CULTURE INTERVIEW
Flag Fen itself appeared on Time Team (as well as several other Cambridgeshire locations, such as Stilton, Chapel Head and Norman Cross) and it was the huge interest in the programme that inspired Francis to open the site to the public – establishing what is now Flag Fen Archaeology Park. Here, visitors are able to explore a reconstructed prehistoric landscape and roundhouses, get up close to some of the site’s fascinating finds and even see a section of the excavated causeway. Not only that, but the park has recently unveiled a new exhibition that displays three of nine rare Bronze and Iron Age log boats that were unearthed in 2011 near Must Farm in Cambridgeshire (the others still being carefully preserved): a discovery of international importance. The legacy of the land Flag Fen is soon to be excavated once again, in a long-term project funded by Historic England, and it remains a huge source of pride for Francis. “But what I desperately hope is going to happen,” he adds, “is that people will start thinking about these very ancient sites – so well preserved, and that were once occupied by people who were just like us – as being a part of our history. Things don’t all start with William the Conqueror!”
Indeed, this is one of the reasons why Francis started writing popular books such as The Fens: Discovering England’s Ancient Depths . “I wanted to get across to the public how extraordinary prehistory is. It fired my imagination and hopefully will theirs too.” It comes as no surprise, then, that when asked what the magic of the Fenland landscape is to him, Francis responds with certainty: “It’s the Fen people. You couldn’t meet nicer people than the farmers round here. I think it is because they understand the landscape that they’re living in; if you are closely involved with the land, it gives you a very special relationship with your neighbours. If there’s, say, flooding or bad weather, people will come round here and say ‘You alright boy?’,” he laughs. “They’ll do anything to help, and I’ll do the same for them. United we stand, divided we fall.” Does he think the picture would have been much the same in prehistory, with those people who were just like us? “Oh absolutely. I can imagine what they’re talking about while sitting around that roundhouse fire drinking cups of mead!”
COMPELLING NARRATIVES The discovery of Flag Fen – now open to the public (top) – forms the spine of The Fens , published by Bloomsbury
What I desperately hope is that people start thinking about these very ancient sites as being a part of our history
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK JANUARY 2026 23
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