<< Our Photo Pages >> Flag Fen Visitors Centre - Museum in England in Cambridgeshire

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 16 February 2022  Page Views: 53535

MuseumsSite Name: Flag Fen Visitors Centre Alternative Name: Flag Fen Archaeology Park
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 0.2 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Cambridgeshire Type: Museum
Nearest Town: Peterborough
Map Ref: TL227989  Landranger Map Number: 142
Latitude: 52.574087N  Longitude: 0.190842W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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I have visited· I would like to visit

DrewParsons church-grim would like to visit

wildtalents visited on 21st Apr 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4 It's a little bit disappointing to be honest, though I liked the replica huts and the actual causeway remains, constantly kept wet to try and slow down the rot. Although the painted walls are a bit crudely rendered they do a good job of showing how the preserved wooden stakes would have intersected with the remainder of the site. So sad that there's so little to show for it, but I'm glad I visited and picked up quite a nice quartz geode in the shop (and a signed Franny Prior book).

Marko visited on 14th May 2022 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 3 Access: 5

pawel visited on 1st Jul 2018 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 5

Andy B visited on 15th Jan 2005 Reconstructions of Bronze Age houses shown in Episode Four of BBC's History of Ancient Britain

Orcinus visited on 1st Jan 1989 - their rating: Amb: 3

NickyD have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 2.33 Ambience: 3.25 Access: 4.67

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Orcinus : Flag Fen 1989 (Vote or comment on this photo)
Top pic: the site under excavation in 1989. Museum and archaeological site in Cambridgeshire. "Britain's Bronze Age Archaeological Park". Dated to 1365–967 BC, excavations and research uncovered a monumental site which included a causeway composed of thousands of timber posts arranged in five 1-meter-long rows, and a small timber platform partway across the structure.

Between the posts of the causeway, timbers had been built up horizontally in ancient times, providing a "bridge" or dry surface for transportation across the wet lowland upon which the timber structures were built, connecting a higher level land area on its east with a higher level area on its west.

Now includes a fascinating visitor centre which is essential visiting if you are in the area.

Address: The Droveway, Northey Road, Peterborough, PE6 7QJ
Phone: 01733 864468
Opening Hours:Feb 6th to October the 31st for general public access although some workshops and events occur in Nov and Dec) . Closed on Mondays unless it is a Bank Holiday.
Admission: Charge
Visit their web site.
Archive of their old web site which has a nice animated map on it.

Note: Flag Fen Visitors Centre and Peterborough Museum narrowly escaped closure this year. Get out and visit our precious museums and galleries, spend some money in the cafe and shop, they need our support.
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Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : Detail of model from Flag Fen Visitor's Centre showing the how the timber causeway might have originally looked. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by wildtalents : Preserved timbers from the causeway at Flag Fen (Vote or comment on this photo)

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : I know Portal regulars love a good sheep photo so here are some rather shy longhorn sheep who live at Flag Fen Visitor's Centre. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : Reconstructed Iron Age Roundhouse at Flag Fen Visitor's Centre (Vote or comment on this photo)

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Orcinus : Flag Fen 1989 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Orcinus : Flag Fen 1989

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Orcinus

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by p_hoags : Dorothy - one of the Must Farm boats being preserved at Flag Fen (photo taken Sept 2013)

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by p_hoags : Belinda - one of the Must Farm boats being preserved at Flag Fen (photo taken Sept 2013)

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by p_hoags

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : The new entrance building with shop and cafe at Flag Fen Visitor's Centre. All the buildings at Flag Fen are low impact, and literally float on the bog. (1 comment)

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : Some of the Flag Fen timbers.

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : View of the timbers in the preservation room at Flag Fen Visitor's Centre.

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : Archaeological experiment into how timbers decay in the Flag Fen environment.

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : Flag Fen is an important fenland habitat rich in wildlife.

Flag Fen Visitors Centre
Flag Fen Visitors Centre submitted by Andy B : Reconstructed Bronze Age House at Flag Fen Visitor's Centre (2 comments)

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"Flag Fen Visitors Centre" | Login/Create an Account | 25 News and Comments
  
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Re: Flag Fen Visitors Centre by Marko on Monday, 16 May 2022
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Pleased to report that the Council are spending some effort/money on this site,which had been suffering a bit of neglect over recent time.

On my visit a couple of days ago,there were workmen out and about renovating parts of the site. We also saw a new roundhouse under construction.
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Flag Fen Visitors Centre and Peterborough Museum narrowly escape closure by Andy B on Wednesday, 16 February 2022
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Peterborough Museum and Flag Fen saved from closure in council’s budget battle
The renowned Peterborough Museum and the Bronze Age archaeological site Flag Fen narrowly escaped closure as council chiefs fought to close a massive funding gap, it has been revealed.

The two popular visitor attractions had been earmarked to shut in early discussions by Peterborough City Council leaders in a desperate attempt to shore up local authority finances.

The council is under pressure from the Government to get a grip on its escalating financial crisis which has seen the difference between income and spending rise to £27 million.

Both the Museum and Art Gallery, in Priestgate, and the Flag Fen Archaeology Park cost the council £600,000 each a year.

More at
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/peterborough-museum-and-flag-fen-saved-from-closure-in-councils-budget-battle-3536850
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Excavations within the western Flag Fen Basin: 1997-2007, Marcus Brittain, 2010 by Andy B on Wednesday, 14 February 2018
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A detailed technical report on the archaeological investigations carried out within the waterlogged deposits of the Flag Fen landscape in Cambridgeshire, UK, over a ten-year period (1997-2007). Particular emphasis is placed upon four trenches opened in 2005 over one of Europe's largest late Bronze Age-early Iron Age waterlogged timber sites that has invariably been interpreted as a dwelling, a causeway and a ritual centre. This clarified the character and alignment of the timbers, their condition and alaytical potential, and identified an earlier land surface containing prehistoric lithic evidence.
In Pryor, F. and M. Bamforth (ed.), Excavations at Flag Fen, Peterborough: 1995-2007' Oxford: Oxbow

https://www.academia.edu/1453679/Excavations_within_the_western_Flag_Fen_Basin_1997-2007_2010
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Flag Fen archaeology idea brings in public to dig deep by bat400 on Thursday, 07 June 2012
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Renowned Bronze Age archaeological site Flag Fen in Cambridgeshire will host a first-of-its-kind dig that makes the public integral to the project.

The idea combines both "crowdfunding" and "crowdsourcing"; for contributions starting at £125, donors can get their hands very dirty and dig for a day.

The venture's website will also stream live video from the dig as well as host lectures and interviews with experts. The aim is to fully explore the site before it dries out and is destroyed.

The site lies largely underground, preserved for 3,000 years beneath a layer of peat that keeps artefacts from decaying. An exposed part of the site, called the preservation hall, shows some of the thousands of timbers that make up the site poking up through the ground, and these are regularly watered to stave off decay.

"It's the only place in Europe where you can see this kind of archaeology exposed," said Lisa Westcott Wilkins, managing director of Digventures, the firm behind the new project.

Beneath, the peat will have preserved not just the wood artefacts such as leather and other organic material, which at other Bronze Age sites will have long since been consumed.

"The reason Flag Fen doesn't have the sort of public profile of Stonehenge is that there aren't all these huge stones everywhere people can see - the entire site rests on top of very sensitive archaeology," she told BBC News.

But the water that has kept Flag Fen preserved until now is seeping away, due in part to climate change but largely to active drainage and the sprawl of neighbouring Peterborough, which nearly reaches the borders of the site.

So the team at Digventures chose Flag Fen as its flagship site to try a new kind of archaeology, against a difficult global economic climate.

"Most of the archaeology outside of universities happens in advance of infrastructure or building, so when the market for that slows down, we don't get to dig very much," explained Mrs Wilkins.

"We've been thinking for a long time that things need to change, that there's not the kind of outreach that we feel really could be happening. There are lots of good people who are held back by the traditional way of doing things."

The crowdsourced dig will take place between 23 July and 12 August.

For those who cannot visit the site in person, the project aims to solicit contributions starting from £10 to gain access to a wealth of resources on its website - including features such as "find of the day" and interviews with "super-star archaeologists".

But Mrs Wilkins said combining this crowdfunding with the crowdsourcing of archaeologists of all stripes made the project unique, and held the potential to truly bring the public into an otherwise rarefied academic world.

"This is for people who have always wanted to try it but are not sure they're going to like it, not sure they want to commit to a week, but who also don't want to just turn up and look at stuff.

"This will put you in a hole, on-site."


Thanks to coldrum for the link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17211285.
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Re: Flag Fen Visitors Centre by JohnLindsay on Monday, 30 April 2012
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The book Flag Fen, latest edition is on sale in Peterborough Museum, and has stuff not only on the Flag Fen area, but apparently the wooden causeway went on for about a kilometre, this sounds like one of the most amazing things in the world, and has been ceompletely, or nearly completely, lost!
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Archaeologists return to excavate Flag Fen aided by 'crowd-sourced' sponsorship by Andy B on Saturday, 24 March 2012
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Some of the world's greatest archaeological finds don't emerge as a result of planned investigation. They were accidental. They were stumbled upon. And such was literally the case in 1982 when Francis Pryor, MBE, was in the midst of conducting a survey of dykes in the Peterborough area in England for English Heritage, a public commission responsible for managing historic buildings.

"I was walking back to the pub," says Pryor, "when I caught my foot on a large piece of wood. When I picked up the piece of wood, I looked at it, and then when I spotted the axe marks, about an inch and one-half wide, I knew that it had to be Bronze Age........"

For the following several weeks, Pryor and his team proceeded to excavate along the side of a dyke, in the area where the initial wood sample had been found, and recovered hundreds of additional pieces of similar timber.

"It was fantastic," said Pryor. "I didn't sleep for weeks after that."

They had stumbled upon an archaeologist's gold mine. Dated to 1365–967 BC and now known as Flag Fen, excavations and research uncovered a monumental site which included a causeway composed of thousands of timber posts arranged in five 1-meter-long rows, and a small timber platform partway across the structure. Between the posts of the causeway, timbers had been built up horizontally in ancient times, providing a "bridge" or dry surface for transportation across the wet lowland upon which the timber structures were built, connecting a higher level land area on its east with a higher level area on its west.

During the period between about 2,000 B.P. and 900 B.P., the climate in the area became increasingly wet, creating conditions that made it increasingly difficult for the early farmers. The low-lying land where Flag Fen was located became a peat-like, waterlogged environment. Over time, this watery environment created conditions perfect for the preservation of the wooden timbers, including many other organic materials excavated at the site, such as leather and food items. The water had replaced the cellulose structure in the wood and other organic materials and also created an anaerobic (oxygen-less) environment, preventing the growth and activity of organisms and other processes from decaying the material.

Excavations have recovered a rich array of finds, including items of shale, stone, metal, jewellery, horse bone, daggers broken in half and placed on top of each other, and England's oldest known wheel. Small white beach pebbles found at the site were made of stone that suggested that they had been transported to the site from a distance. According to some archaeologists, the nature and volume of the finds meant that the site was perhaps a ceremonial or religious centre. Little is known about the inhabitants or builders of the site.

To date, only about 10 percent of the site has been recovered, leaving 90 percent left to be excavated.

But continuing excavations will have to happen in a hurry. Officials estimate that the site will be gone in 30 to 50 years.

Says Pryor, "its drying out, partly because of climate change and partly because of modern development. And as it dries, the timber is basically going to crack and turn into dust. That's why it is essential to keep digging before the site dries out -- it really is a matter of time."

Archaeologists and preservations are making efforts to avert the cultural disaster. To sustain what they have already recovered, preservationists have applied techniques that will preserve the ancient structures from the relentless onslaught of the forces of decay. One measure has involved sprinkler systems, spraying the wood with cooled, filtered water to slow the decay. Another has involved creating an artificial "lake" or mere over the largest part of the ceremonial platform, topping it with water on a weekly basis to maintain the water table at a high enough level to preserve it. The biggest challenge, however

Read the rest of this post...
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Cambridgeshire's Flag Fen Bronze Age site gets £300,000 by MikeAitch on Sunday, 03 July 2011
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BBC News article:

A Bronze Age site in Cambridgeshire has re-opened to the public following a change of management and a five-week programme to improve the facilities.

Peterborough City Council has pledged £300,000 over three years to further improve the 3,300-year-old site at Flag Fen, close to the city.

The council took over management of the site in May, in partnership with Vivacity Culture and Leisure.

It was previously managed by the Fenland Archaeological Trust.

Councillor Matthew Lee is the deputy leader of Peterborough City Council and cabinet member for culture.

He said the joint venture with Vivacity, an independent organisation that runs a number of the city's cultural events, would "secure the future of the site and raise its profile to become a major tourist attraction".
'Rare place'

Flag Fen was discovered in the 1980s by archaeologist Francis Pryor, who uncovered part of a one mile (1.6km) causeway across the Fenland marshes in Cambridgeshire.

The recent temporary closure enabled improvements to be made to the visitor centre and cafe, and install new interpretation panels throughout the site.

Stuart Orme, Vivacity's interpretation manager, said: "Flag Fen is one of the rare places in this country, and indeed in Europe, where you can come along and see uncovered timbers that formed part of a Bronze Age causeway.

"It will now form part of the city's heritage service, linking it with the museum."

He added: "This will bring in more staff and expertise which will encourage a wider interest in the history of Peterborough."
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Flag Fen merges with Peterborough leisure trust to stay open by Andy B on Wednesday, 08 June 2011
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Flag Fen saved - Peterborough’s key heritage site has been saved just months after coming perilously close to closure.

Bronze Age attraction Flag Fen, at the Droveway, off Northey Road, Fengate, had looked set to close its doors due to a funding crisis in September 2009.

However, volunteers battled to keep the attraction open – even working long hours with no heating to keep the costs low.

Their future has been secured after bosses signed a deal to become part of Vivacity Culture and Leisure’s heritage service, along with the city centre museum.

Flag Fen will be closed until June 2, and then re-open in connection with Vivacity, the Trust which took over running the council’s leisure services last year.

James Beatty, who has run the site through two lean years since October 2009, said: “I am absolutely delighted.

“There are so many possibilities to develop the site – we have still only scratched the surface in terms of digging and would love to develop it into more of an iron age settlement, perhaps with another roundhouse.

“All the volunteers have been an absolute credit to keep Flag Fen up and running.”

Flag Fen Archaeological Park is one of the best preserved late Bronze Age monumental structures in Britain. It was officially handed over to Vivacity yesterday.

As part of the deal, Peterborough City Council is investing £100,000 a year for the next three years into Flag Fen.

More at
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/lifestyle/the_guide_2_17143/flag_fen_saved_1_2710592

with thanks to Coldrum
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    Re: Flag Fen merges with Peterborough leisure trust to stay open by meandering_morleys on Wednesday, 15 June 2011
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    I am so very glad. We are due to visit in July :-)
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Re: Funding crisis could cost Flag Fen its future by Anonymous on Thursday, 01 October 2009
Read "Seahenge" by Francis Prior and then go to see Flag Fen Visitors Centre (the book is mostly about Flag Fen). They deserve our support. It is a fantastic ancient sacred landscape.
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Funding crisis could cost Flag Fen its future by Andy B on Friday, 25 September 2009
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A FUNDING crisis has put the future of one Peterborough's major heritage attractions in jeopardy. Flag Fen Archaeology Park, one of Europe's most important Bronze Age sites, may not be able to reopen after its winter break because of cash flow problems.

It is believed the Bronze Age Centre and Archaeology Park, at The Droveway, off Northey Road, will need tens of thousands of pounds if it is to reopen next year, after it closes for its winter break in November.

Fund-raisers for the centre are blaming the credit crunch for a lack of grants it needs for survival.

More in the Peterborough Telegraph:
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Funding-crisis-could-cost-Flag.5678799.jp?CommentPage=1&CommentPageLength=10#comments
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Celebratory Open Day, Flag Fen, 28th February by coldrum on Wednesday, 18 February 2009
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Celebratory Open Day, Flag Fen, 28th February

The first day of the season - come along and see what is in store at Flag Fen this year.

Visitors will be able to explore Flag Fen and discover the events that will be happening in 2009. The Ancient Muse will be telling Celtic stories and presenting the Eisteddfod Summer Arts Festival to the public. There will be craft stalls and children’s activities, and our volunteers will be taking the opportunity to tell the public about what they do. Doors will open at 10am and close at 5pm. Last entry is 4pm.

http://www.flagfen.com/
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Duke of Gloucester visits Flag Fen exhibit by Andy B on Wednesday, 30 July 2008
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As previewed above:

The Duke of Gloucester installed the final part of a new exhibit at Flag Fen, one of Europe's most important bronze-age sites.
The Duke of Gloucester spent an afternoon at one of the Peterborough's most popular attractions in Peterborough yesterday as a new exhibit, which demonstrates the preserved wooden "causeway" that makes the site such an important part of Britain's Bronze Age past, was opened.

The Duke installed the last of a series of 25 posts that marks the position of the huge kilometre-long wooden monument preserved in the peat below ground.

This now completes the first step in a reconstruction project, which will be worked on over the next few years.

The new display gives visitors an idea of the physical size and position of the buried structure in a way not possible previously.

Chairman of the Fenland Archaeological Trust, which runs Flag Fen, Peter Melkowski said: "Over the past years, the public's interest in archaeology has continued to grow.

"We are particularly delighted that the Duke of Gloucester, who is patron of the trust, was able to join us for our annual Archaeology Festival in our silver jubilee year.

"Flag Fen owes its existence to this huge, and somewhat mysterious, structure preserved below our feet.

"It contains some 60,000 upright posts and 250,000 more timbers, all worked by Bronze Age man.

"It is East Anglia's equivalent of Stonehenge but, because it is not visible, it is not always easy to fully appreciate its true scale. Whilst we are raising funds to fund further excavations, this display will help explain the wonder of Flag Fen."

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Duke-of-Gloucester-visits-Flag.4307477.jp
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Flag Fen’s Archaeological Festival 19-20 July 2008 by Andy B on Wednesday, 09 July 2008
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A wide range of exciting and thought provoking activities, including a chance to try your hand at digging for archaeological artefacts, will be available at Flag Fen Archaeological Park when it holds its annual Archaeological Festival on 19-20 July. The highlight of the weekend will be the attendance, on July 20th, of H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester GCVO who will install the final part of a new exhibit to demonstrate the preserved wooden “causeway” that makes Flag Fen such an important part of Britain’s Bronze Age past.

“Over the past years, the public’s interest in archaeology has continued to grow. We are particularly delighted that H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester, Patron of the Trust, can join us for our annual Archaeology Festival in our Silver Jubilee year,” said Peter Melkowski, Chairman of the Fenland Archaeological Trust, which runs Flag Fen.

The Duke will install the last of a series of 25 posts that marks the position of the huge kilometre long wooden monument preserved in the peat below ground. This completes the first step in a reconstruction project, which will be worked on over the next few years . The new display gives visitors an idea of the physical size and position of the buried structure in a way not possible previously.

“Flag Fen owes its existence to this huge, and somewhat mysterious structure preserved below our feet,” said Mr Melkowski. “It contains some 60,000 upright posts and 250,000 more timbers, all worked by Bronze Age man. It is East Anglia’s equivalent of Stonehenge but, because it is not visible, it is not always easy to fully appreciate its true scale. Whilst we are raising funds to fund further excavations, this display will help explain the wonder of Flag Fen.”
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Bronze Age cooking at Flag Fen by Anonymous on Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Bronze Age cooking at Flag Fen

Who needs celebrity Chefs when we have Jacquie and Emma!

On Saturday 28th June 2008 there will be cookery demonstrations using ancient techniques and ingredients at Flag Fen Archaeology Park.

Ingredients such as duck and fresh herbs will be used to create a feast for eyes and your taste buds.

Cooking on a fire in the iron age roundhouse, using pots similar to those that would have been used and with ingredients that would have been picked form the hedgerows or farmed.

Evidence from excavations gives us an idea of the sort of ingredients that would have been available and our experimental archaeology demonstrates how they could have cooked to produce nutritious and enjoyable food.
You can talk to the demonstrators who will explain what they are doing, and you may even get to have a taste!

Sharon Shortland, General Manager says “Don’t travel for miles to the sea side, come along to your local attraction, bring a picnic and enjoy something a little bit different.”

Normal admission charges will apply.
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Get Creative with Natural Materials at Flag Fen’s Design & Craft Workshops by Anonymous on Wednesday, 15 August 2007
… Learn Technology, Design, Craft and Eco Art from UK Professionals in Autumn and Winter Workshops at Flag Fen…

Ever fancied making hedgerow wines, small boats or baskets? A reminder that this year at Flag Fen anyone can book onto a workshop to do just that.
Perhaps you could make an early Christmas present – something unusual for the person who has everything.

The following workshops are available between September and the end of the year.
For those who are creative and arty how about:
East meets West: Chinese knotting 7th October (some experience necessary).
Hedgerow basketry 20th October (beginners) and 21st October (advanced).

And if you are interested in boat technology:
Coracle making (2 day workshop) 8th-9th September.

And for those interested in herbs and cookery:
Hedgerow wines and liquors 16th September.
Herbal Christmas gifts and decorations 25th November.

For Wood enthusiasts
Bog Oak carving 3rd-4th November.
Wet woodland management and hurdle-making 10th November
Archaeology of wet wood 11th November
Living willow sculpture 1st December

Workshops are usually for one day and most cost around £45, those that are two days or use more expensive skills and materials may cost more.
The tutors are all experts in their field who will explain and then work closely with workshop students to enable them to practically apply the techniques.

Some of the workshops fill up quickly, so it is important to book early. For more details on the workshops and booking information please contact staff at Flag Fen.

Fenland Archaeological Trust is a registered educational charity (no 295116) promoting the study and understanding of life in the Fens and Washes from the Bronze Age (2000BC) to the Roman period (43AD). Our aim of ‘archaeological excellence for all to see and enjoy’ is embodied in our charitable activities. These include the management and maintenance of the Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre which incorporates artefacts, preserved archaeology, museum displays, reconstructed roundhouses and a wildlife park; and continued support for the archaeological investigation of the Flag Fen basin. Flag Fen does not receive financial support from Peterborough City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council or directly from central government for these activities. It therefore relies solely on admission charges, fundraising activities and the goodwill of volunteers to support the day to day operations and visitor services as well as the care of the collections and management of the natural habitats.
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Archaeological dig sparks plant panic by coldrum on Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Archaeological dig sparks plant panic

A MAJOR archaeological dig is under way at the site of the city's proposed £250 million waste plant.
The company behind the controversial proposals, Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd (PREL), previously informally known as Global Olivine, have to check the site to see if there is anything of historic interest before development can even be planned.

The Evening Telegraph received a flurry of e-mails and phone calls from worried readers who were concerned planning consent had been granted behind closed doors after seeing digging and machinery on land adjacent to Storey’s Bar Road.

But PREL confirmed the work was an archaeological investigation. The company’s first archaeological investigation was criticised by the city council for not being in-depth enough.

Now Northamptonshire Archaeology has been commissioned to examine and assess the archaeological potential of the land. The dig will involve five per cent of the 30-acre site.

PREL managing director Chris Williams said: “This area is regarded as of archaeological potential, but the depth of the soils means that the only way to assess this potential is by the excavation of a number of trenches.

“Each trench will be mechanically excavated under the archaeological direction of staff from Northamptonshire Archaeology, with any remains hand excavated and recorded.”

“The work is to evaluate the quality, type and preservation of archaeological levels as an aid to the preparation of a mitigation strategy for any material that might be affected by proposed development.”

Mr Williams said the fieldwork was expected to continue for several weeks.

The plans for the PREL’s waste plant were recommended for refusal by Peterborough City Council after widespread opposition.

However, the final decision lies with the Secretary of State for Energy and the Government has already indicated that it wants Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to take 5.7 million tonnes of London’s waste by 2021.
Despite this, PREL has claimed it will only take waste from a 35-mile radius, and the plans will go before a public inquiry later this year when Government-appointed planning inspectors will make the final decision.

Peterborough City Council’s deputy leader Councillor Stephen Goldspink, who spearheaded a campaign opposing the PREL scheme, said he was still staunchly opposed to the proposals.

He said: “We’re still awaiting a Government announcement about a public inquiry into the proposals. PREL will obviously want to satisfy public inquiry inspectors that they have met concerns raised by the city council last year.”

He added: “Furthermore, risks to Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre have been identified if the plant goes ahead and draws water from the River Nene. It would be criminal to see, in four years, some 4,000 years of history destroyed. I remain totally opposed to the plan.”
http://www.peterboroughnow.co.uk/news?articleid=2738561


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Get Creative with Natural Materials at Flag Fen’s 2007 Design & Craft Workshops by Anonymous on Friday, 02 March 2007
… Learn Technology, Design, Craft and Eco Art from UK Professionals in Spring and Summer Workshops at Flag Fen…

Ever fancied weaving willow, knapping flint axe heads or making rustic furniture? This year at Flag Fen anyone can book onto a workshop to do just that. Fenland Archaeological Trust is proud to announce its programme of creative workshops celebrating its Jubilee year.

Technologies and Textile themed workshops focus on ancient skills including:

· flint knapping where you use genuine prehistoric and reconstructed tools to work a flint,

· Bronze Age sword casting and finishing,

· Celtic and Roman costume design,

· Learning Bronze Age weaving skills

· Developing ancient knotting techniques to make jewellery and decorative items.



Eco-Art is a new series of workshops for Flag Fen where attendees can use natural materials to create sculptures and decorative artefacts. These include:

· Willow sculpture workshops some creating small artefacts and others creating permanent living willow sculptures for Flag Fen.

· Pyrography (burning designs into polished wood) and whittling focus on traditional woodcraft with tutor Rene Antonelli, a local artist.

Workshops with a more archaeological theme include timber trackway construction and from boats to trackways. Both will be run by Damien Goodburn of Time team fame, and will explore the tools and techniques our ancestors used to create the ancient monument at Flag Fen.

Finally for the creative cooks we have two workshops on Roman and Celtic herbs focussing on their medicinal and cooking qualities.

Workshops are usually for one day and most cost around £45, those that are two days or use more expensive skills and materials may cost more.

The tutors are all experts in their field who will explain and then work closely with workshop students to enable them to practically apply the techniques.

Some of the workshops fill up quickly, so it is important to book early. For more details on the workshops and booking information please contact staff at Flag Fen.

For those who are creative and arty how about:

Bronze Age Weaving 13th May.

Celtic and Roman Costume 8th July.

Ancient Art of Knotting beginners 21st April; 16th June; advanced 22nd April; 17th June.

Contemporary willow sculpture 2nd June.

Pyrography (burnt designs into polished wood) 20th May.

Weaving small willow artefacts 24th June.

Whittling 23rd June

Celtic design and dyeing 21st July.

And if you are interested in technology:

Bronze Age Sword Casting and Finishing (2 day workshop) 24-25th March; 31st March- 1st April.

Flint Knapping 16th June; 17th June; 7th July; 8th July.

Timber Trackway Construction 21st July.

From Boats to Trackways: Bronze Age woodworking (2 day workshop) 19-20th May.

And for those interested in herbs and cookery:

Celtic herbal remedies for today 28th July.

Roman Herbs 29th July.

Fenland Archaeological Trust is a registered educational charity (no 295116) promoting the study and understanding of life in the Fens and Washes from the Bronze Age (2000BC) to the Roman period (43AD). Our aim of ‘archaeological excellence for all to see and enjoy’ is embodied in our charitable activities. These include the management and maintenance of the Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre which incorporates artefacts, preserved archaeology, museum displays, reconstructed roundhouses and a wildlife park; and continued support for the archaeological investigation of the Flag Fen basin. Flag Fen does not receive financial support from Peterborough City C

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Flag Fen Reopens for 2007, Events Diary by Andy B on Wednesday, 31 January 2007
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….with a packed programme of events and workshops for visitors…

Flag Fen, Britain’s Bronze Age Centre opens its 20 acre living archaeology park and museum to visitors from February 6th 2007. This year is the 25th Anniversary of the site being discovered and as a result there is a packed programme of events and workshops for adults and children, nature lovers, crafts people and budding archaeologists alike. Attending any of these events will help to raise the funds to maintain Flag Fen for the future.

4000 years ago Ancient Britons lived around the Flag Fen basin on the outskirts of modern Peterborough. Over the last 25 years archaeologists have revealed jaw dropping evidence for how our ancestors lived, worked and worshipped. This story is told through the uncovered artefacts, archaeology, landscape and historic reconstructions at Flag Fen.

Events
Easter Monday launches the events season with a re-enactment on the site: Romans Versus Celts. Warriors will do battle in our purpose built grass arena….will the Celts win the day?

To launch Museums and Galleries Month in May we are offering local residents free access to the site on May Day in conjunction with the Peterborough Evening Telegraph. Later in the month weekend workshops focus on Bronze Age woodworking skills and family activities in half terms offer kids and grownups the chance to have a go at making pots, sandpit archaeology and nature identification.

June 3rd is Flag Fens celebration for World Environment Week and our Fenvironment Day offers people the chance to have a go at pond-dipping, bug catching and a variety of other environmental & fen related activities.

Archaeology Week (16th – 22nd July) is celebrated on the 22nd July with our Experimental Archaeology day. Demonstrations of ancient technologies and archaeological reconstructions will provide a fun day for budding archaeologists or those of you with an interest in woodworking and ancient crafts.

September starts with an Ancient weapons weekend on the 1st and 2nd. Have a go at archery on the Saturday and watch the competition on the Sunday. If music dance and food is more your thing then the Autumn festival on the 23rd September will be a great day out with live dancing and music demonstrations from local groups and ancient and modern.

Finally December sees our annual Christmas Fayre on 2nd December, with winter craft activities for adults and children and a guest appearance from Father Christmas. It’s the perfect opportunity to get more unusual stocking fillers!

Workshops
This year Flag Fen is hosting more workshops than ever before and for the first time we have created a range of workshops for families too. For adults day workshops cost around £45 and cover subjects as diverse as wet woodland management, flint knapping, willow sculpture, rustic furniture making, costume making, decorative knotting, herbal remedies and wines from the hedgerow. Our workshops often make use of the natural resources around us. For example the willow sculpture, basketry, herb and Christmas gifts from the hedgerow classes can use plants from your garden and the local hedgerows.

For families we will be running activities where kids and grownups can have a go. Pots from the past gives participants the opportunity to make simple pots and decorate them, Roman and Celtic Life will look at plants and technologies. Digging Deep is a hands-on archaeology experience and Hunting and Gathering will take the family on a mini-beast Safari! These activities will take place on specified days in half terms and summer holidays.

Georgia Butters, General Manager at Flag Fen says “we have a packed programme of events that we hope will be a real success this year. Coming to one of our events is the perfect opportunity to support our charity while having fun at the same time! “

Butters continues “we have a really unusual

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Flag fen digs in for £1m grant by Andy B on Saturday, 09 December 2006
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THE team behind the most important bronze age site in Europe are making a bid for a £1 million grant.
Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre in Fengate, Peterborough, relies solely on grants and donations to keep up its important archaeological work and growing tourist appeal.

Today, general manager Georgia Butters and her team are hoping to be given the Heritage Lottery Fund cash to make the centre and surrounding 20-acre park – which welcomed more than 14,000 visitors last year – more people friendly.

Ms Butters said the centre had launched a city-wide consultation project to find out exactly what residents want to see introduced.

She said: “Our consultants have been doing great work with the public, setting up groups, which will meet to discuss the different things people would like to see put in place at Flag Fen.

“The money could be spent on updating our museum, improving the information displays, better access or more interactive displays. We’re looking at the different ways we can draw people in. It’s such a wonderful resource, and we want the public to have their say.”

The site was discovered in 1982 by a mechanical digger working on one of the Fen drainage ditches.

He pulled up some timber that appeared to have been split in a very distinctive manner.

A team of archaeologists, led by TV’s Time Team’s Dr Francis Pryor, who founded the centre, sent the timber for radiocarbon analysis, revealing that it dated back to 1000 BC.

Since then, the work at Flag Fen has helped create a picture of what Bronze Age Peterborough might have looked like, offering an insight into the lives of our ancestors.

Today, excavations on site continue apace as archaeologists battle to remove wood from the water-logged land before it dries out. They estimate that a large part of the site will be lost in 20 years if excavation work is not carried out now.

The centre depends on the efforts of volunteers to help man the park, to act as tour guides, to help out in the cafe and to help the centre’s education team during school tours.

Ms Butters said: “We’re really keen to hear from people who want to get involved.”

Call Flag Fen on 01733 313414.

Source: Peterborough Today
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=845&ArticleID=1922933
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Cash boost for archaeology unit by Andy B on Tuesday, 29 August 2006
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The archaeological unit working on the Seahenge discovery is to receive a cash boost from a good causes fund.

Flag Fen at Peterborough is to receive £10,000 from the Peter Boizot Foundation, set up in 1996.

The unit is aiming to build a £500,000 archaeological resource centre at the Flag Fen bronze age site.

They are working on the preservation of Seahenge, a 4,000-year-old circle discovered at Holme-next-the-Sea, near Hunstanton, in Norfolk, in 1998.

Peter Boizot, a businessman from the city and former Peterborough football club chairman, gave the money to help fund the construction of a purpose-built archaeological facility for the Fens and East Anglian coastal area.

Fundraising officer for Flag Fen, Sharon Shortland, said: "The new centre will enable archaeologists to analyse material excavated at the Flag Fen site as well as bring in discoveries from elsewhere in the region.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5280826.stm
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    Re: Cash boost for archaeology unit by Andy B on Tuesday, 29 August 2006
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    Peter Boizot is the founder and chairman of the Pizza Express restaurant chain - can anyone suggest any appropriate headlines for this story?
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Flag Fen - £250m waste plant decision hold-up by Andy B on Saturday, 30 July 2005
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The decision on whether to approve plans for a £250 million waste recycling plant close to Flag Fen could be delayed after Peterborough City Council asked for more information.

Residents currently have until September 20 to voice their opinions to the council about the plant, which would include a hi-tech rubbish incinerator and occupy a 30-acre site in Fengate, Peterborough.
Councillors will debate the issue at a full council meeting in September, before the cabinet submits its response to the the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

But the public consultation period could be extended beyond September after council officials told the DTI that it needed further clarification before it could submit its comments.

An extension would mean the final decision by the DTI, due towards the end of the year, would also be delayed.

Trevor Gibson, director of Environmental Services at the council, said: "At this stage, we require additional information on several aspects, including traffic, archaeology, ecology, landscape and flood risk assessments."

"Because of the delay that publicising and considering this additional information will create, we will ask the DTI for an extension of our publicity and re-consultation deadline."

Opponents of the Global Olivine plant want a year-long public inquiry to examine potential health risks of the plant, which will incinerate an estimated one million tonnes of rubbish each year.

At a packed public meeting at the town hall on Monday, residents called for an inquiry to bring all the information into the public domain.

One man insisted scientists must explore the possible effects of emissions from the plant, saying: "We need people who know about the technical matters to meet with other scientists to discuss these matters in the public view."

However, Global Olivine development manager Rhys Davies believes a public inquiry would simply be covering old ground.

He said: "An inquiry would be conducted by the Environment Agency and our scientists have already spent three years having these debates with their scientists.
"We have been given an operating licence, which means they believe we can run this plant safely.
The council expects to hear next week whether the application for a extension has been granted.

Source: Peterborough Today, 30 July 2005
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Flag Fen Arena plans in need of funding by Andy B on Saturday, 15 January 2005
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A successful series of events held throughout the year at the world-renowned Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre drew in more than 5,000 people and plans are now underway to develop a specific Events Arena at the site.

Phase 1 of the Arena was completed earlier in the year with funding assistance from Anglian Water. This provided for a turfed arena set within a dried out lake at the famous site in which to house the spectacular gladiatorial combats held in May by Britannia and the highly acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet by Theatre company Roar! in August. Since then, the scope for developing the Arena has proved highly desirable.

General Manager of Flag Fen, Toby Fox, said “We received planning permission to develop an Events Arena in a dried out lake at the site back in May and we were able to complete the first phase of work in time for some of our summer events. However, the overall plan is to construct three sets of terraced seating around the bowl that should allow us to seat in the region of 600 to 800 people. This really allows great potential to have a wider series of events or Open Air theatre performances at Flag Fen in the future.”

Flag Fen are already being contacted by various companies wanting to perform in the Arena in 2005 and following the huge success of Roar’s Romeo and Juliet earlier in the year, the site is being critically acclaimed as rapidly developing into one of Peterborough’s foremost Open Air venues.

To try and capitalise on this, Flag Fen are now seeking funding to the tune of £80,000 to complete the works on the arena. Operators are currently exploring possible sources of financial assistance.

Toby Fox added “The potential for the arena is fantastic. Not only should we be able to hold larger events related to historical periods at Flag Fen, but we should also be able to open greater doors to the arts at this fantastic Open Air venue.”

If funding is found soon, Flag Fen hope to complete the works during the winter period in plenty of time for the summer programme of events.

Anyone interested in assisting with funding should contact Toby Fox on 01733 313414.
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Re: Flag Fen Visitors Centre by maesi on Tuesday, 04 May 2004
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Condition:5
Ambience:5
Access:5
visited on 3/5/04 well worth a visit. there is a reconstructed iron age round house and a bronze age settlement. there is peace and quiet considering the site is so close to a power station and an industrial estate. the site is also ecological motivated. allow at least 2 1/2 hours to gain full benefit (the seahenge timbers have now gone to the mary rose trust for conservation work)
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