NB page 5 intro

Long before the Roman invasion, 4000 years ago, bronze-making technology arrived from mainland Europe, possibly along the iberian connection and through the other immigration and trade routes operating at the time. Civilisation was on the rise in the middle east and trade was already important for keeping up with the latest technology. Bronze is made from copper and tin, and the two minerals were rarely found anywhere near each other. With good transport and trade links, metalworking was soon an established craft and this speeded up the tree-felling that had started in Neolithic times.
 
The Iron Age in began around 2500 years ago. Agriculture had begun to drift in from mainland Europe around 6000 years ago and can be tracked by the spread of the rectangular long-house (up to then, our dwellings had been round-houses). There is also archaeological evidence that the rapid conversion to agriculture led to a decline in human health. But the arrival of iron was to speed the introduction of agriculture. The new technology provided stronger ploughs, as well as tougher axes and led to inevitable improvements in weaponry used to secure and steal land to feed a growing population.