Archaeologists in Britain have discovered the charred leftovers of 3,000 years old stilted wooden structure that sunk into the river after it caught fire. The amazingly well-preserved roundhouse has offered an unprecedented peep into how domestic life was during the Bronze Age.

The East Anglia’s extraordinary settlement was occupied at the end of the Bronze Age, sometime around 1200-800 BC. Many families used to live there in a circular building, propping up on stilts over the water. A fire damaged the posts due to which the structure collapsed into the river.

However, the fire and the subsequent collapse of the roundhouse into the river resulted into its amazing preservation. Similar to the intact structures discovered at Pompeii, the flames helped in carbonizing and maintenance of the wooden beams. Silt at the river’s bottom didn’t allow the air and bacteria to chew away the wood. As the inhabitants had to leave everything behind, virtually everything stayed where they left it. Archaeologists have described it as a time capsule.

The ground still has posts and rafters stick up to it, whereas the inhabitants’ footprints are also visible in the sediment even today. A roundhouse’s charred roof is visible, along with tool marks and a perimeter of wooden posts that once used to enclose the area. According to experts the excavations have revealed the ‘the best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found’ countrywide.

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of heritage organization Historic England, noted, “A dramatic fire 3,000 years ago combined with subsequent waterlogged preservation has left to us a frozen moment in time, which gives us a graphic picture of life in the Bronze Age”.

He added that the site has ‘international significance’. He mentioned that it’s poised to ‘change their understanding of the period’.