The History of Britain - Pt 3 The Bronze Age
In my previous post I mentioned that the Stone Age ended and the Bronze Age started at around 2500 BC, but that was for the purposes of expediency, because talking about dates in prehistoric times isn’t an exact science. Some sources place the date at anything between 2500 and 2000 BC and this blurred overlap is sometimes referred to as the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age.
Like the Stone Age, historians often break the Bronze Age down into three periods – the Early Bronze Age (c2500-1700 BC), the Middle Bronze Age (c1700-1200 BC) and the Late Bronze Age (c1200-800 BC).
It’s generally accepted that the Bronze Age in Britain began with the arrival of the Beaker people from Central and Southern Europe around 2,500-2,300 BC. Their name derives from the pottery found in round barrow graves, and their arrival had such a big impact that experts believe that they replaced about 90% of the existing population.
They lived in small farming communities where they raised livestock and grew crops like cereals and flax, but more importantly, they were the first to bring new metal-working techniques with them.
With large deposits available in places like North Wales, the newcomers initially made most of their implements out of copper, but they found that by mixing it with a small amount of tin they were able to produce a much harder metal that later became known as bronze, and thanks to large reserves of tin in what is now Devon and Cornwall, Britain was able to become the first region in Europe to completely produce all metalwork in bronze.
With this new technical innovation, the Beaker people were able to produce better tools and weapons such as axe heads, swords, spear heads and arrow points. Graves, like the one associated with the Amesbury Archer in Wiltshire, not only include items that these people used, but also show that communal graves were now also giving way to individual ones.
With Britain becoming the hub of tin production, it was no longer isolated, and trading links opened up with peoples on the European mainland. In return for tin, the Beaker People imported Amber and Gold which could be used for making items other than tools and weapons.
The gold cup below was discovered in Rillaton Barrow on Bodmin Moor which suggests that this particular item was not an everyday item, but either used as a ceremonial vessel or gift for the afterlife.
Other ornamental items such as Gold Lunulae (crescent-shaped necklaces) were more common and known to have been objects traded between Ireland and Cornwall, but probably the best example of Bronze Age gold craftsmanship found in Britain is a ceremonial ‘Cape’ found near Mold in North Wales. Both the Mold Cape and Rillaton Cup can be seen in the British Museum.
So what happened around 1700 BC to make experts start talking about the Middle Bronze Age? It was a change in the climate again, but this time it was to wetter and cooler conditions, which saw the uplands being abandoned for a more equable way of life down in the valleys: Forests were cleared, farms were expanded, and a more permanent domesticated lifestyle became the norm.
As a consequence, the building of ceremonial monuments like Stonehenge became less important, and cremations took the place of large communal burial mounds. One thing that was needed though was a way of separating the homesteads from each other as the Bronze Age village of Grimspound on Dartmoor indicates.
The era between 1200 and 800 BC was named the Late Bronze Age purely because it was when the use of bronze started to become less important, but it was also a time when migrants from places such as Gaul started to arrive in Southern Britain – and they included the Celts.
Conventional thinking tells us that the first European Celtic civilization originated at Hallstatt in Austria between 1200 and 450 BC, but be that as it may, there are some who think that the increased trade between Britain, Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal also had a significant impact on the spread of the Celtic culture. It therefore seems more than likely that the Atlantic Bronze Age, as it’s sometimes called, was when the Celts started to become a fixture in the British landscape – although it has to be said that it probably took several centuries before they became a dominant force.
Life during this period was also starting to become more complex, with larger communities needing a social hierarchy to organize and keep some form of law and order between the burgeoning population.
Over centuries, the Bronze Age had transformed Stone Age Britain into a more civilized world where humans could live in a settled environment, have enough food to eat and even become fashion conscious, but by 800 BC the country had reached a point where metal implements made of bronze were being superseded by those made from a more abundant, and therefore cheaper metal – iron, and the Iron Age will be the subject of my next post on the History of Britain.
If this period in British history interests you, then there’s a simple to understand video below that will fill in some of the gaps.
POSTED – DECEMBER 2025
Did everything go ok, Malc? A happy New Year, I hope? xx
Happy New Year to you too Jo and thank you so much for asking. I’m having an emergency removal of the tumour first thing tomorrow morning.
I will have my fingers crossed or the prayer mat out, Malc. Whichever you prefer xx
Just your kind thoughts are enough for me Jo x
A fascinating read Malc with an interesting video at the end. That cape is amazing, it’s hard to believe it was made so long ago.
Glad you enjoyed it Eunice. I see it as another piece of the British jigsaw 🙂
Reading your work is always such a valuable and enjoyable experience.
Your historical account and your images were really interesting.
Thank you so much, Malc
Thank you Luisa. I’m so pleased that you find them interesting. It makes it all even more worthwhile.
You are so very welcome my dear Malc!
It’s my pleasure as always!
🙏
Excellent historical account Malc. One appreciates as one learns.
We can never stop learning Francesc 🙂
No we cannot Malc. We shall live as if we would die tomorrow and learn as if we would live forever! All the best and a happy weekend to you!
Wise words F and enjoy your weekend too.
A quote from Gandhi a wise man indeed. All the best!
An excellent overview but what I enjoyed most was seeing your photos of the various artefacts, especially that cape – amazing work!
Thanks Sarah. I’ve always found it amazing how we’ve evolved.
Fascinating. Happy New Year
Adam and Lopa with best wishes
Glad you enjoyed it Adam and a Happy New Year to you both as well.
I always find it hard to get my head around periods of time and, in the scheme of things, 500 years give or take hardly seems to matter. We are so insignificant, yet so self-important, Malc. None of us individuals will be here in 500 years, irrespective of what nature has in store for us. It is fascinating, though, what we’ve managed to learn about the past. Mankind has always had ingenuity and will hopefully be able to employ it well in the future. Much nicer to make bronze collars than weapons of war xx
Absolutely true Jo. The problem is what happens if we don’t have weapons but an enemy does?
And so it goes on, Malc…
But the thing is that it needn’t Jo. It’s not weapons that are the problem.
It’s crazy to read this and realise that people had enough food to eat then but, in 2025…..
Really interesting read, thank you 🙂
If we keep taxing the people who feed us out of business then it can only get worse. Thanks for commenting 🙂
Another fascinating post Malc. Well done.
Thanks Shey. Glad you enjoyed it ⭐