The Time Team Guide to What Happened When [Hardcover]

The Time Team guide to the historical events that shaped the nation.

Recent surveys have shown that, as a nation, our knowledge of British history is sketchy at best. A 2001 poll found that 30% of 11–18 year olds thought that Oliver Cromwell fought at the Battle of Hastings and a similar number had no idea in which century the First World War occurred. And the rest of us are no better. Many of us remember important dates and events only if there is a handy rhyme – ‘In 1492 Colombus sailed the ocean blue’ – or a charming folk story to accompany them. As a result Henry VIII is remembered for his wives rather than the Reformation and Charles I, who was publicly executed during the Civil War, is famous for climbing a tree! Here, in What Happened When, Tim Taylor and the expert archaeologists and historians behind the hit Channel 4 series Time Team will set us straight. Each member of the team will select the events they believe had a major impact on our society and set out to justify their choices. Sixty key events will be discussed with 15 given ‘star status’. Key technologies will be featured, together with photographs from Chris Bennett and illustrations from Time Team's own Victor Ambrus. So, whether you want a quick foray into the past or a definitive guide to British history, this book will give you and your family an accurate chronology of the events that shaped our society and a clear picture of exactly what happened when.

So, you think you know about British history? We all know that the Battle of Hastings was fought in 1066, that Britain declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939 and that London’s ‘one big burning blaze’ tore through the capital in 1666, but many of us remember important dates and events only if there is a handy rhyme or a charming folk story to accompany them. As a result Henry VIII is remembered for his wives rather than the Reformation, and Charles I, who was publicly executed during the Civil War, is famous for climbing a tree! If we set aside the lessons we learnt parrot fashion at school, do we really know what happened when - and why it is so important? Which came first - the Bronze Age or the Stone Age? Why did the Romans play such a significant role in our past? And how did such a small nation become one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen? Here, in this impeccably researched and highly personal book, Tim Taylor and the expert archaeologists and historians behind Channel 4’s hit series Time Team set out to answer these questions and more by cataloguing British history in a way that is accessible for all. From the first traces of Hominid bones to the cultural revolution of the 1960s, a hundred events over the last 650,000 years of human history are discussed. Along the way, the team also consider the key objects/artefacts, technological advances, battles and leaders that starred in each era and shaped society as we know it today. Whether you want a quick foray into the past or a definitive guide to British history, this book will give you and your family a clear, concise and thorough understanding of exactly what happened when and why.

Tim Taylor is the creator of the Time Team format and its series producer. He began his working life in education, teaching for five years, including two years for VSO in Thailand. He has written a series of bestselling books on archaeology, including The Ultimate Time Team Guide and, as co-author with Mick Aston, the World Atlas of Archaeology Sites. He is a visiting professor for the Public Understanding of Archaeology at Bristol University.