Archaeologists have uncovered the "exquisitely" well-preserved remains of a 3,000-year-old settlement in eastern England. So many of the ancient village's artifacts are intact that researchers have dubbed the site "Britain’s Pompeii" for its eerily clear view into Late Bronze Age life.
Officially called Must Farm, the site is in the small town of Whittlesey, Peterborough. Archaeologists found Must Farm at the edge of a quarry pit in 1999, after which the Cambridge Archaeological Unit—east England's wetland and urban archaeology authority—launched a lengthy evaluation of the area. Though the unit wrapped up its excavation in 2016, its findings were published in a pair of papers this month by the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge.
Built sometime during the Late Bronze Age (1100 - 800 B.C.), the settlement once consisted of five wooden structures standing on stilts above a freshwater river channel. But the tiny community's 60-odd occupants were forced to flee their homes when a fire broke out, ravaging the entire village. "The occupants of Must Farm were forced to depart hurriedly, leaving behind most, if not all, of their belongings," the Cambridge Archaeological Unit writes in Volume I of its report. "Little (if any) attempt was made to rescue the clutter of daily lives from the buildings."
Based on artifacts found at the site, it appears as though everything from half-eaten meals and textile projects to dogs and lambs were abandoned in the scramble. Archaeologists found 180 fiber-based items (like yarn and cloth), 160 wooden artifacts (including furniture and containers), 120 pottery vessels, 90 pieces of metalwork, and 80 beads throughout their excavation. Some of these, like axes and pots, were articulated and instantly recognizable; other artifacts, like seed caches and loom weights, were fragmented and required more work.
In terms of preservation, the Cambridge Archaeological Unit says it's "difficult to imagine a better set of circumstances for the capture of a settlement’s material account" than what happened at Must Farm. It's believed that, as they burned, each wooden structure fell into the muddy, slow-moving river below. This essentially plopped artifacts into the "watery burial environment more or less wholesale." Meanwhile, more fragile items, like fibers and fabrics, experienced just enough carbonization (via charring) to survive the 3,000 years between the fire and archaeologists' years-long excavation.
Such well-preserved remains gave the Cambridge Archaeological Unit insight into a community far more sophisticated than most modern humans would imagine. Beads from regions like Denmark and Iran indicate the possibility of water travel or trade. At the same time, sickles and handheld razors likely allowed inhabitants to harvest crops and trim each other's hair. The settlement's occupants appear to have eaten a colorful diet that included fish, venison, boar, honey, and various grains. One of the artifacts uncovered during the excavation was a clay bowl containing a wooden spatula and the remnants of "a wheat-grain porridge mixed with animal fats."
Archaeologists don't know the cause of the fire that ravaged this wetland settlement. Based on the artifacts found and footprints preserved in the mud, it doesn't appear the community ever returned in an attempt to recover its belongings. This means the fire could have been set on purpose as part of an "abandonment ritual." But what if humans of the Late Bronze Age were just as sensitive as we are, and uncomfortable returning to a place of great physical and emotional upheaval?
"There may have been a belief that a dangerous spiritual force or malady was present in the settlement," the Cambridge Archaeological Unit writes. "Must Farm may have been a place of bad luck and traumatic memory, associated with ancestors or historical events, to be avoided and never returned to…at least until now."
