So what is the Bronze Age all about?
The Bronze Age is a prehistoric period. That basically means that it was a time before recorded history. As a rule it is divided into three phases, or time periods. These are:
Early Bronze Age 2600 – 1600 BC
Middle Bronze Age 1600 – 1200 BC
Late Bronze Age 1200 – 700 BC
A whole range of artefacts are associated with this period and certain styles of houses, tools, pottery, monuments and metalwork all fit within the chronology (or timeline) of this period. Because there are no written records from the time, archaeologists have to use the evidence available to try and piece together a picture for how we used to live.
The Early Bronze Age sees some sweeping developments in Britain. A new culture becomes evident called the Beaker Folk. Many regard the arrival of Beaker pottery (fine vessels with an ‘S’ shaped profile, as opposed to the coarse wares more widely used at the time) as the definitive start of the period, but in reality it’s more like the whole ideology of the time was changing. There is a wealth of evidence for monument building and burial of the dead. Outstanding barrows were constructed to honour single individuals, and the development of metalworking, house building and working with the environment moved onto new levels.
It appears that society was generally broken into chiefdom districts based on a largely agricultural economy. Trade between these groups was widespread and some academics consider that this would have been a comfortable time in which to live, if the assumption that high competition for land use in the earlier Neolithic period had finally been settled.
The Later part of the second millennium BC also saw major change for the society of the time. The tradition of single inhumations in barrows comes to a close. In fact, there is little evidence for any human burial in the later Bronze Age. Activity in monument building also drops to an all time low and in its place we find evidence for further exploitation of the agricultural landscape and a stronger definition of settlement.
So what caused these changes in society?
Was it a new population moving into Britain? It’s more likely that it was a general change in the way that Bronze Age society lived. The landscape was reorganised and with trade more established, there were probably a range of new ways in which people interacted. Bronze artefacts are also more common in this later period and we find evidence for their possible use in ritual and religion.
Don’t forget to come back to these resources pages soon as we will be giving you some more information on Bronze Age finds like pottery, metalwork, flints and structures. Find out how they developed, how they were used, and what we can learn from them.
Pottery
More research has been done on pottery than any other type of artefact from this period. For this reason there’s a very good and well-established chronology of Bronze Age pottery. Different styles of vessel were more common at different times. These styles overlap for periods of time, and various trends in design have been identified. This has helped archaeologists to group examples into named types of vessel, which cover a certain range of dates when they were in common use.
For example, Biconical Urns are evident from about 2000 BC until 1350 BC. They were regionally popular in Wessex and often feature lugs on the sides and incised or applied decoration in a band around the top. The fabric of the pottery is also quite distinctive (a bit like a rough wholemeal biscuit).
Other types of Bronze Age pottery can be quite different in shape, texture and style. By knowing the differences and understanding the date ranges of each type, archaeologists can use fragments of identified pottery to help date associated features.
Metal artefacts
Of course, this being the Bronze Age, there must be metal artefacts associated with the period as well. The inhabitants of Britain were a little slow to pick up on the idea of using bronze; the technology was already quite well established on the continent by the time Bronze Age people here adopted it. Flat bronze axes, daggers and awls (for making holes) were the most common tools in the early part of the period, but as time moved on the technology became more popular.
By the Later Bronze Age many more items were produced and their quality was much improved. We also find beautifully shaped blades, swords and spearheads. It has been speculated that the changing appearance of these weapons reflects the social changes in the period, and that times became more troublesome as the Iron Age approached. However it’s also true to say that it’s pretty much impossible to make a decent flint sword! So although people needed a reason to make a sword in the first place, the advent of this weapon is probably just as attributable to the new technology being available as anything else.
Where do we find metal artefacts?
Metal artefacts are quite rare finds on settlements. This could be because they were valuable finds (possibly even family heirlooms) and would have been treasured items to own, not readily discarded. They appear to be most commonly found either in deliberately deposited hordes (which begs questions again about troubled times and the need to secure one's valuables), or in a damaged state at ritual sites.
This second point is quite interesting. Could there have been some importance attached to altering the image or rendering the item unuseable before offering it? That’s another question for you to think about.
If this page has given you a taste for the Bronze Age and you would like to find out more, check out the Resources section of the main Time Team website or the more extensive Time Team Book List.