The skull, a potent symbol of mortality, and the comb, a practical tool for grooming and adornment, might seem like disparate objects. However, the recent discovery of a comb crafted from a human skull fragment in Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire, England, bridges this gap, offering a fascinating glimpse into the beliefs and rituals of Iron Age communities. This article explores the historical and symbolic significance of both skulls and combs, culminating in a detailed examination of the Bar Hill comb and its implications.
The human skull has served as a powerful symbol across cultures and throughout history. Primarily associated with death and mortality, it has also represented concepts such as remembrance, the afterlife, and even power.
In the Late Middle Ages, the skull and crossbones motif emerged as a memento mori, a reminder of the inevitability of death, frequently adorning tombstones. This symbolism served as a potent visual cue, urging reflection on the fleeting nature of life.
Since the mid-18th century, the skull and crossbones insignia has been adopted by various military units in Europe, often as a symbol of fearlessness and superiority. Frederick the Great's Hussars, known as the "Totenkopfhusaren" in 1741, were among the first to utilize this emblem. This tradition continued in the Prussian army and later in the German army, including the Freikorps, the Wehrmacht, and the SS in Nazi Germany.
The skull and crossbones symbol has also been used to indicate poison. In 1829, New York State mandated its use on containers of poisonous substances. However, due to concerns that its association with pirates might attract children, the "Mr. Yuk" symbol was created in the United States as an alternative.
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The Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic showcases the artistic arrangement of human skulls and bones, highlighting the complex relationship between death, art, and cultural expression.
Combs, used for grooming and maintaining hair, have been crafted from various materials throughout history, including bone, horn, and tusks. While primarily functional, combs also held symbolic value, representing status, beauty, and even ritual significance.
Throughout the centuries, people have carved combs from bones, horns, and tusks for practical uses.
In the small town of Bar Hill in Cambridge, England, archaeologists unearthed a particularly gruesome and rare discovery: a comb carved from the bone of a human skull. The artifact was found at Bar Hill, approximately four miles north-west of Cambridge. The discovery was made during a routine archaeological excavation in Cambridgeshire, England. The comb is believed to date to the Iron Age (c.750 BC-AD 43). Researchers identified the comb while analyzing some 280,000 artifacts that had been excavated from an archaeological site at Bar Hill, a village four miles north of Cambridge, between 2016 and 2018, ahead of a planned A14 expansion. The Iron Age in Britain spanned roughly 750 B.C.E. to 43 C.E. During that time, Britain was populated by warring tribal groups that built hill forts and castles. The researchers date the comb to between 400 and 100 B.C.E., when a small settlement existed at Bar Hill.
The comb is "an incredibly rare find," writes the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) in a statement. It’s one of only three ever found, worldwide-the other two were discovered at nearby sites decades ago. Only two other combs carved from bones have ever been unearthed in Britain, both within 15 miles of the newly discovered artifact. The skull comb is one of three ever found, worldwide-the other two were discovered at nearby sites decades ago-and fits nearly into the palm of your hand.
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The artefact probably comes from the parietal bone of the skull, located on the back of the head. The artifact known as the Bar Hill Comb was made from a piece of bone at the back of the head. MOLA Find specialist Michael Marshall examining the Bar Hill comb.
The Bar Hill comb presents a unique archaeological puzzle. Its purpose and significance remain open to interpretation, prompting researchers to consider various possibilities.
The team at the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), who are carrying out the analysis of the more than 280,000 artifacts already recovered from the excavation at Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire, say the exact purpose of the item can only be theorized. Experts don’t know for sure how the comb was used, or why it was made. There is no wear on the teeth of the comb, indicating that it was probably never used for styling hair or textile work. Because the comb’s teeth show no signs of wear, researchers say the artifact was likely never used to style or detangle hair.
MOLA's Finds Team Lead Michael Marshall points to a circular hole drilled into the center top of the item, suggesting it may have been worn as an amulet. The hole drilled in the Bar Hill comb suggests that it may have been displayed in some symbolic way. Another possibility is that the object, which is perforated, was suspended as some kind of amulet or trophy. Skulls were favoured for such purposes in Iron Age Europe, and many fragments have perforations suggesting that they were worn or displayed.
Curated and worked human bone was not uncommon in Iron Age Britain, and fragments were occasionally made into objects for use by the living, such as containers and tools. Reconstruction of Bar Hill Comb. Although human bone combs are virtually unheard of, the re-use of human bone more generally is well-documented - often being used in special rituals relating to the dead.
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According to historians, the human skull was revered by many living in the British Isles during the Iron Age. Both carved stone heads and skulls served as talismans, as evidenced in ritual practices documented by archaeologists and in folklore.
According to Bangor University archaeologist Kate Waddington, this was a time of big communities living in hilltop settlements called hillforts. Between 2016 and 2018, ahead of a planned A14 expansion, archaeologists excavated about 40 sites in Cambridgeshire, England, home to several Iron Age settlements. Those rituals included treatment of the dead. According to Waddington, the burial tradition of excarnation was practiced by most Iron Age societies in Britain. “The bodies of the dead are laid out for defleshing, and after the flesh has started to rot away, the bones become disarticulated and you can pick them up,” she says.
It is possible it was carved from the skull of an important member of Iron Age society, whose presence was in some way preserved and commemorated through their bones. A ‘trophy’ need not necessarily have been taken from a vanquished enemy: while Iron Age head-hunting is attested in historical sources, bone amulets representing revered ancestors could also have been a way for Iron Age communities to commemorate their dead, perhaps offering protection or assistance to the living. In modern Britain, some people retain or display cremation urns containing the remains of family members or remember the dead with locks of their hair.
Or, he thought, it might have been a way for people to honor ancestors, using the comb for grooming as a symbol of having someone you love looking after you on a daily basis from the afterlife.
“It is possible this fascinating find represents a tradition carried out by Iron Age communities living solely in this area of Cambridgeshire,” Marshall said. Michael Marshall, the MOLA Finds Team Lead, said: ‘It is possible this fascinating find represents a tradition carried out solely by Iron Age communities living in this area of Cambridgeshire. “To be able to see such hyper-local influences in groups of people living over 2,000 years ago is truly astonishing.”
Illustration showing the area of the skull the Bar Hill Comb was carved from. Nevertheless, only two other human skull combs have previously been discovered - and remarkably, both were found within 24 kilometers (15 miles) of Bar Hill. And yet, despite being found in such close proximity to each other, the three skull combs show some important differences in their creation. Through their idiosyncrasies in design and construction, Marshall theorizes that the combs were highly symbolic, representing the natural structure of the human skull itself. “[The] carved teeth and lines would have emphasized the Bar Hill Comb’s origin,” he explained, “at least amongst communities familiar with skeletal remains - as many in the Iron Age would have been.”“Rather than being an anonymous piece of bone, its symbolism and significance would therefore have been immediately apparent to anyone who encountered it,” he said.
Regardless of how the Bar Hill comb was used, it’s likely that it had some symbolic meaning for the user. The most unusual thing about the Bar Hill comb that really distinguishes it from the broader context of curated and modified human bones, in Iron Age Britain at least, is the fact that along the bottom edge, it has these sorts of teeth cut into the edge. The other two skull combs also have teeth, and Marshall first thought it was possible that all three objects were actually used to comb through hair. I wondered if it was a sort of ritualized thing, preparation for ceremonies or important events.
Michael explained: ‘The Bar Hill comb may have been a highly symbolic and powerful object for members of the local community. “The Bar Hill Comb may have been a highly symbolic and powerful object for members of the local community,” said MOLA Find’s specialist Michael Marshall in a statement. “The Bar Hill Comb may have been a highly symbolic and powerful object for members of the local community,” Marshall explained in a statement seen by IFLScience. A stone’s throw from a Tesco Extra grocery store and a Ramada hotel, in the small town of Bar Hill in Cambridge, England, archaeologists made a startling discovery.
The researchers acknowledge we may never know the significance of the Bar Hill comb, or the two similar combs previously found in the area. The full story of these rare combs may have been lost with the communities that made them. Marshall and his team continue to study the Bar Hill comb and other finds from the excavations, looking for clues to regional variability in the ways human remains were treated in the Iron Age. They’re now focused on other human remains found at the A14 site, and hope to extract and analyze ancient DNA from the material. “I think it’s really interesting that this is a recurrent way of treating the dead,” Marshall says.
tags: #skull #and #combs #history #and #symbolism
