module 11 From the beginning to Henry VIII BEFORE READING Where do the words Britain and England come from according to you? Prehistoric Britain We know very little about prehistoric Britain. The initial settlers were hunter-gatherers. We also know that at some point in this period, circular monuments began to appear in the British Isles. Stonehenge has become the best known of these and the circle still stands on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire. It is certain that by 700 BC some Celtic tribes coming from the Continent settled in Britain. These were not real invasions . The peoples of Britain at this time were diverse in Unit origin and ethnicity and the invaders of one generation were the Britons of the next. They spoke Gaelic, they worshipped natural elements, such as the trees, the sun, the moon, etc. and their priests, the druids, were also doctors, magicians and judges. The Celts were fierce warriors and good farmers; they were organised in tribes and loved music. Today people of Celtic stock are to be found in Wales, Cornwall, Scotland and Ireland (see Modules 2 and 3). Stonehenge Stonehenge is the best known and perhaps the most remarkable of prehistoric remains in the UK. It has stood on the Salisbury Plain for over 4,000 years. It consists of over seventy standing stones set in an incomplete circle linked by lintel stones at a height of up to seven metres above ground. Within the circle is a horseshoe arrangement of five further stones and a so-called altar stone on the axis of the horseshoe. This faces the direction of the rising sun on the summer solstice and the setting sun on the winter solstice. This suggests a fairly advanced understanding of the calendar and the seasons and for this reason there are many different theories about its original use. www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.876 Skara Brae (Orkney Islands): a Neolithic house. Old Sarum, Wiltshire. Occupied from Neolithic times, the present structure was built by Iron Age peoples c. 500 BC ACTIVITIES 1 Say if these statements about Text 1 are true or false and correct the false ones. T a. The first settlers were farmers. F b. Stonehenge is in Yorkshire. c. The Celts were from the Continent. d. The druids were Celtic kings. e. Irish people are of Celtic origin. You can visit the following site to learn more about the Celts: www.bbc.co.uk/wales/celts/