A Bronze Age settlement built on stilts that fell into the river “like a coffee plunger” after a major fire offers a glimpse into our past lives, according to an archaeologist who led a survey of archaeological sites in Cambridgeshire. It is said to be a window.
Mark Knight, from the University of Cambridge’s Archeology Unit, said Mast Farm, also known as the “Pompeii of the swamps”, showed “extraordinary clarity” due to a combination of charring and flooding.
Two open access publications will be launched on Wednesday comprehensively detailing the finds from excavations at the working Brick Clay Quarry. Next month, some of the preserved items will go on display at Peterborough Museum, telling the story of Bronze Age life in the short-lived settlement and its discovery almost 3,000 years later.
Mast Farm dates back to around 850 BC, but was inhabited for only nine months before being destroyed by fire. The roundhouse was built on stilts over a tributary of the River Nene. The cause of the fire is unknown. It took root so quickly that residents were denied the opportunity to acquire their most valuable possessions. “It was get out or die,” Knight said.
When the roundhouse collapsed under the weight of its roof, jewelry, pottery, clothing, tools, and even the food they were cooking in pots fell into the murky waters below. River plants cushioned the impact and prevented damage. Items and the wooden structure of the roundhouse sank into the silt.
“The residents built [settlement], furnished, moved and settled. Then a massive and devastating fire broke out. They fled for their lives, leaving everything behind,” Knight said.
The heavy roof “fell off like a coffee plunger” and everything fell into the river below. “A beautiful, soft silt formed around those sites, and over time it developed many meters long before we went back to excavate. Other than that, it remained mostly intact.”
During excavations in 2015-2016, archaeologists recovered approximately 200 wooden artifacts, more than 150 textile and textile items, 128 ceramic vessels, and more than 90 metal artifacts. More than 18,000 structural timbers were recorded.
Analysis of preserved food remains revealed that the settlement’s inhabitants ate meat stews, dumplings and bread, pork and lamb fillets, and possibly honey-glazed venison. Personal items recovered included decorated textiles and exotic glass beads.
“Each structure was cluttered with tools of all kinds: axes, gouges, chisels, razors. There were necklaces of glass and jet and amber. There was enough stock in the household budget, and people I felt like we had enough food,” Knight said.
This settlement dates back to the end of the Bronze Age, when agriculture was booming. Residents cultivated wheat and barley and kept sheep, cattle, and pigs.
“This level of preservation is so exceptional that there aren’t many comparisons,” Knight said. “Our understanding is that this is not an anomaly and is very representative of what the world was like in 850 BC.”
More than 50 experts, roughly equal to the population of the settlement, worked on the excavation work for a year. The £1.1 million cost was covered by the quarry’s owners, Historic England and Fortera.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: “The discoveries at Must Farm are truly astonishing. They help expand our understanding of Bronze Age life, linking us directly with past communities and showing more sophisticated It helped me understand their lifestyle.”
