4000-2200 BC Neolithic

As is true for much of England, there is very little surviving settlement evidence for the Neolithic period in southern England. However, what is unusual about the eastern part of this region (modern Sussex and Kent) is that unlike some other areas of England or indeed the rest of the British Isles, there is also relatively little evidence of large communal tombs or ceremonial monuments.

In the west of the region (modern Dorset and Hampshire) there are many examples of causewayed enclosures, long barrows and henge monuments. The hilly chalk downlands of southern England have long been exploited for pastoral farming rather than crop farming which means that even though some monuments are now only visible as crop-marks, many of them have escaped the flattening effects of deep ploughing.

The chalk downlands are also rich in flint, one of the most important resources of the Neolithic period. People in this area began to mine the chalk for flint which they then traded across the region. Many fine flint artefacts have also been discovered in the area, demonstrating the skill of the Neolithic toolmaker.