Thread: [vOT] the date
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Old March 15th 16, 06:12 PM posted to uk.sci.weather
Col Col is offline
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Default [vOT] the date

On 15/03/2016 11:03, Brian Lawrence wrote:
On 14/03/2016 15:52, Asha Santon wrote:

Disclaimer: This is a serious question which has everything to do with
how to count and nothing to do with religious beliefs. I ask it here
because some wise heads are present.

The date 1AD refers to the year a man I will call Yesus was born. It is
irrelevant whether it actually happened or not. Most of the world did
not know about it at the time anyway.

News of the event did not reach the British Isles for a very long time
so my question is this:

In the British Isles during the year we now call 1AD, what was the date
(year only)?

I don't even know how to look it up.
I am aware of the Gregorian, Julian, and AUC calendars but I don't want
to know what the date was in Rome.


The simple answer would be that at that time years would not be numbered
at all. The indigenous population would have had no need to know what
the year was, although they may have had some concept of their own age
or that of relatives. Ages would probably be related to 'x summers'.
The pre-Roman population can be characterised as Iron Age Britons
(mostly Celts). They are estimated to have numbered between 3 & 4
million (1stC BC).

I imagine that knowing what time of year it was, in relation to crop
planting/harvesting etc was of vastly greater importance than the actual
year.

--
Col

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