Ancient Britain

INTRODUCTION
1. HISTORY OF ANCIENT BRITAIN
1.1 The Palaeolithic period (700 000 – 10 000 years ago)
1.2 The Mesolithic period (10,000 to 5500 years ago)
1.3 The Neolithic period (4000 – 2000 BC)
1.4 The Bronze Age (around 2200 to 750 BC)
1.5 British Iron Age (around 750 BC – 43 AD)
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

Ancient Britain

The Neolithic was the period of domestication of plants and animals. A debate is currently being waged between those who believe that the introduction of farming and a sedentary lifestyle was brought about by resident peoples adopting new practices, and those who hold the opinion that it was effected by continental invaders bringing their culture with them and, to some degree, replacing the indigenous populations.
Forest clearances were undertaken to provide room for cereal cultivation and animal herds. Native cattle and pigs were reared whilst sheep and goats were later introduced from the continent as were the wheats and barleys grown in Britain. However, bone analysis indicates that, during the whole Neolithic period, people's diet contained little food which was not of animal origin.This suggests that farming in Britain was more concerned with animal husbandry than the growing of crops. Cereals were grown, of course (the land would have been worked with spades, hoes, and, perhaps, rudimentary ploughs), but there is speculation that the grain was, mostly, used for ritual purposes (4).
As well as farming skills, pottery making know-how also arrived in Britain. Early in the Neolithic the, round-bottomed, pots – fashioned from coils, or flattened pieces, of clay – tend to be plain, and geographically homogenous. From about 3800BC, however, regional, decorated, styles appear. About 2800BC, so called, ‘Grooved ware’ – flat-bottomed, bucket-shaped, pots named after their decorative style – began to be produced. It seems possible that this style developed in Orkney, and spread down through Britain from there (1).
The arrival of farming and a sedentary lifestyle is increasingly giving way to a more complex view of the changes and continuities in practices that can be observed from the Mesolithic period onwards. For example the development of Neolithic monumental architecture apparently venerating the dead may represent more comprehensive social and ideological changes involving new interpretations of time, ancestry, community and identity.
So-called Neolithic Revolution introduced a more settled way of life and ultimately led to societies becoming divided into differing groups of farmers, artisans and leaders. The traditional view is that the Neolithic was a peaceful age, but there is now a considerable body of evidence highly suggestive of warfare. For example, at both Crickley Hill and Carn Brea, hundreds of leaf-shaped arrowheads, found clustered around entrances and associated with evidence of burning, are indicative that the sites came under attack (1).
The characteristic tool of the Neolithic Age is the polished axe (2). The axe-head would be roughed out from a suitable piece of stone, and then, laboriously, ground and polished to produce the final shape and an effective cutting edge. It would be attached to a wooden haft for use. Axe-heads manufactured from stone quarried at certain sites, often called ‘axe factories’, seem to have been particularly valued, and had a wide distribution. It is certainly clear that not all axe-heads were produced simply for use as tools. They appear to have been prized on an aesthetic level – appreciated for the beauty of the polished rock.
Most of the clothing was manufactured from animal skins – though perforated stones, which may have served as spindle whorls or loom weights, might suggest that woolen cloth and linen became available during the British Neolithic (2).
Houses were, usually, rectangular – of timber construction, – but they are, perhaps surprisingly, not at all common (4). The rarity of permanent Neolithic settlements in Britain has led to the suggestion that these early farmers did not, necessarily, remain in one place all the time, but moved around within a defined area – a pattern of behavior known as ‘tethered mobility’. Cave occupation was also common at this time (2).
1.4 The Bronze Age (around 2200 to 750 BC)
Little is known in detail of the early and middle Bronze Age. Because of present ignorance of domestic sites, these periods are mainly defined by technological advances and changes in tools or weapons. Early in the 2nd millennium or perhaps even earlier, from 2300 BC, changes were introduced by the Beaker culture from the Low Countries and the middle Rhine (1).
Beaker pottery appears along with flat axes and burial practices of inhumation. People of this period were also largely responsible for building many famous prehistoric sites such as the later phases of Stonehenge along with Seahenge (4).
Immigrаtiоn brоught new peоple tо the islаnds frоm the cоntinent. Recent tооth enаmel isоtоpe reseаrch оn bоdies fоund in eаrly Brоnze Аge grаves аrоund Stоnehenge indicаtes thаt аt leаst sоme оf the immigrаnts cаme frоm the аreа оf mоdern Switzerlаnd (9). The Beаker culture displаyed different behаviоurs frоm the eаrlier Neоlithic peоple аnd culturаl chаnge wаs significаnt. Integrаtiоn is thоught tо hаve been peаceful, аs mаny оf the eаrly henge sites were seemingly аdоpted by the newcоmers.
Аlsо, the buriаl оf deаd (which until this periоd hаd usuаlly been cоmmunаl) becаme mоre individuаl (1). Fоr instаnce, whereаs in the Neоlithic а lаrge chаmbered cаirn оr lоng bаrrоw wаs used tо hоuse the deаd, the 'Eаrly Brоnze Аge' sаw peоple buried in individuаl bаrrоws or sometimes in cists covered with cairns. They were often buried with a beaker alongside the body.
Later in the period, cremation was adopted as a burial practice with cemeteries of urns containing cremated individuals appearing in the archaeological record, with deposition of metal objects such as daggers. People of this period were also largely responsible for building many famous prehistoric sites such as the later phases of Stonehenge along with Seahenge (1). The Bronze Age people lived in round houses and divided up the landscape. They ate cattle, sheep, pigs and deer as well as shellfish and birds. They carried out salt manufacture. The wetlands were a source of wildfowl and reeds.
There is some debate amongst archaeologists as to whether the 'Beaker people' were a race of people who migrated to Britain from the continent, or whether a prestigious Beaker cultural "package" of goods and behaviours (which eventually spread across most of western Europe) diffused to Britain's existing inhabitants through trade across tribal boundaries. Modern thinking tends towards the latter view (2).
Part of the Beaker culture that is believed to be of Iberian origin brought to Britain the skill of refining metal. At first they made items from copper, but then they had discovered how to make bronze (which is much harder than copper) by mixing copper with a small amount of tin (4). With this discovery, the Bronze Age began in Britain. Over the next thousand years, bronze gradually replaced stone as the main material for tool and weapon making. Bronze-age Britons were also skilled at making ornaments from gold.
At the same time in southern Britain have been developed a rich Wessex culture (1). The weather, previously wаrm аnd dry, becаme much wetter аs the Brоnze Аge cоntinued, fоrcing the pоpulаtiоn аwаy frоm eаsily-defended sites in the hills аnd intо the fertile vаlleys. Lаrge livestоck fаrms develоped in the lоwlаnds which аppeаr tо hаve cоntributed tо ecоnоmic grоwth аnd inspired increаsing fоrest cleаrаnces.
1.5 British Iron Age (around 750 BC – 43 AD)
The British Iron Age lasted in theory from the first significant use of iron for tools and weapons in Britain to the Romanization of the southern half of the island. The Romanized culture is termed Roman Britain and is considered to supplant the British Iron Age. This terminology should not be construed to mean that Roman Britain and the Romans there and elsewhere were not in the Iron Age. Although the beginnings of Iron Ages are generally well-defined by the widespread use of iron tools, the endings have no such physical basis of definition. By convention the Iron Age "ends" when a more salient basis for characterizing the culture becomes available, such as Roman occupation. The Irish Iron Age was "ended" by the rise of Christianity there (6). The conquest of Britain by the literate Romans brought to light that the tribes populating the island belonged to a generally recognized identity called the Celtae (5). The British language became recognized as one of the group now known as Celtic languages (8). This identity must have formed in the centuries preceding the conquest; hence the term Celtic Britain for the period is an equally old and respected term. It also is conventional and should not be construed as meaning that Britain was not Celtic under the Romans or in later times or that no peoples other than Celtic lived in Britain anciently (8).
During the later Bronze Age there were indications of new ideas influencing land use and settlement. Extensive field systems, now called Celtic fields, were being set out and settlements becoming more permanent and focused on better exploitation of the land (8). The central organisation had been present since the Neolithic period but it was now being targeted at economic and social goals and in taming the landscape rather than in building large ceremonial structures such as Stonehenge.
By the 8th century BC, there is increasing evidence of Great Britain being closely tied to continental Europe especially in the south and east (3). New weapon types appeared with clear parallels to those on the continent such as the Carp's tongue sword, complex examples of which are found all over Atlantic Europe. Continental traders probably began visiting Great Britain in search of minerals around this time, bringing with them goods from the Mediterranean. At the same time, northern European artefact types reached eastern Great Britain in large quantities from across the North Sea.
There was certainly a large migration of people from central Europe westwards during the early Iron Age but whether or not people from this movement actually reached Great Britain in significant enough numbers to constitute an invasion is in question. The first documented visit to Iron Age Britain was made by Pytheas, a Greek from the Mediterranean port of Massalia. Around 325BC he embarked on a voyage to explore the northern coasts of Europe. His motivation may have been commercial, seeking sources of tin and amber. He, apparently, travelled widely in Britain, which was unknown territory to the classical world. An earlier spelling of ‘Britannia’ was ‘Pretannia’. It seems then that, when Pytheas arrived, the inhabitants of ‘Albion’, as they called the island, were themselves called the ‘Pretani’ or ‘Priteni’. The number of people in Iron Age Great Britain could have been three or four million by 150 BC with most concentrated densely in the agricultural lands of the south (1). Settlement density and a land shortage may have contributed to rising tensions during the period.
The ‘roundhouse’ is the classic Iron Age dwelling. Typically, between 6 and 15 metres in diameter, the walls were constructed from whatever materials were most convenient – it could be stone, timber or wattle and daub (2). It is assumed that the walls would have been at least chest height, to allow maximum use of the enclosed space. It is also assumed that, since the walls were round, the roof would have been conical. Often, the house's entrance, which might have a porch, faces east or south-east – away from prevailing westerly winds, but, perhaps more importantly for reasons of belief, towards the rising sun. At the centre of the house was an open-hearth fire, which would have been maintained at all times. The fire would have also enabled food to be preserved by drying and smoking. Salt was also available to preserve meat (2).
Towards the end of the Bronze Age the climate had deteriorated, resulting in a reduction in the amount of productive farmland. There is speculation that competition between neighbouring groups, for control of the remaining productive land, lead to warfare, and that this, in turn, lead to the conception of hillforts. Hillforts were defended enclosures, usually, as the name suggests, built on a hill-top. There are three thousand-odd sites in Britain that fall into the broad category of hillfort. Most are found in central, southern and western England, Wales and south-eastern Scotland (1). They came in diverse shapes and a vast range of sizes, from less than one to tens of hectares. Some had just one circuit of defences, whilу others had more. Some sites categorised as hillforts were actually built on relatively flat ground. They are sometimes described as ‘plateau forts’, and, getting no advantage from natural features, rely entirely on man-made defences. Rainsborough Camp, in Northamptonshire, is an example (2).
The entrances are the weak points in a hillfort's defences, so much ingenuity and energy was often devoted to their design and construction. The entrance earthworks can be complex, and might incorporate long passages, bastions, guardrooms, overlapping ramparts etc. All this variety and complexity was the product of some eight or nine hundred years of hillfort evolution. Generally, early hillforts were relatively simple, univallate, affairs. During the period 400–300BC, it appears that many were abandoned. A few, however, not only continued in use, but received elaborate enhancements, such as multivallate defences and labyrinthine entrance passages. A possible explanation is that the abandoned hillforts belonged to tribal groups whose lands were annexed by stronger neighbours. These dominant groups developed their own hillforts as a demonstration of their strength. Indeed, developed hillforts appear designed as much for their impressive appearance, as for their actual purpose. Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, in Dorset, is the largest developed hillfort in Britain (2).
Religious practices revolved around offerings and sacrifices, sometimes human but more often involving ritual slaughter of animals or the deposition of metalwork. Weapons and horse trappings have been found in the bog at Llyn Cerrig Bach on Anglesey and are interpreted as votive offerings cast into a lake. Thus, watery places – springs, lakes, rivers, bogs – seem to have provided a route to the gods. There are many instances of metal objects recovered in circumstances that strongly suggest they were deliberately committed to the water as votive offerings – presumably, the origin of the wishing-well. Numerous weapons have also been recovered from rivers especially the Thames but also the Trent and Tyne (4). Some buried hoards of jewellery are interpreted as gifts to the earth gods.
The priesthood of this religion was the Druids. Caesar's texts tell us that they were a religious elite with considerable holy and secular powers. Great Britain appears to have been the seat of the Druidic religion (1). No archaeological evidence survives of Druidry although a number of burials made with ritual trappings and found in Kent may suggest a religious character to the subjects.
Overall the traditional view is that religion was practised in natural settings in the open air. Several sites interpreted as Iron Age shrines however seem to contradict this view. Specialised shrines were constructed mostly in southern Britain – an idea probably imported from Roman Gaul. At Hayling Island, Hampshire, a circular wooden structure (in all probability a building), set within a rectangular courtyard and enclosed by palisading, was built in the mid-1st century BC. A large quantity of material – coins, currency bar fragments, brooches, shield binding, iron spearheads, horse trappings and some fragmentary human remains – had been deposited at the site. Its status as a shrine being confirmed by the construction of a, stone, Roman temple, on top of and to virtually the same plan as the earlier wooden structure, in the later-1st century AD. At other sites, structures have been identified as shrines because of their obvious differences from normal domestic buildings. For instance, single rectangular buildings within a village of roundhouses, as found at both Heathrow (Middlesex) and Stansted (Essex) airports, are interpreted as shrines (4).
Death in Iron Age Great Britain seems to have produced different behaviors in different regions. As the Bronze Age metamorphosed into the Iron Age, the predominant method of disposing of the dead was cremation – the ashes being buried (in urns or not) in cemeteries. By the fifth century BC, however, this tradition had ended (4). Then, over much of Britain, remarkably few burials are in evidence. It seems likely that, generally, bodies were simply exposed to the elements and scavengers (excarnation) or cremated remains could be scattered; or bodies could be committed to the water, perhaps accompanied by high-status metalwork. However, during the 1st century BC due to cross-Channel influences in south-eastern England cremation burials became common again (2). Typically, small numbers of cremations are grouped together in cemeteries, though at the largest so far found – the cemetery at King Harry Lane, St.Albans, Hertfordshire – there were at least 463 (2). There is considerable variation in the style and richness of burials. Some were accompanied by Italian wine amphorae and other expensive, often imported, feasting paraphernalia. Moreover, not only urns were used, for instance, the star find at a cemetery in Aylesford, Kent, was a grave in which the cremation was contained in a, bronze-embellished, wooden bucket: the Aylesford Bucket (2).
The Arras culture is named after Arras, near Market Weighton, where an Iron Age barrow cemetery which was excavated in early 18th century. The most dramatic features of this culture was ‘chariot burials’ - barrows beneath which the corpse shared its grave with a dismantled, two-wheeled, vehicle (1). Because of the military implication, some archaeologists are reluctant to call them chariots. Their original purpose is by no means certain, though it seems reasonable to assume their last role was to convey the dead person – who was certainly of the highest rank – to his, or her, grave and then beyond. In one of the original Arras discoveries, the deceased had been buried, not only with the chariot, but also with its two horses – his was dubbed ‘the King's Barrow’ (4). Each chariot burial is unique, there is no standard layout. In the majority, however, the chariot has been dismantled prior to burial.
Trade links developed in the Bronze Age and beforehand provided Great Britain with numerous examples of continental craftsmanship. Swords especially were imported, copied and often improved upon by the natives. Early in the period Hallstat slashing swords and daggers were a significant import although by the mid sixth century the volume of goods arriving seems to have declined, possibly due to more profitable trade centres appearing in the Mediterranean. There also appears to have been a collapse in the bronze trade during the early Iron Age.
With regard to animal husbandry, cattle represent a significant investment in pre-Roman Britain as they could be used as a source of portable wealth as well as providing useful domestic by-products such as milk, cheese and leather. In the Later Iron Age an apparent shift is visible, revealing a change in dominance from cattle rearing to that of sheep. Economically, sheep are significantly less labour intensive, requiring less people per animal.
A key commodity included in the Iron Age is salt, used for preservation and the supplementation of diet. Salterns, in which sea water is boiled to produce salt, are prevalent in the East Anglia fenlands.