This text is divided into the following historical categories:

The human species (homo sapiens) first appeared around 35-40,000 BC and was occupying northwest Europe in the later Ice Age. The earliest recorded evidence of human activity in the Marches dates back between 50,000 - 100,000 years ago. This early man developed ways of utilising flint as tools, such as knifes and spears. This meant that man became more successful in his hunt for food and could begin to move further into the more distant regions of the county.

In Herefordshire the evidence for human activity goes back very early with the evidence concentrated into 5 small areas: Colwall, Doward, Kington, Sarnesfield and Tupsley.

Glacial activity and the continuous erosion by the River Wye have formed much of the landscape of the southern county. There are two caves at Doward which provide archaeological evidence; King Arthur’s Cave and Merlin’s Cave have both been extensively excavated and have displayed an almost complete stratigraphic sequence that covers at least 25,000 years.

In Merlin’s Cave, which was excavated in 1924-7 by the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society, the sequence includes animal bones (woolly rhinoceros, giant deer, wild ox, hyena and mammoth), bone tools, a human burial, and flint and stone artefacts. These are currently in Hereford Museum Stores.

At the height of the Ice Age huge ice sheets covered Wales and most of the west and north Midlands. One such ice sheet is thought to have bisected Herefordshire roughly north to south. At this time most of the county would have been completely covered by a thick layer of ice, up to 180m deep in places.

By 17,000 BC the ice sheets had begun to melt and Herefordshire was slowly being uncovered. Southern Britain was slowly colonised by sub-arctic tundra grasses, mosses and dwarf varieties of trees. The growth of these plants in England caused the migration of animals in search for food, which were eventually followed by small itinerant hunting groups of humans. These hunting groups changed their settlement patterns depending on environmental and climatic changes so they would go where the weather and hunting were more conducive to survival.

By 12,000 BC the average winter temperature was around –5 degrees centigrade. The hunting groups needed to find shelter to enable them to survive the harsh winter months. This is one explanation for the utilisation of Arthur’s and Merlin’s Caves at Doward.                     T

10,000 - 4,000 BC

The Mesolithic period of history ran for approximately 6,000 years from 10,000 BC. This era was a period when Britain was undergoing climatic and environmental changes that were bringing about a more hospitable habitat.

Gradually (c8500-7500 BC) the climate in Herefordshire began to get warmer and new plants and animals began to colonise the land. These included species of birch, willow and aspen, as well as red deer, wild oxen and wild pig. The hunting groups became more settled and regular trading and hunting patterns were developed.

By 7,500 BC these flora and fauna had been joined by the lime and alder and by oak, hazel and pine.

7,500 years ago the average summer temperature would have most probably have been a few degrees higher than today. These climatic changes are found in part by studying pollen diagrams, in Herefordshire there are three pollen sequences dating back to the early post glacial period up to about 2,000 BC (SMR Nos 5522, 32802 and 32803). They show that warm conditions were established by about 9,500 years ago (7,500 BC). By the end of the Mesolithic period communities had developed, many had made the transition from hunting and gathering to farming as a means of provision of food, and a small scale agricultural industry had been formed.

Society had developed into extended family groups based on permanent settlements and territories, each with their own hunting, gathering and farming techniques. These settlement groups were able to take advantage of the seasonal fruits, berries and seeds that had emerged as a result of the increase in temperature. These fruits and berries would have also attracted more animals such as roe and red deer and wild pig, which would have increased the food supply available.

Around 6,500 BC, as the ice sheets continued melting, the water levels rose and the mainland links between Britain and Europe were severed - Britain was now an island for the first time.

Nearly all Mesolithic activity that we have evidence for in Herefordshire occurred in the south and west of the county with the majority being from the late Mesolithic period, much of this evidence is in the form of small pieces of waste flint and flint scatters.

The evidence for the Mesolithic period in Herefordshire is mainly concentrated into 3 areas: The Golden Valley, Ledbury (rural) and Great Doward. All three of these areas have something in common; they are all close to a mountain range and have rivers nearby.

Most of the finds from these three sites have been discovered upon the higher ground, this may indicate that the Mesolithic inhabitants of Herefordshire chose to settle in areas that were easily defended and that the valley floors were probably still very densely wooded at this time. However it has to be borne in mind that no systematic study of flint, comparing finds from upland and lowland areas has been done. Upland flints may also be easier to find, soils are thinner and vegetation is more sparse, meaning the flints are easier to see. Lowland areas have of course been ploughed for thousands of years and surface flints would long since have been buried, to re-surface only occasionally with the cycle of ploughing.

Herefordshire was an attractive option for people migrating from Gloucestershire and southern Wales. Archaeological evidence shows that there was an abundance of woodland resources as well as animals, nuts, berries and fish in the many rivers and streams. This gave the Mesolithic inhabitants of Herefordshire prime hunting and gathering territory, there was now less need to travel great distances for hunting and so a change from temporary settlements to permanent bases occurred.

4,000 - 2,000 BC

This is the latest of all the stone ages and was the period when agriculture was introduced extensively to Britain and began to replace the hunter-gatherer system. Evidence from c4,000 BC shows that Neolithic Man had developed a system of small ‘allotments’ throughout Western Europe.

In Britain, although much of it was still very densely wooded, areas for farming had been cleared and domesticated sheep, cattle, pigs and corn were being imported, increasing the range of provisions that farming could supply. Pollen diagrams and alluviation studies suggest that most of Herefordshire would have still been densely wooded at this time, though agriculture and wood pasture clearance had begun at the beginning if the Neolithic and was well established by the end. (see pollen sequences SMR 5522, 32802, 32803)

Elaborate multi-chambered burial tombs built of megaliths (enormous stones) began to dominate the archaeological landscape of Neolithic Herefordshire. These tombs would not only have had a symbolic religious purpose but would also have had a social and political function as well. They would have only have been fully accessible to those members of the society above a certain social standing and those buried in them would have probably been the more important members of the community.

Neolithic tombs in Herefordshire are located in two areas – The Golden Valley and The Black Mountains. The siting of these tombs suggests that some religious importance was placed on the mountain ranges of the county, as a total of 18 tombs have been discovered within the Black Mountains. These tombs also show that Neolithic man was religious to a certain extent and believed in the after life.

Many of the Neolithic sites in Herefordshire have also yielded Mesolithic finds. In fact it is quite rare to find a Neolithic site in Herefordshire that does not also contain Mesolithic evidence. This suggests the continued habitation of sites through successive periods of history and places additional importance on the location of sites. The fact that habitation sites have stayed largely the same but that social change was occurring suggests that it was the evolution of ideas from within communities, and not a migration of people that caused the changes.

Neolithic settlements were sophisticated affairs. On Dorstone Hill in Herefordshire there is an extensive encampment, which was excavated from 1965 onwards. This settlement had evidence of a low wall and a stockade suggesting that this had once been an enclosed camp and that Neolithic Man had felt the need to defend his settlement. The site also yielded over 4,000 pieces of flint as well as polished stone axe-heads, pottery, storage pits, and hut floors. This evidence points to the fact that the settlements of Neolithic Man were of an organised type and they were more sophisticated and technologically advanced than is sometimes thought.

As farming communities began to be established, networks of trade and communication grew up around them. Greenstone, which originates from Penzance, has been found at 2 different sites in Herefordshire (Elton and St Margarets), and axes from Cumbria and Gwynedd have been found at Almeley and Weobley in the north of the county.

Neolithic finds have also been discovered in more lowland areas of the county and even in the valley floors of the Arrow, above Titley and Staunton-on-Arrow, and of the Teme at Buckton. This suggests that by the Neolithic period the valley floors of Herefordshire had begun to be cleared of their dense woodland and that the communities were beginning to move away from the uplands. An excellent example of a flint axe was recently discovered on the surface of a ploughed field next to a spring in Wellington (SMR 31009) showing that this piece of land has hardly been disturbed in over 4,000 years.

The Neolithic period is important for it was at this time that polished stone axes began to be used. These tools would have been used for hunting, forest clearance and shelter building. Some of the more carefully worked axes would have been ‘prestige goods’ and used for display only. The distribution of these axes throughout Herefordshire suggests that by the Neolithic period man had begun to travel to through the different areas of the county.

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