Archaeologists discovered an old site where hunter-gatherers previously ate, danced, and performed rituals while excavating a floodplain in England.

An ancient settlement, dating back to around 6,000 B.C., was uncovered in England, an archaeologist said. Over 300,000 artifacts, including arrowheads and tridents, were discovered. Photo from Oxford Archaeology Ltd

The site, which dates to 6,000 B.C., served as a Mesolithic hotspot, attracting sizable crowds from remote areas of northern Britain on a periodic basis.

According to Fraser Brown, an archaeologist who participated in the excavation, "It's not a very typical site." We were aware that we had a unique situation.

It was discovered by accident. In order to build a road across a restricted area of land close to Carlisle, Oxford Archaeology archaeologists started uncovering troves of ancient artifacts.

Over 300,000 items, including flint arrowheads and wooden tridents, were discovered after months of sieving a muddy region the size of a football field by a crew of more than 50 individuals.

One of the largest lithic assemblages ever discovered in Britain, according to Brown.

A wooden trident discovered at the site Photo from Oxford Archaeology Ltd

On the basis of the discoveries, archaeologists hypothesized that the region, which was formerly an island on the Eden River, was inhabited by hunter-gatherers in the spring or winter. Large groups of prehistoric humans journeyed to the island from a distance of more than 100 miles, perhaps to fish the river when food was in short supply.

It's conceivable that more than 100 early Britons at a time sought sanctuary on the island at a time when people often lived in tiny family groupings.

You can utilize anthropological analogies to picture all the various activities that would be taking place in the background, such as feasting, chit-chatting, and storytelling, according to Brown.

Additionally, hundreds of bits of clay called ochre were found. It would have been processed into a crimson pigment that was used for both ceremonial and practical uses.

Ochre "was probably not for everyday use," according to Brown. "People probably painted themselves for hunting rituals, dance, or burial rights."

Ochre fragment discovered at the site Photo from Oxford Archaeology Ltd

Hunter-gatherers utilized the substance to create dye, insecticide, sunblock, adhesive, and even medicine, according to Andrew Needham, a specialist in early prehistory at the University of York.

In most cases, it was combined with animal fat to create body paint. According to Needham, it was typically scattered onto open graves at funerals.

“When people look at the Mesolithic and prehistoric people they can be quite two-dimensional, imagining them as widgets wandering the landscape looking for food,” Brown said.

Brown responded, "But of course they're just people like you and I, and they're going to have very rich social and cultural lives, and perhaps even more so in terms of their imaginations, stories, and myths because they don't have much materiality."

Around 3,800 B.C., Neolithic farmers began to exploit the island, showing that hunter-gatherers hadn't been the only ones who had found it appealing, according to Brown.

Even the Romans opted to establish themselves in the region thousands of years later. Just a few miles away, they built Hadrian's Wall, which served as their vast empire's northern border.