Must Farm a Bronze Age village near near the town of Peterborough in England that has yielded a treasure trove of artifacts is been dubbed “England’s Pompeii.”
Due to the fire that engulfed the settlement and the subsequent collapse into oxygen-depleted silts, Must Farm offers a rare look at organic materials like textiles, wooden tools, and even food scraps, which typically wouldn’t survive in the archaeological record.
The site boasts the remains of five roundhouses built on stilts above a river, dating back to around 950 BC.
Dinner table with food leftovers found at England’s Pompeii
The fire essentially froze a moment in time, preserving everyday objects used by the inhabitants. Over 200 wooden artifacts, 150 textiles, and other fiber items, along with pottery vessels and metalwork have been discovered, providing a rich understanding of their daily lives.
Amongst the well-preserved organic materials at Must Farm, archaeologists also found a dinner table with food leftovers, including a spoon abandoned in a half-eaten bowl of porridge
Many of the pots and wooden vessels found at Must Farm still contained traces of food or cooking residues. By analyzing these residues, scientists were able to identify evidence of porridges, stews, brewing mashes, doughs, and even sugary or oily liquids.
They also uncovered other artifacts such as wooden buckets and ceramics. “One of those buckets … on the bottom of it were loads and loads of cut marks so we know that people living in that Bronze Age kitchen when they needed an impromptu chopping board, were just flipping that bucket upside down,” said Chris Wakefield, an archaeologist at the University of Cambridge.
By examining the types and butchering patterns of the bones, scientists were able to determine that the people of Must Farm consumed a variety of domesticated animals including sheep, cattle, and pigs.
A large wooden wheel of about 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter was also uncovered at the site. The specimen, dating from 1,100 to 800 years BC, represents the most complete and earliest of its type found in Britain. The wheel’s hub is also present.
A horse’s spine found nearby suggests the wheel may have been part of a horse-drawn cart. The find “expands our understanding of late Bronze Age technology“, said Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, which was co-funding the project.
Related: Akrotiri, Santorini—the Bronze Age City Preserved in Volcanic Ash