Prehistoric to Roman
The most prominent prehistoric remains in the National Park are the stone circles. These were built from about 5,000 years ago - during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. But hunters had been in the area for a good many years before this. There are also traces of Prehistoric Rock Art.
The earliest traces of people of bones and flint tools date back more then 10,000 years. This was not long after the ice had melted.
In Neolithic times, about 5,000 years ago, farming started in Cumbria. Animals were raised and trees were cleared from the coastal plain and parts of the fells for grazing animals and growing crops. Tree clearance accelerated during the Bronze Age.
Fine-grained volcanic rocks were made into axeheads which were used locally to fell trees. They were also traded far afield.
The effects of Roman occupation (70 - 40 AD) were felt mainly through the roads and forts that were constructed. Read more about Hard Knott fort in Topic 3 - History of our education topics. But remains of native farmsteads from the period have also survived.
