Oldest carved piece of wood in Britain dates back 6,000 years - 2,000 years ... trends now
A heavily notched oak timber found in a peat bog is the oldest carved piece of wood in Britain at more than 6,000 years old, experts say.
The mysterious markings were made by Late Mesolithic people 2,000 years before Stonehenge – and 4,500 years before the Romans came to Britain.
The metre-long (3.2ft) blackened piece of timber was found embedded in peat during the construction of an outbuilding at a property in the village of Boxford in Berkshire.
Experts suggest the carving pre-dates by 500 years the only other known Mesolithic carved timber in Britain, discovered near Maerdy in Wales.
Historic England has dated the specimen to the Late Mesolithic period, which lasted between 4640 and 4605 BC.
The oldest decoratively carved wood in Britain has markings made by Late Mesolithic people more than 6,000 years ago
It was discovered during the construction of an outbuilding at a property in the historic village of Boxford in Berkshire
The purpose of the markings on the wood is not known but they look similar to the decoration seen on early Neolithic pottery, experts suggest.
The markings also resemble those found on the oldest piece of carved wood – a figurine known as the Shigir Idol – a wooden sculpture found in the Ural mountains of Russia.
At 12,500 years old, Shigir Idol is believed to be the oldest example of carved wood in the world.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England said: 'It's remarkable that by doing routine building work a piece of modest-looking decorative wood turns out to be the oldest ever found in Britain.
'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 (3.2ft by 1.3ft by 0.6ft).
It was discovered during ground works for the building of a workshop, and was found approximately 1.5 metres (5ft) below the surface not far from the present course of the River Lambourn in a layer of peat.
The large timber was carved 2,000 years before Stonehenge was built (2,500 BC) and has been dated by Historic England to the Late Mesolithic period (4640 BC - 4605 BC)
The purpose of the markings on the wood is not known but they look similar to the decoration seen on early Neolithic pottery, experts suggest
Peat is able to preserve organic materials like wood over thousands of years because the normal processes of decay are slowed right down due to a lack of oxygen within the peat.
The timber was removed and later that day it was
