Image Credit: Historic England/PA

Bronze Age Boats Reappear After 3000 Years

Three ancient log boats, preserved for more than 3,000 years in a silted riverbed, are set to go on display after a painstaking 13-year conservation project. The vessels, carved by hollowing out entire tree trunks, were used by Bronze Age communities to navigate fenland waterways and to lay fish traps.
The boats were among nine Bronze and Iron Age examples discovered in 2011 near Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire. Since their excavation, they have been stabilized in climate-controlled facilities using a specialized wax-and-water preservation process. Now, three of the Must Farm vessels will be exhibited at the Flag Fen Archaeology Park near Peterborough.
Jacqueline Mooney, general manager of the park, described the find as a remarkable window into prehistoric life, noting that the boats had rested “in the peaty silence of time” before their rediscovery. She said the new exhibition allows visitors to reconnect with the people who once lived and travelled across the wetland landscape.
The excavation was funded by landowner Forterra ahead of quarrying operations. According to Cambridge Archaeological Unit researcher Iona Robinson Zeki, the boats reveal the ingenuity of early boatbuilders, who selected different tree species to create craft ranging from small, agile canoes to long, stable vessels capable of transporting people, animals, and supplies.
Among the boats now prepared for exhibition are a 6.3-metre Middle Bronze Age oak vessel bearing traces of charring, a 2.2-metre oak fragment with a complex ancient repair, and a smaller Early Bronze Age section carved from field maple. Together, they provide an exceptional glimpse into the daily lives, technologies, and rivercraft of prehistoric Britain.

Published on: 14-11-2025

Source: The Independent