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THIS IS LONGFORD Now in our sixteenth century! 8,000 Years of History
This page was last updated on
05 August 2006 |
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last updated on
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Dig sheds light on 8,000 years of history From an article in the T5 Inform magazine, Unique archaeological discoveries at the T5 construction site have helped shed light on more than 8,000 years of human history. Teams of experts from Framework Archaeology spent 15 months digging the 250-acre site, the largest-ever single such excavation in the UK, and finished this month. Among their findings are more than 80,000 artefacts dating back as far as the Mesolithic era 6,000 years ago – including 18,000 pieces of pottery, 40,000 pieces of flint and a 2,500-year-old wooden bowl, the only one from this period found in the UK. But among the most significant discoveries were field boundaries that suggest individually owned farms sprang up around 2000BC – some 500 years earlier than previously believed. Another important find was the Stanwell Cursus, a 4km-long, 20mwide raised pathway and the UK’s second-largest, which cuts across the T5 site and dates from 3800BC. Fascinating evidence charting the changing landscape around Heathrow has also been found – from the heavy forests of Stone Age hunter-gatherers, cultivated fields from the Bronze Age to a small village from the Iron Age and Roman era. Mysteriously, the settlement then died out, but another reappears in the mid-12th century. “The T5 dig was much more self-contained than usual,” said Framework Archaeology’s Tony Trueman. “Normally you dig something up, take it away and analyse it elsewhere at a later date. “At T5 though, we were excavating, cleaning the finds and analysing them on site, which meant we were able to interpret the evidence as we went and so guide the whole operation. For a long excavation like this, that was extremely useful.” Framework Archaeology – a unique partnership between Oxford Archaeology and Wessex Archaeology – spent seven years designing and planning the project, so they knew exactly where to dig, saving time and money. The findings from the dig can now be seen at the Heathrow Visitor Centre, and others are on display at the Museum of London.
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