Bronze Age Settlement in the Welsh Marches

This study examines Bronze Age settlement patterns between c.2500 and 750 BC in the Welsh Marches region of Britain. The context of Early Bronze Age settlement is examined closely as a response to a general lack of evidence for settlement in this period.The concept of residential mobility in the Early Bronze Age is examined by assessing the degree of longevity apparent in the occupation of specific locations and the relationship between settlement and other activities in the landscape. The extent of change in the form and pattern of settlement, apparent in other regions of Britain from the mid-second millennium BC, is also examined in order to assess the degree of continuity and discontinuity in settlement patterns in the Welsh Marches during the BronzeAge. The study has highlighted the potential for continuity in settlement patterns during the Bronze Age and that changes in settlement form may not necessarily reflect widespread settlement dislocation. It has been suggested that residential mobility may have existed in the early to mid-second millennium BC, but that this does not necessarily reflect a wholly transient pattern of residency. The study has served to clarify the context of Bronze Age settlement in the region, but also emphasizes the need for further research and debate upon the subject.