In July 2018, workers doing renovations at a golf course in Tetney, a village in northeast England, happened upon a surprising find in a pond at the course — a roughly 4,000-year-old burial site of a person who lived during the Bronze Age.
According to the University of Sheffield, which had a team of staff and students working on researching the find, the burial was composed of a hollowed-out log that contained the remains of a man. Based on the artifacts inside the coffin, archaeologists believe the man had a high status in his community. According to the university:
"Following a year of cold storage while being assessed, it was moved to York Archaeological Trust where it has been undergoing preservation work. The work will soon be completed, and the items moved to The Collection Museum."
Aside from human remains, the coffin contained a perfectly preserved axe, while plants were used to create a cushion for the deceased. The coffin was placed atop a gravel mound.
The axe, according to the university, is an "extremely rare" find. The overall burial find is also significant because it "gives an insight into how social hierarchy was marked out in the early Bronze Age."