BRITAIN, the VENETI and BEYOND

Summary: Archaeological and documentary evidence for contact between north western France and central southern Britain in the first millennium BC is presented and discussed. the tin trade may well have been the principal motivation for contact until the late second century BC when, following the foundation of Provincia Gallia Transalpina, the Roman‐dominated wine trade appears to have itensified cross‐channel intercourse. the position of Armorican middlemen is considered and port sites such as Alet and Hengistbury are discussed. A Wessex Contact Zone is defined within which overseas trade and local industrial production were focused. the economic and social effects of these systems on other parts of Britain are briefly outlined.