Introduction
In
earlier blog posts I wrote about the Must Farm settlement in Cambridgeshire,
England, which is one of the most complete Late Bronze Age examples known in
Britain. The settlement consists of four circular wooden houses and a square
wooden structure, built on a series of piles sunk into a river channel below
and seems to have been built around 1300 – 1000 BC. The settlement was
destroyed, probably within a year, by fire.
The
months of excavation work have now been followed by a series of detailed
scientific investigations exploring the settlement in much finer detail. The
results of this post excavation analysis so far are detailed on the Must Farm
website. http://www.mustfarm.com/
In this blog post I thought it
would be useful to take a cursory look at some of the most recent findings from
this important ongoing work.
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| Close-up of post-excavation plan showing the positions 1,24 and 5 (c) Must Farm Website |
Settlement
architecture
The four largest structures were circular,
located side by side, in a roughly east–west alignment (structure 3, 1, 2 and
then 5). There is no evidence of repair, replacement or the addition of timbers
between construction and destruction of the settlement. The site’s untimely and
calamitous demise means that archaeologists can investigate the undisturbed
remains of an active, functioning pile-dwelling settlement.
Continuing
tree-ring (dendrochronological) analysis of the structural timbers shows that
the settlement was built in a single construction phase, using wood of a
similar felling year.
The
Palisade and Access
Archaeologists have pointed out that Structure
4, which is the only square building, may have acted as a formal entrance or
gate into the settlement. For example, this “gatehouse” could have functioned
as a way of getting from the firmer ground of the riverbank onto the raised
pile-structures of the settlement. Other examples of gates, entranceways or
“towers” are known from similar European Bronze Age settlements.
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| The remains of a wooden bucket that contained scrap bronze associated with Structure 4 (c) Must Farm Website |
The
sudden demise of the Must Farm settlement has provided glimpses of its distant
past through the objects or groups of objects recovered. For example, the
discovery of a charred wooden bucket that contained many fragments of heavily
used or broken bronze artefacts may have been stored in Structure 4 waiting to
be sent away, melted down and turned into new artefacts.
Artefacts
The
fire that destroyed the structures at Must Farm, along with the waterlogged
environment of the river channel below, helped create beneficial preservation
conditions for the site’s archaeology. The inventory of material associated
with the pile-dwellings consists of hundreds of Late Bronze Age items,
including over 180 fibre/textile items,160 wooden artefacts, 120 pottery
vessels, 90 pieces of metalwork and at least 80 glass beads.
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| A 3D model of one of Must Farm's large storage vessels (c) Must Farm Website |
Pottery
Pottery
recovered from the Must Farm site was an amazingly complete variety of vessels,
ranging from the smallest cups to large storage jars. Organic residue analysis
will be carried out on over 100 individual vessels which should provide a
valuable insight into the contents and uses of the range of Must Farm pots.
Querns
Analysis
of the “querns” from the site has proved particularly interesting. Typically,
querns are associated with the grinding of wheat to make flour and are made
from tough stone. During the excavation archaeologists found the remains of
several flint grindstones that had been shattered from the thermal shock of
being heated by the fire and then falling into cold water.
 |
| Shattered remains of a quern from Must Farm (c) Must Farm Website |
Metalwork
The
Must Farm settlement has the UK’s largest Late Bronze Age collection of
metalwork from a domestic context and includes axes, swords, spears, razors and
more. Initial specialist work has revealed that some of the artefacts appear to
have been made from the same mould.
Fibres
and Fabrics (Photo/s)
Must Farm’s collection of fibres, fabrics and
materials associated with the production of textiles, was one of the site’s
most exceptional types of artefact. Specialists have been studying the
collection of finds since the excavation finished and the textiles are
currently carefully being conserved. Researchers have made a series of
excellent videos going into more depth about the different characteristics of
the textiles which are available on the Must Farm website. http://www.mustfarm.com/post-dig/post-ex-diary-11-the-must-farm-textiles-part-one/
 |
| Illustration of one of the Must Farm textiles showing the weave and thread direction (c) Must Farm Website |
Even
though these items were made during the Late Bronze Age, almost three thousand
years ago, their quality is comparable to some fabrics we encounter today. It
is also unusual to find earlier stages of textile production alongside finished
items at a Late Bronze Age site. These amazing finds, including delicate balls
of thread, are helping researchers to unravel more information about fibre
production during the Late Bronze Age. http://www.mustfarm.com/post-dig/post-ex-diary-12-the-must-farm-textiles-part-two/
 |
| The positioning of beads at the site seems to indicate that some would have formed composite necklaces of amber, glass, stone and jet. (c) Must Farm Website |
Glass
and Non-Glass Beads
A variety of beads were found during the
excavation of the Must Farm settlement with many made from glass. Specialist
analysis of these artefacts is concentrating on their chemical composition to
try and establish where they were made. Together with the glass examples, beads
made from other materials were also recovered including amber, jet, stone and
even one made potentially from tin. Researchers believe that the beads formed
composite necklaces mixing glass and non-glass examples together.
Charred
Plants Remains
During
the 2015-16 excavations at the pile-dwelling settlement several “caches” of
seeds and grains were discovered including barley, emmer wheat and flax.
Analysis suggests it is possible that these wheat, barley and flax plants were
all growing in the same place.
Animal
Remains
Examining the animal bone has already started
to provide additional insight into activities on the site. Three significant
species present at the settlement were sheep (both lambs and adults), pigs and
deer. Analysis suggests that the adult sheep were grazing in the surrounding
drier ground. The lambs and their mothers were being given carefully chosen
fodder and kept deliberately in the settlement.
Post-excavation
investigation has already provided new insights into the Must Farm settlement
and I’m sure we can look forward to further revelations about this unique
Bronze Age site.
For further information please see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3pIcINYdAI
For further information please see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3pIcINYdAI
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