The British Isles Prehistory

8/8/2019 The British Isles Prehistory

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The British Isles have a rich history going back thousands of years. Unfortunately few

of us in Britain really know much about our history. Retrospectively I think there

must have been something radically flawed with history as it is taught in out schools

as our history is fascinating.

For this history guide, we shall divide the period of British history into four main

chunks, and each of these four main chunks then subdivided into bite sized chaptersthat try to explain the way that things happened

History is an interweaving of events and people, and its not just about kings and

queens, its about ordinary people and how events influenced them, and on occasions

how they influenced events.

Also one has to realise that Britain is not one nation, but a hodge podge of different

peoples who tend to remain distinct in spite of a millenium or more of intermarriage. I

have therefore put in separate chapters on Ireland, Scotland and Wales, each with its

own history

y 4000 BC to 1066, the Dawn of Civilisation to the Norman Conquest

4000 to 1500 BC stone age man, the first farmers, Stonehenge

1500 BC to 43 AD the age of hill forts and the Celts

43 AD to 410 AD Roman Britain, they came, they saw, they conquered

410 to 1066 the Romans leave, the Anglo Saxons arrive, the Normans conquer

y 1066 to 1660, the Norman Conquest to Cromwell

1066 to 1154 the Normans consolidate their conquest

1154 to 1485 the Middle Ages, who wants to be king?

1485 to 1603 Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and the Tudors

1603 to 1660 the divine right of kings to rule, then chop off their heads

y 1660 to 1918, Cromwell to the end of World War I

1660 to 1715 Restoration and Revolution, the beginning of Empire

1715 to 1815 The German Georges rule Britain

1600 to 1783 Britain in North America - we would rather forget

1815 to 1914 Peace and prosperity, the growth of Empire

y Britain in the 20th Century

1914 to 1918 The First World War, carnage without a cause

1918 to 1939 the after effects of World War I, the General Strike

1939 to 1945 Hitler's War

1945 to 2000 Post War Britain - loses an Empire, looks for a role

The dawn of farming



Human beings have been living in the part of northern Europe that is today called

Britain for about 750,000 years. For most of that time, they subsisted by gathering

food like nuts, berries, leaves and fruit from wild sources, and by hunting.

Over the millennia there were phases of extreme cold, when large areas of Britain

were covered in ice, followed by warmer times. Around 10,000 years ago, the latest

ice age came to an end. Sea levels rose as the ice sheets melted, and Britainbecame separated from the European mainland short ly before 6000 BC.

The introduction of farming was one of the biggest changes in human

history.

The people living on the new islands of Britain were descendants of the first modern

humans, or Homo sapiens, who arrived in northern Europe around 30,000 - 40,000

years ago. Like their early ancestors they lived by hunting and gathering.

The introduction of farming, when people learned how to produce rather than

acquire their food, is widely regarded as one of the biggest changes in humanhistory.

This change happened at various times in several different places around the world.

The concept of farming that reached Britain between about 5000 BC and 4500 BC

had spread across Europe from origins in Syria and Iraq between about 11000 BC

and 9000 BC.

Neolithic revolution?

The change from a hunter-gatherer to a farming way of life is what defines the startof the Neolithic or New Stone Age. In Britain the preceding period of the last, post -

glacial hunter-gatherer societies is known as the Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age.

It used to be believed that the introduction of farming into Britain was the result of

a huge migration or folk-movement from across the Channel. Today, studies of DNA

suggest that the influx of new people was probably quite small - somewhere around

20% of the total population were newcomers.

Farming took 2,000 years to spread across the British Isles.

So the majority of early farmers were probably Mesolithic people who adopted thenew way of life and took it with them to other parts of Britain. This was not a rapid

change - farming took about 2,000 years to spread across all parts of the British

Isles.

Traditionally the arrival of farming is seen as a major and rapid change sometimes

called the 'Neolithic revolution'. Today, largely thanks to radiocarb on dates, we can

appreciate that the transition from hunter-gatherer to farmer was relatively

gradual.



We know, for example, that hunters in the Mesolithic 'managed' or tended their

quarry. They would make clearings in woodland around sources of drinking w ater,

and probably made efforts to see that the herds of deer and other animals they

hunted were not over-exploited.

The switch from managed hunting to pastoral farming was not a big change. The

first farmers brought the ancestors of cattle, sheep and goats with them from thecontinent. Domestic pigs were bred from wild boar, which lived in the woods of

Britain.

Neolithic farmers also kept domesticated dogs, which were bred from wolves. It is

probable that the earliest domesticated livestock were allowed to wander, maybe

tended by a few herders.

Sheep, goats and cattle are fond of leaves and bark, and pigs snuffle around roots.

These domestic animals may have played a major role in clearing away the huge

areas of dense forest that covered most of lowland Bri tain.

Burial and belief

Stonehenge stone circle, near Amesbury, Wiltshire ©

Neolithic farmers also brought with them the first seed grains of wheat and barley,

which had been bred many millennia earlier from wild grasses that grew in region

of modern-day Iraq.

Initially, cereals were probably grown in garden plots near people's houses. Once

harvested, the grain needed to be stored and protected from natural pests and

from raiding parties.

This tended to encourage a more settled way of life than that of the Mesolithic

communities, who would move around the country on a seasonal pattern, following

the animals, birds and fish they hunted.

The 'henge' monuments, like Stonehenge, incorporate lunar and solar

alignments.

In many cases the earliest Neolithic sites (approx 4000 - 5000 BC) occur alongside

late Mesolithic settlements, or in areas that we know were important in post -glacial

times.

From the start of the fourth millennium BC (about 3800 BC), we see a move into

new areas that had not been settled or exploited previously.



This period, sometimes referred to as the Middle Neolithic, also witnesses the

appearance of the first large communal tombs, known as long barrows, or mound s,

and the earliest ceremonial monuments, known as 'causewayed' enclosures.

Here people from communities in a particular region would gather together,

probably at regular intervals, to socialise, to meet new partners, to acquire fresh

livestock and to exchange ceremonial gifts.

During these ceremonies, rituals took place which often involved the burial of

significant items, such as finely-polished stone axeheads, complete pottery vessels,

or human skulls.

Some of the great ceremonial monuments of the Middle Neolithic, such as the so-

called 'passage' graves, were aligned according to the position of the sun during the

winter or summer solstice.

The long passage of a passage grave could be carefully positioned to allow the sun

on the shortest few days of the year to shine directly into the central burialchamber. Passage graves were also constructed to provide good acoustics, and it

seems most probable that they were the scenes of ritual or religious theatrical

performances.

The so-called 'henge' monuments, like the famous Stonehenge, seem to have

developed out of the causewayed enclosures from around 3000 BC.

They also incorporate lunar and solar alignments which are seen as a means of

uniting the physical and social structures of human societies with the powers of the

natural world.

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The Bronze Age

Neolithic houses were usually rectangular thatched buildings made from timber with

walls of wattle (woven hazel rods) smeared with a plaster-like 'daub' (made from

clay, straw and cow dung).

Some of the larger buildings were the size and shape of a Saxon hall and may well

have been communal. Most others were smaller and would have been adequate for

a family of six to ten people.

The appearance of metal marks an important technological development,

especially in the control of fire.

Neolithic houses are far more commonly found in Scotland and Ireland than in

England or Wales, where communities may have retained a more mobile pattern of

life, involving fewer permanent buildings.



The first bronzes appear in Britain in the centuries just before 2500 BC, which is the

usually accepted start date for the Bronze Age.

On the European mainland the arrival of bronze was preceded by copper tools of

the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, but in Britain tin and copper appear at about the

same time as bronze.

Although the appearance of metal marks an important technological development,

especially in the control of fire, it does not seem to bring a big change in the way

that people lived their lives in the Early Bronze Age.

Henges, for example, continue in use, but the larger communal tombs, such as long

barrows and passage graves, are replaced by smaller round barrows.

Many of these contain an initial or 'primary' burial, often of an important man or

woman, who may be buried with distinctive and highly decorated pottery known as

'Beakers', together with bronze or tin metalwork such as daggers or axes.

Sometimes fine goldwork rings, bracelets and earrings adorned the bodies.

In many instances the round barrows of the Early Bronze Age (2500 -1500 BC)

continue in use, as smaller or 'satellite' burials and cremations are dug into the

main primary mound.

These places were clearly important gathering places for people and they were

often carefully placed in the landscape either to be seen over a large area, or to

mark the beginning or end or a community's land -holding or territory.

Houses in the Early Bronze Age were usually round with a conical roof and a single

entrance.

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Accelerated change

The Ringlemere gold cup, found in Ringlemere, Kent ©

The Middle Bronze Age (1500 - 1250 BC) marks an important period of change,

growth and probably of population expansion too. There was a fundamental shift in

burial practice away from barrow burial, towards cremation in large open

cemeteries where ashes were placed in specially-prepared pottery urns.

Settlements consisted of round houses which were often grouped together, possibly

for defence, but possibly too because people preferred to live near one another.



During this period we find an increasing number of metalwork hoards, where

dozens, sometimes hundreds of spearheads, axes and daggers were placed in the

ground - often in a wet or boggy place, a practice that would continue right through

the Iron Age.

The Late Bronze Age saw the start of the so-called 'Celtic' way of life.

Certain hoards found in south western Britain contained large numbers of fancy

bronze ornaments, such as elaborate dress-fasteners, rings, pins, brooches and

bracelets.

The Middle Bronze Age also sees the first field systems in Britain, indicating growing

pressure on the land as the numbers of people and animals increased.

The Late Bronze Age (1250-800 BC) is marked by the arrival of new styles of

metalwork and pottery, but otherwise life continued much as before. Horse -riding

became more popular and Late Bronze Age swords were designed as slashing

weapons - resembling the cavalry cutlass.

Houses were still round, a pattern that would continue into the Iron Age, but a

number of large hall-like rectangular houses are also known.

The field systems of the Middle Bronze Age continued in use and were enlarged. In

the uplands of Britain the Late Bronze Age saw the first construction of a few

hillforts and the start of the so-called 'Celtic' way of life.

Growth and development

The Iron Age of the British Isles covers the period from about 800 BC to the Roman

invasion of 43 AD, and follows on from the Bronze Age.

As the name implies, the Iron Age saw the gradual introduction of iron working

technology, although the general adoption of iron artefacts did not become

widespread until after 500-400 BC.

As the Iron Age progressed through the first millennium BC, strong regional

groupings emerged, reflected in styles of pottery, metal objects and settlement

types. In some areas, 'tribal' states and kingdoms developed by the end of the first

century BC.

Earlier studies of the British Iron Age tended to see foreign invasions as being

responsible for the large scale changes that took place during this period. Modern

research has found little evidence to support these theories and the emphasis has

switched towards mainly indigenous economic and social changes.

The population of Britain probably exceeded one million



However, archaeology can demonstrate that the trading and exchange contacts

between Britain and mainland Europe that had developed in the Bronze Age

continued throughout the Iron Age.

Technological innovation increased during the Iron Age, especially towar ds the end

of the period. Some of the major advances included the introduction of the potter's

wheel (mainly in south eastern England), the lathe (used for woodworking andmanufacturing shale objects) and the rotary quern for grinding grain.

The population of Britain grew substantially during the Iron Age and probably

exceeded one million. This population growth was partly made possible by the

introduction of new crops, including improved varieties of barley and wheat, and

increased farming of peas, beans, flax and other crops.

Farming techniques improved and the introduction of the iron -tipped ploughshare

made the cultivation of heavy clay soils possible.

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Hill forts

At 1,800 ft long, Maiden Castle is one of the largest and most completely

excavated hill forts in Britain ©The best known and most visible remains of the Iron Age

are hill forts. Nearly 3,000 examples are known from across the British Isles,ranging in size from small enclosures of less than one hectare, to massive, multi-

ditched sites like Maiden Castle in Dorset and Old Oswestry in Shropshire.

The function and form of these monuments varied greatly over time. The earliest

examples date from the late Bronze Age and ear ly Iron Age (900-600 BC) and show

little evidence of permanent settlement. Instead, these early sites often appear to

have been used for seasonal gatherings, perhaps for trade, exchange and religious

activities, with a further function as a storage centre for the broader community.

By 450 BC, many of these early hill forts were going out of use. Those that survived

were subject to major phases of rebuilding, often with multiple banks and ditches,

very complex entrances and clear evidence of a large and perm anent population.

The function and form of hill forts varies greatly over time

The excavation of Danebury in Hampshire has revealed, in considerable detail, the

development of a hill fort from the eighth century BC until its abandonment in the

first century BC.





Bog bodies

Old Croghan Man, found in Ireland ©Burial practices in Iron Age Britain

were extremely varied. In some regions, such as southern England, formal burials

were rare, with only a relatively small number of adult burials known from pits

inside hill forts and other settlements.

Finds of fragmentary human bone on many sites have led to the suggestion that

the majority of the population in this region were disposed of by 'excar nation' - the

deliberate exposure of the corpse.

In the south west and west, bodies were sometimes interred in small stone coffins,

known as 'cists'. In East Yorkshire, large formal cemeteries including burials with

cart and horse equipment have been discovered. These show strong similarities

with Iron Age burials in the Champagne region of France.

Most remarkable of all are the bog bodies, examples of which are known from

across the British Isles and northern Europe. Many of these show evidence of a

violent death, and in the cases of Lindow Man from Lindow Moss in Cheshire and

the recent Irish discoveries at Clonycavan and Croghan, a possible ritual or

sacrificial killing has been suggested.

Many bog bodies show evidence of a violent death, and possible ritual or

sacrificial killing

The placing of these individuals in wet locations may also link with the later

prehistoric ritual practice of depositing metalwork in rivers, lakes and bogs. Such

locations have produced some of the finest Iron Age metalwork known in the British

Isles. These include the Waterloo Helmet and Battersea Shield, both from the River

Thames; the Llyn Cerig Bach hoard from a bog on Anglesey in North Wales; and the

gold torc from a bog at Clonmacnoise in Ireland.

The Iron Age saw the production of some of the finest prehistoric metalwork knownfrom the British Isles. Native bronze and goldsmiths were producing very high

quality items that indicate close contacts with their continental counterparts.

Inspired by the so-called 'Celtic' style emanating from La Tene in Switzerland, the

smiths produced a wide range of high quality items, many richly decorated with

incised designs accompanied by enameled inlays. The artefacts produced ranged

from personal items such as brooches to prestige objects including torcs (neck



rings), shields, helmets, swords and scabbards, mirrors and ornate horse harnesses

and vehicle fittings.

Coinage first appeared in Britain at the end of the second century BC, and by 20 BC

coins were found across much of south eastern England. The use of coins never

extended into northern and western Britain or Ireland during this period.

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Growing Roman influence

A coin from the first century BC found at Alton, Hampshire, England ©

Towards the end of the second century BC, Roman influence began to extend into

the western Mediterranean and southern France. This lead to growing contact

between Britain and the Roman world across the English Channel.

Initially this contact was confined to the trading of limited quantities of Roman

luxury goods such as wine, probably exchanged for slaves, minerals and grain

through sites like Hengistbury Head in Dorset and Mount Batten near Plymouth in

Devon. After 50 BC and the conquest of Gaul (modern Fr ance) by Julius Caesar,

this trade intensified and focused on south east England.

R ome appears to have established trade links and diplomatic relations with

a number of tribes

In addition to intensive trade links, Rome appears to have established diplomati c

relations with a number of tribes and may have exerted considerable political

influence before the Roman conquest of England in AD 43.

At the same time, new types of large settlements called 'oppida' appeared in

southern Britain. These appear to have acted as political, economic and religious

centres. Many also appear to have been the production centres for Iron Age coins,

which often gave the names of rulers, some styling themselves 'Rex', Latin for

'king'.

After AD 43, all of Wales and England south of the line of Hadrian's Wall became

part of the Roman empire. Beyond this line, in Scotland and Ireland, Iron Age life

and traditions continued with only occasional Roman incursions into Scotland, and

trade with Ireland.

Documents

The British Isles Prehistory