Ancient trackway - Citizendia

Ancient trackway can refer to any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity. Such paths existed from the earliest times and in every part of the globe. The term is commonly used in the British Isles to describe the ancient trackways that already existed when the Romans arrived in Britain. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Such trackways were often built on by the Romans and form the foundations of some of the current system of roads.

1 The beginnings
2 The trackways
3 Settlements
4 See also

The beginnings

The Concise Oxford Dictionary gives the definition of "trackway" as "a path formed by the repeated treading of people or animals". The very earliest creatures to arrive in Britain after the Ice Age, crossing land which would later be the English Channel, were grazing animals following the spreading vegetation. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Their predators, including the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) hunter-gatherers, followed. The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age The earlier Mesolithic people were nomadic but in the later part of the Mesolithic permanent settlements started to appear.

The trackways

These settlements were connected with each other by the ancient trackways. These green ways often followed natural contours in the landscape, and evolved over time as animals were driven from place to place and pedestrians walked to and from neighbouring settlements. A green lane is a type of Road. England and Wales See also Byway (road In particular a green lane is unsurfaced and may be so Much of the land was forested; the lower valleys provided fertile land and were ideal places for fishing, agriculture and the rearing of cattle.

The trackways provided links between farmsteads and fields, other farmsteads, and neighbouring long barrow tombs. Long distance trackways joined the separate localities to the camp meeting places and cross-country flint roads. Others were more likely to have been processional ways, such as the one leading to the gigantic temple at Avebury. Avebury is the site of a large Henge and several Stone circles in the English county of Wiltshire surrounding the village of Avebury Others, the long-distance ways mentioned above, are now known as the Icknield Way, the Ridgeway National Trail, the Harrow Way and the Pilgrims' Way. This page refers to the old footpath Icknield Way. The modern footpath which partially follows the old route is called Icknield Way Path The For other meanings see Ridgeway. The Ridgeway is an ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road The Harrow Way (also spelled as Harroway) forms the western part of the Old Way, an Ancient trackway in the south of England dating from the Neolithic "Pilgrim's Way" is also the US title of Memory Hold-the-Door by John Buchan The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's

Some trackways followed the tops of higher land, whilst others progressed along the lower slopes. The lowland areas were thickly forested and poorly drained and for long distance travel there was an advantage in following the top of a line of hills. Skills to develop tracks across bog lands, such as in Somerset, were learnt by early people. Known as corduroy roads, they were formed when huge quantities of alder poles and brushwood were used to link the fen islands across the marshes. The Sweet track in the Glastonbury fens, Somerset is the oldest purpose built road in the world and has been dated to the 3800s BC. The Sweet Track is an ancient Causeway in the Somerset Levels, England. Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a Dry point on the Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county Events The Sweet Track, an ancient Causeway in the Somerset Levels, England, one of the oldest engineered Roads discovered

Settlements

On occasion, where rivers caused an obstacle to progress, bridges were built across them, and several roads met to use the bridge. Major settlements grew around the bridges, providing sustenance to travellers and their animals using the trackways. There are many good examples of this: three follow.

Wallingford

The original settlement at Wallingford in Oxfordshire dates back to the dawn of British history, when its founders showed remarkable discrimination in choosing its site. Wallingford is a small Market town and Civil parish in the upper Thames Valley in Oxfordshire, England. History See also History of Oxfordshire The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the Nestling in a fertile valley on the banks of the River Thames, it was an ideal place for fishing, agriculture and the rearing of cattle. The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. The ancient trackways, in particular the Icknield Way, provided lines of communication converging on its ford. The remains of the ramparts still surround the town and are the successors of the rudimentary fortifications of the old British settlement, which were adapted in turn by Roman, Saxon and Norman conquerors.

Brownhills

A similar site is Brownhills in West Midlands. Brownhills is a Town in the West Midlands, England Located on the edge of Cannock Chase near the large man-made lake Chasewater, it is north-east The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300 Brownhills has been a meeting point for ancient roads and trackways since prehistoric times. It is thought that the Watling Street was in use before the Romans came; what were later called the Chester Road and Coventry Road are also thought to have been ancient trackways. Watling Street is the name given to an Ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Celts mainly between the modern

Cadbury Castle and South Cadbury Village

Cadbury Castle in Somerset is a tremendous Iron Age camp covering some 18 acres (73,000 m²) and is considered to be one of the most impressive Iron Age sites in Britain. For other Cadbury Castles Camps and Hills see Cadbury. Cadbury Castle is an Iron Age Hill fort in the Civil parish Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. It is the focal point of many ancient trackways and is guarded by four huge banks with a height in places of over 40 feet (12 m) from the bottom of the ditch.

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