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An illustrated reconstruction of the Bronze Age stilt settlement unearthed at Must Farm in the East of England. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit
The settlement was less than a year old when it was destroyed by a catastrophic fire, with buildings and their contents collapsing into the muddy river below. The combination of charring and waterlogging led to exceptional preservation. The site has been described as “Britain’s Pompeii.” The Cambridge archaeologists say the site provides a unique “blueprint” for the circular architecture, home interiors, and overall domesticity of those who inhabited the swampy fenland of East Anglia some eight centuries before Romans set foot on British shores.
“While excavating the site there was a sense that its Bronze Age residents had only just left. You could almost see and smell their world, from the glint of metal tools hanging on wattled walls to the sharp milkiness of brewed porridge.
“Conducting research on Must Farm is a bit like getting an estate agent’s tour of a Bronze Age stilt house,” said David Gibson, report co-author and Archaeological Manager at CAU. The roundhouse’s southwest quadrant was reserved for keeping lambs indoors. There was no evidence of humans dying in the fire, but several young sheep had been trapped and burnt alive.
The textiles are the finest of this period found in Europe, with details such as “pile tufts” that would have given garments a soft, almost velvety feel, and “tubular selvage” for neat seams and hems. One item, however, had been placed in the silt directly beneath Structure One: an intact hafted axe, perhaps a token of good fortune, or an offering to some kind of spirit on completion of the build.Despite millennia in the mud, many artifacts still bore traces of daily life – along with its sudden interruption as inhabitants abandoned their possessions to escape the blaze.
A photogrammetry visualization of the Bronze Age settlement excavated at Must Farm. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit The remains of nine log-boats, canoes hollowed from old tree trunks, were found upstream, dating from across the Bronze and into the Iron Age, included some that were contemporary to Must Farm.
“Such items would gradually make their way across thousands of miles in a long series of small trades,” said Wakefield.The researchers say that, while the Bronze Age could be violent, and aspects of the site’s structure are clearly defensive, its location may be as much to do with resources. Spears found on site, up to 3.4 meters in length, as well as swords, were as likely to be used in animal hunts as on rival groups.
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