1. Early Britain

Question 1

Who were hunter-gatherers

Answer 1

Hunter-gatherers were the first people to live in Britain in the Stone Age. They used Doggerland to follow herds of deer and horses which they hunted

Question 2

What was Doggerland

Answer 2

Doggerland was a land bridge that connected Britain to continental Europe for most of the Stone Age

Question 3

When did Britain become permanently separated from continental Europe

Answer 3

Britain became permanently separated from continual Europe by the English Channel 10,000 years ago

Question 4

When did the first farmers arrive in Britain

Answer 4

The first farmers arrived in Britain 6,000 years ago likely from South-East Europe

Question 5

What are the origins of Stonehenge

Answer 5

Stonehenge was built by the first farmers in Britain who also constructed houses, tombs and other monuments on the land

Question 6

Where is Stonehenge

Answer 6

Stonehenge is currently in the English county of Wiltshire

Question 7

What is the purpose of Stonehenge

Answer 7

Stonehenge is probably a special gathering place for seasonal ceremonies

Question 8

Other than Stonehenge, what other Stone Age sites have survived

Answer 8

Skara Brae on Orkney, off the coast of Scotland, which is the best preserved prehistoric village in northern Europe, and has helped archaeologists to understand more about how people lived near the end of the Stone Age

Question 9

When did the Bronze Age begin

Answer 9

The Bronze Age began when people learned to make bronze about 4,000 years ago

Question 10

What was made during the Bronze Age

Answer 10

The people of the Bronze Age were accomplished metalworkers who made many beautiful objects in bronze and gold, including tools, ornaments and weapons

Question 11

Where did people live during the Bronze Age

Answer 11

People lived in roundhouses during the Bronze Age

Question 12

Where were the dead buried during the Bronze Age

Answer 12

The dead were buried in tombs called round barrows during the Bronze Age

Question 13

What came after the Bronze Age

Answer 13

The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age, when people learned to make iron weapons and tools

Question 14

What is a similarity between the Bronze and Iron Age

Answer 14

In the Iron Age, people still lived in roundhouses, grouped together into larger settlements

Question 15

What is a hill fort

Answer 15

A hill fort is a site defended by people of the Iron Age. It is a fort built on an area of a hilltop surrounded by a system of defensive banks and ditches

Question 16

What hill fort can still be seen today

Answer 16

Today, a hill fort at Maiden Castle, in the English county of Dorset can still be seen.

Question 17

What was the occupation of most people during the Iron Age

Answer 17

Most people in the Iron Age were farmers, craft workers or warriors

Question 18

What language was spoken during the Iron Age

Answer 18

The language that people of the Iron Age spoke was part of the Celtic language family. Similar languages were spoken across Europe and related languages are still spoken today in parts of Wales, Scotland and Ireland

Question 19

Why does the Iron Age mark the beginnings of British history

Answer 19

The people of the Iron Age had a sophisticated culture and economy. They made the first coins to be minted in Britain, some inscribed with the names of Iron Age kings.

Question 20

What happened during the first Roman invasion of Britain

Answer 20

Julius Caesar led a Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC that was unsuccessful.

Question 21

How long did Britain remain separate from the Roman Empire

Answer 21

Britain remained separated from the Roman Empire for nearly 100 years

Question 22

What happened during the successful Roman invasion of Britain

Answer 22

In AD 43 Emperor Claudius led the Roman army in a new invasion. This time there was resistance from some of the British tribes but the Romans were successful in occupying most of Britain

Question 23

Who was one of the tribal leaders that fought against the Romans during the second, successful invasion

Answer 23

One of the tribal leaders who fought against the Romans was Boudicca, the queen of the Iceni in what is now eastern England. She is remembered today with a statue of her on Westminster Bridge in London, near the Houses of Parliament

Question 24

Why was Hadrian’s Wall built

Answer 24

Emperor Hadrian built a wall in the north of England to keep out the Picts (ancestors of the Scottish people) because areas of what is now Scotland were never conquered by the Romans.

Question 25

Name two of the number of forts included in Hadrian’s Wall that can still be seen

Answer 25

Included in Hadrian’s Wall are the forts of Housesteads and Vindolanda

Question 26

What is Hadrian’s Wall known for now

Answer 26

Hadrian’s Wall is a popular area for walking and is a UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) World Heritage Site

Question 27

How long did the Romans remain in Britain

Answer 27

The Romans remained in Britain for 400 years, with the Roman army leaving in AD 410 to defend other parts of the Roman Empire and never returning

Question 28

What did the Romans achieve while in Britain

Answer 28

The Romans built roads and public buildings, created a structure of law, and introduced new plants and animals

Question 29

When did the first Christian communities begin to appear in Britain

Answer 29

the first Christian communities began to appear in Britain during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD

Question 30

What are the names of the tribes from northern Europe who invaded Britain after the Roman army left?

Answer 30

The Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons whose languages are the basis of modern day English

Question 31

Were the invading Northern European tribes (Jutes, Angles and Saxons) successful?

Answer 31

Yes, battles were fought against them but by about 600 AD Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established in Britain which were mainly in what is now England.

Question 32

What characterises the burial place of one of the Anglo-Saxon kings at Sutton Hoo in modern Suffolk?

Answer 32

The king was buried with treasure and armour, all placed in a ship which was then covered by a mound of earth

Question 33

What parts of Britain remained free from Anglo-Saxon rule

Answer 33

The west of Britain, including what is now Wales, and Scotland remained free

Question 34

How did Christianity reach the Anglo-Saxons

Answer 34

missionaries came to Britain to preach about Christianity with missionaries from Ireland spreading the religion in the north

Question 35

Who were the most famous Irish missionaries from the period of Anglo-Saxon rule

Answer 35

St Patrick who became the patron saint of Ireland
St Columba who founded a monastery on the island of Iona

Question 36

Who was St Augustine

Answer 36

The first Archbishop of Canterbury in 597, he led missionaries from Rome who spread Christianity in the south

Question 37

Where did the Vikings come from

Answer 37

Denmark and Norway. They first visited Britain in AD 789 to raid coastal towns and take away goods and slaves. Then they began to stay and form their own communities in the east of England and Scotland, mixing with the local communities and some converting to Christianity

Question 38

Who was King Alfred the Great

Answer 38

The ruler under which the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united and who defeated the Vikings

Question 39

What is the Danelaw

Answer 39

An area in the east and north of England with place names such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe that come from Viking languages, where many Viking invaders stayed

Question 40

Who was the first of the Danish kings that briefly ruled what is now England in place of an Anglo-Saxon king

Answer 40

Cnut, also called Canute

Question 41

How did the term Scotland begin to be used to describe the country

Answer 41

In the north, the threat of attack by Vikings had encouraged the people to unite under one king, Kenneth MacAlpin.

Question 42

What happened at the battle of Hastings

Answer 42

In 1066, an invasion led by William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (in what is now northern France), defeated and killed Harold the Saxon king of England with William becoming king of England

Question 43

What is the name of the great piece of embroidery that commemorates the battle of Hastings?

Answer 43

The Bayeux Tapestry, which can still be seen in France today

Question 44

Why was the Norman Conquest significant

Answer 44

It was the last successful foreign invasion of England and it led to many changes in government and social structures in England. Norman French, the language of the new ruling class, influenced the development of the English.

Question 45

What happened when the Normans conquered Wales

Answer 45

The Welsh gradually won territory back

Question 46

What happened when the Normans tried to conquer Scotland

Answer 46

The Scots and Normans fought on the border between England and Scotland ; the Normans took over some land on the border but did not invade Scotland.

Question 47

What is the Doomsday book

Answer 47

The information gathered by the people sent out all over England by William the Conqueror in order to draw up lists of all the towns and villages, the people who lived there who owned the land and what animals they owned. It is a book that still exists today and gives a picture of society in England just after the Norman Conquest