Meare Lake Village

Arthur Bulleid and Harold St George Gray excavated part of this late Iron Age site between 1909 and 1956 after their work at Glastonbury Lake Village. The Somerset Levels Project also carried out some excavations in the 1980s. The occupation area was on an area of drying raised bog just 100m north of Meare island, bordered on the north by wet fen and open water that seasonally flooded the occupation area. There was considerable evidence of floors with central hearths, only five of which appear to have been in roundhouses.

Most of the area appears to have been occupied by either tents or open working areas divided by occasional wind breaks. Considerable evidence for craft activity was recovered such as spinning, weaving, and making artefacts of bone, antler, shale, glass, iron and bronze. The site appears to have functioned as a seasonal market and production area that may have served as a meeting place for people gathering from a wide area.