Though society has changed over time, there are still plenty of things we would recognise today from everyday life in prehistoric Britain. We have evidence from remains found in burial mounds that there was a hierarchy, with some considered to be more powerful or wealthy than others, these people were typically buried with tools or jewellery created from local resources and others were buried on their own rather than in large mounds.
Of course, there are no records from this time, so we can’t be sure if there were leaders or who they were, however, historians have found evidence of people who had more power than others. These people were often found to have antler batons, like those found in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset.
Hill forts
It is thought that hillforts that began to spring up during the Iron Age were a visible symbol of power and a way to defend lucrative areas of land. Roman records from Caeser’s expeditions found that there were rivalries between tribes and even within them, indicating that there was a power structure.
As well as a hierarchy, there is also evidence of trade and commerce in prehistory. Goods and skills were traded, especially after farming became more prevalent. Over 100 axe heads were discovered and it is thought that these were used as offerings or for trading rather than for any other use.
Imports and exports
Some burial mounds were found to include imported goods, like amber, which was sourced from the Baltics and gold, which is from Ireland have been discovered, which suggests that trading routes with the mainland had been established. Places in Dorset were known to be used as ports from as far back as the Iron Age and it is likely that locally mined tin or stone was traded for food, glass or pottery from the mainland.
Coins
Excavations have found coins that date back to prehistoric times. Coins were likely minted for the local tribes and were then used more widely after the Roman invasion. In Leicestershire, around 5000 coins were discovered during a dig that appeared to have been minted by a tribe known as the Corieltauvi. Finds like this show that Britain was a thriving marketplace long before the Romans made an appearance.
Religion and worship
Prehistory marks a time before organised religion and there is no record of a single belief system in Britain prior to the Roman invasion, however, the remains of burial chambers and monuments have shown that there were certain rituals that took place regarding the dead that could be seen as being religious in nature.
After farming became more common, it appears that villages and permanent settlements began to spring up and at this time, communal tombs started to grow in popularity, such tombs as Wiltshire’s West Kennet Long Barrow, is an example of this. Why the bodies that were interred there were chosen is unknown, as is why bones appeared to be buried after their bodies had rotted away.
Stone circles also give an indication of a meeting place, possibly for the purposes of worship. Some of the circles appear to align to the movement of the sun or the stars, like Stonehenge, which could prove their significance in some kind of communal ritual or worship. Later in the era, round barrows began to appear, which show a shift in rituals. These round barrows cover individual burials or cremations, many of which saw remains being buried in pottery.
Druids
Julius Caesar provided records of druids, who according to the Romans were worshipped at sites known as sacred groves. The word druid translates as oak knowers, and it is most likely that they were wise men or believed to have special abilities.
Some records claim that druids took part in rituals involving human sacrifices but were most likely philosophers. One record states that the druids were the last line of defence against Roman invaders in Anglesey.
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