The shovel is now in a laboratory for analysis. According to initial estimates, it is 3,500 years old.
An exciting discovery for archaeologists
The anecdote is so exceptional that the team was skeptical about the nature of the object before the operation. For them, it could simply be a tree root. Therefore, they were amazed at the discovery of this strange, rather well-preserved ancient shovel.
“Finding 3,500-year-old wooden spade was exciting’ https://t.co/uSPMBsEPRa
— BBC Dorset (@BBCDorset) October 23, 2024
Indeed, as Phil Trim, the head of the operation, explains to the BBC, finding such an old wooden object is an event.truly unique”. Since wood is an organic material, it is not uncommon for it to decompose. “It was indescribable, it was truly an exciting moment”.
A shovel preserved despite a humid environment
Furthermore, we cannot say that the surroundings of Poole harbour, threatened by rising water levels, are particularly dry. On the contrary, nature here is “gorged with water”. But the shovel was found in a sort of “circular ditch”, which could have been dug by Bronze Age men to protect against flooding.
For Ed Treasure, of Wessex Archaeology, it was precisely the waterlogging conditions that helped preserve the tool. He said this happens when the ground is continuously wet during burial because all oxygen is excluded. “Unlike a normal archaeological site, where organic remains like wood would disappear, they can be preserved for thousands of years, as this one demonstrates”.
A project to protect local wildlife from rising water levels
The works carried out at Poole Port are carried out as part of a project, Moors at Arne, created for “to adapt around 150 hectares of the Arne moors into a diverse wetland habitat” thanks to a partnership between the Environment Agency, the RSPB and Natural England according to the Dorset Coast Forum website.
Indeed, rising water levels threaten the “habitats” of coastal fauna around the port of Poole. They are expected to disappear within the next 30 years. “New spaces for coastal wildlife will need to be created to conserve the natural features of the lost landscape”.
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