Level 2 - Theme - Living in Sussex before the Romans (The late Iron Age)

Introduction

There is little evidence for the Late Iron Age (c 100BC - AD43) in Sussex, but we know it was a period of important changes in social organisation and agriculture. The tribe living in southern Britain were called the Atrebates. King Verica ruled the tribe in around AD 10, but his territory (deduced from coin dispersal) was under increasing attack from the Catuvellauni tribe to the north. Verica fled to Rome to ask for the help of Emperor Claudius, and shortly afterwards the Roman invasion took place.

New more efficient farming methods led to increased yields and population growth, and more farms were built on the fertile coastal plain. Industrial iron-working was carried out on a large scale in the Sussex Weald, and increasing trade links with Gaul developed in south-east Britain.

Iron Age Gold Coin from Nyetimber

Q	- Click on links below to view the evidence
1	What types of Late Iron Age site are found in Sussex?
2	What do we know about money and trade?
3	What were their occupations and skills?
4	What were their warriors like?
5	What was life like at home?
6	What personal possessions did they wear?
7	What their beliefs and religious practices?