{"id":35593,"date":"2024-03-20T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/25005fd4-f06a-4fcc-85af-d96d057b7216"},"modified":"2024-03-20T02:39:21","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T01:39:21","slug":"the-biggest-ever-hoard-of-bronze-age-artefacts-has-been-discovered-in-england-and-its-got-historians-excited","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/the-biggest-ever-hoard-of-bronze-age-artefacts-has-been-discovered-in-england-and-its-got-historians-excited\/","title":{"rendered":"The biggest-ever hoard of Bronze Age artefacts has been discovered in England, and it’s got historians excited"},"content":{"rendered":"

The discovery of the Must Farm settlement, a Late Bronze Age site in the East Anglian Fens, offers an extraordinary insight into the way people lived nearly 3,000 years ago. <\/p>

By Daniel Graham\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 20 March 2024 at 01:00 AM<\/p>

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An extensive archaeological excavation project in the East Anglian Fens has revealed a huge collection of Bronze Age artefacts. <\/p>

Analysis suggests that the Must Farm settlement<\/a>, a group of circular wooden houses built on stilts over water,\u00a0<\/strong>is the best-preserved Bronze Age site ever found in Britain. So profound is the find that the remains have been dubbed ‘Peterborough\u2019s Pompei’ (the city of Peterborough lies just a few miles to the west).<\/p>

The project, carried out by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit<\/a> of the University of Cambridge, and funded by Historic England<\/a>, presents a vivid insight into the way people lived\u00a0nearly 3,000\u00a0years ago.<\/p>

Thousands of items were excavated at the site. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Preserved by fire and water<\/h3>

The Must Farm settlement \u2013 unearthed between Peterborough and Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire \u2013 dates to the end of the Bronze Age (850 BC). According to the Cambridge Archaeological Unit research, the people that constructed the buildings did so using trees taken from local woodland, but the site was only occupied for between nine months and a year before a fire destroyed it. <\/p>

The cause of the fire is a mystery, but what is known is that it spread quickly. As the buildings burned, their floors collapsed and everything that lay upon them dropped into the river below. <\/p>

\"Excavation\"
Archaeologists excavating the site. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Using environmental analysis, researchers believe that the river’s vegetation helped to cushion the material as it hit the water, preventing damage. The sudden release of the buildings’ contents meant that they landed in the river directly below where they had been stored. The combination of charring and waterlogging meant that the objects were preserve where they fell, offering a clear image of how the roundhouses were used.<\/p>

\"Fragment
Fragment of textile. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Treasure trove of finds<\/h3>

Of the thousands of artefacts carefully excavated from the site were almost 200 wooden objects, over 150 fibre and textile items, 128 pottery vessels and more than 90 pieces of metalwork. <\/p>

A number of rare personal items were also found, including exotic glass beads and decorated textiles \u2013 some of the finest produced in Europe at that time.<\/p>