The Isle of Wight has an archaeological heritage reflecting both its island status and its close links with the mainland. This includes:
- Flint and stone artefacts from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic
- Two Neolithic long barrows and a mortuary enclosure
- Over 300 Bronze Age round barrows, mainly on the chalk downs
- An unfinished Iron Age hill fort and other earthworks
- Many Iron Age coins recorded recently through the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS)
- Eight known Roman villas, evidence of other Roman buildings and many finds
- Important Anglo-Saxon cemeteries and grave goods of ‘Jutish’ type
- A growing number of Anglo-Saxon coins recorded through PAS
- The medieval Carisbrooke Castle, a Tudor fort at Yarmouth and later fortifications of 19th and 20th Centuries
- Towns with medieval street plans at Newport and Yarmouth and the failed medieval settlement at Newtown.
Learn more about the management of our heritage by the Isle of Wight County Archaeology and Historic Environment Service. Investigate this heritage at Isle of Wight Council museums. Visit sites in the care of the National Trust and other historic places including Carisbrooke Castle and Carisbrooke Castle Museum, Yarmouth Castle, Brading Roman Villa and Newport Roman Villa. Explore artefacts and coins found on the Isle of Wight and recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. Discover more about Isle of Wight finds and volunteering on our blog. To get involved, join a local society such as the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society or come to a local event.
