Geneticist Lara Cassidy wasn’t surprised to find several generations of the same family buried in an Iron Age cemetery near Dorset, England. But she was quite surprised to find most of them were related along a single matrilineal line.

Around 2,000 years ago, before the Roman Empire conquered Great Britain, women were at the very front and center of Iron Age society. Researchers have sequenced the genomes of around 50 Celtic Britons buried together in southern England and uncovered strong evidence of female-line descent.

Researchers have uncovered genetic evidence suggesting that ancient Celtic societies in Iron Age Britain were matrilineal and matrilocal, with women holding status and influence.

Some scholars have suggested that the Romans exaggerated the liberties of women on the British Isles to imply that this was a more uncivilized society. However, this genetic and skeletal evidence implies that women were likely influential and could have been shaping group identity through matrilineal lines.

Scientists analyzing 2,000-year-old DNA have revealed that a Celtic society in the southern U.K. during the Iron Age was centered around women, a study said.

Celtic women’s social and political standing in Iron Age England has received a genetic lift.

Scientists analysing 2,000-year-old DNA have revealed that a Celtic society in the southern UK during the Iron Age was centred around women, backing up accounts from Roman historians, a study said Wednesday.

A groundbreaking study finds evidence that land was inherited through the female line in Iron Age Britain, with husbands moving to live with their wife's community. This is believed to be the first time such a system has been documented in European prehistory.

Iron Age Britain may have been more feminist than many people believe, a study has found. Queens during this time, such as Boudica and Cartimandua, are famed for their leadership, political nous and violence. However, it was previously thought these female leaders were rare exceptions.

Women were at the centre of social networks in Iron Age British Celtic communities, research in this week’s Nature suggests. The analysis of 2,000-year-old DNA reveals evidence for matrilocal Celtic societies,

A rare Iron Age horse brooch has been made the subject of a temporary export ban in the hope it will be acquired by a UK museum. In 2023 the ornate metal object, found near Sutton Scotney, Hampshire, was sold at auction to a foreign buyer for £4,200. However, the government has valued it at £18,500 due to its rarity and quality.

An international team of geneticists, led by those from Trinity College Dublin, has joined forces with archaeologists from Bournemouth University to decipher the structure of British Iron Age society,