Good Following a Fire

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1884: Peterborough was still in shock following the dramatic fire at the infirmary two days previous, but it proved to be a catalyst for the expansion and development of its facilities. An appeal for restoration funds soon got underway. It stated that there had been 3,725 patients treated in 1883 and a total of 29,352 in the previous ten years. The appeal raised £3,000 for the hospital - and provoked a review of the fire service facilities, which were in place before the end of the year. (Tebbs, H.F., Peterborough, Oleander Press, 1979)

Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.

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The Remains of a 4,000-year-old House

2000BC

Information

During excavations in Fengate, to the east of Peterborough, archaeologists found the remains of a Neolithic house dated to 2,000BC. Although the structure had long vanished, evidence of people living there was found. A large circular ditch was discovered and in the area inside the ditch was domestic waste. There were several small pits into which the people had swept their household rubbish. The rubbish included charcoal, flint flakes, animal bones and pottery.

Other evidence revealed that the home was set within a farm. There were animals and probably crops too. Possibly the best finds were a well and small pit. They remained wet, so the items inside them were wonderfully preserved. The well contained a woven-twig lining, possibly to keep the water clear. The pit contained a ladder made from the trunk of an alder tree with deep notches for footholds. For many years a replica was on display at Flag Fen and is featured in the roundhouse image on the Flag Fen website.

This house was in use 1,000 years after the first evidence of a Neolithic house in Fengate and at a time when Fengate was getting very busy indeed.

Reference

A. Taylor, Prehistoric Cambridgeshire, (1977, Oleander Press)

Resources

Neolithic

The First Neolithic Lowland Hut Built

3000BC

Information

The first people to discover the benefits of Fengate were Neolithic farmers in around 3,000BC or 5,000 years ago. Fengate is to the east of modern Peterborough, now mainly industrial land, but perfect farmland in the past. The neolithic people farmed the area and built a small rectangular lowland hut. The hut was wooden and around seven metres square, so large enough to be a home, although there is no evidence to prove this.

However, a few years after the hut was discovered, archaeologists found a family of Neolithic skeletons in a grave nearby. It is likely that they were the people who lived in the hut, or at least used it. The adult male in the group of skeletons appears to have been murdered: was he killed defending his wooden hut?

The hut is the only Neolithic example found in the Fens, but similar huts have been discovered in other parts of England, primarily in the south and east.

Resources

Neolithic

Borough Fen Burials

2400-1500 BC

Information

The landscape in the area north-east of Peterborough, incorporating Borough Fen, Milking Nook and Newborough would have looked very different in the late-Neolithic and Bronze Age to the present agricultural scene. Archaeological investigations have discovered that the landscape contained several bowl barrows and ring ditches, now buried below the surface.

Bowl barrows were part of funeral rituals and contained single or multiple burials. They are common in lowland areas, although Borough Fen is remarkable for the number clustered along the prehistoric fen edge. The majority are approximately 5m in diameter, but the scheduling area around them is much more extensive.

Resources

Bronze Age , Neolithic , Borough Fen , barrows , Milking Nook , Newborough

Must Farm

800 BC

Information

During the later Bronze Age most of the farms and settlements in this area were on the drier, flood-free margins of the wetlands, though a few were constructed over the water on wooden piles. One of these small settlements (of some ten houses) has been found at Must Farm on the western edge of Whittlesey. Around 800 BC the houses caught fire very soon after they were built (whether the fires were accidental or deliberate is still under debate) and the entire platform collapsed into the waters below. Because of the fire and the waterlogged conditions the houses collapsed into, Must Farm is a beautifully preserved archaeological site; it has been described as the Bronze Age Pompeii as the fantastic amount of finds (including wood, pots, food, jewellery and even fabric) have revealed a great deal about Bronze Age life and trade.

Near to Must Farm, along the channel the River Nene took in antiquity, archaeologists discovered nine intact Bronze Age log boats, all fashioned from hollowed-out tree trunks, which were sunk over a period of 600 years. These boats are currently undergoing conservation at Flag Fen, where they are on display.

Resources

Bronze Age , Must Farm , Fire , wetland , farms , round houses , Pompeii , logboats , preservation

Flag Fen

1300-900 BC

Information

Flag Fen is a superbly preserved Bronze Age structure. It consisted of a causeway whose posts were arranged in five rows running in a straight line from Fengate to Northey a distance of a kilometre. In the middle of this causeway was a huge wooden platform.

The construction of this causeway started in 1300 BC (at a time when Tutankhamen ruled Egypt) and continued for 400 years.

The structure was probably a boundary as well as a causeway and may also have formed a defensive palisade to protect the richly resourced Flag Fen Basin. It is, however, likely that it was also used as a shrine or temple, as hundreds of offerings of high status and valuable items, bronze tools, weapons and jewellery, were offered to the waters between the great posts. This continued long after the causeway itself had gone out of use.

Resources

Bronze Age , ritual , causeway , wooden platform

The Iron Age

800 BC- 43AC

Information

The Iron Age is the last of the Three Ages of British later prehistory. It begins with the arrival of the new metal, iron, around 800 BC and ends with Roman troops landing on the shores of Kent, in AD 43. The Romans gave the British writing and with writing came recorded history – which is why prehistory is said to cease with their arrival. People in Iron Age Britain are sometimes described as Celts and they spoke Celtic languages, which survive today in Breton, Welsh, Gallic (Scotland) and Gaelic (Ireland). The working of iron requires greater control of very high temperatures which led to improvements in pottery firing and less regionalised pottery styles. The Iron Age saw the appearance of ditched enclosed farmstead-type settlements as at Itter Crescent, open settlements characterised by roundhouses and pits as at Fengate, and the building of the hillforts like the earthworks at Newborough. Societies were hierarchically organised in this period, having moved from the extended clan to the chiefdoms and the earliest named rulers. These are the tribes the Romans encountered when they came to Britain in the first century. The best known of these rulers was Queen Boudicca of the Iceni tribe/kingdom. She led a popular rebellion against Roman rule, in AD 60-1.

Environmentally, the Iron Age sees increased flooding and higher groundwater levels in the fens.

Resources

Boudicca , Iron Age , Celts , tribes

Later Bronze Age Population

1500-800 BC

Information

By 1500 BC the lower Nene Valley and Fen-edge regions of Peterborough had become one of the most prosperous landscapes in prehistoric Britain, fertile and rich in resources.The local population was well into the thousands and there were tens of thousands of cattle and sheep grazing the elaborately arranged field systems around the Fen margins. Most of the farms and settlements were on the drier, flood-free margins of the wetlands, but a few were constructed over the water on wooden piles, such as the one at Must Farm.

Resources

Bronze Age , Must Farm , River Nene , fen , wetland

Stone Age Burial - Was it Murder?

4000-2500 BC

Information

A Neolithic grave found in Fengate contained a man who had been killed by being shot with a flint arrow, the head of which was found lodged between his ribs. He was accompanied by a woman, a baby and a child, with unknown cause of death. The skeletons are on display in Peterborough Museum.

Why did all four individuals die at the same time and be buried in the same grave? Were they a family?

Was this a very early multiple murder?

Resources

Neolithic , flint arrow , grave

Settlement in the Early Bronze Age

2500-1500 BC

Information

During the Neolithic the local population had grown from hundreds to perhaps a few thousand people. This process gathered pace in the Bronze Age, which is named after the arrival of metal-workers in Britain, around 2500 BC. As the population grew it became necessary to divide-up the landscape into field systems; some of the earliest fields in England are found in Peterborough.

Meanwhile North Sea levels were steadily rising and the nearby floodplain of the River Nene became permanent Fen. Animals were grazed on its lush summer pastures. Major sites of this time have been found at Fengate, Must Farm and Bradley Fen.

Resources

Bronze Age , Must Farm , field systems , water levels , River Nene , Fengate

Metal Work in the Early Bronze Age

2500-1500 BC

Information

With the arrival in Britain of skilled metal-workers from mainland Europe around 2500 BC, metal technology began. These people are called the Beaker People, the name arising from their particular style of pottery.

The first metal used was copper, but this was soon replaced by the harder bronze (an alloy of 90% copper with 10% tin), for which the time period, the Bronze Age, is named.

Smiths working in the Peterborough area, mostly in the east, produced hundreds of swords, daggers, spearheads, axes, pins, ornaments and jewellery, such as rings.

The production of metal led to greater control of fire and with it, improved, harder pottery.

Resources

Metal working , Bronze Age , Beaker People

The First Farmers of the Neolithic (New Stone Age)

4000 - 2500 BC

Information

Farming arrived in the Peterborough area around 4000 BC. The first farmers were a mix of in-comers from Europe and local people who had acquired the new skills of agriculture and animal husbandry.

They grew wheat, barley and oats and kept cattle, sheep and pigs. Their farms – and several are known - were mostly confined to the east of Peterborough, around Fengate, Whittlesey and Eye. They consisted of small oval houses, within garden-like plots where crops were grown. Animals were kept in larger open areas away from the crops. Pigs would have roamed the woodlands around the farms. They buried their dead beneath mounds, known as barrows, or in open graves.

The first farmers introduced pottery-making to Britain and also produced fine flint tools with long, knife-like blades. By 3000 BC they had felled most of the trees that grew in the area and the landscape was dominated by large, open pastures.

Resources

Neolithic , Farmers , Agriculture , barrows

Borough Fen Iron Age Fort

300BC

Information

In the Middle Iron Age a local tribe established a fortified enclosure on the Fen edge between the Welland and the Nene. With an internal area of 3.8 hectares it was a significant feature of the local landscape.

Today the fort can be clearly seen in aerial photographs. The site is bisected by Decoy Road; to the west the site is on protected land, under pasture. To the east it has been more affected by plough damage.

Resources

Fort , Iron Age , Borough Fen

Construction of Etton Causewayed Enclosure

3600BC

Information

As farming lifestyles developed and the population became more settled so local families constructed monuments as a focus for their spiritual beliefs and their remembrance of previous generations. The Etton Causewayed Enclosure was the starting point for a series of ritual features over the next 1,500 years.

Resources

Neolithic , Etton , Causewayed , enclosure , ritual

Expanding Settlements in the Nene Park Area

800BC-43AD

Information

During the Iron Age, tribal culture began to take hold and people needed to defend their territory against their rivals. The tribe which held the Nene Valley, the Corieltauvi, may have had allegiances to the large and powerful tribe to the south, the Catuvellauni, but we don’t know about their other neighbouring tribes. The settlement within Nene Park (mainly on what is now Coney Meadow at Ferry Meadows) became more defensive, as we can see on geophysical survey results. Ditches almost a kilometre in length were built across a meander in the River Nene, so that the settlement would be protected on all sides. The Iron Age is also when we can first start to see similarities between how people lived then and now: the Celts wore linen and dyed wool, used coins as currency and enjoyed continental luxuries, including Roman wine.

Resources

Ferry Meadows , Coney Meadow , Iron Age , Corieltauvi , Celts , Nene Valley , Catuvellauni , tribes

Cross-Country Trade in Full Swing

4000-2000BC

Information

Although evidence of Neolithic people is light in Nene Park in comparison to other areas in the country, there are some tantalising clues to the lives of people who lived here several thousand years ago. During archaeological digs, knapped flints have been found, including some near to Longthorpe Roman fortress, suggesting that Longthorpe was considered an important place for people throughout a long period of time.

One particularly interesting insight into Neolithic people in the Nene Park area has been opened up by the discovery of an axe made out of greenstone, along with its polishing stone. In keeping with around a quarter of all Neolithic polished stone axes found in the UK, this one began its life at Langdale in the Lake District. This suggests that Neolithic Britain was more well-connected than we might first imagine.

Resources

Neolithic , Axe , Greenstone , Longthorpe , langdale

Tutankhamun Rules Egypt

1336 BC - 1327 BC

Information

Tutankhamun was king of Egypt between 1336 BC and 1327 BC during the 18^th dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egyptian history, he became Pharaoh at the age of 9 or 10; he was the last of his royal family to rule.

He was born around 1345 BC, the son of the heretic king Akhenaten and his sister-wife. Akhenaten turned Egypt away from the worship of Amun Ra and towards the worship of the sun god Aten. Tutankhamun was originally called Tutankhaten meaning 'living image of Aten', but changed it to Tutankhamun, ‘living image of Amun’ after his father’s death and the restoration of the old religion.

Tutankhamun had several physical problems, including a deformity of his left foot which meant he needed a cane to walk (several of which were found in his tomb), a cleft palate and scoliosis. He also suffered from malaria. He married his half-sister Ankhesenamun who had two miscarriages during her marriage to the pharaoh.

He died around the age of eighteen, his cause of death is still controversial. He had a left compound leg fracture at the time of his death, possibly from a fall, so his death may have been a result of a fall, his general poor health and malaria.

Tutankhamun’s fame is due to the discovery of his virtually intact tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings, on an expedition funded by Lord Carnarvon. The treasures found in the tomb, though based in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo have toured the world. They are due to visit London between November 2019 and May 2020.

Images:

Howard Carter (Public Domain)

King Tutankhamun's tomb opened (Public Domain)

Resources

Bronze Age , Egypt , Tutankhamun

Newark's Neolithic Past

4,000 BC

Information

The village of Newark to the east of Peterborough, has sadly been lost to the march of progress. Although the name Newark still exists, the site of the village was largely lost under the Frank Perkins Parkway. The main road running roughly north to south through the village still exists as Eye Road in Welland.

What is most fascinating about this road is that it was built upon Car Dyke, the Roman canal dating to the early first century. Several Roman finds have been discovered in the area in gardens, public space and Newark Hill School playing fields.

However, further finds have pushed the date that people were living in Newark back even further to the Bronze Age and Neolithic (New Stone Age). Several Bronze Age finds have been discovered in the area as well as Neolithic. This suggests that although the original village of Newark has vanished, people have been occupying the area for at least 6,000 years.

Resources

Bronze Age , Neolithic , Car Dyke

Bronze Age Transport

1300BC

Information

The two archaeological digs at Must Farm near Whittlesey revealed a hidden landscape from the Iron and Bronze Ages in the boggy marshlands. Key to the landscape was the siting of the River Nene which wound a wiggly route through the flatlands.

In the earlier dig from 2012 the archaeologists examined the old river route and discovered plenty of interesting artefacts. Fish traps and weirs appeared almost as fresh as the day they had been placed in the river, but what was most remarkable were the logboats discovered, each carved from individual trees.

In total, eight boats were discovered, all were numbered and named by the archaeologists. One of the boats was dated to the Iron Age but the other seven were dated to the Bronze Age when the most activity occurred at Must Farm and Flag Fen. The oldest boats discovered were boats 3 and 8, which have been dated to 1300-1250 BC in the Middle Bronze Age, making them over 3,200 years old. Boat 3 is notable for the transom space at the stern (rear) of the boat. A transom board would have slotted into the grove to secure the back of the boat in the same way one might secure a ferry. At the bow (front) is a beautifully carved handle that might have been used to pull the boat along.

The other five Bronze Age logboats dated from the late Bronze Age range from boat 2 dated to around 1150 BC (3150 years old) to boat 4 at 1000-800 BC (2800-3000 years old). Boat 4 was the longest boat discovered at 8.42m long, which is incredible given that it was carved from one tree.

It is not certain how these boats were propelled. One suggestion is that they were punted with long poles as is still the tradition in Cambridge. The flat-bottomed boats would have moved well across both deep and shallow water, through vegetation and along the stretches of rivers and streams too.

References

http://www.mustfarm.com/bronze-age-river/discoveries

Resources

Bronze Age , Must Farm , logboats

Must Farm's Iron Age Boat

800-400BC

Information

Eight wooden logboats were discovered in the silted up remains of the River Nene at Must Farm. A fragment of an additional boat was also discovered, taking the total to nine boats. Of the eight logboats seven were dated to the middle and late Bronze Age, but one was dated to the Iron Age.

Boat One, named Belinda by the archaeologists who discovered her, was the first boat found, laying in the highest level of prehistoric silts. Crafted from one tree trunk, Belinda was created in the early Iron Age between 800-400 BC (2,400-2,800 years ago). She is of international interest due to the markings on both her external and internal surfaces in a form of cross hatching. The marks could be a form of artwork, with visitors to the boats at Flag Fen often commenting that the marks look like round house.

Belinda is also interesting because of the plug in her side in a circular shape. It is likely that the plug was used to fill in a natural defect or site of a small branch on the tree, but it could have been used to repair the boat too. There is also a slot for a transom board at her stern (rear) in the same style as Boat Three suggesting a continuity of boat design over hundreds of years, there being up to 900 years between the creation of the two boats.

Reference

http://www.mustfarm.com/bronze-age-river/discoveries

Resources

Must Farm , Iron Age , logboats

Do You Know What People Ate at Must Farm?

1100-800BC

Information

Must Farm near Whittlesey was home to Bronze Age people. They lived in roundhouses made of mud, wood and reeds which sat on stilts above a river.

They ate a very good diet with food from the land and the water. When archaeologists dug the area they found lots of different foods which included a bowl of nettle stew. They ate lots of meat including lamb, beef, venison (deer) and wild boar, as well as fish from the river, eels, birds and possibly mussels.

They also ate dairy foods like butter, lots of cereals like barley, flax and emmer wheat which could be ground into flour using quern stones. It really is difficult to discover what vegetables or plants people were eating 3,000 years ago (unless they are found in a bowl!) but specialists are working hard to find out exactly what the people of Must Farm ate to bring the Bronze Age back to life.

Resources

Bronze Age , Must Farm , Food

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The Remains of a 4,000-year-old House

2000BC

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Reference

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The First Neolithic Lowland Hut Built

3000BC

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Borough Fen Burials

2400-1500 BC

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Must Farm

800 BC

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Flag Fen

1300-900 BC

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The Iron Age

800 BC- 43AC

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Later Bronze Age Population

1500-800 BC

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Stone Age Burial - Was it Murder?

4000-2500 BC

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Settlement in the Early Bronze Age

2500-1500 BC

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Metal Work in the Early Bronze Age

2500-1500 BC

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The First Farmers of the Neolithic (New Stone Age)

4000 - 2500 BC

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Borough Fen Iron Age Fort

300BC

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