Britain’s Oldest Dwelling at Star Carr, N Yorks

Submitted by Seren Langley on Mon, 2010-08-16 14:21
in

Last week came news of Britian’s oldest house at the much-researched site of Star Carr. We collect together the available sources.

Star Carr is an Early Mesolithic occupation site located in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, a short distance from Scarborough. Its ancient inhabitants would have been amongst the first to take advantage of the receding glaciers and waterlogged conditions have aided preservation of this exceptionally early settlement. It was discovered in the 1940s and subsequent excavation work was carried out 1949–1951 by Prof Grahame Clark. The site has been the subject of a long-running research and excavation project since 1989, by the Vale of Pickering Research Trust and archaeologists from the Universities of York, Manchester, UCL and Cambridge.

This latest find is very exciting as it pushes back the date for the first dwelling in Britain by 1,000 years to 11,000BP (c 9,000BC). This post-built structure is 3.5m wide and would have been made to a high standard, with a total of 18 posts, each 20cm wide. The shape and materials used in the roof construction are not known. Similar permanent huts on the continent have often been interpreted as the homes of Shamans – based on the objects found within them – and are slowly becoming more commonly recognised in an era of a mostly nomadic existence. This home appears to be isolated in its immediate surroundings, although archaeologists believe there may have been more nearby. At the time, Britain was still connected to continental Europe via the now-submerged Doggerland. The excavation of the site has become a priority since the waterlogged, peaty conditions, that preserve wood, bone and other organic remains, have gradually deteriorated with falling water levels (see British Archaeology, 114, p11).

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