Early Metallurgical Sites in Great Britain PDF

Archaeology, the study of man's past, utilizes techniques from a wide number of other disciplines. In 1836one of the earliest archaeologists, C.J. Thomsen, proposed the Three Age System relying on changes in technology, particularly metals technology, to distinguish cultural changes in prehistory (i.e, the Stone Age, Bronze Age and the Iron Age). Even today with the use of independent dating methods, such as carbon-14 dating, this chronology has remained a fundamental concept in archaeology. The importance of metals in archaeological studies has been maintained and, recently, with the advent of sophisticated analytical techniques their role has increased in importance. Associated with the development of these studies interest has grown in mining and metal-working sites.

The British Isles are particularly well provided with metalliferous ores, both ferrous and non-ferrous. Although Britain was one of the last areas of Europe to adopt the use of metals, in certain periods throughout the last 5000 years it has been one of the most important centres of production in Europe.

The first metals to be used in Britain were native gold and copper. Their introduction is associated with the Beaker Culture, and the Wessex Culture which are especially rich. At the same time the Megalithic structures of Stonehenge and Avebury were being developed. This short-lived period is termed the Chalcolithic, i.e, the Copper Age

Edited by: C.R. Blick