Star Carr Mesolithic Settlement
Star Carr
Early Mesolithic (~9000–8500 BCE)·Early Mesolithic British (Maglemosian)·🇬🇧 North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
About
About Star Carr Mesolithic Settlement
Peat-preserved lake-shore settlement at Lake Flixton where Grahame Clark in 1949–51 uncovered a 12-m timber platform of split birch, 21 red deer antler frontlets drilled for wearing as headdresses, barbed points and amber beads. Recent excavations 2006–2015 revealed a 35-by-9-m detached house – Britain's oldest domestic building – and 90% of British Mesolithic art (engraved pendants). The headdresses remain the most direct evidence of shamanic costume in Mesolithic Europe.
Why it mattersPeat-preserved lake-shore settlement at Lake Flixton where Grahame Clark in 1949–51 uncovered a 12-m timber platform of split birch, 21 red deer antler frontlets drilled for wearing as headdresses, ba
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Antler headdresses – hunting disguise, dance costume or shamanic transformation
- 02Why platform timbers split radially with flint wedges rather than ground stone
Theories
- 01Ritual aggregation centre for Maglemosian bands at resource-rich lake edge
- 02Permanent hunter base challenging mobile Mesolithic model
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.9000–8500 BCE (peat horizon with 3 occupation phases)
- Period
- Early Mesolithic (~9000–8500 BCE)
- Culture
- Early Mesolithic British (Maglemosian)
- Purpose
- Lake-edge hunter camp with earliest British carpentry and red deer ceremonial headdresses
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.9000–8500 BCE (peat horizon with 3 occupation phases)
Initial construction
c. 1453 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
Gallery