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The term Wessex can be a little confusing to the uninitiated. It refers:
to an area of Southern England
a Saxon (early medieval) Kingdom
a culture of the early Bronze Age
On this site Wessex chiefly is used to describe a geographical area, which includes the counties Wiltshire and Hampshire, as well as parts of Dorset and Devon. All these counties feature barrows (burial mounds), which contained similar artefacts. Barrows are, however not restricted to the Wessex area and feature in most of Britain.
Apart from the barrows, Wessex also contains a number of other prehistoric monuments, the most famous of which arguably is Stonehenge. Many of the megalithic (mega=large, lithic=stone) monuments do not date from the Bronze Age, but from the preceding Neolithic. Most of the henges, for example, were abandoned before the beginning of the Bronze Age (c. 2000 BC).
It is probable that much of the Wessex region was relatively wealthy during the early Bronze Age. The soils were fertile and suitable for cultivation with simple tools. Although evidence for settlement during this period is slight, a sizeable population was necessary to construct the vast ceremonial landscape surrounding Stonehenge. The materials found accompanying burials often were imported or inspired by foreign culture: prestige objects that hint at trade, as well as at a desire to display.
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