PREHISTORIC BRITAIN
Ottomar Paeväli
The Iberians
• The Iberians are the oldest historically known inhabitants of the
Iberian Peninsula.
• About 3000 BC many parts of Europe, including the British Isles,
were inhabited by these people.
• Iberians were skilled riders and each tribe had a chivalry unit.
• The Iberians put up buildings of stone and wood and built the first
roads.
The Lady of Elx, made by Iberians.
Iberian knight of Moixent
The Celts
• The Celts were a group of peoples that occupied lands stretching from
the British Isles to Gallatia.
• First the Gaels came around 600 BC and the second wave was that of
the Cymri or Britons around 300 BC. They brought the technique of
smelting iron.
• The Celts lived in villages and built forts, which were protected with
ditches and ramparts, on hilltops.
• Celtic is the ancestor of the Gaelic, Irish, and Welsh languages.
The Celtic Cross
Stonehenge
• Stonehenge in England is one of the most famous sites
and greatest mysteries in the world.
• Stonehenge consists of 4 circles.
• The stones are aligned almost perfectly with the sunrise on
the summer solstice
• Close to Stonehenge is the Heelstone, the direction of this,
if you stand in the middle of the circles, points towards
midsummer Sunrise.
Stonehenge was built in several stages.
• The earliest building stage dates from around 3100 to
2900 BCE, when the outer circular bank and ditch were
built, about 300 feet in diameter.
• During the scecond stage dating from around 2900-2400
BC, some 82 bluestones from the Preseli mountains, in
south-west Wales were transported to the site.
• The third stage of Stonehenge, about 2550-1600 BC, saw
the arrival of the Sarsen stones, which were almost
certainly brought from the Marlborough Downs near
Avebury, in north Wiltshire, about 25 miles north of
Stonehenge.
• The final stage took place soon after 1500 BC when the
bluestones were rearranged in the horseshoe and circle
that we see today.
Stonehenge
The sun rising over Stonehenge on
the summer solstice
The Stone-Age Art
• The first known period of prehistoric human culture, during which work
was done with stone tools.
• The period began with the earliest human development, about 2 million
years ago.
• It is divided into three periods:
1. The Paleolithic period, or Old Stone Age, was the longest
phase of human history.
2. The Mesolithic period, or Middle Stone Age, began at the
end of the last glacial era, over 10,000 years ago.
3. The time periods and cultural content of the Neolithic
period, or New Stone Age, vary with geographic location.
Stone-Age Art Examples
USED LITERATURE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberians
http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/celts.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge
http://britishstudies.pbworks.com/Pre-historic+Britain
http://www.writers-free-reference.com/covaciella2.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Age#Art
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/s/stoneage.html