£700,000 secured for new excavation at Bronze Age Flag Fen site
Defra and Historic England have announced £700,000 for an excavation at Flag Fen near Peterborough to record threatened Bronze Age remains.
Funding for excavation
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Historic England have announced £700,000 in grant funding for a new excavation at Flag Fen Archaeology Park near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire.
The funding is being provided through the Countryside Stewardship Heritage Service, a partnership between Defra and Historic England. Farming Minister Stephen Morgan marked the announcement with project partners during a visit to the site on Thursday 10 September.
What the work will examine
Flag Fen sits in a Bronze Age landscape containing a timber causeway and platform built about 3,500 years ago. The government describes the site’s scale, complexity and completeness as nationally significant, noting that few Bronze Age platform structures survive anywhere in the world.
The excavation will investigate the western post alignment. Defra and Historic England say that recording and understanding evidence from the work will help shape how Flag Fen is interpreted and experienced by visitors.
Flag Fen has been on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register since 2012. The announcing bodies say ancient wooden artefacts and other fragile organic remains are threatened by degrading groundwater levels and the drying of surrounding peat. Recent evaluation excavations confirmed that organic remains, including ancient worked wood, are deteriorating.
Community involvement
The project will provide volunteering opportunities for local community members, university students, young carers and people who took part in earlier site surveys. Volunteers will receive progressive training, with the aim of developing skills that could enable them to become supervisors and tour leaders.
Removing Flag Fen from the Heritage at Risk Register is identified as a key objective of the longer-term project to revitalise the site. The announcement also says developing Flag Fen as a destination could support economic development in the Peterborough area and build a lasting community connection to the prehistoric site.
Defra, Historic England and project partners issued the announcement on 13 September 2026.
Key takeaways
- The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Historic England have announced £700,000 for excavation work at Flag Fen near Peterborough.
- The excavation will investigate the site’s western post alignment and record evidence threatened by falling groundwater levels and drying peat.
- The project includes progressive training and volunteering opportunities for local residents, university students, young carers and returning volunteers.
FAQ
Where is Flag Fen?
Flag Fen Archaeology Park is near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire.
How much funding has been announced?
The project will receive £700,000 through the Countryside Stewardship Heritage Service, a Defra partnership with Historic England.
What will the excavation examine?
It will investigate Flag Fen’s western post alignment and record new evidence, including deteriorating organic remains such as ancient worked wood.
Who can volunteer?
The project will offer opportunities to local community members, university students, young carers and volunteers who took part in previous site surveys.