A practice-based study of Early Iron Age Hallstatt C elite burials in the Low Countries
My doctoral research at Leiden University, completed in 2017, focused on the project Fragmenting the Chieftain. The research explored the emergence of elite burial traditions in the Low Countries during the Early Iron Age (c. 800–500 BCE), a period in which funerary practices changed dramatically and local communities became increasingly connected to wider European networks.
At the heart of the project was a deceptively simple question: what did these spectacular burials actually mean? Richly furnished graves containing wagons, horse tack, imported bronze vessels, weapons, and feasting equipment have often been interpreted as evidence for the rise of powerful ‘chieftains’ influenced by the famous Hallstatt cultures of Central Europe. But rather than simply viewing these graves as displays of wealth or status, I approached them as complex social performances shaped by ritual, identity, memory, and long-distance interaction.
By combining detailed material analysis with broader theoretical approaches to funerary archaeology, the project investigated how local communities selectively adopted, adapted, and transformed foreign objects and ideas within their own cultural traditions. The project ultimately challenged traditional narratives of straightforward ‘elite emulation’ and instead emphasized the dynamic and fragmented nature of power, identity, and cultural interaction during this transformative period.
I was awarded the prestigious Joseph Déchelette European Archeology Prize in 2018 for the two-volume dissertation I wrote as a result, recognizing its contribution to the study of prehistoric Europe.
You can read and order the books via Sidestone Press.