Star Carr scheduled

Posted on 19 December 2011

Star Carr being made a scheduled monument for its rarity and archaeological importance.

On the advice of English Heritage, the early Mesolithic site at Star Carr, North Yorkshire is being made a scheduled monument for its rarity and archaeological importance.

John Penrose Heritage Minister said: “The diversity of finds on offer at Star Carr and its history which goes back to 9000 BC are unequalled in British archaeology and it remains one of the most important Mesolithic sites in Europe.”

In recent research Nicky Milner and her team (Milner et al. 2011) discovered that "... without a doubt that Star Carr no longer possesses the riches it did only 60 years ago, and that there is demonstrable destruction of the archaeological resource at Star Carr".

Nick Bridgland (English Heritage), stated “Scheduling Star Carr will help archaeologists manage the site effectively and carry out critically important excavations to recover the rapidly decaying remains so we can all learn as much as possible about this fascinating period of prehistory.”

For more details see

the University Press Release
From riches to rags: organic deterioration at Star Carr. J. Arch Sci, 2011
Geochemical indicators of preservation status and site deterioration at Star Carr J. Arch Sci, 2011