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The coastal town of Poole, Dorset, England is a popular tourist destination today, though few of the people staying in a luxury Poole hotel, or one if its quaint bed and breakfasts, realizes that human settlements in the area date back to the Iron Age, and many remains and relics have been found and are on display. The Iron Age is an interesting period in human social evolution. The name is derived from the fact that most of the tools, whether they were used for cutting or hunting or any other purpose, were primarily made of iron.

The Iron Age followed behind the Bronze Age, and dates for this period usually vary depending on location and geography. Much like the classification for the Iron Age, The Bronze Age is heavily associated with the use of this metal for basic tools. The use of iron did begin to occur during the Bronze Age, and it is generally accepted that the Iron Age begins as the use of bronze diminished and was finally almost entirely replaced. One of the reasons iron was able to be used is that smelting tools with higher temperature ranges became available. Iron melts at a higher temperature than bronze.

It is generally believed that for England it began somewhere around the 9th Century BCE and lasts through to the Roman conquest. One of the most famous Iron Age remains in the region of Dorset is the Maiden Castle. This structure is a basic hill fort and is believed to have been built in about 600 BCE, though habitation of the area dates back further. It is also estimated that around 450 BCE the fort underwent a major transformation making it one of the largest forts in Britain. By around 100 BCE habitation at the fort went into a major decline was almost completely vacated during the Roman era.

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