Bronze-age Heritage: Cambridgeshire Debate
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Jim Shannon
Main Page: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)Department Debates - View all Jim Shannon's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Bronze-age Heritage: Cambridgeshire
Jim Shannon Excerpts(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Andrew Pakes
I will come on to talk about the importance of local museums. One great privilege of this place is to learn of the rich heritage of so many different parts of Britain and Northern Ireland—
Jim Shannon
I will do what you tell me to, Mr Twigg. This great nation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is something to be incredibly proud of, and it must be protected and treasured for future generations. It is said that we cannot know where we are going if we do not know where we have been. Does the hon. Member agree that sustained funding must be given to celebrate and secure historical relevance in this modern United Kingdom?
Andrew Pakes
It is always a pleasure to take interventions from the hon. Member. I hope he will hear that this is a speech of celebration as well as of questions for the Minister.
Let us come back to Peterborough. Central to Peterborough’s story are the sites of Flag Fen and Must Farm, two of the most archaeologically and internationally significant bronze-age discoveries of our generation. Flag Fen is the only site in Europe where visitors can view a bronze-age causeway and a unique collection of bronze-age log boats, discovered in the lost course of the River Nene close to Must Farm. Peterborough Museum curates and has responsibility for the Must Farm collection. Flag Fen delivers the conservation and presentation of the River Nene bronze-age boat discoveries, and Must Farm is of both national and international significance.
Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery and Flag Fen are held in trust for the benefit of local people and visitors to the city. That model matters, because it embeds civic pride and ownership in protecting our common heritage. However, it does not come without challenges, particularly around local government funding and public service support for archaeology and archaeologists.