Food traces found in Bronze age archaeology site
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The problem is said to be climate change, which is causing the soil to be dried out at some peatlands. The waterlogged soils cover around 10 percent of the UK, but rising temperatures could prove disastrous. Because peat contains very little oxygen, organic materials like wood, leather and textiles do not rot – so they can survive for thousands of years.
But if the soils dry, oxygen can enter the system, kick-starting the process of decomposition.
This means prized artefacts can quickly rot away.
A Roman toilet seat, the world’s oldest boxing glove, and the oldest handwritten letter by a woman are some of the extraordinary objects found at these peatlands.
Magnis, a Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall, is one of the areas where the process may already be under way.
Dr Andrew Birley, the chief archaeologist at the site says the land has subsided by up to a metre in the past decade.
He worries that a “historical time capsule” is at risk, as the whole site has not yet been excavated.
He added: “This place has the potential to be quite frankly, amazing.
“Pretty much everything the Romans used here for 300 or 400 years could have been preserved in more or less the same state it was thrown away, which is an incredible opportunity.”
Another fort a few miles along Hadrian’s Wall gives an idea of what treasures could be hiding.
Digs at Vindolanda have uncovered the world’s oldest boxing gloves and more Roman footwear has bee found there than any other site in the world.
It is also the source of the oldest handwritten message by a woman found anywhere.
In the note, Claudia Severa, the wife of the commanding officer of a nearby fort, invites her friend Lepidina to her birthday party 1,900 years ago,.
She writes: “Oh how much I want you at my birthday party.
“You’ll make the day so much more fun. I do so hope you can make it. Goodbye, sister, my dearest soul.”
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Dr Birley said: “This sort of stuff doesn’t normally survive.
“It can give us amazing insights into what life was really like here on the Northern frontier almost 2,000 years ago.”
Dr Gillian Taylor, from Teesside University says it will be a “a “catastrophe” for any organic artefacts if the peat dries.
She added; “The risk is they will disappear. We will lose our heritage if we don’t look at what’s occurring now.”
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