Six thousand-year-old carved wood found by accident
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The wood was extracted and cleaned, then the team realised it wasn't just a normal piece of timber!
A piece of carved wood, that experts think could be the oldest ever found in Britain, has been discovered on a construction site in Berkshire.
Archaeologists say it is 6,000 years old, which would make is 2,000 years older than Stonehenge, and 4,500 years older than when the Romans were in Britain.
It's been dated to the Late Mesolithic period, which is between 4640 and 4605BC.
Feel like a history expert? Maybe a future archaeologist? Try our quiz further down the page!
Where was the wood found?
Can you spot the carvings?
The carving was found by accident on a construction site in Boxford.
When it was found, the team thought it was just a normal piece of wood with interesting carvings. It wasn't until it was taken away and cleaned they discovered the carvings were more unusual than they first thought.
Historic England, who came to look at the wood, aren't sure what the markings mean, but they look similar to some seen on Neolithic pottery.
In very deep areas of peat bogs, low levels of oxygen mean normal decay processes are slowed down.
This means historical artefacts that are thousands of years old can sometimes be found in a good condition, so archaeologists can look at them in detail.
How old is the wood?
Experts analysed the wood to find out how old it was using a technique called carbon dating
Historic England say the wood dates back to the Late Mesolithic period, which is between 4640 and 4605BC - that's more than 6,000 years ago.
The Late Mesolithic period sits between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic eras, which are more commonly known as the old stone age and the new stone age.
The next oldest piece of carved wood found in Britain was discovered in Wales. Experts think the Berkshire find is possibly 500 years older.
Let us know how you did in the comments!
- Published12 May 2023
