Archaeologists were looking for a saint but found a Stone Age surprise

The prehistoric henge at Crowland (Picture: The Anchor Church Field Project)

Archaeologists have accidentally unearthed a monumental prehistoric henge in Crowland, Lincolnshire. 

The researchers were actually undertaking excavations in the area to learn more about an Anglo-Saxon hermit, Saint Guthlac, who was known to live a life of solitude after giving up the life of riches as the son of a nobleman. 

Details of his life were documented in the Vita Sancti Guthlaci – Latin for Life of St Guthlac – but the exact location of where he lived, until his death in 714, has remained a mystery. 

Researchers at Newcastle University said: ‘For years, archaeologists have tried to find its location.

‘While Anchor Church Field [located near the abbey] was widely held to be the most likely site, the lack of excavation and the increasing impact of agricultural activity in the area [had] prevented a comprehensive understanding of the area.’

However as the archaeologists excavated the field in 2021 and 2022, they discovered the site was thousands of years older and was the remains of a ‘monumental’ prehistoric henge.

One of the bone combs discovered at Crowland (Picture: The Anchor Church Field project)

The henge is nearly 50 feet across and is thought to have been constructed during the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (between 3000 and 1600 BCE).

The researchers say it is one of the largest henges ever discovered in eastern England. 

Because of its size and location, it is thought that the henge would have had an important place in the region during the Bronze Age, and is likely to have been a major site for ceremonial activity.

Researchers also suggest that at the time, Crowland would have been a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water and marshes.

The researchers think that while the henge would have been deserted for many centuries, its substantial prehistoric earthworks means it could have been an area of local significance well into the medieval period.

That means the henge could have been favoured by Saint Guthlac himself. 

The site was also found to contain the remains of a 12th century hall and chapel, thought to be built by the Abbots of Crowland – probably to house hermits, the researchers said. 

Dr Duncan Wright, from Newcastle University said: ‘We know that many prehistoric monuments were reused by the Anglo-Saxons, but to find a henge – especially one that was previously unknown – occupied in this way is really quite rare. 

‘Although the Anglo-Saxon objects we found cannot be linked with Guthlac with any certainty, the use of the site around this time and later in the medieval period adds weight to the idea that Crowland was a sacred space at different times over millennia.’

The researchers found items that date to around the Seventh Century – including ceramics, two bone combs and glass fragments from elite drinking vessels – when England was under Anglo-Saxon rule.

In the 10th Century, Crowland Abbey, the town’s most iconic landmark, was set up and dedicated to Saint Guthlac. 

The findings have been published in the Journal of Field Archaeology.