Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIG
26
. A bronze socketed axe found in Cathole, with the rim from a fourth-century storage jar and a piece of Ro-
man Samian ware from Gower. (Swansea Museum)
Margaret Hodge for Figures
THE INTRODUCTION OF IRON
Iron working was introduced to Wales some 2,600 years ago and the availability of iron implements
graduallytransformedagriculture.UntilthelateBronzeAgebronzewasscarceandexpensive,beingused
mainly for weapons, and agricultural implements seem to have been made mainly of wood or stone, as
they were in the Neolithic period. As described in the previous chapter, iron ore is widely distributed in
Gowerandwoodandcharcoalforsmeltingwasreadilyavailable.Anumberofsamplesofironore,which
appear to have been partially melted, have been recovered from the site of the submerged forest in Port-
Eynon Bay. With improved implements, clearance of woodland was now much easier and it was possible
to cultivate the heavy but fertile soils. The pollen record shows that there were extensive clearances on
a much larger scale than in previous periods. At Harding's Down hillfort, for instance, which is situated
nearly 150 metres above sea level, pollen found beneath the rampart indicates that oak forest with ferns
