Pits, pots and people: evidence for Beaker activity at Sizewell C

The large-scale archaeological investigations at Sizewell are revealing evidence for the use of this landscape during the Early Bronze Age (2200-1900 BC), by people who adopted the practices of a widespread European culture known as Beaker, taking its name from a distinct form of pottery.

We are finding the remains of their material culture, as well as their pits, possible working areas and even potential structures. Their pottery was highly decorated, the surfaces of the vessels often covered by finger-pinched impressions or those created with a fingernail – sometimes these are particularly small, suggesting they may have been made by a child. A range of tools were also used to create the decorative patterns including combs, bird bones or sharp points to incise the surface. The Beaker flint tools include arrowheads and scrapers. This evidence for Beaker activity at Sizewell is likely to relate to Continental connections of the peoples here with those across the North Sea, with shared material culture and identity. That they had a shared ancestry is supported by recent aDNA research.