The Times of Their Lives: Understanding the Neolithic peoples of Europe

A five-year collaborative project between Cardiff University and English Heritage that aims to construct a more precise chronology of Neolithic civilisations in Europe has just been awarded €2.5M from the European Research Council.

The Times of Their Lives, led by Professor Alasdair Whittle of the and Dr Alex Bayliss of English Heritage builds on the ground-breaking success of combining expertise in Neolithic archaeology and Bayesian statistical analysis in mapping a precise chronology of causewayed enclosures, a type of early Neolithic earthwork, in Britain.




A reconstruction of the Whitehawk causewayed enclosure in the South Downs, Sussex. It has been described as one of the first monuments in England to be identified as being of national importance, and one of the most important Neolithic sites in the country. It is made up of four concentric ditches broken up by causeways.

The Times of Their Lives: Understanding the Neolithic peoples of Europe : Past Horizons Archaeology