On The Horns Of A Dilemma

Dr Jody Joy of the University of Cambridge outlines what life might have been like at a lakeside village of Star Carr 11,500 years ago and what the strangely beautiful skull and antler headdresses found there might signify

- Dr Jody Joy

Sometimes in archaeology we come across objects that truly intrigue us. The mysterious 11,500year-old headdresses, found at the Mesolithic site of Star Carr a few miles south of Scarborough in Yorkshire, are just such an example. Made of deer skulls with antlers attached and holes bored into them, it is impossible not to look at these headdresses (1) and wonder how they were worn and who wore them. Were they disguises for hunting, or perhaps elaborate costumes worn by Mesolithic shamans? These questions and many others can be explored because of the remarkable preservation at Star Carr which was situated on the shore of a lake. The lake has long since dried up, but it left behind areas of waterlogged peat, providing ideal conditions for preserving bone, antler and wooden objects, which offer us a unique and intimate perspective on Mesolithic life.

Star Carr is one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe. The oldest house in Britain was found there and the remains of a large wooden platform, probably a walkway or a jetty for canoes, provides the earliest evidence of carpentry in Europe. These unparalleled discoveries bring the distant past to life. Yet the story of the people of Star Carr, is one of people who, like us, lived during a period of rapid environmental change.

The history of the discovery and excavation of Star Carr is one of unique and unprecedented finds. The story began with John Moore a local amateur archaeologist from Scarborough. In the 1940s he realised that the peat in the area was formed when an ancient lake had dried up, a lake which he named Lake Flixton. Through small excavations Moore also identified nine Mesolithic sites on the shore and on islands on the ancient lake, one was Star Carr.