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The geoarchaeological investigation of the large settlement at Dilling involved 1171 bulk geochemical analyses (fractionated P, LOI, MS, and MS550) and 92 thin section studies (including SEM/EDS microchemistry). Geology played a crucial role in site location and development, and Pre-Roman Iron Age–Roman Iron Age Areas 1-6 span the beach sands and finest sediments, with Area 6 at the lowest elevation. The very large number of 14C dates available allowed the suggestion that settlement in Areas 2-6, which had been established and consolidated from ca. 600 BC, had ceased by ca. AD 250. This date coincides with the onset of climatic change when conditions became wetter and cooler. We conclude that the settlement was first established on low ground on fine marine sediments, but as the climate deteriorated free drainage from the end-moraine led to increased soil wetness and wetland development downslope. PCA analysis of dated posthole and post imprints also highlighted this settlement shift upslope. Chemistry clearly suggested a dominance of organic phosphate (LOI v PQuota) at Dilling, reinforcing the long-held view that the Pre-Roman Iron Age–Roman Iron Age settlements were mixed farming communities that concentrated on organic manured arable fields (Hristova et al., this volume). Livestock were housed in long house byres and possible postals – sunken byres, like those found across Roman Belgium, for example. Trackways recorded animal movements and possible transport of composted dung to the fields through time, rather than always employing raw byre waste (see Ødegaard, this volume). Settlement morphology and function were also scrutinised.