Courtesy of Current Archaeology
Mark Knight specialises in prehistoric landscapes, as well as Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery. His first experience of archaeology was six years working with the Exeter Museum’s Archaeological Field Unit as a result of the Manpower Services Commission. Encouraged by the unit’s then director, he left to study archaeology. After completing his degree in 1995, Mark joined the Cambridge Archaeology Unit and began researching the prehistoric Fens, a landscape that still absorbs him some 20 years on. Mark directed the Must Farm excavations for the Cambridge Archaeological Unit.
Archaeologists say the excavations have revealed the best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found in Britain. Large circular wooden houses collapsed in a dramatic fire and plunged into a river, preserving their contents in astonishing detail and have now provided an extraordinary insight into domestic life 3,000 years ago. The settlement, dating to the end of the Bronze Age (1200-800 BC), would have been home to several families who lived in a number of wooden houses on stilts above water.
The result is an extraordinary time capsule containing exceptional textiles made from plant fibres such as lime tree bark, rare small cups, bowls and jars complete with past meals still inside. Also found are exotic glass beads forming part of an elaborate necklace, hinting at a sophistication not usually associated with the British Bronze Age.
“Must Farm is the first large-scale investigation of the deeply buried sediments of the fens and we uncover the perfectly preserved remains of prehistoric settlement. Everything suggests the site is not a one-off but in fact presents a template of an undiscovered community that thrived 3,000 years ago ‘beneath’ Britain’s largest wetland,” says Mark who will share the remarkable stories of its discovery and the questions it now raises with all those who are fortunate enough to attend what promises to be a fascinating talk.
