Ancient sacrificial offering found in Navenby as workers prepare for a new water grid

The skeletons of two red deer, found in an infilled pit, believed to have been killed possibly as sacrifices, more than 4,000 years ago, were the earliest remains discovered during archaeological excavations being carried out as part of a huge project to build a new drinking water grid, SPA, across the East of England.  
 
Before the pipes for SPA are laid, archaeologists must assess the possible damage that groundworks for the new pipes could do to buried archaeological remains.  
 
This work is carried out in a simple process including geophysical survey, excavation of trial trenches and then targeted open area excavations in locations where the previous surveys have identified important archaeological remains. 
 
The red deer skeletons found in Navenby showed no signs of butchery and were discovered alongside some bell-shaped pottery known as Beaker pottery. This was created by a distinct culture, the people of which have been named The Beaker People, and who originally came from the European continent. The pots began to be seen in Britain about a hundred years later. 
 
The site was then disused until the Iron Age period, some thousand years later, when a small, rural settlement developed and included two roundhouses and five other post-built structures, possible granary stores. This small settlement was in use for a long time, with maintenance and realignments suggesting continued occupation and some redesign. 
 
The focus of activity seems to have shifted towards the Roman period, with the only evidence of Roman activity at the site comprising a human burial and three cremations, indicating perhaps peripheral funereal activity, on the edge of a settlement. 
 
Jonathan Hutchings, from the archaeology team helping to deliver the new water grid, said: “These fascinating and significant finds are helping to shape our understanding of what life in Lincolnshire was like many thousands of years ago. 
 
“The red deer may have been left as a sacrifice or offering by Early Bronze Age people. Alternatively, it could have been a sort of ‘funeral’ for the deer, or a way to ward off or attract spirits.  
 
“Our water pipes and pumps are crucial, but our work is also opening a window to the past for communities across the region, giving an insight into their history, heritage and origins – while also helping to enhance our understanding of our national character.”   
 
The SPA water grid is a one of the UK’s biggest infrastructure projects. Once complete, hundreds of kilometres of underground, interconnecting pipelines – from Elsham in North Lincolnshire to Essex and Suffolk – will move millions of litres of water a day from wetter to drier areas.  
 
But the water company responsible, Anglian Water, is also committed to leaving a long-lasting green and social legacy along the route.    
   
Elsewhere, thousands of books have been donated to 11 primary schools, new trees planted, dozens of boxes for dormice, bats and owls erected and a life-saving defibrillator donated.