New Exhibition at Flag Fen in Peterborough Invites Visitors to Walk in the Footsteps of Bronze Age Ancestors
Supported by Historic England, Flag Fen Archaeological Park in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, has unveiled its newest exhibition featuring a remarkable reconstruction of part of the Bronze Age causeway that once stretched across this ancient landscape.
The exhibition, 'Flag Fen: The Story So Far...', opened to the public on 15 March and centres around a reconstruction of a section of the 3,500-year-old Flag Fen Causeway, crafted by specialists Wildwood UK.
Complementing this is a striking visual representation of the Bronze Age landscape created by Peterborough street artists Tony Nero, JonnieBarton and Nathan Murdoch of street arts hire.
Visitors can now walk along the fully accessible reconstructed causeway and immerse themselves in a landscape that prehistoric people would have journeyed through. The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to experience how our ancestors would have navigated and interacted with the wetland environment of the time.
A monumental structure
The original Flag Fen Causeway was a monumental structure built across what archaeologists believe was a sacred landscape, evidenced by the precious artefacts sacrificed to the surrounding waters.
The reconstruction is the result of a collaboration with leading Fenland archaeology experts, including Bronze Age specialist Francis Pryor and Mark Knight of Cambridge Archaeological Unit, who have helped apply archaeological evidence to create an authentic experience for visitors.
Race against time
The exhibition also highlights the urgent challenges facing the preservation of Flag Fen. The western half of the Bronze Age causeway is already at the limits of preservation as changing environmental conditions threaten this irreplaceable archaeological resource.
The exhibition emphasises that these preservation challenges are not unique to Flag Fen and affect wetland prehistoric sites across Europe.
Artistic interpretation
The exhibition features a specially commissioned poem by Kat Beeton, Peterborough's 2022 Poet Laureate, titled 'Prayer for the Fens', which captures the spiritual connection between the people, their treasures, and this mysterious landscape.
We are proud to fund this innovative project which beautifully demonstrates how arts and heritage can come together to bring the past to life. The creative approach taken to reimagining Peterborough's Bronze Age history gives the people of Peterborough and visitors the extraordinary opportunity to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors. By combining archaeological expertise with artistic interpretation, Flag Fen has created an immersive experience that makes our shared history accessible and meaningful to everyone.
Also of interest
