Savouring the prehistoric at the British Science Festival

Guerrilla Archaeology serve up Neolithic menu at Stonehengebury's

Festival goers are jumping back 4,500 years to experience the flavours enjoyed by prehistoric ancestors thanks to Cardiff archaeologists at this year’s British Science Festival.

Visitors get to discover not only what our ancient ancestors ate but how they created a surprising variety of dishes at pop-up Neolithic supermarket Stonehengebury’s thanks to the Guerrilla Archaeology collective at Europe’s longest standing science festival.

Professor of Archaeology Jacqui Mulville, founder of the pop-up collective, explains more:

“Food creates a personal link between people and the past. When you can start to imagine what pre-history may have smelt, looked and tasted like suddenly it doesn't seem so distant.

“Recent work has provided fascinating new insights into food and feasting in prehistory. Initiatives such as Guerrilla Archaeology have shown that people from all walks of life are hungry to learn more about the past and want be actively involved in exploring and interpreting archaeological information.”

Visitors to Stonehengebury’s get to look at produce from the time when farming first arrived in Britain and take part in a number of interactive activities to build their knowledge of ancient foods, cooking and eating.

Activities range from an exploration of when and where and how various foods were procured and processed, to how we track ancient food miles, with a light-hearted look at the challenges of converting to farming.

Delivered across the UK by archaeologists, scientists and artists, pop-up collective Guerrilla Archaeology has already encouraged thousands of people to engage directly with the discipline at some of the world’s best-known festivals.

This year’s British Science Festival runs at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford from 7 - 10 September, with Stonehengebury’s open Friday evening and all day Saturday at Marconi Plaza.