Weapons Of Flag Fen & 'Must Farm':

My lot on Mum's side come from the Fenland around Wisbech and Peterborough in UK's East Anglia.

- Whereas my Dad's lot were the MacMurrough-Kavanagh (12th century tribal-kings of Leinster, Eire - around Co. Wicklow).

Socketed Bronze Axe From 'Must Farm' Dig.

Mum was a 'Spriggs' and I like to think that her blood might go all the way back 3,000 years to around the bronze-age settlement at MUST FARM and Flag Fen near Peterborough - where two meters below today's soil level they are finding extraordinary artifacts preserved in the wet marsh.

I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about Bronze Age weapons and tools .. but it seems that archaeologists are excited at what they are carefully revealing in the waterlogged mud of what used to be a fenced defended settlement of circular timber wattle & daub houses built raised on stilts in a body of water.

Bronze Spear From Must Farm

You can watch this Doco with an attractive presenter explaining why East Anglian burnt remains in sloshy mud are something to get 'all unnecessary' about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShfJBBMOrik

When I was a lad Peterborough was famous for it's brick works, smelly sugar beet factory, and for me bravely trying not to cry after slamming the train door on my finger. ( "Does this train go to Murrow? - "No my dear .. it goes today.")(In the 1950s 'Murrow' was the nearest train station to Parson Drove)(The Station Master kept a lovely vegetable garden at the end of the platform - and beautiful flower beds on the platform.)

Ah - THOSE Were The Days!

Bronze is basically Copper alloyed with 12% Tin and it is (so I read) actually harder than wrought iron - which is interesting - as it was replaced in it's turn by the iron age eh. The Bronze Age was noted for extensive long distance trade goods movement (beads made from amber, glass & ostrich eggshell found on this marshland site.)

I guess if there's any particular point to this tale - it's that we made weapons long before the Bronze Age - and are still making them - for the same reasons - thousands of years later.

Marty K.
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