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Hertfordshire is an English county, founded in the Norse–Saxon wars of the 9th century, and developed through commerce serving London. It is a land-locked county that was several times the seat of Parliament. From origins in brewing and papermaking, through aircraft manufacture, the county has developed a wider range of industry in which pharmaceuticals, financial services and film-making are prominent. Today, with a population slightly over 1 million, Hertfordshire services, industry and commerce dominate the economy, with fewer than 2000 people working in agriculture, forestry and fishing. Hertfordshire is one of the historic counties of England first recorded in the early 10th century. Its development has been tied with that of London, which lies on its southern border. London is the largest city in Western Europe; it requires an enormous tonnage of supplies each day and Hertfordshire grew wealthy on the proceeds of trade because no less than three of the old Roman roads serving the capital run through it, as do the Grand Union Canal and other watercourses. In the 19th century, rail links sprang up in the county, linking London to the north. Hatfield in Hertfordshire has seen two rail crashes of international importance (in 1870 and 2000). Though nowadays Hertfordshire tends to be politically conservative, historically it was the site of a number of uprisings against the Crown, particularly in the First Barons' War, the Peasants' Revolt, the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War. The county has a rich intellectual history, and many writers of major importance, from Geoffrey Chaucer to Beatrix Potter, have connections there. Quite a number of Prime Ministers were born or grew up in Hertfordshire. The county contains a curiously large number of abandoned settlements, which K. Rutherford Davis attributes to a mixture of poor harvests on soil hard to farm, and the Black Death which ravaged Hertfordshire starting in 1349. ==Early history== The earliest evidence of human occupation in Hertfordshire come from a gravel pit in Rickmansworth. The finds (of flint tools) date back 350,000 years,〔Rook 1984, p. 20.〕 long before Britain became an island. People have probably lived in the land now called Hertfordshire for about 12,000 years, since the Mesolithic period〔("The Early Mesolithic Period" ), ''Hertfordshire County Council'', retrieved 9 August 2009.〕 in Ware (making Ware one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe).〔("Ware - The Story so Far " ), ''Ware Online'', retrieved 20 December 2012.〕 Settlement continued through the Neolithic period, with evidence of occupation sites, enclosures, long barrows and even an unusual dog cemetery in the region.〔Williamson 2000, p. 23.〕〔Castleden 1992, pp. 123-126〕 Although occupied, the area had a relatively low population in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age, perhaps because of its heavy, relatively poorly drained soil.〔Williamson 2000, p. 24.〕 Nevertheless, just south of present-day Ware and Hertford there is some evidence of an increase in the population, with typical round huts and farming activity having been found at a site called Foxholes Farm.〔Kiln & Partridge 1994, p. 18.〕 There is no evidence of settlement at Hertford itself from this period,〔Kiln & Partridge 1994, p. 23.〕 although Ware and perhaps Hertford seem to have been occupied during Roman times.〔Kiln & Partridge 1994, pp. 28-62.〕 In the Iron age, a Celtic tribe called the Catuvellauni occupied Hertfordshire. Their main settlement (or oppidum) was Verlamion on the River Ver (near present-day St Albans). Other ''oppida'' in Hertfordshire include sites at Cow Roast near Tring, Wheathampstead, Welwyn, Braughing, and Baldock.〔Williamson 2000, p. 37.〕 Hertfordshire contains several Iron Age hill forts, including the largest example in Eastern England at Ravensburgh Castle in Hexton.〔("Tribes and Chieftains: The Iron Age" ), ''Hertfordshire County Council'', retrieved 9 August 2009.〕 There is a wealth of Iron Age burial sites in Hertfordshire, making it a place of international importance in Iron Age study.〔 The large number of sites of all types indicates dense and complex settlement patterns immediately prior to the Roman invasion.〔Cuncliffe 2005, p. 163.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Hertfordshire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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