---
title: The health of Iron Age Britons
author: Trustees of the British Museum
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/247/the-health-of-iron-age-britons/
format: machine-readable-alternate
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# The health of Iron Age Britons

_Authored by Trustees of the British Museum_

It is likely that many people in [Iron Age](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Iron_Age/) [Britain](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Britain/) would have died from diseases as babies or children. Many of those people who survived to be adults rarely lived beyond the ages of 35-45. Only about a third of all adults lived longer. Studies of the bones of Iron Age people suggest that at least a quarter suffered from arthritis in their backs from an early age. This was probably due to the hard work needed on Iron Age farms. Some [women](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/women/) also suffered arthritis in the leg joints caused by squatting for long periods.

 People's teeth were often bad, and in general women's teeth were less healthy than men's. This was, perhaps, the result of calcium deficiency due to the effects of pregnancy. In some parts of Britain the diet was poor, leading to anaemia in up to half of all children and a quarter of all adults.

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## Bibliography

- [British Museum - The health of Iron Age Britons](http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/h/the_health_of_iron_age_britons.aspx "British Museum -  The health of Iron Age Britons"), accessed 1 Dec 2016.

## Cite This Work

### APA
Museum, T. o. t. B. (2011, August 03). The health of Iron Age Britons. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/article/247/the-health-of-iron-age-britons/>
### Chicago
Museum, Trustees of the British. "The health of Iron Age Britons." *World History Encyclopedia*, August 03, 2011. <https://www.worldhistory.org/article/247/the-health-of-iron-age-britons/>.
### MLA
Museum, Trustees of the British. "The health of Iron Age Britons." *World History Encyclopedia*, 03 Aug 2011, <https://www.worldhistory.org/article/247/the-health-of-iron-age-britons/>.

## License & Copyright

© Trustees of the [British Museum](http://www.britishmuseum.org/). Republished under the British Museum [Standard Terms of Use](http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use.aspx) for non-profit educational purposes. Original article by **Trustees of the British Museum**. Submitted by [Jan van der Crabben](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jvdc/ "User Page: Jan van der Crabben"), published on 03 August 2011. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Copyright](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright). You cannot use, copy, distribute, or modify this item without explicit permission from the author. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.