British Museum: The Beaker Culture of Ancient Britain (2500-1500 BC)

The settlement of Neolithic England is characterized by waves of immigration spanning some 7,000 years. Within this amount of time, one group of immigrants, christened the Beaker Folk by historians, and deemed the “so-called ‘Beaker’ culture” by the British Museum (at right), settled in Britain at the end of the late Neolithic period and the beginning of the Bronze Age about 2000 BC. Immediately upon the Beakers’ arrival, the immigrants began diffusing their culture throughout their new land.

Hibbert tells us that, “Among the new immigrants were the Beaker Folk who . . . perhaps originally from Spain, came from the areas now known as Holland and the Rhineland.” After settling in comfortably with the locals and other immigrants, the Beakers set to work instilling new beliefs and literally changing the landscape of ancient Britain: “It was they who were responsible for bringing the immense stones from Pembrokeshire in South Wales for the second stage of the building of Stonehenge, probably shipping them across the Bristol Channel and up the river Avon on rafts, then hauling them up to the site from the banks of the river at West Amesbury on tree trunks serving as rollers” (Hibbert 13-14).

Along with new knowledge in metal working, particularly with copper, the new arrivals brought a new burial rite. The ancient Britain exhibit in the British Museum includes a preserved and relocated Beaker burial site. Studying the burial site and the little knowledge we have about Beaker ceremonies has led me to appreciate this small aspect about Britain’s ancient past.

Among the thousands of immigrants that came to Britain during the Neolithic period, the burial sites of the Beaker culture have created a lasting impression on the country’s historic landscape. Burke describes the burial ceremony, which has led to the Beaker Folks’ name: “Each body was buried in a crouching position, accompanied by a stylised drinking-pot” (12); the beakers themselves are believed to have held some kind of fermented drink that played a part in the funeral rites. Roberts also tells us that “they buried their dead singly, in graves containing a dagger, a bow and arrow, some ornaments, and a beaker. Over this grave they piled earth in a round mound” (9-10). Investigating burial sites reveals the class structure of a society. For instance, a grave containing more riches than the graves around it indicate a system of aristocracy within that culture. That being said, Beaker Folk graves that have been found containing treasures beyond the ordinary graves (such as slitted cups, gold pendants, bone tweezers, dress pins, and finely designed pottery) reflect “the political power and the social distinctions that existed in the densely populated, wealthy Wessex of that time” (Roberts 10). The contents of a Beaker grave not only signify class, but also gender. For instance, one of the museum’s informational plaques in front of a display of a copper dagger, stone wristguard, and bone belt fitting informs us that these objects from male burial site signify “warrior” status, and that “female graves are usually more sparsely furnished and contain no weapons, buttons, or belt rings.” The plaque in front of what is called The Barnack Burial (see picture of reconstruction above left) tells us that the possessions included in the burial were seen as necessary for the deceased in their sojourn to the afterlife.


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Works Cited

Burke, John. An Illustrated History of England. London: Collins, 1981.

Hibbert, Christopher. The Story of England. London: Phaidon, 1992.

Roberts, Clayton, and David Roberts. A History Of England: Prehistory to 1714. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998.