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BBC News
16-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bronze Age settlement uncovered during Ipswich road build
The remains of a Late Bronze Age settlement "of considerable significance" were uncovered during the development of a new road, archaeologists said.A cremation cemetery with 18 burials, "substantial" pottery items and two roundhouses were found during excavations for Europa Way, Ipswich, which opened last County Council said it indicated a 3,000-year-old settlement with a mixed agricultural economy, including cereal production and cattle Thatcher of Oxford Archaeology, which undertook the dig, called it an important discovery for the understanding of prehistoric activity in the area. The cemetery contained 18 burials, with radiocarbon dating confirming it dated from circa 1200 postholes of two roundhouses, numerous four and six-post structures and two ring gullies were also found on the site near Bramford and Sproughton last year, ahead of work beginning on the £2.1m road in interesting objects included ceramics from circa 1150-800 BC, fragmented fired clay weights, a clay spindle whorl (used during the spinning of yarn) cremation urns and a copper-alloy pin, the council flints - including a rare example of a flint quern, used for hand-grinding grain into flour - were among the objects that helped to indicate the type of settlement. Cemetery location 'distinctive' "Some aspects of the settlement remains are of considerable significance in the wider regional context, especially the substantial pottery finds, the cremation cemetery and the way that the agricultural landscape was organised," added Mr Thatcher."One distinctive feature of this cremation cemetery is how close it was to the buildings and daily life - the inference being that the inhabitants of the settlement were likely buried close by."He explained this was part of an emerging pattern of Late Bronze Age burials, which appeared to mark a shift from a preference for major finds from other periods included small quantities of Neolithic residual pottery and worked flint and an Iron Age gold coin. The council said there was already a "rich record" of prehistoric land around the River Gipping near Ipswich, and the full archive of finds would be kept and curated by the county's archaeological service. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
13-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Dig reveals burials that show Sharnbrook dates from the Bronze Age
An archaeological dig has revealed a village existed nearly 3,000 years earlier than the medieval period that historians initially thought it dated excavation at Sharnbrook, near Bedford, carried out by the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) uncovered new evidence that people lived in the area as early as 2,500 excavations found two burials, including a cremation which could have dated from the Iron Age, Bronze Age pottery, and remains of an Iron Age and Roman farming Smits, managing director of Bellway Northern Home Counties, which has commissioned the dig at one of its housing development sites, said the discoveries offered "a richer understanding of the land and the ways people lived". Before the recent discoveries, historians believed the village was established in the early medieval period (AD 800-900).One of Mola's finds included a crouched burial, likely to be of an adult male. Specialists have said that because the remains were found in a "too small grave" it suggests "the remains had partially decomposed before the burial took place".A cremation burial found at the site had remains in a small urn "set upon another layer of burnt bone". Mola said: "The cremation also contained small pieces of iron – possibly remains of nails from the funeral pyre."Chris Chinnock, its reporting team lead, and human osteologist, said the discovery was "really exciting"."While we don't currently have evidence for other Bronze Age features on our site, the remains of Bronze Age burial mounds were discovered in the 1970s near Radwell, on the opposite bank of the River Great Ouse, so we look forward to exploring Sharnbrook's Bronze Age connections further during our post-excavation work." Since the dig, further studies of the crouched burial are taking place using scientific techniques to discover when and how the individual Smits said: "It is fascinating to discover that a community was living in this area thousands of years earlier than previously thought."Redrow Homes is also building in the area - at its Templars Park Mann, a managing director at Redrow, said: "We look forward to sharing these discoveries with the local community over the coming months and providing an archival legacy for future generations to enjoy." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
