Metal detecting holidays in England

Twinned with Midwest Historical Research Society USA
Stone age

The last Ice Age ended about 10,000 years ago. At that time the British Isles formed a peninsula of continental Europe, and the English Channel was a broad plain. As the ice retreated, people and animals from southern Europe travelled across this plain and made their home in the forests that covered Britain. The first arrivals belonged to the earliest stage of civilisation, the Old Stone Age or Palaeolithic.

They moved over the damp green woodland, stone axe in hand, hunting horses, deer, wild ox, and the few remaining reindeer and mammoths. They lived in caves and temporary camps, had no domestic animals and grew no crops. Meanwhile in the Middle East, people began to experiment with methods of controlling their supply of food. This led to the beginning of farming.

BC
Period
Climate
Industry
Artefacts
Construction
12,000
End of Old Stone Age(Palaeolithic)
Cold
Hunting
Axes
Cave burial
11,000
Middle Stone Age(Mesolithic)
Warm and dry
Hunting
Decorated bones

Circa 11000 BC Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic) flint axe head

 

Large 11000 BC flint hand axe - 99mm L x 80mm W

11,000 BC flint hand axe
8000
The dog domesticated
Warm and dry
7500 Britain separated from Continent

Stone age 6000 BC core scraper found by Alaskan George
4500
New Stone Age (Early Neolithic)
Warm and dry
Introduction of farming
Pottery , stone axeheads
Monumental tombs, Portal dolmens

4300 Earliest causewayed camps and long barrows
3600
Middle Neolithic
Warm and dry
Stone quarrying
Arrowheads
Passage graves
3500
Earliest henges
Warm and dry

 

Canadian Rod's 3500 BC Neolitic stone axe

 

Neolithic (3500-2100BC) polished axe head, knapped from mid-grey flint. The surface of the axe is not fully polished, leaving a large amount of scaring along the edges of the axe from the shaping process. The butt end is damaged and incomplete, and the break appears worn. There is a partial hinged termination where the axe has been broken. The cutting edge is in good condition along most of its length, with a few small breaks to one side. The blade itself is not worn. The axe has a double convex cross section. In profile, the axe is widest towards the cutting edge, tapering in thickness towards the break. The axe is 78.74mm long, 57.08mm wide at the blade end and 44.85mm wide at the broken butt end. It has a maximum thickness of 22.56mm. Weight 124.31 grams. Found by Texas Rob
2900
Late Neolithic
Drier and warm
Pottery and grooved ware
Henges, timber circles, early individual graves
2800 Stonehenge first phase     
2750 Beaker People arrive
2600 Avebury and Silbury Hill     
2300
Early Bronze Age
Drier and warm
Food vessels and urns
Copper mining Great Orme
Standing stones, Ring cairns, stone circles, round barrows

Vancouver Brent's early bronze age flat axe C 2000 BC

Canadian Victor's early bronze age flat axe C 2000 BC

 

C1000 BC Miniature Bronze Age votive axe head 9.98g, 46.22mm

 
2100 Stonehenge bluestone circles      
2000 Stonehenge sarsen circle      

Bronze Age (c.1500-1400BC) cast copper alloy primary shield pattern palstave, dating to the Acton Park Phase. It is damaged and incomplete, with active copper corrosion. The butt end is missing, and the flange damaged. There is a prominent stop ridge, with a shield shaped depression just below on both surfaces. There is a casting flaw just above the stop ridge on one surface, which has created a small void, approximately 10mm deep, and 3.6mm by 2.6mm wide. The blade expands out into a concentric cutting edge, which is extremely worn. The axe is 135.10mm long, and is 24.95mm wide, 7.95mm thick at the butt end, with the damaged flange increasing the thickness to 21.21mm. It is 27.73mm wide, 27.16mm thick at the stop ridge, and the cutting edge is 53.84mm wide. The axe has a dark green patina, however most of the original surface has been removed, leaving a pitted, light green surface. A casting seam is visible through the corrosion on one side - Found by Florida Don
1550 Stonehenge in present form

 

C 1250 BC Boston Will's socketed axe - Right, 1250 BC Bronze age socketed axe found by NH Scott
1400
Middle Bronze Age
Drier and warm
bronzes
Gold mining
Kerb cairns
1100
Late Bronze Age
Wet and cold
Secondary burials in barrows

Mass Linda socketed axe head fragment C 1000 BC

C1000 BC Bronze Age socketed axe head fragment 37.44mm L 55.91mm W x 13.52 mm T

Bronze Age bronze socketed implement fragment - very worn 10.93g ,29.46 mm L x 15.29mm W

C1000 BC Bronze Age socketed implement fragment 35.57 mm L x 21.99 mm W

C1000BC Bronze age socketed axe fragment showing signs of heavy wear 38.63 mm L x 36.10mm W x 12.79mm T found by NH Dave

1000 BC Bronze age socketed axe fragment
1000
Earliest hillforts
Wet and cold

Middle Bronze age axe head hoard C 800 BC found by Mass Bruce

Mass Bruce's fragement left and Mass Linda's 2nd socketed axe head fragment

C 800 BC

850BC Bronze Age socketed axe 79.73g, 53.86mm L x 44.24mm W

850 BC Bronze Age socketed axe 37.04 W x 30.58mm L47.54g
750
Iron Age
Wet and cold
Hillforts
400 Middle Iron Age Warmer and drier Thrown pots Salt trade, iron industry Standing stones

The Great Torc from Snettisham (see seperate Torc page for more pictures)

Iron Age, about 75 BC
Found at Ken Hill, Snettisham, Norfolk, England

Gallo-Belgic E stater, c. 56 BC.found by Texas Gary
AD 43 Roman invasion of England