3000 years of history online.
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Site News
New: Article on the Medieval minsters of Beverley, Rippon and York, submitted by Stuart Sharp.
We now have an RSS feed so you can stay up to date with the latest news here.
We've added lots more images. Check out the new photos on our Roman history site, such as Hadrian's Wall. Great new photos of Stonehenge and Avebury are on megalithic sites
Castles
Our castles pictures and notes have been updated with Farleigh Hungerford Castle. A full list of the historical galleries we have on line is also available now.
Pre-Celtic Britain
Time span
The traditional time divisions into which pre-history is divided are not necessarily reliable. They were devised in the early 1900s when the level of archaeological expertise was low, compared to today. Often assumptions were made based on very sketchy archeological finds, while these have been revised somewhat over the years the general "time bands" are still in use today.
Without accepting these eras as anything more than broad band indicators of the current level of technological and social development, the main divisions were the:
- Stone Age
- Paleolithic ca 2,000,000 - c 10,000 BC beginnings of stone tool making to end of Ice Age
- Mesolithic ca 10,000 - c. 5,500 BC end of Ice Age to beginning of widespread farming
- Neolithic ca 5,500 BC - c. 2,500 BC from spread of farming to widespread use of metal tools
- Bronze Age ca 2500 BC - 700 BC
- Iron Age - 700 BC - 1st century AD
Generally speaking, the Celts were an Iron Age culture meaning when we talk about pre-celtic Britain, we mean the time beofre the seventh century BC.
British neolithic sites
Most British prehistoric sites date from the Neolithic and Bronze Age eras. This was a period of innovation with the first elaborate burials, the introduction of pottery, the implementation of huge engineering projects and the construction of Britain's most famous ancient monuments, including the first phases of construction at Stonehenge and Avebury. (Time Team In Avebury)
As this is "pre-history" there are no written records. Most of what we know about prehistory has been deduced from artefacts. The only source for pre-history is archaeology. This means that lots of sites are destroyed just to find out about them. It means treaures are looted to put in museums and universities, at best, and to sell to collectors at worst.
Most commentaries assume that people in the neolithic were concerned with nothing except ritual. However, this stands oddly beside a consideration of the practical intelligence of our ancestors who invented agriculture and metal working. There was clearly a lot more to their societies than ritual observances. Our hope is that more attention gets paid to the logic behind their actions./ For instance, underground constructions oriented towards the midwinter sun - how else could the spaces be conveniently lit (even for rituals) if they aren't facing the sun in the darkest part of the year?
Obviously the last thing we want is for you to go off to other sites, but we have listed a few good or brilliant sources for pre-historic sites that are worth looking at :
- Locate megalithic sites anywhere in Britain The Megalithic Portal
- Etrusia's introduction to what you'll find at some major prehistoric sites - mainly in Wiltshire - Megalithic Sites In England
- Best way to visit prehistoric sites without actually leaving your PC. Absolutely fantastic list of megalithic sites in England
Resources
Events
Etrusia is in the process of compiling a list of national events. If you are organising, supporting, publicising or simply know of an event related to any part of the UK history then let us know and we will add it to our list.