at an Iron Age burial site in southern England suggests that they belonged to a matrilocal society, according to a Cosmos Magazine report. The burials have been dated from 100 B.C. to A.D. 100 and identified as belonging to a group that the Romans dubbed the Durotriges. “When the Romans arrived [in Britain], they were astonished to find women occupying positions of power,” said research team member Miles Russell of Bournemouth University. “It’s been suggested that the Romans exaggerated the liberties of British women to paint a picture of an untamed society,” he explained. But the DNA results indicate that most of the individuals buried in the cemetery could trace their maternal lineage back to a single woman, added Lara Cassidy of Trinity College Dublin. In other words, Cassidy continued, husbands likely left their families of origin to join their wives’ communities, and land may have been passed down through the female line. The researchers also noted that women interred in this Iron Age cemetery and others in England were buried with valuable items, another sign of their status. “In Yorkshire, for example, one dominant matriline had been established before 400 B.C. To our surprise, this was a widespread phenomenon with deep roots on the island,” concluded population geneticist Dan Bradley of Trinity College Dublin. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Nature. To read about a curious Celtic artifact unearthed in 2018 in southeast England, go to "Mistaken Identity."
