Retiree Uncovers Wooden Artifact 2,000 Years Older than Stonehenge

A piece of decoratively carved wood found during a construction project has been declared the oldest in Britain.

The 6,000-year-old piece of oak, found in Boxford, Berkshire, is only the second wood carving to be found from the Mesolithic period.

It was discovered preserved in peat at the bottom of a trench.

The wood is being conserved by Historic England at Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth, and will eventually go on display at West Berkshire Museum in Newbury.

Landowner Derek Fawcett has been working with Historic England and the Boxford History Project since finding the timber four years ago.

He said: “It was clearly very old and appeared well preserved in peat. After hosing it down, we saw that it had markings that appeared unnatural and possibly man-made.”

The timber has been carbon dated to between 4640 BC and 4605 BC, making it around 2,000 years older than Stonehenge, and 500 years older than the only other known piece of carved Mesolithic timber, which was found near Maerdy in Rhondda Cynon Taf in 2012.

Historic England chief executive Duncan Wilson said: “This exciting find has helped to shine new light on our distant past and we’re grateful to the landowner for recognising its significance.

“Amazing discoveries like these remind us of the power of archaeology to uncover the hidden narratives that connect us to our roots.”

The waterlogged carved oak is one metre long, 0.42 metres wide and 0.2 metres thick.

It was found about 1.5 metres (5ft) below the surface not far from the present course of the River Lambourn in a layer of peat.

Mr Fawcett has donated the timber to the West Berkshire Museum in Newbury where it will eventually go on display.

The museum is also working with the Boxford History Project to arrange for the timber to go on loan to the Boxford village heritage centre.