This is a perfect day trip out for history buffs
For any history buff, there is a day out within easy reach of Cambridge that is a “lunar landscape” waiting to be discovered. Cambridgeshire is a setting that was a prime location for the Anglo Saxons, but this was also the case in nearby Norfolk.
Just a 51-minute drive from Cambridge is Thetford, and in Thetford is Grime’s Graves. Described as a “lunar landscape”, this is more than 430 shafts and quarries that were first named Grim’s Graves by the Anglo Saxons. This means ‘pits of the pagan god grim’.
In 1870, an excavation took place and something was discovered. Flint mines that were dug around 2650 BC were discovered, and this is the only Neolithic Flint mine in Britain. Today, people can visit the site and descend 9m down to experience the mines.
As people descend down, there are light projections that show the lives of the people that worked and lived there. If people want to know more information, they can listen to an audio guided tour along the way, which is read out by Time-Team archaeologist Phil Harding and English Heritage historian Dr Jennifer Wexler.
After you’ve come back to the top, there is more history to discover. There is an exhibition space that tells the tales of the first pits opening in 2650 BC.
People can also learn about the origins of the name of the pits, as well as the excavations that happened in the 1800s. There is also a family trail people can embark on.
For people wanting to descend to the pits, they must be aged seven or over, and it’s advised to wear flat footwear. To find out more, go to the website.
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