Neolithic (from the greek neo, new and lithos, stone)
The New Stone Age lasted from about 4000 BC to 2000 BC and started when farming first arrived in Britain from
Europe. It marks a shift from a society of hunter-gatherers to the first settlements, with crops and domesticated
animals, and also the first built structures to survive until today. These include long barrows (large communal
tombs), megaliths (large standing stones) and ceremonial earthworks (monuments made of earth) often associated
with the burial of the dead.
Bronze Age
In Britain, the Bronze Age lasted from around 2000 BC to around 700 BC. This is when the first metal tools came
into general use. Farming became dominant, trade routes developed, the population increased, bronze tools and
gold ornaments were exported to Europe. The leaders of the ruling families were buried in individual round
barrows with objects testifying of their status and wealth.
Iron Age
The Iron Age lasted from around 700 BC to the Roman Conquest in AD 43, which also marks the end of
prehistory in Britain.
Iron was used more widely as the everyday material, and bronze became a status metal.
Time Map
To see when the prehistoric monuments surrounding Stonehenge were built, click on Neolithic
and then on Bronze Age and Iron Age.
You will also discover the characteristics of each of these prehistoric
periods.
