History of Hertfordshire - Early History

Early History

The earliest evidence of human occupation in Hertfordshire come from a gravel pit in Rickmansworth. The finds (of flint tools) date back 350,000 years, long before Britain became an island.

People have probably lived in the land now called Hertfordshire for about 12,000 years, since the Mesolithic period. Settlement continued through the Neolithic period, with evidence of occupation sites, enclosures, long barrows and even an unusual dog cemetery in the region. Although occupied, the area had a relatively low population in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age, perhaps because of its heavy, relatively poorly-drained soil. Nevertheless, just south of present-day Ware and Hertford there is some evidence of an increase in the population, with typical round huts and farming activity having been found at a site called Foxholes Farm. There is no evidence of settlement at Hertford itself from this period, although Ware and perhaps Hertford seem to have been occupied during Roman times.

In the Iron age, a Celtic tribe called the Catuvellauni occupied Hertfordshire. Their main settlement (or oppidum) was Verlamion on the River Ver (near present-day St Albans). Other oppida in Hertfordshire include sites at Cow Roast near Tring, Wheathampstead, Welwyn, Braughing, and Baldock. Hertfordshire contains several Iron Age hill forts, including the largest example in Eastern England at Ravensburgh Castle in Hexton.

There is a wealth of Iron Age burial sites in Hertfordshire, making it a place of international importance in Iron Age study. The large number of sites of all types indicates dense and complex settlement patterns immediately prior to the Roman invasion.