English 
Spanish 
3 min read
0 comments
In a stunning discovery, archaeologists have revealed a 3.500-year-old wooden shovel found preserved in an English trench.
Archaeologists often unearth objects such as bones, pottery, and stone tools. However, it is rare to find wooden artifacts, which usually decompose with time. time. That's why a team of researchers were surprised to discover a wooden shovel dating back to the Bronze Age in England.
Radiocarbon dating has revealed that the artefact is around 3.500 years old, making it one of the oldest preserved wooden tools in the UK, according to a statement from Wessex Archaeology.
Phil Trim, one of the archaeologists responsible for the discovery, said the find was “so rare” that he would never have expected to find something like it. “It’s a really unique object, to find something that’s made of wood of that age.”, he reported to the newspaper. Independent.
- Another record broken! Elon Musk becomes the first human being to accumulate a fortune of more than US$400 billion
- Study at Senai and earn R$858 per month! Institution offers 230 places for free technical courses with scholarships
- The mysterious story of an abandoned merchant ship that was discovered floating in the Atlantic in 1872 — Its crew disappeared
- Elon Musk's meteoric rise after Trump's election: from $237.000 billion to $429.200 billion in two months
Archaeologists found in special conditions of preservation
The spade was found in a circular ditch near a marshy area in southern England. Such ditches were used to control flooding in residential areas. At first, archaeologists thought it was just a tree root.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that it was a nearly complete tool, possibly carved from a single piece of oak.
The shovel was preserved due to the waterlogged conditions of the site, which prevented the entry of oxygen, an essential factor for the decomposition of wood.Preservation occurs when the artifact remains constantly moist and buried, excluding oxygen.”, explains Ed Treasure, environmental archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, in an interview with BBC News.
So, unlike regular archaeological sites, where organic remains disappear over time, in a swamp, they can survive for thousands of years. However, they are extremely fragile, even when preserved.
Archaeology of Wessex
The historical context and possible uses of the shovel
When this shovel was made, the region's previously nomadic inhabitants were beginning to settle more permanently, growing crops and raising livestock. Although they did not yet live in the wetlands year-round, they returned seasonally to take advantage of local resources, such as reeds and peat, and to graze on livestock.
Archaeologists are still unsure how the spade was made or what its specific use might have been. However, they do have a few theories. “It may have been used to cut peat at the site,” Treasure suggests in an interview with New Scientist. Another hypothesis is that the tool would have been used to dig the containment trenches in which it was found.
Archaeology of Wessex
Future prospects and the scientific value of the discovery
The research team plans to continue their studies to discover more about the shovel and the communities that inhabited the region millennia ago.”We are working in a landscape dominated by nature, where, to the naked eye, there are almost no signs of human activity.”, comments Greg Chuter, government archaeologist. “But just below the surface, we find evidence of how ancient inhabitants adapted to the region's challenging environment more than 3.000 years ago.".
This discovery reinforces the importance of archaeology in unraveling the ways of life of ancient civilizations and human adaptations to adverse conditions.
By preserving and studying artifacts like this shovel, archaeologists hope to expand knowledge about life in the past, as well as enhance the region's rich cultural heritage.
