Abbots Way Trackway
Abbots Way, Somerset Levels · Wedmore Island Track
Neolithic to Chalcolithic 1960 BCE·Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic Somerset Levels·🇬🇧 Somerset, Somerset Levels, Wedmore Island, United Kingdom
About
About Abbots Way Trackway
Neolithic timber trackway linking Wedmore Island to the central Levels, dated 1960 BCE dendro (radiocarbon 2030-1900 BCE) intermediate between Sweet (3807) and Meare Heath (3240). 5-m wide hurdle brushwood causeway with oak planks at wetland edge transitions, preserved 600 m. Excavated 1974 by Bryony Coles and Bruce Orme, the Abbots Way demonstrates that Neolithic Somerset trackway technology switched from Sweet's massive oak planks to hurdle brushwood within 200 years, then back to Meare Heath's oak 1200 years later, indicating cyclical adaptation not linear progress.
The track crosses alder carr (swamp forest) not open bog, requiring raised revetment, and is contemporary with nearby Chalcolithic jade axe votive deposits.
Why it mattersIntermediate Somerset trackway proving cyclical technique change (plank->hurdle->plank) not linear progress over 1800 years.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why hurdle at Abbots Way vs oak at Sweet/Meare - wood source or function
Theories
- 01Jade axe votives contemporary - ritual fen edge association
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1960 BCE (radiocarbon 2030-1900 BCE dendro)
- Period
- Neolithic to Chalcolithic 1960 BCE
- Culture
- Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic Somerset Levels
- Builders
- Wedmore Island Neolithic communities
- Purpose
- Carr swamp forest causeway linking Wedmore island to central Levels
- Abandoned
- c.1800 BCE carr swamp succession
- Rediscovered
- 1974 Coles & Orme excavation; 1984 publication
- Excavation
- Excavated
1960 BCE
Track construction 2030-1900 BCE C14
1974
Excavation across alder carr
1984
Publication shows hurdle adaptation cycle
On the ground
Structures & features
51.1400° N · 2.7000° W · 5 m · 2 mapped features
Carr Crossing Section
trackwayAlder carr revetment with hurdle causeway across alder swamp
51.1400° N · 2.7000° WWedmore Island Terminus
habitationWestern terminus on Wedmore Island Neolithic activity area
51.1410° N · 2.7050° W
Gallery