Britain's ancient treasures are threatened by climate change
Britain's ancient treasures are being threatened by climate change, experts have warned, with about 22,500 UK sites of archaeological significance potentially at risk. Archaeologists say that if global warming continues to dry out peatlands The most famous such discovery was the Lindow Man, a preserved body of a man believed to be from the Iron Age that was found in a peat bog in Cheshire in 1984 by professional peat cutters. Even the man's internal organs were so well preserved that investigators were able to determine his last meal. However, if the soils dry, oxygen can enter the system and this begins the process of decomposition, meaning artefacts can decay quite quickly. Dr Andrew Birley, the chief archaeologist at Magna, a Roman fort alongside Hadrian's Wall, said the 'desiccation' from climate change had already begun at the site. 'Pretty much everything the Romans used here for 300 or 400 years could have been preserved in more or less the same state it was thrown away, which is an incredible opportunity. 'If we lose places like this, we lose that direct connection to the people who lived in this island 2,000 years ago. 'We lose the chance to learn as much as we can about them. 'And we lose part of our own heritage and part of our own history.' Fellow archaeologist Dr Gillian Taylor, of Teesside University, added that if the peat dries out at these sites it would be 'catastrophic' for any organic artefacts, telling the BBC: 'We will lose our heritage if we don't look at what's occurring now.' It could cost hundreds of millions of pounds to excavate at risk British peatland sites, by which time still-buried artefacts may oldest handwritten message by a woman found anywhere were also unearthed from this site. In the letter, Claudia Severa, the wife of the commanding officer of a nearby fort, invites her friend Lepidina to her birthday party about 1,900 years ago. 'Oh how much I want you at my birthday party,' Claudia writes. 'You'll make the day so much more fun. I do so hope you can make it. Goodbye, sister, my dearest soul.' Dr Rosie Everett, of Northumbria University, and colleagues have been assessing the effect of climate change on peatland archaeology across the UK. She said a number of historic sites in peatlands are under threat, adding: 'The loss of peatlands would have big implications for the understanding of the country's history but also for our climatic history and our environmental history.'