Surrey Archaeological Society

The Medieval period AD 1066-1485

Medieval archaeology developed comparatively late as a discipline, with antiquarian focus largely on the artworks and architectural ruins. As a period which saw an increasing amount of valuable historical sources however,   material evidence can be evaluated alongside documentary, placename and landscape studies, whether in traditional areas – e.g. castles – or new topics of research, such as production, exchange and gender studies.

The Saxon period AD 410-1066

Although early medieval studies have the advantage of documentary evidence – particularly from the 6th century onwards – the historical accounts are often rife with bias and must be treated with caution. Saxon and Viking studies are also complicated by issues of ethnicity and religion, and it clear that rather than notions of mass migration or simple ‘Christianisation’ of pagan practices, identities formed through a variety of processes.

The Roman period AD 43-410

Study of the Romans has always been a popular period in British archaeology, although research in more recent years has shifted emphasis away from military expansion to themes of change and continuation – e.g. transitions from the Iron Age and to the Saxon era – as well as the everyday life of ordinary citizens in the countryside.

The Iron Age period c. 800 BC - AD 43

Though the study of late prehistory in Britain has commonly focused on the introduction of metallurgy, many important developments also took place, including changes in the agricultural landscape and technological advances. Just as the transition from the Late Bronze Age is often an unclear boundary, many aspects of Late Iron Age culture also remained largely unchanged into the Roman period, particularly in the countryside. 

The Bronze Age c. 2500 - 800 BC

Although it is common to generalise late prehistory – and the Bronze Age in particular – as the period which saw the introduction of metallurgy, other important developments took place, including open settlement and field  system patterns. At the same time, many practices continued from the Late Neolithic which preceded it, making it a complex period with cultural change very gradual over time.

The Neolithic period c. 4000 - 2200 BC

Although the ‘New Stone Age’ is traditionally seen as the period when farming was introduced to Britain, the vast timeframe of early prehistory can make it easy to generalise on the many – often complex – developments which took place. Rather than too much focus on ‘settling down’ however, emphasis has shifted to the real change being a new world view comprising notions of time, descent, origin, ancestry, community, nature, etc.

The Mesolithic period c. 9300 - 4300 BC

The vast period of the ‘Stone Age’ is often broadly generalised in terms of the key developments which took place, though many concepts have since evolved over the years. The Meso- (‘Middle’) era is one which is most commonly characterised as the period of nomadic groups living off of what they could hunt or gather seasonally, during a period which shifted to covered woodland as a result of rising sea levels and climatic warming.

The Palaeolithic period c. 850,000 - 9000 BC

The vast timespan of the ‘Stone Age’ – over half a million years – is often difficult to conceptualise, not least because it is represented by a wide diversity of artefacts and complexity of themes. The Palaeolithic (or ‘Old Stone Age’) is the era which begins with the earliest humans and ends with the retreat of the glaciers in the last Ice Age. Although much of our evidence is in the form of the flint tools left behind in the archaeological record, other sites from around Britain can give some insight into other aspects of material culture, including art.

Although its archaeology is frequently under-rated, Surrey is a unique area of rich history. Numerous nationally-important archaeological sites include Palaeolithic camps, a unique and extensive Mesolithic microlith industry, the Stanwell Neolithic cursus and Badshot Lea long barrow, Bronze Age centres (e.g. Runnymede) and an unusually high number of Iron Age hillforts. Its historic heritage is equally exceptional, including Roman temples, villas and pottery industries, Saxon cemeteries, medieval monasteries, churches and castles, and Tudor palaces such as Nonsuch which are arguably the most spectacular in the country.