The Flag Fen Basin: Archaeology and Environment of a Fenland Landscape (English Heritage archaeological reports)

With major contributions by J. C. Barrett, S. D. Bridgeford, D. G. Buckley, D. G. Coombs, C. Evans, C. A. I. French, P. Halstead, J. Neve, J. P. Northover, M. Robinson, R. G. Scaife, and M. Taylor, and principal illustrations by J. Coombs, D. Hopkins, and C. J. Irons. Ebook (PDF) published 2012. The Flag Fen Basin has been the subject of nearly continuous archaeological research since about 1900. Most of the archaeological research described in this book took place in response to building development during the past 30 years. Between 1971 and 1978 the Fengate Project revealed two Bronze Age ditched field systems laid out for the management of large numbers of livestock. At the centre of one field system, a complex pattern of droveways, yards, and paddocks has been interpreted as a communal 'marketplace' for livestock exchange and regular social gatherings. A major droveway linked this area to an enigmatic wooden platform and to a post alignment, which runs for more than a kilometre across the wetland. While there is no doubt that these structures were a route across wet ground, it is still not fully understood why the Bronze Age people who built them deposited 'offerings' of spears, daggers, swords, and jewellery into the associated lake. Nevertheless, it is believed that religious rituals were involved. The excellent conditions of preservation have enabled the excavators to undertake detailed examinations of the woodworking and associated archaeological remains, and to discuss the nature of the remains, their ritual significance, and the possible social implications. The report also includes a detailed summary of recent commercial excavations at Fengate. In particular, this research sheds new light on the Neolithic landscape, on the Iron Age and Roman landscapes, and on the changing environmental conditions since the earlier Neolithic. The Flag Fen Basin has been the subject of nearly continuous archaeological research since about 1900. Most of the archaeological research described in this book took place in response to building development during the past 30 years. Between 1971 and 1978 the Fengate Project revealed two Bronze Age ditched field systems laid out for the management of large numbers of livestock. At the centre of one field system, a complex pattern of droveways, yards, and paddocks has been interpreted as a communal'marketplace'for livestock exchange and regular social gatherings. A major droveway linked this area to an enigmatic wooden platform and to a post alignment, which runs for more than a kilometre across the wetland. While there is no doubt that these structures were a route across wet ground, it is still not fully understood why the Bronze Age people who built them deposited'offerings'of spears, daggers, swords, and jewellery into the associated lake. Nevertheless, it is believed that religious rituals were involved. The excellent conditions of preservtion have enabled the excavators to undertake detailed examinations of the woodworking and associated archaeological remains, and to discuss the nature of the remains, their ritual singificance, and the possible social implications. The report also includes a detailed summary of recent commercial excavations at Fengate. In particular, this research sheds new light on the Neolithic landscape, on the Iron Age and Roman landscapes, and on the changing environmental conditions since the earlier Neolithic. Figures vii Tables xiii Contributors xv Acknowledgements xvi Summary xviii 1. Introduction: The Flag Fen Basin 1 2. Recent research in south Fengate 18 3. Recent research in central and north Fengate 37 4. The Power Station excavations, 1989 52 5. Excavation and survey at Northey, 1982-94 74 6. Excavations at Flag Fen, 1982-95 81 7. The wood 167 8. Tree-ring studies 229 9. Prehistoric pottery from the Power Station and Flag Fen 249 10. Metalwork 255 11. Finds of flint, stone, and shale 318 12. Non-human and human mammalian bone remains from the Flag Fen platform and Power Station post alignment 330 13. Flag Fen: the vegetation and environment 351 14. Soils and sediments: the Flag Fen environs survey 382 15. Late Bronze Age Coleoptera from Flag Fen 384 16. Radiocarbon and absolute chronology 390 17. The development of the prehistoric landscape in the Flag Fen Basin 400 18. Discussion, part 1: patterns of settlement and land-use 405 19. Discussion, part 2: the Flag Fen timber structures 421 Appendices 437 Bibliography 451 Index 464 Francis Pryor ; With Major Contributions By J.c. Barrett ... [et Al.] ; And Principal Illustrations By J. Coombs, D. Hopkins And C.j. Irons. 11 Folded Pages. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Text In English With Summaries In French And German. A detailed archaeological and environment history report on Bronze Age culture in England. It explores wooden constructions, field systems, and Bronze Age life and ritual in Flag Fen Basin, Cambridgeshire.