Chronology
The Ice Age is characterised by glaciations (periods of cold climate)
and interglacials (periods of warm weather). During this period
Britain was inhabited by people with Old Stone Age or
Palaeolithic cultures. People lived by hunting and gathering
and used stone tools such as hand-axes, blades, harpoons and scrapers.
The Mesolithic period is characterised by the increasingly warmer
climate and the melting of the ice sheet and rise in sea-level. People
lived by hunting and gathering and used small flint implements known
as microliths.
The Neolithic period is characterised by the first settled
agricultural communities. Stone tools such as adzes, chisels and
gouges were used.
The Bronze Age is characterised by the first use of copper and bronze
for making weapons and tools.
The Iron Age is characterised by the first use of iron for making
weapons and tools.
Britain was invaded by the Romans in AD 43 and many changes took place
as a result of romanization - the adoption of Roman civilization.
This period dates from the first invasions of the Angles, Saxons and
Jutes who eventually settled here into tribal groups and later into
four kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia.
This period dates from the time of the Norman conquest and saw an
increase in the development of towns, a monastic revival and the
re-building of churches and cathedrals.
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Text by Jane Allwood, HTMLised by Stephen Jenkins
Last modified: Fri Mar 22 23:08:13 GMT 1996