Narrative History
of the Royal County of Berkshire
by Brenda Ralph
Lewis
B E
R K S H I R E
Prehistoric Times
The chalk
hills and valleys and the woodlands of
the area of the later Berkshire were
probably first inhabited during the
Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age, up to
10,500 years ago, offering good hunting
in the stretches of water, grass- and
woodland and swamps which supported
animals such as red deer, hippopotamus,
bison or wild ox. The hunting lifestyle
persisted after the end of the Ice Age
transformed the countryside with new
birch, pine, hazel, elm, lime, alder and
oak woods. About 6,000 years ago,
however, Berkshire took on the first of
several new looks with the arrival of
Neolithic farmers who altered the
landscape by cutting down trees to clear
fields for planting and provide grazing
for their animals.
In time,
metal tools and weapons, mainly bronze
and afterwards iron, together with
smelting works, came to Berkshire and,
about 3,500 years ago, the future county
was supporting appreciable farmstead
communities. Berkshire's farming
characteristics, which lasted into the
20th century, were therefore established
in very early times. These prehistoric
inhabitants lived in small settlements in
round turf or thatch covered houses, but
built large hillforts with formidable
ramparts for central defence and the safe
storage of farm produce, particularly
grain. Well known examples of the latter
can be found at Caesar's Camp
(Easthampstead) and Walbury Camp
(Inkpen), but they were especially suited
to the rolling Berkshire Downs in the
North of the county: Blewburton,
Segsbury, Cherbury and Uffington. The
last named hillfort is closely associated
with the famous Uffington White Horse
chalk hill-figure, which is now known to
have been cut into the adjoining hillside
way back in the bronze age. It's
significance to the local inhabitants of
that time is unknown, but it is generally
considered to be a religious totem of
some kind. Its image was widely used on
Iron Age coins of the Atrebates tribe: a
Belgic people who settled the area around 100 bc.
Next:
Roman Times
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