Archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology have found a well preserved 3,500-year-old Bronze Age spade during excavations at the “Moors at Arne” project on the Isle of Purbeck, England.
The “Moors at Arne” project is an ongoing initiative to develop new tidal embankments and infrastructure, aimed at restoring coastal wetland habitats lost to rising sea levels. The project is a collaboration between the Environment Agency, RSPB, and Natural England, covering an area of 150 hectares.
A desk based assessment written by Atkins, the project consultants, identified evidence of significant salt and pottery production in the area that dates from the Iron Age and Roman periods, as well as traces of possible Roman pottery production just outside the site.
Following this, Wessex Archaeology conducted an extensive fieldwork program, including geophysical surveys and excavations in the areas of the proposed the embankments. This work has provided new insights into the changing landscape over time, and how human interactions with the moors have evolved.
In a recent press release, Wessex Archaeology has announced the discovery of an exceptionally rare wooden spade, one of the oldest wooden implements ever discovered in the UK.
It has been carved from one solid piece of oak, with only one known comparable example being the Brynlow Shovel, a leaf-shaped object which was discovered in 1875 at an ancient mine in Cheshire.
Preliminary scientific dating suggests that the latest discovery dates from the Bronze Age, which has been preserved in the waterlogged conditions preventing oxygen and microorganisms from breaking down the organic matter.
Ed Treasure, from Wessex Archaeology who led the environmental analysis of the spade said: “The moment the spade started to be uncovered the team on site knew it was a very special object and now we’re able to analyse it here in the laboratory, we’re starting to reveal its story. It’s made of oak and radiocarbon dating of the wood itself confirms it is c.3500-3400 years old, placing it firmly in the Middle Bronze Age. Further scientific dating will shine more light on when the spade was made. This is an incredibly exciting moment and we’re looking forward to finding out more as the process unfolds”
Header Image Credit : Wessex Archaeology
Sources : Wessex Archaeology
