 In the second chapter , " <unk> to earth and water in Pre @-@ Roman and Roman Times " , Merrifield explores the various forms of archaeological evidence for ritual deposits in the pre @-@ Roman Iron Age and the Roman Iron Age of Britain . He provides an overview of the evidence for animal and human sacrifice , as well as that in support of ritual offerings in bodies of water such as the River Thames . Merrifield deals with votive deposits on land , in particular looking at the evidence for deposition in ditches , shafts and wells . He rounds off the chapter by examining evidence for Iron Age rituals that took place at the commencement and termination of building constructions . Chapter three , " <unk> of Death " , deals with the religious rituals accompanying death and burial , and their visibility in the archaeological record . It explains the three main ways which human communities have dealt with the corpses of the dead : through exposing them to elements and scavengers , through <unk> and through cremation . <unk> at beliefs surrounding the afterlife , Merrifield discusses ways in which these beliefs might be visible in the archaeological record , such as through the deposition of grave goods . Discussing evidence for rituals of separation through which the deceased is separated from the world of the living , including those that deal with the <unk> of the body , Merrifield then looks at the effect of Christianity on burials in Europe , arguing that it brought a new intimacy with the dead through the collection of relics , which was in contrast to the pagan beliefs of the Roman Empire , which portrayed the deceased as <unk> . 
