Britain's Pompeii: Bronze Age artefacts go on display

The well-organised settlement of about 10 roundhouses was less than a year old when a fire broke out and rapidly destroyed it, historians say

An extraordinary collection of 3,000-year-old household artefacts discovered at a site dubbed "Britain's Pompeii" has gone on display close to where they were discovered.

The finds were unearthed at a Bronze Age village at Must Farm at Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, which burnt down.

The site has given archaeologists an unprecedented insight into the lives of ordinary people from that era and the artefacts are being transferred to the permanent care of Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery.

How does one of the museum's curators hope the city's residents will respond to the lives of their ancient neighbours?

'An emotional response'

The village was built over a river and as the blaze took hold, its contents fell into the silt to be preserved for thousands of years

Domestic items from the village were deposited into the river silt after the blaze, where they remained until they were excavated eight years ago.

"They were ordinary people and an extraordinary event happened to them, this catastrophic fire," said museum heritage manager Sarah Wilson.

"It's not a battle site, it's a home and in a very short amount of time the residents lost everything, and the story leaves me with an emotional response of how awful.

"It burnt down in about 20 minutes and people were dropping everything and running."

'Not a bunch of strangers'

It is "absolutely remarkable" that fibre and textile items, usually the first to rot away, were recovered from Must Farm, said Sarah Wilson

They left behind the largest collection of everyday Bronze Age artefacts ever discovered in the UK, including 200 wooden objects, more than 150 fibre and textile items, 128 pottery vessels and about 90 pieces of metalwork.

Ms Wilson said: "Like us, they had distinct parts of their houses for different tasks.

"The assumption is that Bronze Age people were living hand-to-mouth, just surviving, but the evidence is that it is so much more than that and very well organised.

"The idea of family, home, trading, relationships that most people are familiar with are not random concepts - it stops them being a bunch of strangers."

Global links

The dig revealed the largest find of glass beads from Late Bronze Age Britain, with most of the glass originating from Iran

"Must Farm also dispels the myth that in the past people were quite insular, [that] they didn't move around as much as we do today," said Ms Wilson.

The personal items include some of the finest textiles produced in Europe at the time - including 48 beads made from glass originating in Iran.

She said: "Peterborough is a global city, with residents with heritage from all over the world.

"So while beads from 4,000km away (2,500 miles) might be unexpected, it creates connectivity for the residents of the city and area and those people from thousands of years ago."

Pride in Peterborough

"As time goes by, we will be putting more of the finds on permanent display," said Ms Wilson

The excavation's discoveries are of national importance, yet its finds are staying local, about eight miles (12km) from where it was found.

Ms Wilson hopes that gives people a sense of pride.

"It validates that Peterborough is not a new city and never was," she said.

"It bears the marks of a 1970s and 80s development, but actually we can say it has had occupation for thousands of years."

Introducing Must Farm, a Bronze Age Settlement runs until 28 September.

About 40 items, including specially-commissioned replicas, are included in the exhibition