Flag Fen facts for kids
The reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse at Flag Fen
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Flag Fen is an amazing Bronze Age site in England, near Peterborough. It was built about 3,500 years ago. Imagine a huge wooden walkway, almost a kilometre long! It was made from over 60,000 timbers.
This walkway stretched across a wet, marshy area called a fen. Part of the structure even formed a small island. Experts believe this island was very important for religious reasons.
Archaeologists started digging here in 1982. Today, Flag Fen is a special place where you can visit and learn about ancient times. They have even rebuilt an Iron Age roundhouse, which is a type of ancient home.
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Building the Ancient Walkway
Long ago, during the Neolithic period, there was a path across what is now Flag Fen. This path connected a dry area called Fengate to a natural clay island called Northey.
Around 1300 BC, the area became very wet. So, the people living there decided to build a strong wooden walkway. They hammered thousands of posts, with sharp, pencil-like tips, deep into the muddy ground. These posts went down until they hit firmer earth. The whole structure covered a large area, about three and a half acres.
Scientists can tell the age of the wood by studying its tree rings. This method is called Dendrochronology. It shows that the walkway was built in different stages between 1365 and 967 BC. Some of the wood, like oak, was not from the local area. This means people worked hard to bring these heavy timbers from far away places. It's a bit like how the special bluestones for Stonehenge came all the way from Wales!
Why Was it Built?
Archaeologists have found many valuable items in the water around Flag Fen. These include swords, spearheads, gold earrings, tiny pins, and brooches. These items showed that someone was important or wealthy.
Francis Pryor, the archaeologist who found the site in 1982, thinks that people might have thrown these valuable items into the water on purpose. It was a way to show off their wealth and status. Some items, like daggers, were even broken in half before being placed in the water.
Other interesting finds include small, smooth, white stones. These stones are not found naturally in the area. This suggests people collected them from somewhere else and brought them to Flag Fen. Animal bones were also found, including horse jaws. Horses were very important back then. They helped people travel and carry heavy things, like the timbers for the walkway.
These special items were found very close to the wooden posts, only on the south side. The large number and type of these items, placed over more than 1,200 years, suggest that Flag Fen was a very important religious monument.
On Northey Island, many ancient burial mounds called round barrows were found. These mounds were built around the same time as Flag Fen. They seem to have been built over the homes of important leaders. Some people believe this area was seen as a "Land of the Dead." There's also evidence of farming, like sheep remains, from the same period.
How Flag Fen Was Saved
The Flag Fen area was very wet, and thick layers of peat formed around 2000 BCE. This peat helped to protect the wooden posts and structures. The muddy, oxygen-free conditions stopped the wood from rotting away.
Over hundreds of years, the ground level slowly rose. By the time of the Romans, most of the wooden structure was covered and safely preserved underground.
Discovering the Past
The site was found by accident in 1982. A team led by Francis Pryor was surveying ditches in the area. Pryor himself said he "stumbled – literally – upon" Flag Fen when he tripped on a piece of wood in a ditch!
Digging began in 1984. By 1990, archaeologists had found many things. They uncovered vertical and horizontal timbers, animal bones, a bronze dagger, other metal pieces, flint tools, and hundreds of pottery fragments. They even found items from other parts of Europe and the oldest wooden wheel ever found in England!
In 2012, a group called DigVentures helped raise money from the public for more digging. This was the world's first crowdfunded archaeological dig! It helped bring more visitors to Flag Fen and allowed scientists to learn more about how to keep the ancient wood safe. Many people from different countries got to help with the digging and learn about archaeology.
Keeping it Safe for the Future
Archaeologists are still working at Flag Fen today. Because the surrounding land is now drained for farming, some of the ancient timbers are starting to dry out. If they dry out, they will rot away.
To stop this, one section of the wooden posts is being preserved using a special method. Water-carried wax is slowly put into the wood over many years, replacing the wood's natural material. This same method is used to preserve other important wooden finds like Seahenge. Another way they preserve timbers found at the site is by freeze drying them.
There's a great visitor centre at Flag Fen called the Flag Fen Bronze and Iron Age Centre. It has a museum and exhibitions. In one special hall, you can see a section of the original timbers. They are kept wet with sprinklers to stop them from drying out.
At the site, you can also see rebuilt roundhouses from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. A part of the ancient Roman road called the Fen Causeway also runs through the site. Plus, there's a reconstruction of a prehistoric droveway, which was used for moving animals like cattle.
Must Farm
About 2 kilometres south of Flag Fen is another amazing Bronze Age site called Must Farm. Ancient Log boats found there are now kept and displayed at Flag Fen.
Amazing Wildlife
Flag Fen is also home to lots of different animals and plants! This is because the site has many types of habitats. There are large grassy areas, old hedgerows, woodlands, and a freshwater lake and ditches.
Wildlife Discoveries
In 2014, a special event called a BioBlitz was held at Flag Fen. During this event, experts and volunteers found 190 different species of plants and animals! This included 53 types of lichens and rare animals like the European water vole and the barn owl. The event also taught people about animals that would have lived there 3,000 years ago, like the grey wolf, brown bear, and Eurasian beaver.
New Wildflower Meadows
In 2014, a group called Buglife won a project to create wildflower meadows across Peterborough. This will include a traditional hay meadow at Flag Fen, which will be great for local wildlife.
Gallery
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The visitor centre entrance
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Wooden posts marking the position of the Bronze Age trackway
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The reconstructed Bronze Age roundhouse at Flag Fen
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The interior of the reconstructed Bronze Age roundhouse
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The reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse at Flag Fen
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The reconstructed Bronze-Iron Age droveway at Flag Fen
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The 14th-century Mustdyke built across the site, which cuts through the Bronze Age trackway
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The Roman road running through Flag Fen
See also
