7902 Flag Fen: investigating the survival and preservation of the archaeological remains to inform a management strategy - AWARD

Flag Fen, near Peterborough, is a nationally important wooden Bronze Age post alignment and timber platform with associated artefacts and palaeoenvironmental remains. The archaeology is preserved within an embayment of low-lying wetland known as the Flag Fen basin. It is designated as a scheduled monument, along with adjacent dry-land Bronze Age remains at Northey (List entry 1406460; Figure 1). Preliminary work has indicated that the fragile organic remains are degrading in some parts of the site and, if unchecked, there may be catastrophic loss of rare organic archaeological evidence (Brittain 2010; Wilkinson et al. 2013; Brittain in press). The remains are currently included on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register and there is a pressing need to formulate and implement a formal management strategy to sustain the site's potential for future research, through continued physical preservation, archaeological excavation, or a combination of the two.

In order to determine the most appropriate management option, further preservation assessments are required to address the weaknesses/gaps present in our understanding. Only limited information is currently available about the preservation of the archaeological remains and how this may have changed since the site was first investigated in the 1980s. In addition, there is some ambiguity regarding the extent of the Platform, particularly the lack of timber in the trenches positioned on its northern side which has led to Brittain et al. (in press) suggesting a reduced extent of c.15,000 sqm, compared to the estimate of 22,100sqm proposed by Pryor (2001, 426). The excavation of key areas of the Platform will allow questions about the extent this feature to be investigated.

This brief addresses recommendations made in (Brittain et al. in press), a desk-based project commissioned by Historic England that modelled what is currently known about the survival and preservation of the archaeological remains at Flag Fen. Targeted excavations were recommended to address gaps in our understanding and to recover objective, scientific information about the preservation of the archaeological remains. The information is needed to aid the development of an appropriate management strategy to ensure that future generations can enjoy and understand the important archaeological remains. The ultimate aim is the removal of the scheduled monument from the Heritage at Risk Register. This brief covers the excavation and assessment stage of the project.