~400 - ~200 BC
Iron Age downturn in climate . . .
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Continued infiltration of Celtic peoples from the east . . . absorbing and/or displacing earlier peoples . . . Pictish / 'Scottish' ('ancient British') peoples across Scotland & Ireland, though heavily influenced by Celtic art, culture etc. . . . major advances in iron-working . . . plough & blade wage 'war' on lowland forests in the damper valleys . . . much trade with other parts of Europe . . . very fine pottery (e.g. thin-walled) . . . polished bronze mirrors . . . intricate Celtic artwork . . . use of chariots & carts . . . rotary querns for grinding corn . . . storage pits . . . expensive funerary objects . . . in Scotland, brochs or 'Pictish towers' . . .
General climatic worsening . . . climate increasingly wetter & cooler * possibly frosty winters (increased snowfall incidence) * increased 'wetness' * possible sudden increase in flooding events * eastern Britain may have been significantly drier than the west at the start of this period, suggesting a highly 'westerly' type (mild / windy - sharp orographic modulation etc.), BUT, by the end of this period: depression tracks much further south * general deterioration * increased storminess to south Britain * wooden causeways found (e.g. Somerset Levels) - probably implying major flooding * increase in glacier extent * all this change to a cooler / wetter spell suggests some 'extraneous' influence, such as major volcanic activity, or some alteration of solar activity * change / improvement towards ~200 BC.				Weather Log
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