Dear Suzannah Thankyou so much for this interesting account of our deep Thanet ancestors. I have become increasingly interested in this era and beyond of our ancestry since reading "The Seven Daughters of Eve" by Prof. Bryan Sykes several years ago. He postulated in his book that everyone with European ancestry descends from one of seven women who lived in various parts of Europe between 15,000 and 45,000 years ago. For my 60th birthday (several years ago!) my son bought me, at my request, a Mitochondrial DNA test through Oxford Ancestors, and when I received the results it turned out that I came down from one of the "daughters" Prof. Sykes named Helena, who lived at the end of the last ice age about 20,000 years ago in the Pyranees. Her descendants followed the retreating ice North over the centuries and populated Britain and Scandanavia. There was an interesting discussion by Dr. Mark Humphrys, Lecturer, School of Computing, Dublin City University, at http://humphrysfamilytree.com/ca html; Dr. Humphrys claims that mathematical models and computer simulations lead to conclusions like the following: 1. Quite likely the entire world is descended from the Ancient Egyptian royal house, c. 1600 BC. 2. Quite likely almost everyone in the world descends from Confucius, c. 500 BC. 3. Quite likely everyone in the West descends from Charlemagne, c. 800 AD. 4. Quite likely everyone in the West descends from the Prophet Muhammad, c. 600 AD.” So, even if the Thanet ancestors' descendants have spread all over the world I bet most of us come down from them. Best wishes Merilyn Pedrick Aldgate, South Australia -------Original Message------- From: suzannah.foad Date: 05/06/06 00:40:37 To: Isle-of-Thanet-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [IoT] Isle of early civilizations and hostile invaders - Just for Interest Definitive traces of human activity on the island of Thanet stretch back as far as 8000 BC. By around 5000BC the area was quite well populated with early farmers and Thanet became a major Stone Age settlement. Early Britons known to have been in Thanet were a mix of Neolithic farmers from the Mediterranean circa 3000BC and "Beaker' people (so called because of the kind of pottery they used), from the Rhineland circa 1700 BC. Trade in Corn, lead, tin and skins from Thanet ports to Ireland and the Continent were already established in the Bronze age circa 1800 BC or even earlier. Romans came to Thanet, establishing forts at Richborough and Reculver. After the Romans came the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. The Anglo-Saxons were peaceful colonists while the Jutes and Danes were war like and vicious and Kent was the first part of Britain to be colonised by these warriors from the North. During the 12th and 14th centuries life centered around small fishing settlements on the coast or farming hamlets in land. Brewers in Margate, fisherman and ropemakers in Ramsgate, exporters of wool, flax and hemp to Europe, coopers, carpenters, bakers and smiths prospered in a 13th Century trade boom from the Island. Ramsgate was primarily a fishing port, Broadstairs built up a substantial cod fleet and Margate prospered from herring fishing. Thanet was famous for the quality of its agriculture, due to advanced systems of crop rotations, cheap improved drainage as well as the use of seaweed as both fertilizer and animal fodder. Up until the 18th Century, Thanet consisted of a group of farming and fishing villages living as communities based around Churches and Harbours. Improved communication and leisure travel, as well as trade, helped develop the Island's seaside industry. In 1815, Paddle Steamers had started to ferry in passengers in greater numbers, but the real developers and exploiters of the travel market were the railway companies, which began to arrive in Thanet in 1846. By the turn of the Century, Margate had established itself as among the foremost of Britain's Holiday resorts. Tourist soon began visiting neighbouring Broadstairs which attracted a more refined holiday maker, while busy Ramsgate, thrived around the Harbour which developed from a small fishing port to a Harbour handling cargo ships, a cross channel ferry service and now an international yacht marina. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.5.4/332 - Release Date: 5/4/06