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The wetlands to the east of Peterborough are renowned for their Bronze Age archaeology, with the most famous focus of this activity being Flag Fen, with its well-preserved timber platforms and trackways accompanied by enigmatic votive offerings (see CA 87, 96, 110, and 119). Intriguing new details were added to this picture in 2011, however, when Cambridge Archaeological Unit discovered a series of prehistoric log boats less than three miles away at Must Farm, near Whittlesey (CA 263). Representing diverse styles and sizes, and spanning c.1700-650 BC in date, the nine dug-out vessels had survived for thousands of years, buried at the bottom of a long-silted-up palaeochannel.
Their remains were carefully excavated (with funding from the landowner, Forterra) in 2011-2012, and since then they have been undergoing specialist conservation work in a climate-controlled facility at Flag Fen Archaeology Park. Supported by Historic England, with additional funding from Peterborough City Council and expert guidance from York Archaeological Trust, the log boats have been submerged in tanks containing the same wax and water solution used to preserve the wreck of the Mary Rose.
Now, 13 years on, the first three boats have reached the end of this process and gone on display at Flag Fen’s on-site museum, as part of a new permanent exhibition about Must Farm. The trio includes an impressive 6.28m-long (20ft 6in) vessel, officially known as Boat 6 but dubbed ‘Dorothy’ by the excavation team, and the 2.2m-long (7ft 2in) Boat 7/‘Alan’. Both of these were crafted from oak logs and date to c.1300 BC and 1400 BC respectively. The third in the group, Boat 9/‘Betty’, is older but less complete, a 76cm (2ft 6in) fragment of a vessel that was made from field maple c.1700 BC.
Visitors to the exhibition can also, alongside these remarkable survivals, see a Bronze Age wheel, a transom (back board) from another log boat bearing a large, ornately carved saltire, and other wooden finds, as well as replica artefacts, and displays highlighting the Bronze Age settlement that CAU excavated at Must Farm in 2015 (CA 312 and 319). This wealth of archaeological material is complemented by video interviews with excavators and other experts, and hands-on elements including tablets and interactive displays.
After admiring the three boats that have completed their preservation journey, you can then walk a short distance to the Conservation Barn where their mates are still submerged, and explore the wider Archaeology Park, which includes reconstructed roundhouses, an excavated section of Bronze Age causeway, and a resident flock of Soay sheep – a breed that would have been familiar to the area’s Bronze Age inhabitants. Please note that the site of Must Farm is not open to the public.
Further information: Flag Fen Archaeology Park is currently open 10am-4pm Friday to Sunday (Wednesday to Sunday between March and October). See http://www.flagfen.org.uk for more details.
Images: Historic England Archive
