13. Gradually to this race came the knowledge of metals, and we reach the =Bronze Age=, and so, step by step, we come to the =Iron Age=. =Summary.=--The remains of the Pit-Dwellers are found on desolate heaths and moorlands. These men used stone weapons, which they smoothed and polished. They had a greater variety of tools than the Drift Men. They were a non-Aryan race; that is, they did not till the soil. They were a pastoral people; that is, they kept cattle. Their settlements were on the hilltops. Their houses were pits, covered with a rough kind of roof, and were placed in clusters. In the centre of each dwelling was a hearth made of stones. All that can be seen of them now are circular hollows, often called "fairy rings". The clusters of huts were usually enclosed by an earthen wall or rampart. In course of time they learned to cultivate the ground. They worked _downhill_, and carved out many hillsides into broad terraces, which can still be traced in some places, as between Hitchin and Luton. An Aryan race also found its way here. These cultivated the soil, but their settlements were in the _valleys_, near running streams. An Aryan settlement had an _open space_ in the centre, or meeting-ground. The huts were built round this. Then came the garden-ground, and then the grazing-lands. They began cultivating from the _bottom_ of the hills, and worked upwards. In time they learned the use of metal--bronze,--and gradually also they came to know the value of iron. CHAPTER IV EARTHWORKS, MOUNDS, BARROWS, ETC. 1. There are still remaining, in many parts of the country, curious mounds and stones. We can say very little about them here; but though learned men have discovered much, there is still a good deal to be explained concerning them. Old-world stories put most of these strange objects down to the work of witches, fairies, or giants; some ascribe them to the Romans, or to Oliver Cromwell; others even to the devil. But most of them really belong to this period of which we are speaking--the very early part of our history, of which there is no written record. 2. =Earthworks= are of many kinds, but the very earliest are usually found on hilltops. There are some which enclose considerable spaces of ground, bounded by an earthen rampart, with a ditch outside. Sometimes there are two such ramparts. Frequently they are spoken of as =British Towns= or =British Camps=. They appear to have been enclosures into which the cattle were driven in time of danger, and in which a whole tribe could take refuge and hold out against their enemies.