Why is Flag Fen so important in British history?

A huge new archaeological dig is set to begin at one of Britain's most important Bronze Age sites.

Experts will spend six months digging at Flag Fen near Peterborough, hoping to discover more about a giant wooden causeway built there around 3,500 years ago.

Historic England is working with the Countryside Stewardship Heritage Service to to protect this important historic site.

Experts say the site is at risk of being damaged as the ground it is buried in is drying out, meaning some of the ancient evidence could disappear forever if it is not uncovered soon.

Flag Fen is an ancient archaeological site near the city of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire.

This is an area where people lived during the Bronze Age which began in Britain around 2500BC.

It was a time when Britons learnt how to use metals to make many different objects, travelled using long wooden boats and by riding horses, and started to travel and trade goods with people in Europe.

At the centre of the Flag Fen site is a huge wooden causeway - a raised pathway made from timber.

Experts say it was around 1.1km - or 0.7miles - long and was made using around 22,000 wooden posts.

It was an important route for communication and trade, helping people travel in the area.

Very few Bronze Age structures like Flag Fen have survived anywhere in the world.

Its huge size and the amount of evidence that has survived make it a particularly important place for understanding what life was like thousands of years ago.

The new excavation will begin next year and archaeologists hope to be able to protect the site, so that more people can visit it and learn about Bronze Age Britain.