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Life in the UK Test Chapter 3 questions · Part 1 — Early Britain to the Vikings

Updated 26 August 2026

Every question in our 969-question bank that comes from this chapter of the official study material — all 44 of them, grouped by topic, each with the answer and an explanation. Read the chapter first in the free plain-English study guide, or practise in the official 24-question format with the 40 mixed practice tests. The real test has 24 questions in 45 minutes with a 75% pass mark. No sign-up.

Early Britain

1. Who were the first people to live in Britain?

  1. Hunter-gatherers
  2. Farmers
  3. Bronze metalworkers
  4. Roman soldiers
Show answer

Answer: A — Hunter-gatherers

Britain's earliest inhabitants lived in the Stone Age by hunting and gathering, long before farming began.

2. About how long ago did Britain become permanently separated from the continent by the Channel?

  1. About 10,000 years ago
  2. About 6,000 years ago
  3. About 4,000 years ago
  4. About 2,000 years ago
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Answer: A — About 10,000 years ago

The land bridge to the continent was lost about 10,000 years ago, leaving Britain an island.

3. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. The first farmers arrived in Britain 3,000 years ago.
  2. The first farmers arrived in Britain 6,000 years ago.
Show answer

Answer: B — The first farmers arrived in Britain 6,000 years ago.

Farming reached Britain 6,000 years ago, well after the first hunter-gatherers.

4. Where did the ancestors of Britain's first farmers probably come from?

  1. South-east Europe
  2. Scandinavia
  3. North Africa
  4. Central Asia
Show answer

Answer: A — South-east Europe

Farming spread into Britain with people whose ancestors probably came from south-east Europe.

5. In which English county does Stonehenge stand?

  1. Wiltshire
  2. Dorset
  3. Suffolk
  4. Somerset
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Answer: A — Wiltshire

Stonehenge stands in Wiltshire and is a World Heritage Site.

6. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? Skara Brae, the best preserved prehistoric village in northern Europe, lies on the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
Show answer

Answer: B — FALSE

FALSE — Skara Brae is on ORKNEY, off the north coast of SCOTLAND. It shows how people lived near the end of the Stone Age.

7. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. Stonehenge was probably a special gathering place for seasonal ceremonies.
  2. Stonehenge was probably an Iron Age hill fort built to defend a farming settlement.
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Answer: A — Stonehenge was probably a special gathering place for seasonal ceremonies.

Stonehenge is understood as a ceremonial gathering place rather than a defensive site.

8. In the Bronze Age, people buried their dead in tombs called what?

  1. Round barrows
  2. Hill forts
  3. Roundhouses
  4. Ship burials
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Answer: A — Round barrows

Bronze Age burials were made in round barrows, while roundhouses were where people lived.

9. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. A very impressive Iron Age hill fort can still be seen at Maiden Castle in Dorset.
  2. A very impressive Iron Age hill fort can still be seen at Maiden Castle in Wiltshire.
Show answer

Answer: A — A very impressive Iron Age hill fort can still be seen at Maiden Castle in Dorset.

Maiden Castle, one of the most impressive hill forts still visible, is in the county of Dorset.

10. Which TWO of the following were common occupations in Iron Age Britain?

  1. Farmers
  2. Craft workers
  3. Merchants
  4. Priests
Show answer

Answer: A and B — Farmers; Craft workers

Most people in the Iron Age were farmers, craft workers or warriors.

11. The language spoken by the people of the Iron Age in Britain belonged to which language family?

  1. Celtic
  2. Germanic
  3. Latin
  4. Norse
Show answer

Answer: A — Celtic

Iron Age Britons spoke a Celtic language, and related languages survive in parts of Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

12. The first coins to be minted in Britain were made by the people of which period?

  1. The Iron Age
  2. The Bronze Age
  3. The Stone Age
  4. The Roman occupation
Show answer

Answer: A — The Iron Age

Iron Age people minted Britain's first coins, some carrying the names of their kings, which marks the beginning of British history.

The Romans

13. Who led a Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC?

  1. Julius Caesar
  2. Emperor Claudius
  3. Emperor Hadrian
  4. Boudicca
Show answer

Answer: A — Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar's invasion of 55 BC failed, leaving Britain outside the Roman Empire for nearly another century.

14. In which year did the Emperor Claudius lead a new Roman invasion of Britain?

  1. AD 43
  2. 55 BC
  3. AD 410
  4. AD 600
Show answer

Answer: A — AD 43

The successful Roman conquest began in AD 43 under Claudius.

15. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. Boudicca was queen of the Picts in what is now northern Scotland.
  2. Boudicca was queen of the Iceni in what is now eastern England.
Show answer

Answer: B — Boudicca was queen of the Iceni in what is now eastern England.

Boudicca led the Iceni of eastern England against the Roman occupation.

16. Where is there a statue of Boudicca?

  1. Westminster Bridge in London
  2. Tower Bridge in London
  3. Trafalgar Square in London
  4. Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland
Show answer

Answer: A — Westminster Bridge in London

Boudicca is commemorated by a statue on Westminster Bridge, near the Houses of Parliament.

17. Hadrian's Wall was built in the north of England to keep out which people?

  1. The Picts
  2. The Angles
  3. The Iceni
  4. The Vikings
Show answer

Answer: A — The Picts

The wall was built against the Picts, the ancestors of the Scottish people.

18. Which TWO forts of Hadrian's Wall can still be seen today?

  1. Housesteads
  2. Vindolanda
  3. Maiden Castle
  4. Skara Brae
Show answer

Answer: A and B — Housesteads; Vindolanda

Housesteads and Vindolanda are surviving forts along Hadrian's Wall.

19. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? Areas of what is now Scotland were never conquered by the Romans.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
Show answer

Answer: A — TRUE

Roman control never extended over all of what is now Scotland, which is why Hadrian's Wall was built.

20. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. The Romans remained in Britain for 400 years.
  2. The Romans remained in Britain for 100 years.
Show answer

Answer: A — The Romans remained in Britain for 400 years.

The Romans remained in Britain for 400 years. The figure of nearly 100 years is a different one: it is the gap between Julius Caesar's failed invasion of 55 BC and the successful conquest under Claudius.

21. During which centuries did the first Christian communities begin to appear in Britain?

  1. The 3rd and 4th centuries AD
  2. The 1st and 2nd centuries AD
  3. The 5th and 6th centuries AD
  4. The 7th and 8th centuries AD
Show answer

Answer: A — The 3rd and 4th centuries AD

Christianity first took root in Britain during the later Roman period, in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.

22. Which of the following did the Romans introduce to Britain?

  1. New plants and animals
  2. The Celtic language family
  3. Round barrows for burying the dead
  4. Hill forts such as Maiden Castle
Show answer

Answer: A — New plants and animals

Alongside roads, public buildings and a structure of law, the Romans brought new plants and animals to Britain.

23. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? Hadrian's Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
Show answer

Answer: A — TRUE

Hadrian's Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular area for walkers.

The Anglo-Saxons

24. In which year did the Roman army leave Britain?

  1. AD 410
  2. AD 43
  3. AD 600
  4. AD 789
Show answer

Answer: A — AD 410

The Roman army withdrew in AD 410 to defend other parts of the Empire and never came back.

25. Which TWO of the following tribes from northern Europe invaded Britain after the Romans left?

  1. The Angles
  2. The Saxons
  3. The Picts
  4. The Iceni
Show answer

Answer: A and B — The Angles; The Saxons

The Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons invaded from northern Europe after Roman rule ended.

26. By about which date were Anglo-Saxon kingdoms established in Britain?

  1. About AD 600
  2. About AD 410
  3. About AD 789
  4. About AD 1000
Show answer

Answer: A — About AD 600

After a period of fighting, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established by about AD 600.

27. Sutton Hoo, the burial place of an Anglo-Saxon king, is in which modern county?

  1. Suffolk
  2. Norfolk
  3. Wiltshire
  4. Kent
Show answer

Answer: A — Suffolk

The royal burial at Sutton Hoo lies in what is now Suffolk.

28. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? The king buried at Sutton Hoo was placed in a ship which was then covered by a mound of earth.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
Show answer

Answer: A — TRUE

The Sutton Hoo king was buried with treasure and armour in a ship beneath an earth mound.

29. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. All of Britain, including Wales and Scotland, came under Anglo-Saxon rule.
  2. Much of what is now Wales and Scotland remained free of Anglo-Saxon rule.
Show answer

Answer: B — Much of what is now Wales and Scotland remained free of Anglo-Saxon rule.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms lay mainly in what is now England. Much of what is now Wales, and Scotland, stayed outside Anglo-Saxon rule.

30. Who founded a monastery on the island of Iona?

  1. St Columba
  2. St Patrick
  3. St Augustine
  4. St David
Show answer

Answer: A — St Columba

St Columba, a missionary from Ireland, founded the monastery on Iona off the coast of what is now Scotland.

31. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. St Patrick, a missionary from Ireland, would become the patron saint of Ireland.
  2. St Patrick, a missionary from Rome, would become the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
Show answer

Answer: A — St Patrick, a missionary from Ireland, would become the patron saint of Ireland.

St Patrick was among the Irish missionaries who spread Christianity in the north and became Ireland's patron saint.

32. Who led missionaries from Rome and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury?

  1. St Augustine
  2. St Columba
  3. St Patrick
  4. St George
Show answer

Answer: A — St Augustine

St Augustine spread Christianity in the south and was the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

33. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? The Anglo-Saxons were Christians when they first came to Britain.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
Show answer

Answer: B — FALSE

The Anglo-Saxons were not Christians on arrival; missionaries converted them during this period.

34. The languages spoken by the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons form the basis of which language?

  1. Modern-day English
  2. Modern Welsh
  3. Latin
  4. The Celtic languages
Show answer

Answer: A — Modern-day English

Modern English grew out of the languages the Anglo-Saxon invaders brought with them.

The Vikings

35. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united under King Alfred the Great.
  2. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united under King Kenneth MacAlpin.
Show answer

Answer: A — The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united under King Alfred the Great.

Alfred the Great united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and defeated the Vikings; Kenneth MacAlpin united the kingdom that became Scotland.

36. The Vikings came from Denmark, Norway and which other country?

  1. Sweden
  2. Iceland
  3. Germany
  4. The Netherlands
Show answer

Answer: A — Sweden

The Vikings came from three Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

37. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. The Vikings first visited Britain in AD 489.
  2. The Vikings first visited Britain in AD 789.
Show answer

Answer: B — The Vikings first visited Britain in AD 789.

The first Viking raids on Britain came in AD 789.

38. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? The Vikings first came to Britain in order to trade peacefully with coastal towns.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
Show answer

Answer: B — FALSE

Their first visits were raids to seize goods and slaves, not peaceful trade.

39. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? The Vikings began to stay and form their own communities in the east of England and Scotland.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
Show answer

Answer: A — TRUE

After the early raids the Vikings settled and built communities in eastern England and in Scotland.

40. The area of eastern and northern England where many Viking invaders settled became known as what?

  1. The Danelaw
  2. The Pale
  3. Wessex
  4. The Marches
Show answer

Answer: A — The Danelaw

Viking settlement in eastern and northern England gave the region the name the Danelaw.

41. Which TWO of the following place names come from the Viking languages?

  1. Grimsby
  2. Scunthorpe
  3. Canterbury
  4. Vindolanda
Show answer

Answer: A and B — Grimsby; Scunthorpe

Grimsby and Scunthorpe are among the many Danelaw place names of Viking origin.

42. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. The Viking settlers mixed with local communities and some converted to Christianity.
  2. The Viking settlers kept apart from local communities and none of them became Christians.
Show answer

Answer: A — The Viking settlers mixed with local communities and some converted to Christianity.

Viking settlers blended into local society and a number of them became Christians.

43. Who was the first of the Danish kings to rule in England?

  1. Cnut, also called Canute
  2. Alfred the Great
  3. Kenneth MacAlpin
  4. Edward the Confessor
Show answer

Answer: A — Cnut, also called Canute

Anglo-Saxon rule was broken by a short period of Danish kings, the first being Cnut, also called Canute.

44. In the north, the threat of Viking attack encouraged the people to unite under which king?

  1. Kenneth MacAlpin
  2. Alfred the Great
  3. Cnut
  4. Macbeth
Show answer

Answer: A — Kenneth MacAlpin

Viking pressure led the people of the north to unite under Kenneth MacAlpin, and the term Scotland came into use.

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