Search for lost Althorp village unearths signs of Neanderthal life

ARCHAEOLOGISTS searching for a “lost” medieval village on the estate where Diana, Princess of Wales, grew up, may have discovered something far older and much more mysterious.

They had hoped to uncover the site of “Olletorp”, which was abandoned in the 14th century when its population was decimated by the Black Death.

However, pieces of worked sea shell found on the Althorp estate in Northamptonshire have been carbon-dated to more than 40,000 years ago. The discovery raises the possibility that the first occupants of the land were not members of the aristocracy but Neanderthals who occupied Britain for hundreds of thousands of years before modern humans arrived.

For the past year, a team from Oxford’s Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) has been surveying the site.

Olletrop was recorded in the Domesday Book, but seems to have disappeared by the time wool magnate John Spencer purchased the estate in 1508.

The team dug test pits and trenches, mapped the area using ground penetrating radar and magnetometers, and took more than 100 core samples from the 1.5-acre site.

Roger Michel, the IDA’S executive director, said they have uncovered evidence of a site that dates back to the Paleolithic period, making it one of the earliest settlements yet discovered.

He said: “We don’t think the shells would have been the remnants of a prehistoric meal as Althorp was even further from the sea than it is today. They are also incised. They could have been used for decoration or a spurs of mother of pearl for jewellery.”

The midden, a polite name for a rubbish tip, also contains numerous small pieces of worked antler and flints which are evidence of toolmaking on the site.

Scientists have long known that early Neanderthals were present in Britain from about 400,000 years ago. They returned to Britain many times between then and 30,000 to 50,000 years ago as glaciers alternately advanced and receded between ice ages.

About 40,000 years ago the first modern humans began to reach Britain, putting the Althorp discovery on the cusp of two worlds.

Mr Michel, who was a contemporary of Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, at Oxford University, said: “We still hope to find Olletorp for Charles. Our geophysical surveys of the site reveal many areas of interest that merit further exploration.

“Althorp may very well tell the entire story of the settlement of Britain from the time of the earliest human habitations straight through to the HS2 that will pass not far from the estate.”

Charles Spencer, author of The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream was present when a marine archaeology team from the IDA found a wreck close to the spot where it sunk in 1120.

Mr Michel added: “Charles has been very good luck for us. On a more practical note, his chef, James, makes the best sausage rolls in Britain.

“We came for the archaeology, but stayed for the sausage rolls.”