The story of Flag Fen begins in 1971 when excavations ahead of the construction of Peterborough New Town revealed an almost intact Bronze Age landscape, which ran along the edge of the drained fen. Then in November 1982, archaeologists surveying out in the depths of the basin came across timbers of what was to prove to be an internationally important site - Flag Fen
The monument found incorporates a post-alignment, made up of at least five parallel rows of posts (1.1km long and 10m wide), and a platform, comprising a widespread, multi-layered distribution of horizontal timbers. The post-alignment spans the northern neck of the Flag Fen Basin and involves an estimated 22,000 axe- sharpened posts or piles, the bulk of which are oak.
Archaeological decline
The timbers forming the internationally-significant Flag Fen post-alignment are degrading. There is now a risk of catastrophic loss to the preserved archaeology. Flag Fen is the largest known wooden prehistoric structure in the UK, yet, the kilometre-long post-alignment and its enigmatic platform have only ever been partially investigated. Time is running out fast if we want to properly understand this truly remarkable monument and its equally remarkable history of deposition.