PETERBOROUGH, UK – After more than a decade of meticulous conservation, three exceptionally preserved prehistoric log boats went on public display for the first time on Friday, 14 November 2025, at the Flag Fen Archaeology Park in Peterborough. The vessels, dating from the Bronze and Iron Ages between 2,500 and 3,500 years ago, offer a rare and detailed glimpse into the craftsmanship and daily life of early European communities.

The boats are part of a larger collection of nine discovered between 2011 and 2012 in a quarry at Must Farm, near Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, representing the largest group of prehistoric boats ever found at a single UK site. Preserved in the silt of an ancient riverbed, the condition of the finds has been described by archaeologists as extraordinary. The excavation was conducted by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit and funded by Historic England and Forterra, the landowner.

Analysis of the boats, which are simple vessels made by hollowing out single tree trunks, has revealed sophisticated details about prehistoric carpentry. Researchers have identified the specific types of wood used, including oak and field maple, and the kinds of tools employed in their construction. According to Iona Robinson Zeki, a researcher at Cambridge Archaeological Unit, the boats ranged from small, agile canoes to larger, stable vessels likely used for transporting people, materials, and laying fish traps.

The long journey from discovery to display involved a highly specialised conservation process. To prevent the waterlogged wood from collapsing as it dried, conservators from the York Archaeological Trust and Peterborough City Council submerged the artefacts in a specialised wax and water solution, likely using polyethylene glycol (PEG). This well-established technique slowly replaces the water in the wood's cells, ensuring its structural integrity is maintained.

A Global Heritage of Innovation

While the Must Farm boats are a profoundly European discovery, they speak to a universal story of human innovation and adaptation. The development of watercraft was a pivotal moment in prehistoric societies worldwide, enabling transport, trade, and the exploitation of new resources. For context, Africa is home to the continent's oldest known boat, the Dufuna canoe, discovered in Yobe State, Nigeria, in 1987. Radiocarbon dating has shown the Dufuna canoe to be between 8,000 and 8,500 years old, making it the second oldest known boat in the world, after the Pesse canoe of the Netherlands.

Discovered by a Fulani herdsman digging a well, the 8.4-metre-long Dufuna canoe demonstrates that advanced boat-building traditions existed in Africa thousands of years before the Must Farm vessels were crafted. Its existence suggests a well-established riverine society in a region that was once much wetter and part of the Lake Mega Chad basin.

In East Africa, while direct evidence of such ancient watercraft is scarce, the archaeological record points to a long history of maritime activity and trade. By the 19th century, extensive long-distance trade routes connected the coast with the interior, with communities like the Akamba, Yao, and Nyamwezi facilitating the movement of goods such as ivory. Earlier evidence from coastal sites like Kilwa shows participation in Indian Ocean trade networks from as early as the 9th century, exchanging goods like gold and rock crystal for ceramics from Persia and China. This robust history of trade, reliant on both land and sea transport, underscores the critical role of mobility and technological adaptation in the region's development.

The Must Farm exhibition, therefore, serves as more than just a window into Britain's past. It is a reminder of the parallel technological journeys of our ancestors across continents, each adapting to their unique environments and laying the foundations for future societies. As Jacqueline Mooney, general manager of Flag Fen, stated, the exhibition is a "powerful reconnection with the people who once lived, worked and journeyed through this landscape."