Research Projects in the Department of Archaeology

The project will research how archaeological and palaeoecological narratives of past land management and climate change adaptation can shape sustainable farming, regenerative agriculture, and rewilding strategies in the Cambridgeshire Fenlands. The nationally important agricultural area is extremely vulnerable to climate change, and the mentioned strategies are considered key mitigation options.

Fordwich has been revealed to be the oldest directly-dated Acheulean occurrence in the United Kingdom, with artefacts dating from 560,000 to 620,000 years ago (MIS 15). This makes it the second oldest Acheulean site in north-west Europe, and the oldest to display a known handaxe assemblage numbering into the hundreds. The site is technologically diverse, with flakes, cores, handaxes, scrapers and retouched implements identified. This makes Fordwich a unique archaeological occurrence in northern Europe.