Barrows
During many periods in the past, earthen mounds were erected to cover one or more burials; these are generally known as barrows. In the Neolithic period, long barrows were erected over wooden or stone burial chambers, while very many round barrows of various sorts were built in the succeeding Bronze Age. Although most of the barrows that are still visible in vast numbers, particularly on uplands, date to this time, there are also barrows dating from other periods. Among them are Iron-Age barrows, including some square ones in Yorkshire; barrows from the Roman period, particularly in south-east England, where there are often covered rich burials; and those from the Anglo-Saxon period, which include the spectacular royal cemetery at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.

Beaker culture
Thought to be of Iberian origin, the Beaker culture arrived in Britain from about 2300 BC. The 'Beaker people' get their name from the distinctive beakers that accompany their burials – possibly to carry a drink for the deceased on their final journey into the afterlife. Usually the skeleton is in a crouched position, and frequently there are other things in the grave, such as the remains of arrows, daggers and what might have been joints of meat. These burials belong to the time when metals – in this case, bronze – were first beginning to be used in Britain.

Bede
This 8th-century monk (c673-735) lived in the great Northumbrian monastery at Jarrow and wrote an ecclesiastical history of England which is a prime source for much that happened in Britain in the so-called Dark Ages and the early Anglo-Saxon period. He has been called the 'father of English history'.

Beetles
There are many different types of these shiny black insects, each of which prefers a particular type of environment. When the remains of a specific sort of beetle are found in archaeological excavations, it is possible, therefore, for the environmental specialists to make some suggestion of what the environment was like in ancient times. This work is based on the assumption that the various species liked the same kinds of places and conditions in the past as they do today. See environmental archaeology.

Bloom
In early ironworking, the heating of iron ore, charcoal and limestone resulted in a 'bloom' – a lump of iron at the bottom of the furnace. This was hammered (forged) to remove impurities and charcoal, to produce 'wrought iron' which could then be made into various useful objects. Pieces of bloom and the slag associated with the heating of the ore are useful finds for the archaeologist, as they identify early metalworking sites.

Bogs
These are archaeologically important areas of waterlogged fens and marsh – such as the Fenland of eastern England and the Somerset Levels. Here, anaerobic conditions are common, and so the sorts of objects and structures that would normally rot away may well be preserved. Biological evidence such as pollen, seeds, leaves and so on may also be preserved in the same way, enabling environmental archaeologists to work out what the landscape looked like in the past.

Bones
The identification of bones – both human and animal – from archaeological sites can tell us a great deal. First, researchers must work out which bones they are (because they are often broken and in small pieces) and from which species they come. Once this has been done – and it is a very skilled job – some idea can be gained not only of species being hunted or farmed at the time and the butchery techniques and selection of joints preferred, but also of the wild animals in the area, down to the smallest frogs, mice and so on.

The examination of human bones can lead to a greater understanding of the prehistoric population's range of diet, and the deficiencies and diseases (but only those that affect bones) which they were afflicted with.

Bronze Age
The Bronze Age was the period – from about 2300 to 700 BC – when metal first began to be widely used in Britain, possibly as a result of the increase in contact with Europe. However, various types of stone, particularly flint, remained very important for long after metal became available. The Bronze Age saw the introduction of cremation of the dead and burials in round barrows. The later (and best-known) phases of construction at Stonehenge also date from this period.

Burghal Hidage
Sometime during the Anglo-Saxon period, probably in the 9th century under Alfred the Great, a scheme was drawn up to provide defences for a number of towns and forts in southern England. It was based on the idea that one man standing on the battlements of a wooden fort could defend a length of defences of about 1.2m (4ft). From this it was clear to the Anglo-Saxon powers-that-be that x number of men would be needed to defend a town or fort of x dimensions. The countryside was assessed in the form of 'hides', which were not so much a measure of acreage as the amount of land needed to support a large extended family. Each hide had to supply one man to the local fortified site, or 'burh'.

The Burghal Hidage is a document dating from c909, which lists the number of hides (and, therefore, men) required to defend the perimeters of burhs. By using the formula above, even where we do not know the actual outline of the Anglo-Saxon defensive sites, it is possible to work out the length of the defences. The places listed in the Burghal Hidage include a number of old Roman centres such as Chichester, Bath and Winchester; some reused earlier hillforts such as Chisbury, Halwell and Pilton; some new promontory forts such as Lyng, Langport and Burpham; and, most interestingly, newly planned Saxon towns at Wallingford, Oxford, Wareham and Cricklade.