Time Capsule Reveals Prehistoric Habitat Looking as if 'Buried Yesterday'

A peatland "time capsule" has been found to preserve a slice of a prehistoric woodland habitat containing material that looks like it could have been "buried yesterday," according to researchers.

The peatland is located on the grounds of Holnicote Estate in Exmoor National Park, southwest England. The historic estate is managed by the United Kingdom's National Trust—a charity focused on heritage conservation.

In samples taken from the peatland, researchers found evidence of plant and insect remains dating back thousands of years to a time interval spanning from the Neolithic period (otherwise known as the New Stone Age) to the Bronze Age.

The findings have revealed the kinds of plant and insect species that lived in the landscape in prehistoric times, many of which still live in similar wet woodland areas today.

Peatlands are a distinctive type of terrestrial wetland ecosystem in which waterlogged conditions prevent plant material from fully decomposing. They are characterized by the accumulation of partially decayed organic matter—which form layers of peat.

"The peat started to form during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age, some 4,500 years ago," Sander Aerts, an environmental manager at Wessex Archaeology who worked on the research, told Newsweek. "The peat has allowed remains of plants, trees and insects to be preserved beautifully, and has given us a very detailed and unique picture of what this environment originally looked like when the peat was forming."

Among the discoveries, the researchers identified the remains of a prehistoric woodland floor composed of fragments of trunks, small branches and twigs. These were found to date from around 4,500 to 3,500 years ago.

These fragments revealed the presence of tree species including alder and willow, with evidence of birch growing nearby—as indicated by seed remains.

The researchers also found woodland remains in other parts of the site, such as a preserved segment of willow tree.

"Despite being thousands of years old, the fragments of wood look like they could have been buried yesterday, thanks to the way peat acts as a natural preserver," Phil Wright, historic environment officer with the South West Peatland Partnership (SWPP), said in a press release.

"Peat contains very little oxygen, which means that organic materials like wood can survive for thousands of years if the peat remains in good condition. Finding such well-preserved evidence for past woodland cover can help us to re-imagine the landscape in which people lived and constructed monuments thousands of years ago."

Researchers also recovered other plant remains from the peat indicating that sedges and rushes were growing within this wet woodland habitat, whilst birch and oak were present in the wider surrounding landscape.

Finally, scientists also identified more than 100 fragments of the insect species Hydraena riparia in the peatland time capsule. This species is a semi-aquatic beetle that flourishes in damp conditions and can still be found today. The researchers also identified prehistoric samples of dung beetles, rove beetles, moss mites and water scavenger beetles.

"We're really excited about these findings. It's great to think that the discovery of the prehistoric insect and woodland remains provides an opportunity to understand the vegetation and the natural processes which helped establish this thriving wet, peaty, environment many thousands of years ago," Basil Stow, area ranger at the National Trust, said in a press release.

Update 2/12/24, 1:02 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comments from Sander Aerts.

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