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.

The social fabric of Iron Age Britain, spanning roughly from 800 BC to AD 100, has long puzzled historians and archaeologists. Recent breakthroughs in genetic analysis are now shedding light on the lives and social structures of these ancient communities.

A scientific study with important implications for archaeology in Britain and France was published last week. Using ancient DNA analysis and testing, a team led by Dr Lara Cassidy and Professor Daniel Bradley from Trinity College Dublin successfully demonstrated that iron age people who were buried in Dorset from 100BC to AD100 practised matrilocality.

Roman writers found the relative empowerment of Celtic women in British society remarkable, according to surviving written records. New DNA research from the University of Bournemouth shows one of the ways this empowerment manifested—inheritance through the female line.

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,

A groundbreaking study reveals evidence that, in Iron Age Britain, land inheritance followed the female line, with husbands relocating to live within their wives' communities. This marks the first documented instance of such a system in European prehistory.

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

New DNA analysis reveals women's central role in Iron Age Britain, uncovering a matrilineal society that shaped social and political power.

An analysis of dozens of British Iron Age skeletons has revealed that Celtic society was organized around women.

Philistines were very likely of Greek origin, as a new DNA study traces the origins of the ancient villains in the Eastern Mediterranean

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

An examination of ancient DNA recovered from 57 graves in Dorset ... archaeological sites spanning six millennia, British Iron Age cemeteries stand out as having marked reductions in diversity ...