FLAG FEN

BELOW YOU WILL FIND A SHORT WRITE UP ON MY VISIT TO FLAG FEN IN JULY 2004. THERE WAS A TIME TRAVEL WEEKEND ON AND I HAVE INCLUDED SOME PHOTO'S OF THE RE-ENACTORS WITH A CAPTION SHOWING THE TIME PERIOD THEY WERE FROM.

RECONSTRUCTION OF A BRONZE AGE ROUND HOUSE

Flag Fen is just outside Peterborough and is a Bronze age site, when the area was excavated an alignment of 3,000 year old posts were found which were preserved by the waterlogged conditions. The tree ring dates show that the first posts were felled shortly before 1300BC in the middle Bronze age then there was a pause in construction between 1250 and 1100BC  with the last posts being felled shortly after 995BC  in the late Bronze age but the site was still in use up until Roman times.

The posts ran from high land at Fengate to high land at Northey across low lying wet Fen land with a platform built a third of the way across. The use of the post alignment can only be guessed at with posibilities such as trackway, bridge, palisade etc

Whatever it was used for, it was more complicated than just a track as thousands of objects(metal, stone, ceramic) were deposited amongst the posts. Many of the objects seemed to be damaged on perpose before being placed in the water, indicating it may have been a ritual site. 

RECONSTURCTION OF POST ALIGNMENT AND PLATFORM (HONEST!)

On my visit to the site there was a Time Travel event on with re-enactors taking you back in time from the Industrial age back to the Neolithic. Below is a few photos of the different time periods including  medieval knights fighting! 

INSIDE BRONZE AGE ROUND HUT

KNIGHTS AND MOORS!

MEDIEVAL FIGHTING

Below is a link to the Flag Fen web site which has news of what events are going on and new archaeological developments at the site.

http://www.flagfen.com