The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word ALBION
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
L
B
I
O
N
More clues leading to the result ALBION
- Pound with a shriek of joy entered an ancient island of poets
- “England”: book penned by a famous author
- A celebrity pens book portraying ancient Britain
- Midland footballers out on bail?
- Footballers out on bail?
- Blair? No, not right to transform Britain
- No bail out for Britain?
- A hero netting brave header for England
- Britain of old: “no bail out” formed its basis
- One missing from heart of defence getting forward for football team?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "ancient Britain" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ancient britain = albion.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.