Latest news with #JacquelineMooney
BBC News
22-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Peterborough appeal for Flag Fen replica roundhouse
An appeal has been made for materials to help rebuild a replica Iron Age thatched roundhouse destroyed in an arson attack. The roundhouse at Flag Fen Archaeology Park, Peterborough, was burnt down on Sunday 12 July. About £13,000 has been raised to help restore the replica and an appeal has now been made for building materials such as string, wood and Police said the incident remained under investigation and no arrests had been made. The roundhouse was one of two replicas at the site. One represented the Bronze Age (2,500 BC - 800 BC) and the other, which has been destroyed, represented the Iron Age (800 BC - AD50). Flag Fen Archaeology Park manager Jacqueline Mooney said it was not "terribly difficult" build a roundhouse but they needed money for materials and volunteers to help rebuild the structure. She said: "It's been so heartening to see what the people of Peterborough and the surrounding area think about Flag Fen and just over £13,000 raised since last Monday evening is awesome... we really feel the love." A fundraising target of £50,000 was set to rebuild the Mooney said they still wanted donations including materials like round wood, wattle, oak or ash coals. '3,000 -year-old porridge' Dr Francis Pryor led the original excavations at Flag Fen in 1982 and said it was right for Peterborough to be "proud" of what it had to remembered discovering the site in November 1982 when his foot hit a piece of wood shaped like a pencil which he realised was a bronze age post. "It's a unique site because of its superb preservation because the site has been waterlogged for 3,000 years this has meant that the water has preserved the sort of stuff that would normally rot [such as wood leaves or grains of pollen]."If we find a bowl or a pot, very often it will have food in it like preserved porridge - 3,000-year-old porridge. "It is a very important site because we have all aspects of life there and you get a uniquely colourful impression of what life was like 3,000 years ago."He urged people to experience the site and its roundhouses."I think it's essential we make the most of it and continue to be proud of the fantastic heritage we have in Peterborough," he added. Cambridgeshire Police said the incident remained under investigation and no arrests had been made. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Flag Fen Archaeology Park boss 'heartened' after roundhouse attack
The boss of an ancient site where a thatched roundhouse replica was razed to the ground by suspected arsonists said she had been "heartened" by the support of the crews were called to Peterborough's Flag Fen Archaeology Park, which dates back to the Bronze Age, on Sunday night after local people saw flames. In 2022, 30 volunteers had spent nine months building the Iron Age roundhouse and a fundraising appeal has now been launched to replace it."We're all absolutely devastated at the loss of the roundhouse - so many of our team took part in building it and using it every single day - it was a much-loved thing," said site manager Jacqueline Mooney. 'Bigger and better' "However, we are very much seeing this as a 'phoenix from the ashes' situation," she said. Ms Mooney told the BBC there had been "fantastic" offers of help and donations already from contractors and local people. "We've already got people on site helping us repair one of our old roundhouses so it can take the temporary place of our Iron Age one," she said. "We are so heartened by the support we've felt from the people of Peterborough and surrounding areas, who are going to help us build a new roundhouse that will be bigger and better."Cambridgeshire Fire Service has said the cause of the blaze was thought to be deliberate. Flag Fen is an important historical landscape which dates back to the Bronze Age and is the site of many archaeological finds. The park had two replica roundhouses – one representing the Bronze Age (2,500 BC - 800 BC) and the other reflecting the Iron Age (800 BC - AD50).Flag Fen was also planning to construct a third. The burnt out replica was based on an Iron Age roundhouse discovered at Cats Water, next to Flag Fen, and featured log seating and a fire pit to replicate how our ancestors Mooney estimated the total rebuild cost would be about £50,000, with the last one also funded by charitable donations. About 10,000 school children visit annually and she said she wanted them to be able to resume enjoying their "magical" trips to the site's Iron Age roundhouse as soon as possible. She said the staff had previously dealt with a similar situation when arsonists destroyed its education room in 2020. Ms Mooney said while it had to go without the facility for two years, it was eventually rebuilt "bigger and better" and she hoped it would be the same case for the replacement were now being asked for and Flag Fen also needed to source water reed and other materials for the rebuilding project, but it also required people to volunteer their time and skills."If people have ever wanted to build a roundhouse, now is the time to help," said Ms Mooney. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
