History of The Isle of Wight

History Of The Isle Of Wight

The Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archaeological sites. These range from prehistoric fossil beds which include dinosaur remains, to dwellings and artefacts of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman period and beyond.

The island was formed at the end of the last Ice age. A rise in global sea level flooded the former river valley of the Solent to the north and the future English Channel to the south. This cut Wight off from the island of Britain and the Continental landmass. Once open to the sea, tidal scouring widened the Solent: the sequence of tidal ingress (whether from east, west or south) remains unclear. The English Channel may have been flooded later.

Read more about History Of The Isle Of Wight:  Etymology and Early History, The Norman Conquest, Medieval, Early Modern and Modern, Caulkheads and Other Island Terms, Political History, Isle of Wight Disease, The Isle of Wight Festival

Famous quotes containing the words history of the, history of, history, isle and/or wight:

    “In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side of the cut has anything to do with anything on the other side.”
    —Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)

    “It’s a very delicate surgical operation—to cut out the heart without killing the patient. The history of our country, however, is a very tough old patient, and we’ll do the best we can.”
    —Dudley Nichols, U.S. screenwriter. Jean Renoir. Sorel (Philip Merivale)

    “The History of the world is not the theatre of happiness. Periods of happiness are blank pages in it, for they are periods of harmony—periods when the antithesis is in abeyance.”
    —Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)

    “She carries in the dishes,
    And lays them in a row.
    To an isle in the water
    With her would I go.”
    —William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

    “Then think I thus: sith such repair,
    So long time war of valiant men,
    Was all to win a lady fair,
    Shall I not learn to suffer then,
    And think my life well spent to be,
    Serving a worthier wight than she?”
    —Henry Howard, Earl Of Surrey (1517?–1547)