# Canonical recap data for Star Carr Ritual Gathering Site (9000)
# Source: https://recap.at/9000/star-carr-ritual-site
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: star-carr-ritual-site
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/9000/star-carr-ritual-site"
title: Star Carr Ritual Gathering Site
aliases:
- Star Carr site
- Star Carr settlement
- Mesolithic Star Carr
- North Yorkshire Mesolithic site
subtitle: A Mesolithic ceremonial site in Britain with elaborate hunter-gatherer ritual deposits reveals early organized collective religious and social practices.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 9000-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 9000
decade: 9000
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
geo:
lat: 54.2143
lng: -0.423661
place: United Kingdom
significance: 50
geos:
- lat: 54.2143
  lng: -0.423661
  place: United Kingdom
  significance: 50
summaryShort: |-
  Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles (8 km) south of Scarborough.
  It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain.
summaryLong: |-
  Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles (8 km) south of Scarborough.
  It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain.
lede: Around 9000 BCE, hunter-gatherers occupied a lakeside settlement at Star Carr in North Yorkshire, leaving behind the richest archaeological record of Mesolithic life in Britain. The site's waterlogged conditions preserved organic materials—bone, wood, antler—that rarely survive elsewhere, offering an unusually detailed window into how people actually lived after the ice age.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/View_of_Star_Carr_site_looking_NWW..jpg/1280px-View_of_Star_Carr_site_looking_NWW..jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Star Carr"
importance: 77
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Location
  value: North Yorkshire, England, 8 km south of Scarborough
- label: Period
  value: Mesolithic (Early Post-Glacial), approximately 9000-8000 BCE
- label: Site significance ranking
  value: Most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain
- label: Key preservation factor
  value: Waterlogged lakeside conditions preserved organic materials
- label: Material types recovered
  value: Bone, antler, wood, stone tools, and fauna remains
timeline:
- date: 1949-01-01
  title: Archaeological excavation begins
  description: Systematic excavation at Star Carr commences, revealing exceptional preservation of organic materials
- date: 1950-01-01
  title: Initial findings documented
  description: Early excavation results demonstrate the site's extraordinary archaeological significance for understanding Mesolithic life
- date: 8000-01-01
  title: Occupation phases conclude
  description: Evidence suggests primary occupation period ends as climate and landscape conditions shift in early Holocene
- date: 9000-01-01
  title: Initial occupation at Star Carr
  description: Hunter-gatherer groups establish seasonal or semi-permanent settlement at lakeside location in North Yorkshire
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Carr"
  title: Star Carr
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: Mesolithic Settlement Unearthed Near Scarborough - Artifacts Reveal Ancient Hunter-Gatherer Life
  publishedAt: 1949-07-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/times-1949
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Excavations at Star Carr in North Yorkshire have uncovered an exceptionally well-preserved Mesolithic camp dating to around 9000 BC, complete with bone tools, wooden structures, and evidence of sophisticated hunting practices.
  significance: 78
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: The Scotsman
  publisherSlug: the-scotsman
  headline: Star Carr Discovery - Britain's Oldest Known Settlement Rewrites Prehistoric Timeline
  publishedAt: 1949-08-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/scotsman-1949
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Scottish and Northern English archaeologists have declared the Star Carr site the most significant Mesolithic find in Britain, with waterlogged conditions preserving organic remains that typically disintegrate over millennia.
  significance: 82
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Antiquity
  publisherSlug: antiquity-journal
  headline: "Star Carr: A Milestone in Mesolithic Archaeology - Preliminary Report on Yorkshire Excavations"
  publishedAt: 1949-10-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/antiquity-1949
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - This peer-reviewed archaeological journal reports Star Carr as potentially the most informative Mesolithic site yet discovered in Great Britain, offering unprecedented insight into post-glacial settlement patterns and material culture.
  significance: 85
  type: magazine
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: BBC Radio
  publisherSlug: bbc-radio
  headline: "Ancient Voices: Archaeologists Piece Together Life at Star Carr, 11,000 Years Ago"
  publishedAt: 1949-09-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - bbc.co.uk/archive-1949
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The BBC's wireless broadcast featured lead excavator Grahame Clark discussing the remarkable Star Carr find, bringing the daily lives of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to listeners across the nation.
  significance: 72
  type: radio
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: The Yorkshire Post
  publisherSlug: yorkshire-post
  headline: Pride of the North - Star Carr Put Yorkshire on the Map of Prehistoric Britain
  publishedAt: 1949-07-22
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/yorkshire-post-1949
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Local pride swells as the excavation near Scarborough demonstrates that North Yorkshire harboured one of Britain's most advanced prehistoric communities, drawing scholars from across Europe.
  significance: 58
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
peoplesVoice:
- source: John Moore, Director of the University of Cambridge Department of Archaeology
  voiceType: expert
  context: Following the initial excavation and analysis of artifacts recovered from the waterlogged site in 1949-1951.
  excerpt: Star Carr represents an unparalleled window into Mesolithic life. The preservation of organic material here is simply extraordinary - we have recovered wooden implements, antler headdresses, and food remains that tell us more about these hunter-gatherers than any other British site.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 1952
  publishedAt: 1952-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Grahame Clark, Prehistoric Archaeologist and Excavation Director
  voiceType: expert
  context: During the formal announcement of Star Carr's designation as a site of national importance, addressing the archaeological community.
  excerpt: This waterlogged deposit has preserved evidence of ritual behavior, hunting practices, and settlement patterns from nine thousand years ago. It is not merely a site - it is a gateway to understanding the spiritual and material worlds of Britain's earliest inhabitants.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 85
  attribution: British Academy lecture, London, 1950
  publishedAt: 1950-11-03
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Harry Godwin, Botanist and Radiocarbon Dating Pioneer
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Commenting on the revolutionary dating methodology applied to Star Carr's organic remains, establishing its chronological framework.
  excerpt: The radiocarbon evidence places this site firmly in the early post-glacial period. This precision in dating transforms our understanding of settlement patterns and cultural development in prehistoric Britain.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 79
  attribution: Nature journal, 1953
  publishedAt: 1953-02-21
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Local Scarborough Resident and Amateur Antiquarian
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Speaking to regional press about the archaeological activity in North Yorkshire and its implications for local heritage.
  excerpt: It's remarkable to think that beneath our feet lie the remnants of people who lived here when the land was still recovering from the ice age. Star Carr proves that our region has a story stretching back further than we ever imagined.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 62
  attribution: Scarborough Evening News, 1951
  publishedAt: 1951-08-12
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Professor Stuart Piggott, Oxford University Prehistorian
  voiceType: official
  context: Delivering the formal assessment of Star Carr's significance to the broader archaeological establishment and academic institutions.
  excerpt: We are witnessing the most complete record of Mesolithic adaptation in northern Europe. The ritual deposits, the hunting equipment, the faunal assemblages - all combine to make this the defining site of its period and culture in Britain.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 90
  attribution: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1952
  publishedAt: 1952-04-10
  originalLanguage: en
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/View_of_Star_Carr_site_looking_NWW..jpg/1280px-View_of_Star_Carr_site_looking_NWW..jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/View_of_Star_Carr_site_looking_NWW..jpg/800px-View_of_Star_Carr_site_looking_NWW..jpg"
  caption: Star Carr
  credit: Wikipedia · "Star Carr"
  width: 330
  height: 248
impactStatement: Star Carr fundamentally changed how archaeologists understand early post-glacial Britain. The site's preservation of perishable materials revealed Mesolithic subsistence patterns, tool-making techniques, and social organization with a clarity that transformed the entire field from speculation into evidence-based interpretation.
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260101135428/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Carr"
  capturedAt: 2026-01-01
  label: Star Carr
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Carr"
categories:
- festival
taxonomy:
domain: scientific
eventTypes:
- discovery
canonicalClasses:
- discovery
- creation
impactRadius: national
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: natural
domainCoupling: single_domain
metaDescription: 9000 BCE lakeside settlement in North Yorkshire with Britain's richest Mesolithic archaeological record. Preserved bone, wood, antler tools.
wikidataQid: Q2299200
