Dating to between 75 and 25 b.c., this important late Iron Age warrior burial and a satellite burial were discovered in small-scale gravel quarrying in 1982 and excavated by local amateur archaeologist Jim Bennett. The finds then remained in private hands until 1999 when Paul Sealey ensured their transfer to Colchester Museums, thus enabling the study reported here.
The significance of the find has led to it being noted in several earlier publications, where it has sometimes been called Great Braxted or Great Brackstead, rather than Kelvedon. S. presents the definitive account and he is to be congratulated for his detective work in compiling the account of the excavation, his persistence in ensuring that the finds are on loan to a public collection and in securing the funds necessary for the conservation, analytical studies, and publication, and for delivering a publication commensurate with the importance of this find.
S. argues that some of the grave goods have strong Continental connections and he sets the burial in the wider context of the styles of combat seen across Britain and Continental Europe, and in the historical context of the Caesarian campaigns. In this, the importance of spear-bearers is emphasised.
No human remains survived but it seems likely that as with virtually all late Iron Age graves with weapons in Britain the burial was an inhumation. Four fragments of iron fittings come from a wooden object of unknown purpose but it seems likely that they were part of some form of structure in the grave.
The grave goods that were recovered were an iron shield boss, an iron sword which lacks its handle and a very long iron spear (both of which were bent at time of burial), a bronze sword scabbard decorated with a long strip of applied tin, a bronze bowl, a wooden tankard with metal fittings, and two pedestal urns. S. argues that the handle of an iron sword or dagger represents a second weapon. The typology, chronology, and comparanda of these finds are fully discussed and there are detailed reports on the metallurgy of the bronze scabbard and bowl by Peter Northover and of the sword by Brian Gilmour, accompanied by reports on mineral preserved textiles (linen) by Penelope Walton Roger and wood by Jacqui Watson. The second, adjacent, grave contained a single, and unique, pot.
This all amounts to a comprehensive study, although some reservations might be admitted about the emphasis placed on the Continental connections of some of the finds. S. argues that the length of the spear suggests that it was imported from France, but as he notes, large spears of earlier date are also known from Britain. The similarity of the iron shield bosses to ones from France is also noted but as they are rare finds in Britain, it is uncertain how much weight to place on this fact. The bronze bowl is also suggested to be an import from the Roman world but neither the metallurgical or typological analyses are conclusive. However, in the historical context of the great movements seen in the Gallic Wars, the copying and adoption of new styles of weaponry and other objects is to be expected and where individual objects were made is perhaps of less importance.
S. grounds these wider discussions in a thorough presentation of the archaeological, numismatic and historical evidence relating to Essex in the Late Iron Age. There is also a valuable review of the evidence for and dating of the earliest Aylesford-Swarling (‘Belgic’) pottery of Essex and Hertfordshire, showing that it was placed in graves before it became frequent on settlements and that it was adopted across the region at slightly different times.
Scholars of prehistoric and Roman Britain and Gaul will find this slim volume to be an important contribution that combines detailed studies with wide-ranging discussions of the local, national and international contexts in the middle of the first century b.c. For this and for his determination in ensuring that the study and publication were undertaken Paul Sealey deserves congratulations.
