Archaeology
Archaeology is the study of the physical remains of past societies. Archaeologists investigate historic sites and landscapes in search of objects, building remains and environmental information to build up a picture of daily life in the past. But above all, archaeology is about people.
People have lived in the Isle of Man for at least 8,500 years and archaeology is the only source of evidence for most of that time. Shapes and patterns of the landscape reflect this long history but the remains of everyday objects can help to fully reconstruct the Island’s past, with the more unusual artefacts giving a further insight into our ancestors’ lives. The contents of the archaeological collections of Manx National Heritage represent the ingenuity, adaptability, independence and efficiency of all those who have settled on the Isle of Man from the Mesolithic period up to the 16th century.
- Hunter Gatherers (Mesolithic Period - 8000 BC to 4000 BC)
- First Farmers (Neolithic Period - 4000 BC to 2000 BC)
- First Metalworkers (Bronze Age - 2000 BC to 600 BC)
- Celtic Farmers (Iron Age - 600 BC to 500 AD)
- First Christians (Early Christian Period - 500 AD to 798 AD)
- The Vikings (Norse 798 AD to 1265 AD)
- Lords of Mann (Manx Middle Ages 1265 AD to 1765 AD)
These periods conform with Manx historical events rather than eras more recognisable in an English context - there is no Roman period as the Isle of Man was never directly under Roman rule, no Anglo-Saxon occupation and no Norman Conquest. The rule of the Stanley and Atholl Lords of Man is more relevant to the Island than the standard conventions of ‘Medieval’ and ‘Post Medieval’.
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