Summary of Peter Ackroyd's Foundation

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The first sarsen stone was raised in the circle of Stonehenge, and the land we call England was already very ancient. The people who arrived from southern Europe and settled in places as diverse as the areas now known as Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, and Devon were the ancestors of the English.

#2 The study of prehistory must also be the study of geography. When the settlers arrived in England, 15,000 years ago, the North Sea was a great plain of lakes and woodland. It now lies submerged, rich in the unseen evidence of the past.

#3 The Mesolithic English lived in settlements such as the one found at Thatcham in Berkshire. The first English house was made of flexible saplings, bent over and covered with hides. It measured approximately 20 feet by 16 feet.

#4 The English had already begun to differ from each other 8,000 years ago. The Lowland Zone, which was built upon soft limestone, chalk and sandstone, was a place of low hills, plains, and river valleys. The Highland Zone in the north and west was made up of granite, slate, and ancient hard limestone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822509368

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#1

The first sarsen stone was raised in the circle of Stonehenge, and the land we call England was already very ancient. The people who arrived from southern Europe and settled in places as diverse as the areas now known as Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, and Devon were the ancestors of the English.

#2

The study of prehistory must also be the study of geography. When the settlers arrived in England, 15,000 years ago, the North Sea was a great plain of lakes and woodland. It now lies submerged, rich in the unseen evidence of the past.

#3

The Mesolithic English lived in settlements such as the one found at Thatcham in Berkshire. The first English house was made of flexible saplings, bent over and covered with hides. It measured approximately 20 feet by 16 feet.

#4

The English had already begun to differ from each other 8,000 years ago. The Lowland Zone, which was built upon soft limestone, chalk and sandstone, was a place of low hills, plains, and river valleys. The Highland Zone in the north and west was made up of granite, slate, and ancient hard limestone.

#5

The transition from hunting to farming was a very gradual one, and it can be dated from 4000 BC. The woods and forests of the country were cleared, and the moors of northern and south-western England were created by human activity.

#6

The Neolithic period was when the English civilization began to develop. It was a time of rising temperature, and in the glowing sun the people expanded. They created a network of communication that extended throughout England.

#7

The English Neolithic age was marked by the construction of many sacred sites, such as Stonehenge. It began with a circle of fifty-six timbers, erected in approximately 2800 BC, and placed in a ritual landscape that had already been in existence for 500 years.

#8

The Stonehenge area was home to a large village that was built around the sarsen stones, and it was also the site of a henge and stone circle. The area was controlled by a hierarchical society with an elite that could organize and persuade many thousands of people into fulfilling their ritual will.

#9

The contours of the Bronze Age, which followed the Neolithic, can be seen everywhere in the English landscape. The uplands and downlands of southern Britain were laid out in fields with hedges and stone walls stretching for mile after mile.

#10

The Bronze Age, from approximately 1300 BC, is known as the urn field era, because their cemeteries were full of urns that contained the ashes of their loved ones. The people of this era ate soups and stews, and they imported beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks.

#11

The Bronze Age in England was characterized by the presence of a warrior aristocracy, defended settlements, and trade between the different regions. The trading advantage of the Thames Valley region with its access to the European mainland helped to eclipse the agricultural wealth of Salisbury Plain.

#12

The Bronze Age did not end, and the movement from bronze to iron reflects a change in technology that led to cultural change. The process took hundreds of years, and during this time, bronze and iron were used simultaneously.

#13

The Iron Age in England was marked by the development of hierarchical societies, with chieftains, sub-chieftains, warriors, priests, farmers, craftsmen, workers, and slaves. The graves of the elite were marked out with molten silver, cloth of gold, ivory, suits of iron chain mail, and precious cups and bowls.

#14

The Iron Age in England was characterized by the growth of small clans that were eventually integrated into larger tribes. The Romans eventually confronted these tribes, and the farmers continued to clear woodlands and fields without a break.

#15

The Iron Age was a time of religious worship in England. There were many sacred places, and the native beliefs were sustained by the Druids. Human sacrifice helped to sanctify the land.

#16

The Romans saw the English as a source of wealth and trade. They saw a land full of tribal kingdoms, large and small, that had kept to their old tribal boundaries. The Dumnonii lived in the south-west peninsula, while the Durotriges were the people of Dorset.

#17

The English population was thriving during the Roman period. However, the further north you traveled, the less evidence there was of these material benefits. This was because the southern tribes were engaged in extensive trade with Rome and Romanized Gaul long before