When the Romans came to Britain, they were stunned to see how powerful local women were. After all, the majority of ancient societies were largely dominated by men. But in Celtic Britain, things were different. In southern Britain, the Late Iron Age Durotriges tribe often buried women with valuable goods. According to a new study, it goes even deeper.
Researchers analyzing ancient DNA from burial sites uncovered evidence of a matrilocal society — one where women maintained stronger ties to their family roots while men likely moved to their wives’ communities.
Excavating a Late Iron Age Durotriges burial at Winterborne Kingston. Image credits: Bournemouth University.
Iron Age Matrilocality
The Durotriges were an Iron Age tribe that thrived in southern Britain from around 100 BCE to 100 CE, occupying what is now Dorset and parts of the surrounding coastal region. They were described by the ancient geographer Ptolemy and the Roman Emperor Hadrian. They also left behind a rich archaeological record, including elaborate burial sites, impressive forts, and distinct coins.
But they weren’t your average tribe. Unlike many of their contemporaries, they embraced a matrilocal social structure, where familial ties and inheritance were centered around women.
Matrilocality is a rare phenomenon, especially in Europe’s ancient past. Across most of prehistory, including the Neolithic, Copper, and Bronze Ages, European societies largely practiced patrilocality, with men staying close to their familial lands. To prove that the Durotriges truly practiced matrilocality, a team of researchers set out to analyze the genomes of 57 individuals buried in Iron Age cemeteries.
Winterborne Kingston, located in Dorset, served as the focal point for this groundbreaking analysis.
The powerhouse of the cell
The people of southern Britain, as noted by Ptolemy. The approximate area of the Durotriges is highlighted.
The team of researchers from Trinity College Dublin, the University of Bournemouth, and Bristol University, focused specifically on mitochondrial DNA (mDNA). The mitochondria, the infamous “powerhouse of the cell,” is excellent for this purpose because the DNA inside human mitochondria passes from mother to child. As it’s inherited exclusively through the maternal line, it allows researchers to trace matrilineal descent and identify patterns of maternal lineage dominance.
The team reconstructed family trees, identifying kinship ties extending over several generations. They found that males buried at the site were unrelated to the main maternal lineage, suggesting the males weren’t local.
Meanwhile, the community appeared dominated by a single maternal lineage. Nearly two-thirds of the individuals shared a rare genetic marker passed exclusively through women. This suggests strong maternal bonds. The women stayed put, while the men moved in.
Iron Age Britain may have been a land where women held significant social and political sway. Historical accounts from Roman writers, though often tinged with cultural bias, describe powerful women like Boudica and Cartimandua. Archaeological findings reinforce this narrative. Female burials often contained a greater variety and number of grave goods compared to their male counterparts, signaling high status and possibly matrifocal traditions.
“That is suggesting not much of a status difference between men and women, or even perhaps higher-status burials for women,” said lead author Lara Cassidy for The Guardian. “How that actually then translates into the role of women in the society, that’s hard to say. And that’s why genetic data adds another important dimension there.”
Other findings
Another key finding of the study was evidence of migration from continental Europe into Britain’s southern regions. Genetic data revealed an increase in Early European Farmer (EEF) ancestry during the Iron Age, likely due to ongoing interactions across the English Channel. This is consistent with archaeological evidence, such as similarities in burial practices and material culture between southern Britain and Gaul. It also offers clues regarding the Celtic languages.
“The flow of genes across the channel through the Bronze and Iron Ages provides a wide window for the arrival of Celtic languages,” the researchers note. “Substantial components of continental ancestry are present in the channel core region by the Middle Bronze Age. However, it is probable that a second surge of EEF ancestry in the Iron Age would have influenced any version of insular Celtic already spoken in the channel region.”
An interpolated map showing the distribution of British Bronze Age ancestry across Iron Age Britain. The highlighted area was inhabited by the Durotriges tribe, and it has the lowest levels of British Bronze Age ancestry, indicating significant genetic input from other regions or populations, likely via migration. Image credits: Cassidy et al / Nature (2025).
Southern coastal areas, including the Durotrigian territory, showed reduced genetic continuity with the British Early Bronze Age population. These regions became melting pots of cultural and genetic exchange, influenced by continental movements that likely introduced new customs, technologies, and possibly even language.
It could even mean that matrilocality came from continental Celtic societies, which also show evidence of matriarchal practices.
Matrilocality is often associated with cultural factors such as women’s significant roles in labor, decreased paternity certainty, and male absence during warfare. The British Iron Age, marked by societal violence and migration, likely fostered these customs. Although matrilocality does not guarantee female empowerment, it aligns with Roman accounts of high-status Celtic women, suggesting some basis for their observations.
Perhaps, it’s high time to rethink the role of women in ancient societies, at least in some cultures and societies.
“Potentially there are periods in time where matrilocality is much more common and that has really important knock-on effects for how we view women in the past and their roles and their influences in society,” Cassidy says.
“There’s an awful habit that we still have when we look at women in the past to view them solely within the domestic sphere with little agency, and studies like this are highlighting that this is not the case at all. In a lot of societies today and in the past, women wield huge influence and huge power, and it’s good to remember that,” she concludes.
