Monuments and mysteries
During the neolithic period, the first monuments began to appear
in the landscape. Stonehenge in Wiltshire is world famous, but few
people know that similar monuments were built in the Peterborough
area. They were usually circular areas enclosed by ditches
and earth banks, and used settings of timber posts rather than
large stones. Henges have been discovered at Maxey, and very
recently at Whittlesey. Cursus monuments, long rectangular
enclosures formed by two parallel banks and ditches, which may
extend many kilometres across the landscape, have been revealed at
Maxey and at Barnack.
The area also has an exceptionally high
concentration of 'causewayed enclosures' or 'causewayed camps',
large oval enclosures defined by segments of ditches and banks. The
methodical archaeological excavation of one causewayed enclosure
between Etton and Maxey produced fascinating insights into
neolithic life and religion in the area. Deposits of stone tools,
pottery, animal remains, quern-stones, and even human bones had
been placed in the ground as offerings.
The Bronze Age timber alignment and platform at Flag Fen may
also have served a ritual purpose. Watery places were often
ascribed mystical properties by later prehistoric peoples; valuable
items such as weaponry and jewellery were offered to the gods
through these conduits to the spiritual world. The significance and
use of many of the early monuments is not fully understood, but
they do show that prehistoric communities in the area became
increasingly settled, and that for thousands of years parts of the
landscape were reserved for spiritual purposes.