The discovery of the wheel demonstrates that the inhabitants of this watery landscapes had links to the dry land beyond the river.
- David Gibson
Archaeologists working at Must Farm, a Bronze Age site near Peterborough, have uncovered a 3,000-year-old wheel, the first and largest complete example ever to be discovered in Britain.
The find, which will broaden our understanding of Late Bronze Age life, is the latest from a settlement described as Peterborough’s Pompeii. The large wooden round houses, built on stilts, plunged into a river after a dramatic fire 3,000 years ago.
Thought to date from 1100-800 BC, the ancient wooden wheel is one metre in diameter and has been so well preserved by the silt that it still contains its hub. An incomplete Bronze Age wheel was found nearby at Flag Fen in the 1990s but the Must Farm find is unprecedented in terms of size and completeness.
The discovery poses challenges to what is known about the Late Bronze Age in terms of the technology available 3,000 years ago.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: “This remarkable but fragile wooden wheel is the earliest complete example ever found in Britain. The existence of this wheel expands our understanding of Late Bronze Age technology and the level of sophistication of the lives of people living on the edge of the Fens 3,000 years ago.”
The find is the latest in a series of discoveries at the Must Farm site which is providing an extraordinary insight into domestic life 3,000 years ago. Excavation has already revealed circular wooden houses believed to be the best–preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found in Britain.
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Image: Excavation of Bronze Age Wheel at Must Farm one metre in diameter, with hub clearly visible.
Credit: Copyright Cambridge Archaeological Unit, photo by Dave Webb
Reproduced courtesy of University of Cambridge
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