Hopes cash could save at-risk Bronze Age site

An excavation project at a Bronze Age site could see the area removed from a register of at-risk historical locations, the government has said.

Ancient remains at Flag Fen archaeological park near Peterborough are deteriorating because of degrading groundwater levels, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Defra is providing almost £700,000 to fund a dig to uncover the history beneath a 3,500-year-old causeway.

It said it was part of a longer-term project to revitalise the site, with the aim of removing it from Historic England's heritage at risk register.

The excavation project will offer volunteering opportunities for local people.

"This funding will make it possible for us to excavate and collect evidence that is missing from our understanding of why Peterborough's Bronze Age settlers built the monumental wooden causeway at Flag Fen," said the site's general manager Jacqueline Mooney.

"We are incredibly thankful that this funding has been granted just in time, as around 40% of Flag Fen's precious buried archaeology is at serious risk of being lost forever in just a few short months."

Peterborough's Labour MP Andrew Pakes said the project was "brilliant news" for the city.

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