The investigation of past wetland environments has made the transition from an art to a science over the past 30 years, with several high-profile sites providing a code of good conduct for future excavations to follow. While the majority of new wetland sites being investigated are developer funded, many being very well-supported, there is still a need for research-driven investigations to utilise innovative scientific analyses, new excavation strategies, and targeted experiments.
The Bamburgh Research Project has been investigating the prehistoric fenland of Embleton’s Bog in Northumberland since 2010. While this started as a small area test pitting investigation, once excavation identified a complex waterlogged fenland system with relationships to multiple Neolithic burnt mound sites and preserved wooden structures, the remit of the project was expanded. The project is now nearing the end of its evaluation, and is ready to report in its initial activities. The multifaceted avenues of research into this complex landscape have included:

Opening large areas of excavation over numerous waterlogged features and wetland/dryland interfaces
Using modern environmental analyses such as micromorphology, phytolith analyses, palynology, and soil geochemistry
Experimenting both with prehistoric technologies, and new sampling processes with a study of block-lifting techniques for removing fragile preserved organic artefacts from stony peat contexts
Studying the taphonomic processes and preservational issues of repeated saturation and desiccation of sediments through micromorphology

The sum of these efforts is a new Neolithic wetland landscape, which has undergone multi-proxy study to reconstruct the environment, the archaeology, their subsequent interrelationships, and how post-depositional desiccation has affected them. We seek to present these findings through an introduction to the site and the study undertaken, including an opportunity to showcase the excellently preserved waterlogged archaeology on site, including wooden troughs, platforms, plank alignments, and artefacts.