Prehistoric Wight

10th November 2007 – 27th April 2008

The Isle of Wight is rich in archaeological artefacts, providing evidence of prehistoric life during the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.

This exhibition told the story of man on the Island before the Romans came, using a selection from the vast range of objects within the museum collection.

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During the Palaeolithic era, the Isle of Wight was connected to mainland England, with the now extinct Solent River flowing past its northern coast.

Priory Bay has the largest amount of stone tools found on the Island – around 1,000. The finds are typical of the Lower Palaeolithic period, and come from sediments that can be provisionally dated to c.400, 000BP (before present).The site is one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in England.



Palaeolithic flint handaxes from Priory Bay. c400,000BP
© Isle of Wight Council

By the start of the Neolithic period the Isle of Wight was possibly cut off from the mainland. Evidence for early farming on the island is shown by the presence of cereal pollen. This activity has been radiocarbon dated to 3780 – 3380BC.

One of the most important developments during the Neolithic period was the construction of large monuments such as Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Although there are no monuments on this scale on the Isle of Wight, there are three known funerary monuments; the Tennyson Down Mortuary Enclosure and the remains of long barrows at the Longstone (Mottistone) and Afton Down.

During the Bronze Age the first metalworkers combined copper and tin to make bronze. Using the bronze they made tools, items and weapons more sophisticated than anything that had been manufactured previously.

One of the main tools that developed throughout the Bronze Age was the axe.


Bronze Palstave from Billingham
© Isle of Wight Council

By the time of the Iron Age, virtually all traces of nomadic lifestyle had vanished from Britain and social systems were in place in most of the country.

Gills Cliff is a Late Iron Age hut site, excavated in 1947. There was a variety of finds from Gills Cliff on display that showed many different activities were taking place. These artefacts allow archaeologists to put together a picture of the site at the time.


Iron Age brooch from Gills Cliff hut site
© Isle of Wight Council