Stone Pages - Archaeo News (Wales)

Prehistoric stone row discovered in Wales

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:43:21 +0100

Sandy Gerrard, a former English Heritage designation officer for 20 years, reported the discovery of an ancient stone row on the site of a proposed wind farm in Wales. It seems that the row at the Mynydd y Betws wind farm development went unnoticed by archaeologists researching the site prior to work starting.
There are two roads scheduled to cross the stone row but work has now stopped in the area around the row pending clarification by archaeologists working for Cambrian Renewable Energy Limited, the company building the wind farm.
"There are currently three scheduled monuments on Bancbryn and we decided to head straight there. Within moments we had identified several sites including a number of stoney mounds, a few hollows, a line of pits with associated banks and leading into and returning out from the fenced off area - a line of stones. In amongst these archaeological features but significantly not actually touching any of them were the scars of archaeological trenches indicating that excavation had indeed happened but appeared to have missed all the visible archaeology," said Mr Gerrard. "Our visit confirmed there were indeed archaeological remains and we are confident that future work will demonstrate that they are of some importance," he added.
Mr Gerrard said that the stone row is probably the most important of the features found and as it is associated with over 30 cairns, some of which are kerbed, it seems to form the focus of an incredibly important ceremonial landscape where the form of space between the numerous earthwork and built elements are as integral and important as the earthworks themselves. Mr Gerrard has spent much of his archaeological working life on Dartmoor and he believes the form of the newly discovered stone row is so identical to the same rows in England as to suggest a definite and tangible link between these people. The small size of the stones reflects what was available and even on Dartmoor some of the rows are formed by similar sized stones.
GPS measurements allowed experts to trace the stone row for 700m. The row is aligned south west to north east which is the most common alignment for South West England rows. Many of the stones peep through the peat and many more are probably lurking below.
"The discovery of this exciting monument has been tempered by the realisation that it is being cut into three parts by the new roads and the feeling that if it had been known about before it could have perhaps been saved in its entirety," said Gerrard. "The site is delicate and the huge diggers which have been trundling across it have already caused irreparable damage. It is to be hoped that the row will survive its amputation and outlast its temporary ignominy. To this end I have asked Cadw to schedule the monument as a matter of priority to ensure that any straying diggers do not complete the destruction," he concluded.

Edited from Heritage Action News (26 and 29 January 2012)

From Pembrokeshire to Stonehenge

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:34:24 +0100

A new paper in Archaeology in Wales, produced by Dr Rob Ixer of Leicester University and Dr Richard Bevins of Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales), confirms for the first time the exact origin of some the rhyolite found at Stonehenge, which could lead to important conclusions about how stones were transported from Pembrokeshire to Stonehenge.
Bevins and Ixer have been carefully collecting and identifying samples from rock outcrops in Pembrokeshire to try and locate the provenance of rocks at one of the world’s most iconic archaeological sites.
Their discovery confirms that the Stonehenge rhyolite originates from a specific 70 metre long area called Craig Rhos-y-felin near Pont Saeson. Using petrography, Ixer and Bevins found that 99% of these rhyolites could be matched to rocks found in this particular set of outcrops. Rhyolitic rocks at Rhos-y-felin are distinctly different from all others in South Wales, which gives almost all of Stonehenge rhyolites a provenance of just hundreds of square metres.
What is more, along the crags, the rhyolites are distinctly different on a scale of metres or tens of metres. This has enabled Bevins and Ixer to match some samples even more precisely to the extreme northeastern end of the area - small enough for archaeologists to excavate to try and uncover evidence for associated human activity.
In addition, the work carried out at Rhos-y-felin confirms that the four remaining above surface rhyolite and dacite menhirs at Stonehenge do not come from Rhos-y-felin and work is in hand to determine if their source can be identified.

Edited from Mike Pitts Blog (17 December 2011), The Independent (18 December 2011), BBC News, Past Horizons (19 December 2011), Yahoo! News (20 December 2011)

Bronze Age hoard declared treasure in Wales

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:07:54 +0100

A Bronze Age hoard around 3,000 years old discovered in a field in Manorbier (Pembrokeshire, Wales) was declared treasure by Coroner Mark Layton. The 19 bronze and copper artefacts, including tools, a weapon, a personal dress item, ingots and bronze casting bi-products, were found by Gavin Palmer near Manorbier in August last year.
Mr Palmer discovered socketed axes, a gouge, a sword blade fragment and a circular dish-headed pin which can be dated to the late Bronze Age and were buried around 1000 to 800 BCE.
Dyfed Archaeological Trust carried out an investigation of the area, with funding support from Cadw, which suggested the artefacts had once been buried together as a hoard in an isolated pit. No further artefacts were found and there was no evidence of a settlement or monument in the immediate vicinity.
Adam Gwilt, curator of the Bronze Age collections at Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, said: "This varied group of bronze objects helps us to understand the kinds of tools, weapons and personal dress items that were in circulation in west Wales towards the end of the Bronze Age. The hoard may have been buried during a ritual ceremony held by a nearby community of farmers and metalworkers."

Edited from Western Telegraph (27 October 2011)

Ancient Welsh standing stone crashes to the ground

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:28:45 +0100

An ancient stone in Wales has crashed to the ground after standing for more than 4,000 years as an important landmark. The famous standing stone at Bedd Morris, on Newport mountain (Permbrokeshire), was snapped, toppling over and crushing a nearby fence.
Archaeologist Professor Geoffrey Wainwright, an expert who has worked on several sites in the Preselis, plans to play an active role in getting the stone reinstated. He said: "It's a tragedy, the stone has snapped and it's a real mess. It's an important landscape feature and an important archaeological site and it must be put back as soon as possible." He added: "Hopefully the stone should go back up and no-one will ever know the difference.
It is believed the two metre high, Bronze Age stone was hit by a vehicle travelling on the Cwm Gwaun to Newport road. Newport mayor Byron James was shocked by the incident and said he was looking into the matter.
An Authority spokesman said: "Bedd Morris is a scheduled ancient monument thought to date from the Bronze Age. It now marks the parish boundary between Newport and Pontfaen. About five years ago, after a traffic collision, Cadw and the Park Authority's archaeologist carried out successful consolidation work on Bedd Morris and it has continued to stand strong ever since."
The National Park Authority has arranged a meeting at the site of the stone to determine how the damage occurred happened, with the authority's archaeologist and representatives from Cadw,the Welsh Government's historic environment service.

Edited from Western Telegraph (13 October 2011)

New discoveries at Trefael Stone

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:25:58 +0100

The second excavation season at Trefael Stone in South West Wales has just finished and the results are very interesting. Last year a team of archaeologists, led by Dr George Nash, Adam Stanford and Tom Wellicome uncovered the probable remains of a portal dolmen, one of Western Britain's oldest monument types. This excavation revealed a significant cairn deposit that was first identified through geophysical survey. In addition to this tightly compacted cairn material, a clear Neolithic surface was exposed.
Artefacts were limited to a few sherds of historical pottery, but found within the cairn deposit were two perforated shale beads, probably Mesolithic in date. The presence of such artefacts reflects the importance of this site several thousand years before the portal dolmen was constructed. What is more, the Trefael Stone appears to have formed the capstone for the portal dolmen and this was probably reused as a standing stone (or menhir) during the Early/Middle Bronze Age.
During the 2011 season a geophysics team led by Les Dodd, Phil Dell and Bryan Moore geo-prospected 26 x 20 metre sectors in which a number of clear anomalies were detected. Two such areas were located a few metres to the north and west of the monument and were subsequently excavated by the Welsh Rock-art Organisation (WRAO) team. Uncovered in a trench immediately west of the Trefael Stone were several sherds of Neolithic pottery, probably Grooved Ware, along with human bone. This material along with a few pieces of flint appears to have been dispersed amongst probable disturbed (ploughed-out) cairn material.
Discovered within the second trench was a stone linear alignment, originally thought to be a prehistoric field boundary. Further excavation, supervised by archaeologist Catherine Rees, revealed this curious feature to be part of a burial cist, probably Bronze Age in date. Directly associated with this feature was a large quantity of charcoal.
In addition to the excavation programme, geophysical survey also revealed in a field to the south and east of the monument further anomalies suggesting that the Trefael monument is not alone and is in fact part of a much larger ritualised landscape. Evidence is further endorsed by the 'excavation' from a nearby hedge boundary of a missing standing stone which disappeared some 30 years ago. This single monolith which once stood in the adjacent field measures around 2m in length.
Work to record the 75 cupmarks on the Trefeal Stone was completed by the team at the 11th hour. Initial reports suggest that cupmarks numbered only 40+. In the 2012 season the team hopes to continue the investigations within the two trenches and also undertake further trenching in and around the immediate area.

Edited from Dr George Nash PR (28 September 2011)

Bronze Age finds under Llangollen's Pillar

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:25:14 +0100

Remains dating back to the Bronze Age have been uncovered by archaeologists excavating a 9th Century monument: the Pillar of Eliseg near Llangollen, Denbighshire (Wales). Possible cremated remains and prehistoric bone fragments are now being examined. The experts said the finds had complicated the picture regarding the site's historical significance and make it worthy of more investigation.
Bangor and Chester university experts and students have been involved in a dig with historical monuments agency Cadw to conserve and better understand the mound. Last year's excavations focused on the mound, which was identified as an early Bronze Age cairn. It is said the local landowner Trevor Lloyd re-erected the monument on the mound in 1773 after it fell over and found a grave with a body inside along with pieces of silver. The experts have been trying to find if there any truth to the story which some think is legend.
Prof Nancy Edwards from Bangor University said to establish any truth in the story they had to clear away debris left by Lloyd more than 200 years ago. "We have been digging that out to reveal what we think are the Bronze Age remains underneath," she said. "We have had what we think is an early medieval long cist grave so it is looking even more complicated now and also what may be evidence of Bronze Age cremations."
The Pillar of Eliseg was originally a tall stone cross but only part of a round shaft survives set within its original base. It once bore a long Latin inscription saying that the cross was raised by Concenn, ruler of the kingdom of Powys, who died in 854 CE, in memory of his great-grandfather, Eliseg, who had driven Anglo-Saxon invaders out of the area.

Edited from BBC News (25 September 2011)

Neolithic finds at Welsh quarry

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:31:38 +0100

Fragments of Neolithic pottery and an ancient arrowhead represent the best finds yet from a dig at a quarry near Wrexham Wales), say archaeologists. The discovery of the remains of a 4,000-year-old Neolithic settlement at Tarmac's Borras Quarry site was announced three years ago. Evidence of the settlement was found as topsoil and subsoil was being removed in preparation for gravel extraction at the Holt Estate section of the quarry.
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) has been excavating at the site since 2008. The trust said about 500 pottery pieces and flint artefacts dating back to about 3,500 BCE had been uncovered during this summer's dig at four sites.
Ian Grant, CPAT's site director, hailed "the best season we have had". This summer's dig also uncovered evidence of probable Iron Age metal working, said CPAT. "We have found not one but four sites across the Holt Estate," explained Mr Grant, "and we have found far more pottery fragments than before, some of which is beautifully decorated."

Edited from BBC News (17 September 2011)

Dig to find connection between pillar and prehistoric cairn

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:38:16 +0100

Archaeologists are launching a new dig to try to unearth the secrets of a 9th Century stone monument on a prehistoric mound in Wales. Bangor and Chester university experts will begin excavations at the Pillar of Eliseg near Llangollen, Denbighshire. It is part of work by historical monuments agency Cadw to conserve the mound and better explain it to people.
Last year excavations focussed on the mound, which was identified as an early Bronze Age cairn. It followed on from one in the 18th Century. There will be an open afternoon at the archaeological site on 16 September
"We are looking at the relationship between the pillar and the early Bronze Age cairn on which it stands," professor Nancy Edwards from Bangor University said. "Last year we did an exploratory excavation just to uncover areas and see what might remain underneath. This year we are going back to the cairn to one particular trench because we discovered evidence last year of the dig into the top of the cairn in 1773. This was at the point where the pillar had fallen and the local landowner Trevor Lloyd decided he was to resurrect it. He did this dig and claimed afterwards to have found a stone cist with a body in and pieces of silver and things. Now I think this is probably all legend rather than real," she added.
The Pillar of Eliseg was originally a tall stone cross but only part of a round shaft survives set within its original base. It once bore a long Latin inscription saying that the cross was raised by Concenn, ruler of the kingdom of Powys, who died in 854 CE, in memory of his great-grandfather, Eliseg, who had driven Anglo-Saxon invaders out of the area.

Edited from BBC News (3 September 2011)

Tomb found at Stonehenge quarry site

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:13:47 +0100

The tomb for the original builders of Stonehenge could have been unearthed by an excavation at a site in Wales. The Carn Menyn site in the Preseli Hills is where the bluestones used to construct the first stone phase of the henge were quarried in 2300 BCE.
The remains of a ceremonial monument were found with a bank that appears to have a pair of standing stones embedded in it. The bluestones at the earliest phase of Stonehenge - also set in pairs - give a direct architectural link from the iconic site to this newly discovered henge-like monument in Wales.
The tomb, which is a passage cairn - a style typical of Neolithic burial monument - was placed over this henge. The central site had already been disturbed so archaeologists chose to excavate around the edges. Organic material from the site will be radiocarbon dated, but it is thought any remains have already been removed.
Two of the leading experts on Stonehenge, Prof Geoff Wainwright and Prof Timothy Darvill, have been leading the project at Carn Menyn. The area has many springs, which may have been associated with ritual healing in prehistoric times - and their existence may be the reason why these particular stones were quarried for another monument so far away.
Prof Wainwright said: "The important thing is that we have a ceremonial monument here that is earlier than the passage grave. "We have obviously got a very important person who may have been responsible for the impetus for these stones to be transported. It can be compared directly with the first Stonehenge, so for the first time we have a direct link between Carn Menyn - where the bluestones came from - and Stonehenge, in the form of this ceremonial monument."

Edited from BBC News (1 September 2011)

Tests confirm age of prehistoric carving in Wales

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:06:08 +0100

Recent discovery of a stylized reindeer engraving in a South Wales by Dr George Nash from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, now has been scientifically dated. The date of the flowstone that covers the head of the reindeer is 12,572 +/- 659 years Before Present, and the rock-art below may be much earlier. It is now confirmed that the carved reindeer is one of Britain's earliest examples of engraved figurative rock art.
Dr Nash discovered the faint engraving while visiting the Gower Peninsula caves near Swansea in September 2010 with students and members of the Clifton Antiquarian Club. "This engraving appears to have made by an artist using a flint point held in his or her right hand onto a limestone panel covered with flowstone. The panel forms part of a very tight niche at the back of the cave," Dr Nash said.
The discovery has being officially verified by experts from Oxford and Durham universities and the National Museum of Wales. The project team that includes Dr Peter van Calsteren and Dr Louise Thomas from the Open University, and Dr Mike Simms from the National Museums Northern Ireland is being financially supported by Cadw and logistically administered by the National Museum Wales.

Edited from Dr George Nash PR (28 July 2011)

Carving of a reindeer could be the oldest rock art in Britain

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:00:27 +0100

Archaeologist George Nash, a part-time academic for Bristol University, believes a wall carving in a south Wales cave could be Britain's oldest example of rock art. The faint scratchings of a speared reindeer are believed to have been carved by a hunter-gatherer in the Ice Age more than 14,000 years ago. Dr Nash found the carving on the Gower peninsula in September 2010. Experts are working to verify the discovery, although its exact location is being kept secret for now.
"For 20-odd years I have been taking students to this cave and talking about what was going on there," Dr Nash said. "They went back to their cars and the bus and I decided to have a little snoop around in the cave as I've never had the chance to do it before. Within a couple of minutes I was scrubbing at the back of a very strange and awkward recess and there a very faint image bounced in front of me - I couldn't believe my eyes," he added.
Dr Nash said that the discovery of flint tools in the cave in the 1950s could hold the key to the carving's true date. "This drawing was done with the right hand and the niche is very, very tight and the engraving has been done by somebody using a piece of flint who has drawn a classic reindeer design. My colleagues in England have been doing some work in Nottinghamshire at Creswell Crags and got very nice dates for a red deer and one or two other images of around 12,000-14,000 BCE. I think this [newly found carving] may be roughly the same period or may be even earlier," said Dr Nash.
The archaeologist added: "We know from the glacial geology of the area this was an open area just before the ice limit came down from the glaciers 15,000-20,000 years ago and it stops just about 2km short of the cave site. We know hunter fisher gatherers were roaming around this landscape, albeit seasonally, and they were burying their dead 30,000 years ago and making their mark through artistic endeavour between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago."
Dr Nash, who has undertaken extensive field-work on prehistoric rock-art sites in Scandinavia, said several characteristics of the reindeer carving - notably its elongated torso filled in with vertical and diagonal lines and the shape of its muzzle and antlers - resemble those found along Norway's fjords. The carving, measuring 6in x 4in, is some 36ft from the cave entrance, which has receded over the years through natural erosion, and the archaeologist theorises that it may have been a shrine.
Expert opinion is divided before the results of the dating tests. Chris Stringer, professor of palaeontology at the Natural History Museum, said: "This certainly looks like real Palaeolithic art, with later sediment covering it, and may be of comparable age to the Creswell discoveries." However, Paul Bahn, author of Prehistoric Rock Art, published by Cambridge University Press, expressed serious reservations. He said it was a "very
interesting discovery, as we have very few engravings of animals in British rock art", but added: "I would need lots more information on this new find before making a definitive pronouncement" He went on: "It looks absolutely nothing like Ice Age depictions to me. It is extremely angular and schematic and so, if genuinely prehistoric, I would put it rather later - Mesolithic, Neolithic or even later." But Alistair Pike, head of archeology and anthropology at Bristol University, said: "It is incredibly exciting. It seemed impossible that Creswell could be the only example of cave art in the UK. Lo and behold, here it is in Wales."
Scientific dating tests, analysing the build-up of calcium carbonate within deposits on the cave wall, are being conducted by Peter van Calsteren, an isotope geo-chemist at the Open University. His findings are expected this week.

Edited from The Sunday Times (24 July 2011), BBC News (25 July 2011)

A comet carved on a reconstructed stone circle in Wales?

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 10:42:26 +0100

Plas Newydd stone circle is a relic of the 19th Century Llangollen Eisteddfod, a Welsh festival famous for its revival of the 'Bardic Tradition' and therefore is not an ancient monument. However, there are some issues with the stones themselves: about a third appear to be cup marked; they are very weathered and may already have been on this site or else transported from an existing ritual site.
Mr Mike Field noted that one of the stones carries a very interesting image: there is a round cup mark with what looks like carvings of a fan tail streaming from it. This is not an unusual depiction of a comet, as the same iconography is used across many cultures. The fantail is clearly carved and not naturally occurring, there are also other semi circular marks on this stone of concentric rings but these fail to resolve themselves into anything recognisable as the stone may have fractured.
According to Mr Field, the potential for Plas Newydd to have ben an early monastic site and an even earlier proto Celtic site is high. Although in later convention, the Eisteddfod Gorsedd stones were quarried as new from the Minera limestone quarries some six miles away, the Plas Newydd stones look genuinely ancient. It is not known, however, if the carving is truly of prehistoric origin, and its true sigificance is open to debate.
Plas Newydd is just above the A5 road East out of Llangollen (Denbighshire, north-east Wales) and is a well established tourist site run as a museum by Denbighshire County Council.

Edited from The Megalithic Portal (25 May 2011)

Bronze Age site in Wales badly damaged by motorcyclists

Sun, 22 May 2011 11:44:44 +0100

A Welsh archaeology group has called for the site of a 3,500-year-old settlement in the Vale of Glamorgan to be protected. The remains of a Bronze Age village at Bendrick were first uncovered near the Atlantic Trading Estate near Barry in the 1980s. Archaeology Cymru says the site is rapidly deteriorating due to off-road biking and other activities by people who may be unaware of what is there.
Archaeology Cymru director Karl-James Langford said he first became aware of the significance of the site when working as a volunteer excavating the land 25 years ago. He said the remains of a Bronze Age roundhouse were still visible today. But he said with no signs to warn people what was at the site nothing was being done to protect it. "The destruction is immense. The archaeology has been badly damaged and very soon it will be gone," he said. "Motor cyclists have no idea of the un-repairable damage they are causing," he added. "You can still see some of the stones exposed on the surface that were used to edge the post holes, still in position after 3,500 years. "But these will not remain in place for too long.
The Vale of Glamorgan council said it would look in to the issue. A spokesperson said: "We will investigate whether any important remains are exposed and vulnerable and take expert advice accordingly".

Edited from BBC News (8 May 2011)

Hillfort test of Iron Age communication in Wales

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:46:05 +0100

An experiment has shed light on how Iron Age people communicated from their hilltop homes 2,500 years ago. About 200 volunteers stood on the summit of 10 hillforts in north Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire, and signalled to each other with torches. "The experiment was aiming to see if the glowing fires could have been seen across the hills and acted as a communication or warning system," said archaeologist Erin Robinson. "It was a success," said archaeologist Erin Robinson.
The ancient sites used were on the Clwydian Range; Halkyn Mountain, near Holywell, Flintshire; a lowland site at Wirral; and the Sandstone Ridge, Cheshire. "Most of the hill forts across the surrounding landscape can be seen from each other," explained Ms Robinson from Denbighshire's Heather and Hillforts project. Ms Robinson said the furthest link was made between hills at Burton Point on the Wirral and Maiden Castle, at Bickerton Hill in Cheshire, a distance of approximately 25km (15.5 miles). "It was a hard thing to organise but it seems to have captured the imagination of the communities involved. We brought the hills alive."

Edited from BBC News (20 March 2011)

The causes of the Bronze Age 'recession' in Britain

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:32:59 +0100

A large gap in prehistory could signal that Britain underwent an economic downturn between around 800 BCE and 500 BCE where experts still struggle to explain what happened, where bronze is in decline and iron was not widely used.
"By 1000 BCE the bronze axe had become almost a proto-currency," says historian and presenter Neil Oliver. "It was wealth that was divorced from its use as a metal. And, a little like economic bubbles that we see today, it spelt danger. Attitudes to bronze were about to change, with dramatic consequences not only for Bronze Age elite, but for all British society. By 800 BCE, Britain - along with the rest of Europe - was heading for an economic meltdown."
The difficult thing for historians and archaeologists alike, is that no-one knows for sure what caused this decline. "There are all sorts of explanations that people have suggested, including climatic change, environmental destruction caused by over-exploitation or even internal revolution by the exploited peasantry. Alternatively, it could be external invasions - there is no generally agreed explanation for what looks like a major event, "says Timothy Champion, professor of archaeology at the University of Southampton.
What is known is around this time, is that bronze in Britain was beginning to be dumped. "The significance of [copper and bronze] is as much social as it is a tool," says Sue Hamilton, professor of prehistory at University College London. "It was made into ornaments and smaller objects. Copper was used so people had ways of adorning and distinguishing themselves but it's not until the late Bronze Age until you have a full set of tools." So if the idea of status was beginning to turn away from bronze without anything to replace it, social upheaval, it is believed, was inevitable.
But what caused the value of bronze to lose its value? Could it be the fault of the impending Iron Age? "There is iron in the Mediterranean by around 1200 BCE," says Prof Hamilton. "It became more evident in Italy around 1000 BCE [and] it was cropping up in a variety of places. This is much earlier than we ever imagined." But because iron rarely appeared in Britain before around 600 BCE, many question whether this could have had a trickle-down effect. "There were major changes in society but I don't think it was because of iron," says Sir Barry Cunliffe, emeritus professor of European archaeology at the University of Oxford.
But scientists have recently discovered something else interesting about the period - evidence of severe climate change. Results suggest that around the time of the bronze being dumped, there was a sharp decline in temperature, all revealed by the midge population. "We find there's a big change in the midges in a very short period of time - maybe over 50 years or so. And this corresponds to other evidence from pollen and from peat bogs where, similarly, the evidence is temperature declined and rainfall increased," says Stephen Brooks, of the Natural History Museum.
And without the technology to quite literally weather the storm, it is thought that this had dire consequences. "As bronze economy was collapsing, Britain's population also fell - possibly for the first time since the Ice Age," says Neil Oliver. "What we're seeing in the early Iron Age is a changing belief. It's as if the people of Britain - hit by climate change in different ways - are having to reassess their lives and their place in the great scheme of things in new ways."
By around 550 BCE, it is thought that the decline had ended and the climate had stabilised. Iron began to appear across Britain in increasing quantities. And this created a revolution in farming and food production. "The time of crisis was becoming a distant memory and the population of Britain grew rapidly," says Neil Oliver. "Agricultural surplus lay at the heart of a newly emerging economy... and that depended heavily on iron. Unlike bronze, it wasn't the preserve of the elite. And that together with its strength and new widespread availability was set to transform society and push us one more step into the modern world."

Edited from BBC News (7 April 2011)