Why Do Ancient Civilizations Not Spread To Other Countries?

[winstonmin]

I have always been puzzled by the fact that from 3000 BC there were civilizations: the Egyptian, and then the Roman, but in Britain there was only pre-history (the Bronze age onwards). The Egyptian and the Romans had ships and they could presumably visit other countries, and they would be trading abroad. Why would people in Britain not have any contact, or not be influenced by other people's developments? I would love to know some facts.

[wolf63]

The Romans paid us a visit - they built roads and walls

[jim360]

I believe the answer to your question is that actually there was a lot more contact between ancient civilisations than is often supposed, but I'm not 100% sure. But with lower-quality ships, less navigational skill, and longer journey times, trade was not so well-established back then as it was now.

It is worth noting, for example, that the reason the Romans wished to invade Britain to start with was because of (admittedly, probably exaggerated) claims that Celtic tribes on the island were assisting Gallic tribes in France in their efforts to resist the Roman occupation. So that probably means that cross-channel trade was established much earlier than just the Roman invasion, and the resulting influence would have been reasonably strong.

[mushroom25]

ores of copper and tin rarely occur naturally in proximity (Cornwall being one of very few exceptions). thus the manufacture of bronze was always reliant on trade. copper had been mined in parts of Britain for thousands of years before the romans invaded, it's reasonable to assume a good proportion of this was traded into Europe, and may have been a factor in the Roman interest in these islands.

[Old_Geezer]

Probably some trade, but conquest requires the local, already grabbed, areas to be stable: so you don't commit your military to some far flung place if you perceive the possibility of an uprising on the other side of your controlled land.

[woofgang]

They did and we were..... Apparently the legend of Arthur fighting against the hoards of barbarian invaders is not true.....nowhere in the UK are the kind of large burial grounds filled with skeletons with the kinds of injuries that would indicate such battles.....instead there are the graves of people with mixed DNA and ornaments and grave goods which show mixed ethnic influences. Here's the beeb program about it, sadly its not viewable at present. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bkvw8v

[Hopkirk]

If you lived by the Mediterranean, and could move to somewhere cold and wet, what would you do!

[xenoblast]

King Arthur was a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. The OP refers to 3000 BC time when Egyptians were building pyramids not ships for conquering. They had sufficient abundance surrounding them and no need to search out more. Ancient Rome was founded around 750 BC and is well documented.

[winstonmin]

Thank you everyone. I do think that it's incredible that one people could be building palaces and creating treasures, while another not a million miles away had only just started fashioning crude tools.

[xenoblast]

Egypt was 3500 miles away from Britannia and the Iron Age.
Some of the earliest boats ever recorded belonged to the Egyptians. Much of Egyptian civilization developed along the Nile River, making maritime transportation essential to trade.They carried Egyptian goods to other Mediterranean lands, and brought back goods from those lands to Egypt.
Egyptians also used their ships for exploration. During the reign of Queen Hatsheput, explorers visited the eastern coast of Africa. Under Ramses III, Egyptians made a crossing of the Indian Ocean. It is indeed incredible they did not visit what is now the UK. Maybe they did but did a swift 180 back to warmer climes and civilization.

[winstonmin]

Thank you Xenoblast. I must do some studying. Cheers.

[Peter Pedant]

// and may have been a factor in the Roman interest in these islands.//

Claudius makes a speech to the Senate and explains that the mines in the southwest were one reason to invade - roman lead mines and their *** heaps somewhere in Somerset (very cadmium affected) and Wells Museum has a ?? pig ( lead ingot ) dredged from somewhere

well of course there were colonisation ( Sicily being Magna Graecia) and the Greek cities were in Asia Minor

and yeah the southern limit of the Egyptian pharaonic kingdom seems to have been Aswan ( syene ) sort of forever - no OK Abu Simbel

and hey nonny Scotland begins at hadrians wall

[Peter Pedant]

arent we confusing trade and culture?

Derby museum ( I go to alot of them) has a mesolithic ( yup mesoL) boat that sank with its cargo of stone

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hanson-log-boat

oops they say it is Bronze age ( 2% of humps and bumps in the english landscape is Bronze age - most are iron age)