Some of them, like Danebury in Hampshire, have lots of evidence for settlement inside while others may only have been used temporarily, or for keeping animals.Īrchaeologists do not agree on whether defence was the main purpose of hillforts or if they were simply designed to look impressive. These are enclosures surrounded by ramparts and are usually found, as the name suggests, on hilltops. There are over 1000 hillforts in England and Wales. It would have been traded across Europe in the Bronze Age. Tin is essential to make bronze, and is found in Cornwall and Devon. Conditions would have been very unpleasant in the narrow tunnels.īritain was also one of the only sources of tin ore in north-west Europe. Over 33,000 bone tools and 2400 stone hammers used for mining have been recovered. 6.5km of Bronze Age tunnels have been identified so far. The mines covered an area of at least 240m by 130m, and were up to 70m deep. Copper ore (rock rich in metal minerals) was collected on the surface and in deep underground mine shafts. The Great Orme, Llandudno, is the site of a 4000-year-old copper mine. As well as axes, a range of other items were produced in bronze, including tools (chisels, sickles), weapons (swords, spearheads) and ornaments (pins, rings). There were many different shapes of axe head and different ways of fixing them to wooden handles. Metal axes were given their shape by making a mould and then pouring molten metal into it. Bronze axes look very different to the stone axes produced in the Mesolithic and Neolithic and were much sharper than stone. They include tools (especially axes), weapons and ornaments. Metal objects were usually cast in moulds.
The excavators found thousands of burnt hazelnuts, which Mesolithic people would have roasted, stored and eaten during the winter. The location of artefacts found in the huts shows that different areas were used for different activities, including food preparation, making stone tools, and sleeping. These posts would have been used to hold up the roof and walls – like in the photo shown. They were probably home to an extended family, including children, parents, and grandparents or uncles and aunts.Īt Howick, the hut was made from a hollow in the ground, about 6m across, containing a central fireplace and a ring of holes that would have held posts.
Mesolithic houses were circular and were built from wooden posts. Much of our evidence for these comes from northern parts of Britain, including Howick on the coast of Northumberland, where Mesolithic people were living almost 10,000 years ago. Howick, Northumberland Occasionally in the Mesolithic people spent longer periods in one place and built substantial huts or houses.