Changing agriculture in Britain during the Iron Age
I can describe how the use of iron impacted farming during the Iron Age.
Changing agriculture in Britain during the Iron Age
I can describe how the use of iron impacted farming during the Iron Age.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Iron farming tools like the ard plough could be used in heavy clay soils and wetter conditions.
- This allowed a greater variety of crops to be grown, such as oats, and more land to become available for farming.
- Iron also allowed the creation of stronger tools, such as axes, meaning further clearing of the wildwood.
- With more farming, the number of enclosed settlements grew and land ownership became more important.
Common misconception
Farmers in the Iron Age had the same tools farmers have today such as tractors.
Ensure children understand that farming was done by hand with a few iron tools to help. New tools such as the ard plough and iron sickle made a huge impact on farming.
Keywords
Crops - plants grown for food are called crops
Ard plough - an ard plough was an iron tool used by Iron Age farmers to create lines in the soil for planting seeds
Sickle - a sickle was an iron tool used by Iron Age farmers to cut crops when they were ready to harvest
Wildwood - forest or woodland areas growing naturally are called wildwood
Enclosed - if an area is enclosed it is surrounded by a wall or fence
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
a period in history when people used iron
groups of people living in Britian and Europe during the Iron Age
a group of people living and working together
Exit quiz
6 Questions
an area surrounded by a fence, ditch or wall
plants grown for food
forest or woodland areas growing naturally