Iron Age

The Iron Age is the period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. Iron production is known to have taken place in Anatolia at least as early as 1200 BC, with some contemporary archaeological evidence pointing to earlier dates.

The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of these materials coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles. The Iron Age as an archaeological term indicates the condition as to civilization and culture of a people using iron as the material for their cutting tools and weapons. The Iron Age is the third principal period of the three-age system created by Christian Thomsen (1788–1865) for classifying ancient societies and prehistoric stages of progress.

In historical archaeology, the ancient literature of the Iron Age includes the earliest texts preserved in manuscript tradition. Sanskrit and Chinese literature flourished in the Iron Age. Other texts include the Avestan Gathas, the Indian Vedas and the oldest parts of the Hebrew Bible. The principal feature that distinguishes the Iron Age from the preceding ages is the introduction of alphabetic characters, and the consequent development of written language which enabled literature and historic record.

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from Latin: ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is by mass the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust. Its abundance in rocky planets like Earth is due to its abundant production by fusion in high-mass stars, where the production of nickel-56 (which decays to the most common isotope of iron) is the last nuclear fusion reaction that is exothermic. Consequently, radioactive nickel is the last element to be produced before the violent collapse of a supernova scatters precursor radionuclide of iron into space.

Like other group 8 elements, iron exists in a wide range of oxidation states, −2 to +6, although +2 and +3 are the most common. Elemental iron occurs in meteoroids and other low oxygen environments, but is reactive to oxygen and water. Fresh iron surfaces appear lustrous silvery-gray, but oxidize in normal air to give hydrated iron oxides, commonly known as rust. Unlike many other metals which form passivating oxide layers, iron oxides occupy more volume than the metal and thus flake off, exposing fresh surfaces for corrosion.

British Iron Age

The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, which had an independent Iron Age culture of its own. The parallel phase of Irish archaeology is termed the Irish Iron Age. The Iron Age is not an archaeological horizon of common artefacts, but is rather a locally diverse cultural phase.

The British Iron Age lasted in theory from the first significant use of iron for tools and weapons in Britain to the Romanisation of the southern half of the island. The Romanised culture is termed Roman Britain and is considered to supplant the British Iron Age. The Irish Iron Age was ended by the rise of Christianity.

While the tribes populating the island are often and especially popularly considered to have belonged to a broadly Celtic culture, or sometimes an Insular Celtic sub-group (a label which includes the Iron Age Irish, but excludes the continental Celtic cultures of Gaul and Iberia), in recent years the usefulness of this label has become a matter of controversy. At a minimum, "Celtic" is a linguistic term without an implication of a lasting cultural unity connecting Gaul with the British Isles throughout the Iron Age. The Brythonic languages spoken in Britain at this time, as well as others including the Goidelic and Gaulish languages of neighbouring Ireland and Gaul respectively, certainly belong to the group known as Celtic languages. However it cannot be assumed that particular cultural features found in one Celtic-speaking culture can be extrapolated to the others.

BBC Learning

BBC Learning can refer to the following:

BBC Worldwide

The BBC-Learning website was an attempt by BBC Worldwide to provide learning programs through the internet, the primary content of the website were sponsored list of universities and organizations which were providing e-learning, distance learning and similar courses.

BBC-Learning with its limited content was not successful at attracting people and therefore BBC decided to close the website.

The public service side of the BBC continues to support educational and learning resources through a selection of websites. These websites include BBC Learning Zone and BBC Learning Languages.

Recently BBC has started a section on its main website focused on students, parents and teachers. This website is still in beta test status.

BBC Learning Zone

The BBC Learning Zone was an educational strand run by the BBC as an overnight service on BBC Two. It shows programming aimed at students in Primary, Secondary and Higher Education and to adult learners. Viewers are encouraged to watch programmes after the original broadcast via the use of, originally VHS, currently DVD. In 2015, the BBC confirmed that due to budget cuts, the service would no longer be running.

History

The BBC Learning Zone was launched in October 1995 as an extension service of BBC Two, to free up more of their schedule. Previously, these educational programmes had been based on the channel in mornings and often until the early afternoon on weekdays. However, following the channel's rebranding to the '2' idents and the increased viewer perception that resulted from it, the channel was anxious to use more of their daytime for different programming. The Learning Zone was the solution to this problem.

The idea had been around for a while: by 1995 both ITV and Channel 4 were operating as 24-hour channels, freeing up their prime time and daytime schedules. The BBC had also had a go at producing specialist television overnight by launching BBC Select. This service played out encrypted programming for the professions (Doctors, Lawyers etc.) overnight between 1992 and 1994.