Flag Fen

Over het museum

The story of Flag Fen began in 1971, when excavations ahead of the building of Peterborough New Town uncovered an almost complete Bronze Age landscape along the edge of the drained fen. In 1982 archaeologists working in the depths of the Flag Fen basin found the timbers of what proved to be an internationally important site: a wooden platform and causeway built about 3,500 years ago. Further work around the basin has revealed prehistoric settlements, farms, burial mounds, cemeteries and religious sites, and the area is now regarded as one of the most important archaeological landscapes in Europe.

Today the park combines the archaeology with nature. A section of the excavated causeway is displayed in the Preservation Hall, where it is kept wet by a spray system. A large shallow artificial mere was created to maintain the waterlogged conditions that preserve the wood, and it is also a habitat for wildlife such as water voles and grass snakes. A small flock of Soay sheep, a breed familiar from the Bronze Age, grazes on the site.

Visitors can enter reconstructed Bronze Age and Iron Age roundhouses, see one of the earliest known wooden wheels found in England in the Museum on the Mere, and try a mock-up archaeological dig. The famous Must Farm discoveries were made less than a kilometre away, and Bronze Age and Iron Age log boats from that area are being conserved and shown in the Conservation Barn.

Hoogtepunten

• Excavated section of the 3,500-year-old Bronze Age timber causeway in the Preservation Hall
• Museum on the Mere with one of the earliest known wooden wheels found in England
• Reconstructed Bronze Age and Iron Age roundhouses that visitors can enter
• Log boats from the nearby Must Farm site in the Conservation Barn
• “Dig through time”, a mock archaeological dig for children
• Soay sheep, the mere and wildlife walks

Vaste collectie

• Museum on the Mere – A museum floating above a man-made mere that displays one of the earliest known wooden wheels in England and everyday Bronze Age objects such as shears.
• Causeway Preservation Hall – A section of the excavated Bronze Age causeway kept wet by a spray system, with an exhibition around a reconstructed stretch of the causeway.
• Bronze Age and Iron Age roundhouses – Reconstructed roundhouses based on excavated local examples, which visitors can enter to compare the two building styles.

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Day tickets are valid for the whole day. Special events may have different prices.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet: geen informatie
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The site is partly accessible for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs. There is an accessible route from the visitor centre to the Causeway Preservation Hall and the Conservation Barn. The mere walk has grass and wood-chip surfaces and may not suit buggies and wheelchairs in wet weather. Accessible parking spaces are close to the visitor centre.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Doe- en voelstations
• Verschoonruimte
• Speeltuin / speelhoek
• Kinderfeestjes

Children can try archaeology in the “Dig through time” mock dig and go inside the roundhouses. There is an outdoor children’s play area, family events and holiday activities such as Halloween fun, and children’s parties with themes such as Vikings, Romans and dinosaurs can be booked. The site is partly accessible for pushchairs.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

Flag Fen is 3 miles outside Peterborough city centre. Pedestrians and cyclists can reach it along the riverside walk on National Cycle Network route 63; there are bicycle racks next to the visitor centre.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel
• Wifi

Roundhouse Café inside the visitor centre with indoor tables and a patio, picnic benches and a gift shop. Wi-Fi is available on the site. Toilets with baby-changing facilities are in the visitor centre and the Flag Fen museum building.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

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