The picture to the right shows a detail from a reconstruction of the historic Battle of Tewkesbury held each year in July on the commons by Tewkesbury Abbey. Introduction Those of us who learned our history at school were taught about kings and queens and invasions and battles.
Archaeology tells a different story.
The current archaeological picture of the Cotswolds stresses continuity, not sudden change. The Romans did not replace the Iron Age Celts in Britain, and neither did the Saxons. Culture did not end when the Romans left Britain, and the Dark Ages were anything but dark for those alive at the time. The Roman villas in the Cotswold area were built from the distinctive local stone and were not so very different in size or purpose from the great manor houses which still stand. Change was slow and continuous.