The History of Britain - Part 2

Put these periods of British history in chronological order:

• The Bronze Age

• The Stone Age

• The Iron Age

Why did Iron Age people build hill forts?

• To be closer to the gods

• To show how rich and powerful a tribe was

• To protect a settlement from enemy tribes

Answer explanation

Iron Age tribes built strongly defended hill forts, some of which were like small towns, on hill tops surrounded by huge banks of soil and ditches. They had the advantage of being high up to see intruders and the defences made it difficult to reach the settlement.

This image shows the remains of an Iron Age hill fort. What were these different parts called?

a

b

c

gateway

plateau

ramparts

What did Iron Age people add to the ramparts as a defence against intruders?

Clue: they are no longer there as they have decayed over time.

Answer explanation

Palisades - fences made from wooden poles with spikes on the ends made it difficult for intruders to get up to the top of the hill fort, and enclosed the buildings on the plateau with one gateway in and out.

How many rooms did a roundhouse have?

• 3

• 1

• 2

In the centre of a roundhouse was​ (a)   for cooking and heating. There would have been a hole in the roof for smoke to escape through. ​ (b)   were often kept inside the house at night. The walls were usually made from ​ (c)   and the roof from ​ (d)   .

• an open fire
• animals
• wattle and daub
• thatched straw or heather
• children
• a bed
• stone
• tiles
• valuables

Match the following

• Boudicca

• Who was a famous Iron Age warrior queen?

• Celts

• What were Iron Age priests called?

• Maiden

• The largest hill fort found in Britain is called _____ Castle.

• Druids

• What was the name of the tribes of people who came from Europe?

Which of these are likely reasons for the Iron Age being a violent period of history? (Choose as many as you think are correct)

• The rapid population growth meant that tribes fought over land

• Tribes wanted money from each other

• Further advances in technology - the smelting of iron - meant better weapons

• Tribes attacked each other to steal food

• Celts loved battles

Answer explanation

As diets improved, the population of Britain during the Iron Age grew rapidly because people were healthier.

The smelting of iron now made it possible to make weapons and armour far better in strength than bronze.

Large numbers of tribes of Celts also began to arrive in Britain from places in Central and Northern Europe.

This led to neighbouring tribes attacking each other in order to steal food and land.

This is an example of...

• an Iron Age brooch

• an Iron Age stater

• An Iron Age medal

• an Iron Age bowl

Answer explanation

 Staters were coins made of gold and silver, smelted by different Iron Age tribes across southern Britain from the second century BC onwards.

They were based on Ancient Greek designs and were the first coins to appear in the history of Britain!

Why have so many Iron Age artefacts been found underwater in streams, lakes and rivers?

• because they were accidentally dropped from boats

• because lots of battles were near rivers and streams

• because water was holy

• because people believed water was a passage to the Other World