Almanac Menu 6000BC- 20BC

6000 BC -                           - Britain becomes separated from the European mainland
4500 BC - 3500 BC            - Simple pottery begins to be made
                                            - Farming techniques are introduced from the continent
4500 BC - 3000 BC            - Small permanent settlements are develop
4500 BC - 2500 BC            - Carpentry and coppice woodworking is developed
                                            - Houses become increasingly solid and permanent
                                            - Increasingly sophisticated stone tools are made using new polishing
4500 BC - 2000 BC            - Flint and stone begins to be mined from underground
4000 BC - 3000 BC            - Communal burial begins to be practiced
3807 BC - 3806 BC            - Europe’s first wooden trackway (footpath) is built
3500 BC -                           - First ceremonial centre appear
3300 BC - 1200 BC            - First stone circles and ‘henges’ are built
3000 BC -                           - ‘Passage’ graves are developed
3000 BC - 1500 BC            - Single graves in round barrows replace communal burial
                                            - Settlements proliferate and more land is cleared for farming
2500 BC - 1500 BC            - Development of bronze axes leads to advances in woodworking techniques
2500 BC - 800 BC              - Flintworking continues despite the development of metal tools
                                            - Metalwork becomes increasingly sophisticated
2500 BC -                           - Metalwork develops with improvement in furnace technology
2400 BC to 2200 BC          - ‘Specialists’ create highly decorated ‘beaker’ pottery
2300 BC                              - ‘Amesbury Archer’ dies near Stonehenge
2049 BC (April-June)          - ‘Seahenge’ is constructed on Norfolk coast
2000 BC - 1400 BC            - Lockington Gold Hoard is buried
                                            - Elite leaders are buried with elaborate grave goods
1800 BC -                           - First industrial-scale copper mines are dug
1500 BC - 1200 BC            - Major lowland valleys are extensively settled
                                            - Lighter ‘socketed’ axes prove to be effective woodworking tools
                                            - Ceremonial practices change as new religious ides develop
                                            - More sophisticated metal weapons and ornamentation appear
1200 BC to 800 BC            - Roundhouse becomes the typical domestic structure
                                            - Celtic culture and tribal kingdom start to emerge
                                            - Production of metal objects increases and diversifies rapidly
800 BC - 700 BC                - First Hill forts are constructed
700 BC - 34 AD                  - Small farming settlements with networks of fields start to develop
700 - 500 BC                      - Ironworking technology becomes widespread
500 - 0 AD                          - First ‘brochs’ or stone towers are constructed in Scotland
500 BC - 100 BC                - British landscape become dominated by hill forts
330 BC                                - Pytheas of Massilia circumnavigates Britain
300 BC - 0 AD                    - Somerset levels lake villages of Glastonbury and Meare are built
200 BC - 0 AD                    - Highly skilled gold and bronze smiths create decorative objects
100 BC                                - Coins are used and produced for the first time
55 BC                                  - Roman general Julius Ceasar raids south east England
54 BC                                  - Julius Ceaesar launches a full-scale invasion of England
52 BC                                  - Renegade Gaulish leader Commius, who fled to Britain, founds a new Kingdom
50 BC - 43 AD                    - Very large settlements known as ‘oppida’ emerge
27 BC                                  - Roman emperor Augustus plans the invasion of Britain
20 BC - 43 AD                    - Roman influences grows in southern Britain.