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Post by UKarchaeology on Jan 24, 2016 23:09:21 GMT
   Almost 3,000 years after being destroyed by fire, the astonishingly well preserved remains of two Bronze Age houses and their contents have been discovered at a quarry site in Peterborough. The artefacts include a collection of everyday domestic objects unprecedented from any site in Britain, including jewellery, spears, daggers, giant food storage jars and delicate drinking cups, glass beads, textiles and a copper spindle with thread still wound around it. The remains of the large wooden houses, built on stilts in a waterlogged fenland site beside the ancient course of the river Nene, are the best preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found in Britain. The most poignant object, suggesting that the last meal in the house was abandoned as the owners fled, was a cooking pot containing a wooden spoon and the remains of food calcified from the heat of the fire. “It feels almost rude to be intruding,” said the site director, Mark Knight. “It doesn’t feel like archaeology any more, it feels like somebody’s house has burned down and we’re going in and picking over their goods.” Full story: www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/12/a-bronze-age-pompeii-archaeologists-hail-discovery-of-peterborough-site |
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Post by UKarchaeology on Jan 29, 2016 18:49:24 GMT
Another article on the matter; 3,000-year-old preserved artifacts show how people livedArchaeologists have discovered what is believed to be the most well-preserved remains of 3,000-year-old houses ever found in Britain. The settlement was found in central England and can be dated around 1,200 to 800 BC, towards the end of the Bronze Age. A fire caused the wooden circular houses to collapse into a river but much of the material items in the homes have remained. Found intact were jewelry, spears, daggers, and clothing. There were even remnants of food found. Archaeologists expect the find will tell us much about the lives of the residents. "We are learning more about the food our ancestors ate, and the pottery they used to cook and serve it," said Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, in a statement. It's believed the people living in the settlement had to evacuate quickly after the fire started, leaving most of their belongings behind. Full story: www.digitaljournal.com/science/3-000-year-old-preserved-artifacts-show-how-people-lived/article/454703#ixzz3yf0PwXW3And another article;  Well-preserved Bronze Age stilt houses discovered in British ‘Pompeii’A Pompeii-like preservation of ruins in Eastern Great Britain has allowed archeologists a glimpse into Bronze Age domestic life. The ruins are of circular wooden houses that were constructed over a river on stilts and date to between 1000 and 800 BC. According to a statement from the University of Cambridge, the houses were compromised by fire, and plunged into a muddy river that preserved both the residences and their contents. Cambridge archeologists working at the site said it was the best-preserved historical site ever found in Great Britain. Textiles made from plants, small cups, bowls, and jars containing food were all found at the site. Also, researchers uncovered exotic glass beads from an elaborate necklace—a sign of sophistication not typically affiliated with the British Bronze Age. Full story: www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113412011/well-preserved-bronze-age-stilt-houses-discovered-in-british-pompeii-011316/ |
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Post by UKarchaeology on Jan 29, 2016 19:02:03 GMT
More articles on the matter...  Archaeologists uncover Britain’s Bronze Age ‘Pompeii’It is an archaeological site that some are calling Britain’s “Pompeii.” In 2011, archaeologists uncovered a site in East Anglia that had been lost in a river about 3,000 years ago. While they continue their work, on Monday, they showcased some of the best-preserved artifacts in Britain’s history. The archaeologists uncovered large circular houses that had been on stilts. Consumed by fire, they plunged into a river, covered over with silt, which is why the artifacts have been so well-preserved. Full story/pics: globalnews.ca/news/2448723/archaeologists-uncover-britains-bronze-age-pompeii/Britain’s Pompeii: A Bronze Age Time Capsule, With Footprints, Clothes, And Uneaten MealsAbout 3,000 years ago, in East Anglia, families in a Bronze Age town were tucking into a meal when their houses caught fire and sank into a nearby bog. They fled for their lives, leaving their homes and footprints behind, gifting modern-day archaeologists with a remarkable time capsule into their ancient lives. They’re calling it Britain’s Pompeii. This comparison isn’t being made because the small site, at Must Farm Quarry near Whittlesey, England, features a grand swath of boulevards and colonnades. Rather, this site has been called Britain’s Pompeii because, like the famous Italian ruin, the inferno that destroyed it has perfectly preserved a slice of life. Archaeological manager David Gibson said the time period rarely yields such perfectly preserved ruins. “Usually… you get pits, post-holes and maybe one or two really exciting metal finds. But this time so much more has been preserved – we can actually see everyday life … in the round. It’s prehistoric archaeology in 3D with an unsurpassed finds assemblage both in terms of range and quantity.”Among the remarkable well-preserved discoveries at Britain’s Pompeii: two prehistoric wooden roundhouses that are still intact, pots with the remnants of a last meal still inside, clothing, jewelry, and even footprints, the Telegraph reported. Full story: www.inquisitr.com/2704081/britains-pompeii-a-bronze-age-time-capsule-with-footprints-clothes-and-uneaten-meals/#bmh6CuMPMH3L9URW.99 Bronze Age homes in incredible condition astonish Cambridge archaeologists Two Bronze Age homes in incredible condition have astonished archaeologists from Cambridge University during an excavation at Must Farm quarry in Whittlesey, an ancient Fenland market town in Cambridgeshire about six miles (10 km) from Peterborough. Scientists from the University of Cambridge’s Cambridge Archaeological Unit say the 3,000-year-old settlement will help us better understand what domestic life was like in Britain during the Bronze Age. The two homes, which experts estimate were functioning dwellings in 1200-800 BC – at the end of the Bronze Age – would have formed part of a settlement where many families lived, whose houses were built on stilts, above water. The excavation team says this is the most important Bronze Age find in the British Isles. When they finish working on one quadrant, they move onto the next. (Image: twitter.com/MustFarm)Full story: marketbusinessnews.com/bronze-age-homes-in-incredible-condition-astonish-cambridge-archaeologists/120234 |
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Post by UKarchaeology on Jan 29, 2016 19:12:45 GMT
Another article;  Britain’s Pompeii: Bronze Age settlement gives incredible insight into life 3,000 years agoArchaeologists are set to step inside a Bronze Age home for the first time in an extraordinary dig revealing details of how people lived thousands of years ago. The site at the edge of a brick quarry near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, is drawing comparisons with Roman city Pompeii – buried by a volcanic eruption – because it provides a time capsule into Bronze Age life, just as the era was ending. The dwellings discovered at Must Farm quarry, Whittlesey, in the East Anglian fens, were built on stilts on a river and destroyed in a fire 3,000 years ago. The remains plunged into the water and silt, preserving them so well that archaeologists suggested it felt almost ‘rude’ to excavate a home that seemed as if its owners were still nearby. Full story: metro.co.uk/2016/01/13/britains-pompeii-bronze-age-settlement-gives-incredible-insight-into-life-3000-years-ago-5619360/#ixzz3yf5a1oay |
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Post by UKarchaeology on Jan 29, 2016 19:35:14 GMT
Lots of pics from the dig ( source: www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3396219/Pompeii-Fens-best-preserved-Bronze-age-home-Britain-Experts-astonished-dwelling-s-condition-unearth-treasures-3-000-year-old-rugs-jewellery-human-remains.html );  Woven textiles (pictured) which may have formed wall hangings or rugs in the houses have been pulled from the thick mud. Archaeologists believe they may uncover even more insights into the way of life during the Bronze Age as they delve deeper into the silt  The team believe the buildings were set ablaze nearly a century after they were first built but have yet to discover if the fire was set deliberately or was an accident. They say it is possible the fire may have been started carried out by attackers  Many weapons including a bronze dagger and an arrow head (pictured) have been recovered from the remains of the wrecked homes  Much of the timber from the houses remained where it fell following the fire as the sluggish river encased it in silt. An archaeologist holding a piece of timber from one of the houses is pictured. Researchers say the buildings are the best preserved Bronze Age dwellings in Britain  The Must Farm Quarry site revealed the internal and external structure of the house during the excavation. Archaeologists encountered upright poles that used to support the building's walls and roof, well-preserved wall panels, collapsed roof beams and a row of poles arranged in an enclosure fence  This piece of charred fabric was recovered at the Must Farm Quarry site. The house was destroyed in a fire and archaeologists now hope to figure out whether that was an accident or if the site was intentionally set ablaze  These pots were recovered from the Bronze Age settlement at Must Farm Quarry in Cambridgeshire.The site includes an unusually high amount of artefacts, and their style is similar to what was found at the time in continental Europe  A middle to late Bronze Age tanged dagger recovered from the settlement at Must Farm Quarry. Archaeologists believe the people living at the site did not rely on the nearby river channel but instead exploited the dry land, where they could have hunted deer  An archaeologist holds out an animal bone which they found in the extraordinary dig, among a number of other artefacts. The team found a large amount of remains from terrestrial animals,which would suggest that the settlement's residents relied on dry land to survive  Archaeologist Selina Davenport works on the site of a Bronze Age settlement destroyed in a fire 3,000 years ago, at Must Farm Quarry in Cambridgeshire. Pictured are some of the shorter, upright poles that are part of the structural timbers, and some of the collapsed poles that came from the roof  Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: 'This site is of international significance and its excavation really will transform our understanding of the period.' The site went from wet land to dry and became wet again, meaning it has a rich geological past  This amazing piece of wood is fairly heavily charred, except for a section in its centre where it is virtually untouched. It is very likely that another timber was secured to this one which shielded the original from the main heat of the fire  The very dark, thick posts are oak and they usually have prominent tool marks on. The thinner, browner timbers are ash and make up the palisade and some of the interior posts Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3396219/Pompeii-Fens-best-preserved-Bronze-age-home-Britain-Experts-astonished-dwelling-s-condition-unearth-treasures-3-000-year-old-rugs-jewellery-human-remains.html#ixzz3yfCtbqUK |
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Post by UKarchaeology on Jan 29, 2016 19:49:49 GMT
Another article;  Why these Bronze Age relics make me jump for joy Archaeologists are often excited – jumping-up-and-down excited – by what look like the strangest things. The remains of two Bronze Age roundhouses at Must Farm quarry in Cambridgeshire – “Britain’s Pompeii”, as it’s been nicknamed – fall into that category. An onlooker seeing the thrilled expressions on the faces of diggers scraping away at what look like sodden heaps of driftwood may feel like the boy who spotted that the emperor had no clothes. What is being unearthed, however – slowly freed from the sediment in which they have been sealed for 30 centuries – are tumultuous moments in time. Full story: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/archaeology/12096040/Why-these-Bronze-Age-relics-make-me-jump-for-joy.html |
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Post by UKarchaeology on Apr 1, 2016 15:22:29 GMT
Perfectly preserved bronze age wheel unearthed in Cambridgeshire The largest and most perfectly preserved bronze age wheel ever discovered in the UK, made of oak planks almost 3,000 years ago, has emerged from a site in Cambridgeshire dubbed a Fenland Pompeii. “This site is one continuing surprise, but if you had asked me, a perfectly preserved wheel is the last thing I would have expected to find,” said the site director, Mark Knight, from the Cambridge university archaeology unit. “On this site objects never seen anywhere else tend to turn up in multiples, so it’s certainly not impossible we’ll go on to find another even better wheel.” Archaeologists are carefully excavating the wheel, which was found still attached to its hub and scorched by fire that destroyed the settlement built on stilts over a tributary of the river Nene. The site was first revealed by the deep pits dug for a brick clay quarry at Must farm, on the outskirts of Peterborough, overlooked by a row of wind turbines and a McCain’s crisps factory. A neat round hole punched through the wheel was left by a 20th century geologist who inadvertently bored straight through it but could have had no idea of the significance of the timber fragments in his soil sample. In the fire, possibly started by a cooking blaze that got disastrously out of control some 3,000 years ago, the roundhouses collapsed into the river with all their contents. The site was abandoned and gradually buried deep below the present ground level, sealed in wet silty clay with all the roof and floor timbers, the woven willow wall panels and sedge thatch eerily well preserved, along with the the bones of the animals they were eating, remains of the last meals carbonised in their cooking pots, textiles, jewellery, benches, boxes and wooden platters, knives, spears and other tools and weapons. A skull believed to be of a woman remains half buried in the mud, possibly originally casually buried in the river bank just outside the door of the larger house. Some of her teeth have survived so scientific tests may reveal more of the origins of the people. Full story: www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/19/archaeologists-excavate-bronze-age-wheel-cambridgeshire
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