Book excerpt: We all know that the Battle of Hastings was fought in 1066, London's 'one big burning blaze' tore through the capital in 1666 and that Britain declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939, but many of us remember the most important moments in our history by the folk stories which are attached to them. So we remember Henry VIII for his wives rather than the Reformation and Charles II for climbing a tree rather than the Civil War. But if we set aside these stories, do we really know what happened when, and why it's so important? Which came first, the Bronze Age or the Stone Age? Why did the Romans play such a significant role in our past? And how did a nation as small as Britain come to command such a vast empire? Here, Tim Taylor and the team of expert historians behind Channel 4's Time Team, answer these questions and many more, cataloguing British history in a way that is accessible to all. This book will give you and your family a clear and concise view of what happened when, and why.