One of the requirements for the Key Stage 2 history curriculum is that children learn about changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. In some ways this is a challenging period to teach – the evidential record is patchy, it is open to interpretation, and there are few concrete examples of events, people and places to make it feel ‘real’. Yet there are some fabulous opportunities for children to engage in some fascinating archaeological works to bring this period to life. For anyone wanting to find out more about this period and to learn more about the fascinating stories from this era, I would thoroughly recommend Professor Alice Roberts’s book Ancestors. This book explores prehistoric Britain through seven burials, from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age.

This article looks at one of these burials, the Amesbury Archer, which offers a wonderful chance for children to investigate an extraordinary burial...