event · evt_bi_southern_britain_late_bronze_transition
Middle-to-Late Bronze Age transition in southern Britain
Changes in pottery, metalwork, deposition and settlement classification cluster around the conventional 1150 BCE transition, but individual sites and regions do not change simultaneously.
What is the evidence?
observation
Changes in pottery, metalwork, deposition and settlement classification cluster around the conventional 1150 BCE transition, but individual sites and regions do not change simultaneously.observed evidence
Changes in pottery, metalwork, deposition and settlement classification cluster around the conventional 1150 BCE transition, but individual sites and regions do not change simultaneously.The transition is a locally constructed archaeological period boundary. It should not be mapped directly onto a 1200 BCE eastern Mediterranean collapse event.
Inspect the sources →Review and provenance
Specialist reviewer: not recorded. Review date: not recorded.
Dataset workflow: proposed. This is separate from specialist review.
Confidence describes the stated assessment; it does not certify expert approval. How review works.
Chronology
Dating intervals may describe uncertainty or phases; their width alone does not establish event duration.
1200 BCE–1100 BCE
Precision: conventional transition window
Chronology model: regionally resolved positive bce
moderatePositive BCE integers are used; the larger value is earlier. The range preserves archaeological and calibration uncertainty. The transition is a locally constructed archaeological period boundary. It should not be mapped directly onto a 1200 BCE eastern Mediterranean collapse event.
- supports · dates
History of Bronze Age research in Scotland, including summary chronologies — Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (2012)Provides explicit southern British and Scottish phase tables and cautions that southern British chronology cannot simply be transferred to Scotland.
Locator: Sections 1.2 and 1.2.5, Tables 1 and 2 - supports · dates
An Independent Chronology for British Bronze Age Metalwork: The Results of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Programme — Stuart Needham, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, David Coombs, Caroline Cartwright, Paul Pettitt (1997)Presents 46 radiocarbon measurements on organics physically associated with metalwork and revises Middle to Late Bronze Age phase chronology.
Locator: Abstract; pp. 55–107; chronological synthesis tables
Interpretation and caveats
The transition is a locally constructed archaeological period boundary. It should not be mapped directly onto a 1200 BCE eastern Mediterranean collapse event.
Event context
Classification
Event type: archaeological period transition
Evidence layer: archaeological
Timeline role: regional core
People and places
Locations: Southern and eastern England archaeological search region, South-west England archaeological search region, Wales archaeological search region
Affected entities: Southern and eastern England archaeological search region, South-west England archaeological search region, Wales archaeological search region
Why it matters to the timeline
This regional-core chronology event directly tests whether local changes near 1200 BCE were synchronous or causal.
Research notes
- Provides explicit southern British and Scottish phase tables and cautions that southern British chronology cannot simply be transferred to Scotland. Role: provides evidence and date. Locator: Sections 1.2 and 1.2.5, Tables 1 and 2.
- Presents 46 radiocarbon measurements on organics physically associated with metalwork and revises Middle to Late Bronze Age phase chronology. Role: provides evidence and date. Locator: Abstract; pp. 55–107; chronological synthesis tables.
Evidence and sources
- supports · provides evidence and date
History of Bronze Age research in Scotland, including summary chronologies — Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (2012)Provides explicit southern British and Scottish phase tables and cautions that southern British chronology cannot simply be transferred to Scotland.
Locator: Sections 1.2 and 1.2.5, Tables 1 and 2 - supports · provides evidence and date
An Independent Chronology for British Bronze Age Metalwork: The Results of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Programme — Stuart Needham, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, David Coombs, Caroline Cartwright, Paul Pettitt (1997)Presents 46 radiocarbon measurements on organics physically associated with metalwork and revises Middle to Late Bronze Age phase chronology.
Locator: Abstract; pp. 55–107; chronological synthesis tables