A recent excavation in eastern England has unearthed what is believed to be the best-preserved Bronze Age village found in Britain. Pictured is the excavation of the structure's palisade -- posts encircling the dwelling site -- during the exploratory investigation in 2006.
A recent excavation in eastern England has unearthed what is believed to be the best-preserved Bronze Age village found in Britain. Pictured is the excavation of the structure's palisade -- posts encircling the dwelling site -- during the exploratory investigation in 2006.
Cambridge Archaeology Unit
Bronze Age piles preserved within the river silts and collapsed structural timbers.
Bronze Age piles preserved within the river silts and collapsed structural timbers.
Cambridge Archaeology Unit
River silts are removed to expose the wood.
River silts are removed to expose the wood.
Cambridge Archaeology Unit
Wood specialist Mike Bamforth examines the base of a Bronze Age wooden bucket.
Wood specialist Mike Bamforth examines the base of a Bronze Age wooden bucket.
Cambridge Archaeology Unit
A close up of a charred wooden bucket base.
A close up of a charred wooden bucket base.
Cambridge Archaeology Unit
Late Iron Age baldric ring with La Tène style decoration, probably part of a shoulder belt for carrying a sword.
Late Iron Age baldric ring with La Tène style decoration, probably part of a shoulder belt for carrying a sword.
Cambridge Archaeology Unit
Britain's Bronze Age discovery

Story highlights

Textiles made from plant fibers and bowls containing food were found at the site

Water, mud and silt from the river helped preserve the items, archaeologists say

CNN  — 

Archaeologists believe they have discovered the best-preserved Bronze Age village ever found in Britain – and it even includes what are likely 3,000-year-old footprints.

Thought to be home to several families, the settlement in eastern England consisted of large wooden roundhouses built on stilts above water.

When they caught fire, archeologists say, the dwellings collapsed and plunged into the river. The mud and water preserved the structures and even filled in some residents’ footprints, transforming the site into an extraordinary time capsule.

It contains items that normally would have been decomposed by now, such as textiles made from plant fibers, as well as bowls and jars with traces of food in them. The Bronze Age began in different regions of the world at different times, and that period in what is now Britain dates to about 2000 B.C.

The team also found timbers with tool marks, well-preserved charred roof timbers and the remnant of a wooden fence once surrounding the village.

Region rich with prehistoric finds

The wider area is known for its prehistoric finds, including a sword and rapier, which were unearthed in 1969, and the discovery of nine wooden boats in 2011.

“This is the best project I’ll ever work on in my life,” David Gibson, archaeological manager at the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, told CNN. “We understood that this was a special site when we started finding pieces of woods, then more material came.”

Usually, he said, sites from this period are “drier,” offering few interesting elements.

“So much more has been preserved that we can actually see everyday life during the Bronze Age” in its entirety, Gibson said, adding that the finds were unsurpassed “both in terms of range and quantity.”

Mark Knight, site director of the excavation at Must Farm quarry, said the site “is not a one-off, but in fact presents a template of an undiscovered community that thrived 3,000 years ago.”