The burial grounds in Dorset, southern England. Photo: Supplied / Bournemouth University
A rare discovery in the UK, an Iron Age burial site in southern England has revealed that the ancient community was centered around the female line.
Archaeologists from Bournemouth University and geneticists from Trinity College Dublin found that two thirds of the 50 individuals at the site could be traced back to a single woman. In contrast, the relationships through the father's line were almost absent. This means that husbands moved to join their wives' communities upon marriage, with land potentially passed down through the women.
Dr Lara Cassidy is an Assistant Professor in Trinity's Department of Genetics and led the study into the burial site. This is the first time this type of system has been documented in European prehistory.
