Upton Lovell Shaman
51°11′03″N 2°03′39″W / 51.1842°N 2.0608°W
The Upton Lovell Shaman is a Bronze Age woman who was buried in a bowl barrow near Upton Lovell in Wiltshire, South West England. The skeleton, and the large amount of grave goods that were found with it, "is viewed as among the most significant bronze age burials in Britain."[1] The burial was discovered and excavated in 1801 or 1802 by William Cunnington, who considered the remains to be those of a male. A more recent excavation and DNA testing of the barrow's skeleton have found the individual to be female.
Archaeological context
The barrow is on high ground above the Wylye valley near Upton Lovell,[2] and is known in recent scientific literature as "Upton Lovell G2a".[3] It was first excavated in either 1802[3] or 1801[4][5] by William Cunnington,[6] who described the barrow as being 40 feet (12 m) in diameter and only 15–18 inches (38–46 cm) high, with a small depression in the centre. He uncovered the centrally-placed burial chamber in an oval cist (stone-lined box) at a depth of 3 feet (91 cm). The so-called Shaman was buried on lying on their back with their head to the north; a second individual was buried in a seated position. Cunnington assumed the main burial was that of a man based on the "largeness of the bones", and that the seated individual was their wife. In the area of the Shaman's chest was a stone axe and over 20 bone points. On the legs were pierced boar tusks and five cups made of what he called "eaglestones"; at the feet he found more than 36 bone points and several more stone axes. A ring and beads of black stone belonged to either the Shaman or the second individual.[7]
Analysis of the skeleton
In 2000, the area underwent another excavation. Human remains were recovered from the burial and gold was found on some of the tools from the grave.[2] Very little of the original barrow structure remains within the landscape.[2] The barrow is considered to be a Wessex I grave type, in the Wessex culture.[4] Though Historic England cannot list the obliterated round barrow gravesite because of condition issues, its publication Stonehenge World Historic Site - an archaeological research framework puts the shaman burial within the Stonehenge landscape, calling it "Upton Lovell barrow 4".[8] Another Historic England publication about the general Stonehenge area states "although in one grave – Upton Lovell G2a, Wiltshire – the finds have been interpreted as attachments for a shaman's robe."[9]
Results from an extensive analysis of the burial goods in the G2a burial by specialists from the University of Leicester were published in 2022. The results revealed traces of gold and wear patterns on the stone tools, indicating that the various implements were part of a "goldworking toolkit".[4][5]
The burial had previously been considered to be that of a male[10] spiritual leader and metalworker,[1] due to the breadth of its accompanying items. A DNA analysis published in 2026, however, showed the remains to be those of a female.[6] The Francis Crick Institute studied the skeleton's DNA and among their conclusions are that the woman was around 45 years of age, with an arthritic right wrist.[6] Information about the shaman is presented in the July 2026 – July 2027 We Go Way Back exhibit at the Institute.[6] The Wiltshire Museum has items from the shaman burial on exhibit.[11]
See also
References
- 1 2 Devlin, Hannah (14 July 2026). "Ancient DNA analysis reveals Wiltshire's Upton Lovell Shaman was a woman". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Burnham, Andy (18 July 2026). "Upton Lovell G2a - Round Barrow(s) in England in Wiltshire". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
- 1 2 Shell, Colin A. (January 2015). "Metalworker or shaman: Early Bronze Age Upton Lovell G2a burial". Antiquity. 74 (284): 271–272.
- 1 2 3 Crellin, Rachel J.; Tsoraki, Christine; Standish, Christopher D.; Barton, Huw; Morriss, Sarah; Harris, Oliver J.T. (February 2023). "Materials in movement: gold and stone in process in the Upton Lovell G2a burial". Antiquity. 97 (391): 86–103.
Advancing a new materialist approach, we identify a goldworking toolkit
- 1 2 Kuta, Sarah (23 December 2022). "Unearthed Near Stonehenge, This Toolkit Was Used for Goldwork 4,000 Years Ago". Smithsonian magazine. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Startling new DNA evidence shows goldworker from the Time of Stonehenge was female". Wiltshire Museum. 14 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
The We Go Way Back exhibition just opened at London's Francis Crick Institute features new research showing that the Upton Lovell Shaman, long thought to have been male, has now been shown to be female.
- ↑ Cunnington, William (1806). "XI. Account of Tumuli opened in Wiltshire, in three Letters from Mr. William Cunnington to Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq. F.R.S. and F.A.S. Communicated by Mr. Lambert". Archaeologia, Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity 1806: Vol 15. Society of Antiquaries. pp. 122–129. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ Bender, Barbara; Chan, Ben; Chandler, John; Crutchley, Simon; Field, David; Pearson, Mike Parker; Ruggles, Clive; Woodward, Ann (2005). "Stonehenge World Heritage Site: An Archaeological Research Framework". English Heritage/Bournemouth University. p. 106. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
Upton Lovell barrow 4, Wiltshire ... The Upton Lovell barrow lies 17km west of Stonehenge but well within the central distribution of Wessex Culture barrows. That the occupant of the grave might be a shaman was tentatively considered by Piggott (1962, 96) and has been taken up by others since (e.g. Burl 1987, 167–8). Shell (2000) has also raised the possibility, originally noted by John Thurnam, that this is a metalworker's grave.
- ↑ Canti, Matthew; Campbell, Gill; Greaney, Susan (eds.). "Stonehenge,Wiltshire Stonehenge World Heritage Site Synthesis: Prehistoric Landscape, Environment and Economy". p. 152. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ Pearson, Mike Parker (2013). Stonehenge: A New Understanding. p. 154.
He has come to be known as the Upton Lovell Shaman
- ↑ Crellin, Dr. Rachel; Tsoraki, Dr. Christina (4 August 2023). "The Upton Lovell Shaman – a Bronze Age Goldworker". Wiltshire Museum/official account. Retrieved 28 July 2026 – via YouTube.
External links
- "An Investigation into the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Round Barrow Monuments in the Wylye Valley, Wiltshire" (Master of Philosophy thesis, The University of Birmingham, Simon Mark Howarth, 2009) – a broad overview of the various barrows in the Wiltshire area, including the shaman burial (on page 73).