guy Posted Sunday at 04:05 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 04:05 PM (edited) The role of women in Celtic society may have been greater than thought. (Pictured above is Boudicca leading a Celtic revolt.) They may have played a greater role in both military and civic matters than originally thought. The women may have had multiple husbands and the society could have been matrilocal. Quote The latest findings from Trinity College Dublin provide genetic evidence to support this theory. Researchers analysed the genomes of 57 individuals buried in Iron Age cemeteries associated with Durotrigian people, part of a Celtic tribe that lived in Dorset 2,000 years ago. The results concluded that most of the individuals were maternally related, while the male individuals in these cemeteries appeared to have migrated into the area, likely after marriage. One burial site on the Island of Bryher, located in the Isles of Scilly off the Cornish coast, left researchers puzzled. Discovered in 1999, the site contained both a sword, typically associated with male burials, and a mirror (pictured below), which is usually linked to female burials. A chromosomal study of the tooth enamel, however, conducted in 2023, revealed that the remains belonged to a female. Quote "Although we can never know completely about the symbolism of objects found in graves, the combination of a sword and a mirror suggests this woman had high status within her community and may have played a commanding role in local warfare, organising or leading raids on rival groups," said Dr. Sarah Stark, a Human Skeletal Biologist at Historic England. Stark added: "This could suggest that female involvement in raiding and other types of violence was more common in Iron Age society than we’ve previous thought, and it could have laid the foundations from which leaders like Boudicca would later emerge." https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/01/18/who-run-the-world-celtic-girls-new-dna-study-reveals-overlooked-power-of-women-in-british- DNA suggests women were at the heart of social networks in Celtic society in Britain | AP News Edited Sunday at 05:53 PM by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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