48th FW uncovers the past while building for the future

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jessi Monte
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  When the Liberty Wing first broke ground on the future F-35 campus here, what began as a routine expansion project became a window to the U.K.’s past civilizations.

Construction at the site began in July 2019 and will be the home to two new F-35A Lighting II squadrons.

According to Joanna Caruth, a project manager at Cotswold Archaeology in Needham Market, Suffolk, excavation efforts uncovered items from two distinct periods of activity, which span from as early as 2600 B.C. to A.D. 1790. One is prehistoric and the other is medieval to post-medieval with no activity in between.

Two of the most significant discoveries were a burnt mound, dating back to the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age, as well as a flint knapping scatter, which is situated in the original position where the tools were crafted.

“The burnt mound is a rare feature type which consists of huge quantities of charcoal and heat altered stone,” Caruth said. “It represents the waste from prehistoric activities that require a lot of water heating such as the processing of animal hides and skins.”

The flint scattering consisted mostly of scraper tools, which would have been used to clean animal skins for processing by stripping the fat from the hide. In addition to the tools, there were also a few intact arrowheads uncovered.

“The flint scatter is particularly good because fragments of waste flint have been left where they fell, which means we can identify where the flint knappers were sitting,” said Caruth. “From the way the flint has been struck we can tell there were both left and right-handed knappers.”

A flint knapper is someone who shapes tools by striking a stone with another larger object. This was the main technique used by early humans to make tools and weapons until the process of smelting was discovered.

“In addition to the scrapers we also found a hammer stone,” said Caruth. “This was the heavier quartzite-type stone used to strike the flint and make it shatter into the distinctive pieces that we found.”

An additional find was a network of ditches. Inside these ditches, a silver medieval coin was also recovered. Caruth said the coin is a broken half of a silver long cross farthing, or halfpenny, probably of Edward I, King of England, which dates A.D. 1272-1307.

The network of ditches was dated A.D. 1220-1430 by a technique known as optically simulated luminance dating. This technique can determine when a sample was last exposed to sunlight.

“This means we can confidently interpret the ditch systems as having been part of a large rabbit warren which dates from the middle of the 13th century,” said Caruth. “This covered most of this part of Lakenheath parish and the northern part of RAF Lakenheath, and was in use almost until the area was enclosed for the air base.”

Rabbit warrens were large enclosures for the protection of rabbits which were prized for their meat and fur. During this time period they were newly introduced to England from the western Mediterranean and had not adapted to the cold and wet climate of England.

All findings were carefully uncovered and recorded by various means including photographs, scale drawings and Global Positioning System.

“The finds will be archived in the County Archaeological store,” said Caruth. “It is unlikely any will go on display as none of the pieces are individually unique. It is the assemblage as a whole and what it tells us about the way the land was used in these two periods that is significant.”

Further studies need to be conducted on the findings, including a more detailed analysis of the flint tools. From analyzing the remaining lipids on the pieces they may be able to determine what types of animal hides were being processed in the burnt mound. Soil samples from the burnt mound could also provide insight into what was being foraged, grown and eaten at the time. Eventually a complete report on the results will be published.