Flag Fen Archaeology Park
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Three thousand years ago, in 1000BC, people of prehistoric Peterborough constructed a huge timber platform bigger than Wembley stadium, and a post alignment which runs for over a kilometre across the fen.
Flag Fen's Bronze Age construction was first uncovered in 1982 when a team led by Francis Pryor carried out a survey of dykes in the area funded by English Heritage.
Used for religious purposes for more than 480 years, it has been preserved in the peaty mud.
Due to extensive drainage of the surrounding area, many of the timbers are drying out and are threated with destruction.
Part of the remains can be viewed in an undercover display hall that contains a 60m wall painting showing how the people of the past lived in this part of the Fens some 3,000 years ago.
Feature: Past, Present and Future: 25 years of Flag Fen
7 December 2007: To mark 25 years since Flag Fen's Bronze Age construction was first uncovered, Hannah Gray finds out about Flag Fen's past, present and future as it marks 25 years since the Bronze Age construction was first uncovered. Read the full feature »
What you can see there
As well as the visitors’ centre and the museum, Flag Fen boasts a reconstructed round house, built using a layout found during excavations.
One important feature of Flan Fen is that visitors can see down a pit onto part of the ritual causeway, and see some of the artefacts in situ.
Georgia said: “Everything that has been found on this site is still here and people in Peterborough should think themselves very lucky that they haven’t got to get on a train and go to the British Museum because it’s still here on their doorstep.”
Who would have lived there?
Flag Fen would have been inhabited by early Celts, who lived there around 1,000 years before the Romans.
They were, Georgia Butters, general manager of Flag Fen said, “Fen folk”, who grew up in the area.
But they were not isolated people existing in a vacuum – because of their proximity to water they would have had means of transport and communication to other parts of this country and to Europe.
Evidence suggests that 3,500 years ago - at the time these ancient Peterborians lived - there were 10 Channel crossings a week from Dover.
A ring from Switzerland has been found at Flag Fen – one of only two gold rings in the world from that period – suggesting that the Flag Fen residents treated with Europe.
“The weren’t just on their own.
They were quite cosmopolitan really,” Georgia said.
Information:
Where:
Flag Fen Archaeology Park, The Droveway, Northey Road, Peterborough, PE6 7QJ
From flagfen.org: "Flag Fen can be accessed by bicycle and foot via the Green Wheel (approximately 5 miles or 1.5 hours from Peterborough Railway and Bus Station on foot and 45 minutes by bicycle).
Bicycle and car parking is free and spaces are reserved for coaches and disabled badge holders."
Opening hours:
1st March – 31st October, Tuesday - Sunday, 10 am – 5pm with last entry at 4pm. Closed on Mondays except Bank Holidays in the Summer season. More details on flagfen.org
Contact:
For more information, or to make a donation, contact Flag Fen by telephone 01733 313414, email info@flagfen.org or online www.flagfen.org.
Page last updated: 1 October, 2008
See also:
The Archaeological Field Unit - Cambridgeshire Archaeology is an independent trading arm of Cambridgeshire County Council. The website offers information on news, events, articles and their involvment with schools.
www.archaeology.co.uk - If you have an interest in anything to do with archaeology, this is the place to find out about digs, discoveries, the latest news, and all about our magazine.
Time Team - Channel 4's award-winning archaeology series.
