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Quiz about Greatest British Ancient Monuments

Greatest British Ancient Monuments Quiz

Britain is full of grand ancient monuments. The Radio Times asked readers to vote for their favourite pre-historic and Roman structures, and here are some questions on the top ten (in reverse order, of course!)

A multiple-choice quiz by riotgrrl. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
riotgrrl

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
139,274

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
907

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The Cerne Abbas Giant is an ancient, and very rude, chalk hill figure, but many historians and archaeologists claim this is the odd monument out in this list, dating from a post-Roman period. When is it most frequently dated from? Hint

1950s

1650s

1150s

650s

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Question 2 of 10

2. Maes Howe is a burial chamber on the Orkney Islands built in around 3000 BC, into which the sun only shines at sunset on Midwinters Day. It is also notable for some graffiti, scrawled by whom?
Hint

Vikings

Victorian lovers

Hippies

Jacobite leaders

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. The Uffington White Horse is one of 16 ancient chalk hill horses in southern England. It has been maintained for nearly three thousand years. But if this maintenance was abandoned, how quickly would it disappear?
Hint

Twenty years

Two hundred years

Sixty years

Six years

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Maiden Castle, a huge system of earth ramparts, was built by Celtic tribes as a bastion against the Roman invasion.

True

False

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Question 5 of 10

5. At Avebury, in Wiltshire, is the biggest prehistoric stone circle in the world. A whole village lies inside the circle and henge complex. How many stones were originally set in the circle? Hint

160

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Question 6 of 10

6. Fishbourne Roman Palace, on the South Coast, would have been a grand palace on a totally different scale to any pre-Roman dwellings. It is a very early Romano-British building, with a formal garden and, of course, hypocausts. What modern innovation are hypocausts likened to? Hint

Garages

Loft Insulation

Central Heating

Flushing Toilets

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Skara Brae is a 5,000-year-old village in the Orkney Islands. Eight houses are connected by covered walkways. How are these houses organised? Hint

All identical in size and features

Four large ones and four small ones

Seven smaller houses around one large one

Six small houses between two larger ones

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Hadrian's Wall is the great fortification marking the northern limit of the Roman Empire. The several metre high defence stretches 73 miles from the Solway Firth to what is now the area of Newcastle known as: Hint

Jesmond

Wallsend

Byker Wall

South Shields

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Question 9 of 10

9. The Roman Baths at Bath, although substantially restored, still function. The baths were among the grandest in the Empire and held sacred the natural hot spring which feeds the pool. How was the town known to the Romans? Hint

Aquae Arnemetiae

Aquae Sulis

Eboracum

Londinium

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Question 10 of 10

10. As you may have guessed, topping the poll is Stonehenge, that famous stone circle. It incorporates stone from up to 120 miles away - transported before the invention of the wheel, and carved and lifted into place - before metal tools were used. But what actually is a henge? Hint

Stone circle

Circular mound

Prehistoric shrine

Circular ditch

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: 1650s

Said to have been created to celebrate the end of Puritan rule in England, this priapic figure has been the cause of much sniggering ever since.

2. Maes Howe is a burial chamber on the Orkney Islands built in around 3000 BC, into which the sun only shines at sunset on Midwinters Day. It is also notable for some graffiti, scrawled by whom?

Answer: Vikings

In 1153, Viking marauders stole the treasure from this already ancient catacomb. They wrote things such as: "Ofram the son of Sigurd carved these runes" and "Ingigerth is the most beautiful of women". The tomb was then forgotten and only rediscovered in the nineteenth century.

Answer: Six years

The galloping horse has become the symbol of its part of south Oxfordshire, known as the Vale of the White Horse.

4. Maiden Castle, a huge system of earth ramparts, was built by Celtic tribes as a bastion against the Roman invasion.

Answer: False

The three-tiered defences were excavated between 400 and 200 BC, and only later became a focus of British defiance, and the scene of a very bloody battle when the superior Roman forces finally took it.

5. At Avebury, in Wiltshire, is the biggest prehistoric stone circle in the world. A whole village lies inside the circle and henge complex. How many stones were originally set in the circle?

Answer: 160

Two further stone circles lie inside the outer, each of which originally had an enormous stone in their centres, and further avenues trail away from the site. This must surely have been a very important location.

Answer: Central Heating

Hypocausts circulated heat underneath the grand mosaic floors.

7. Skara Brae is a 5,000-year-old village in the Orkney Islands. Eight houses are connected by covered walkways. How are these houses organised?

Answer: All identical in size and features

This is often held to show that this neolithic society was egalitarian, with no powerful chief.

Answer: Wallsend

Thousands of soldiers lived in many forts along the length of the wall, built on the command of the Emperor Hadrian from 122 AD. This was just one of Hadrian's grand building projects, which included a new city in Egypt and the reconstruction of the Pantheon in Rome.

Answer: Aquae Sulis

An ancient British goddess was held to be the source of the hot spring. She was Romanised as Sulis Minerva, and curses on enemies were written down and thrown down to her.

Answer: Circular ditch

The ditch was the earliest phase of the site. It was then developed, over millenia, and finished about 1800BC, to align with various sunrises and sunsets at key times of year. Its purpose remains a mystery, its iconic status for millions of tourists and a few modern-day druids unquestionable.

Source: Author riotgrrl

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor fringe before going online.
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